MEDUSA

COMMON ROOM

Most of them chattered among themselves distinctly.

The rest were quiet, either watching the majority speak or were in their own world,

Far off in their minds.

Annette was at her corner, reading a book, basically a corner of the wall which was special to her.

She hated the thought of anyone having to sit there but her.

So everyone steered away from Annette's corner because she could get mad, over very little things.

Raven's eyes were dull and lifeless as she stared at the television.

Watching but not comprehending, listening but not understanding.

Sophia was in her room at the top floor,

She rarely came out,

Just to eat, either once or twice a day and sometimes never.

On other days, Florida would be the one to drag her out of her room to socialize,

She'd been like that ever since Diane and Shiloh left her alone in the world,

Her life; empty and meaningless.

Ruby went around for the sixth time that evening, making sure all the doors and windows were securely locked.

Katrina was at the balcony, smoking alone, that was her coping mechanism for every minor inconvenience.

And Adelina was in the middle of discussions, sitting beside Lorelai,

She wasn't really attentive and was bouncing her left leg against her left hand.

She let out a sharp sigh which finally attracted Lorelai's attention.

Lorelai gave her a sidelong glance, watching as Adelina's leg bounced vigorously,

"Uhmm guys, we gotta go, goodnight" Lorelai yelled before dragging Adelina to her feet before leading her out of the room quickly.

They bid Lorelai and Adelina goodnight without sparing them a second glance,

As they hurried along the hallway to their room, Adelina's breaths became troubled and rumbly.

Adelina grasped her throat, struggling for breath.

"Help" she croaked as Lorelai fumbled with the locks of the door.

"Come in" Lorelai said as she dragged her best friend into the room before locking the door behind them,

"Where am I" Adelina yelled, clutching her head,

"The world is about to end" The woman repeated several times, sucking in sharp shaky gasps of breath.

"You're here, with me" Lorelai said gently as she took a few cautious steps towards her.

Adelina's eyes widened like she had seen a ghost.

"Diamonté?" Adelina yelled turning around, like someone was behind her.

Lorelai grabbed Adelina's hand,

"It's me, Lorelai" Lorelai whispered as she placed Adelina's hand on her cheek so she could feel her presence.

"Lorelai?" Adelina whispered like the name was foreign on her tongue.

Adelina's fingers grazed Lorelai's smooth milky skin.

"Are you real?" Adelina asked,

"Yes, I am" Lorelai answered calmly,

Adelina quickly withdrew her hands from the woman's face to her ears and let out a deafening scream,

"The sky is coming down, the earth is breaking apart, the world is ending, save me Lorelai, I don't want to die" Adelina yelled, hair disheveled, eyes widened, full of terror.

She started to move around wildly, throwing things at a particular section of the wall,

"Go, get away from me, Hope! I won't, get away, get out of here" Adelina screeched throwing her lamp at the wall,

Who's Hope?

How could someone's mind torture them so badly like so,

Lorelai cautiously grabbed her, holding her to stay still,

Adelina looked at her with eyes that lacked recognition,

"Who are you, get away from me?" She yelled as she struggled with Lorelai, gripping her clothes tightly,

"Adelina, please" Lorelai begged in a soft voice, trying not to trigger her further,

"B-b-b, I-I-I, Me-e-e, d-d-d" Adelina said, mumbling incoherent words as she hugged Lorelai, grip on her clothes, stronger than ever.

Lorelai started to sing a slow Italian lullaby.

Adelina blinked a few times before her grip on Lorelai decreased drastically.

Lorelai led her to sit on the bed before placing Adelina's head on her lap as she sang gently and softly,

While playing with her hair.

Eventually, Adelina was lulled to sleep and Lorelai was too exhausted to stay awake after that.

Adelina sat at her vanity the next morning, going through her usual hair routine,

Vague memories of last night swimming in the deepest part of her mind, far away from remembrance.

She raised the left side of her hair up, admiring the three butterfly tattoos behind her ear,

Then she shook her head, watching her long curly hair sway from side to side in the mirror.

Lorelai walked out of the bathroom,

Bathrobe clinging to her body, towel wrapped around her blonde hair,

"Good morning" Adelina greeted,

"G'morning" Lorelai sang as she walked around her side of the room, bustling with energy as she started on her own morning routine.

Adelina moved to sit on her bed, picking up her journal to finish up her drawings before Jacquelynne arrived to tell them about their schedules for today,

Art and music were therapeutic to Adelina,

They were one of the few things keeping her in touch with reality and maybe a little bit sane,

"What's that?" Adelina asked, eyeing Lorelai's back.

"What's what?" Lorelai asked, turning to look at her.

"The bandage at the back of your shoulder" Adelina asked.

"Oh, it's nothing, I just got a tattoo" Lorelai shrugged,

"When" Adelina asked,

"A few weeks ago" Lorelai answered,

"I wanted to keep it as a surprise but since you know already, well, I might just..." She said as she peeled it off while shrugging to reveal a coloured tattoo,

Of Medusa,

At first, Adelina thought she wasn't seeing properly,

She knew the meaning behind every tattoo,

And the traumatic one behind the Medusa tattoo.

Could it be that?

No, it couldn't,

Who would do that to her?

And how wouldn't Adelina know about it.

Why wouldn't she?

After all, they were best friends and they told each other everything,

Maybe she didn't know what the tattoo meant,

But it was unlikely,

Unless...

It had happened a long time before they met each other,

The longer she sat on the bed, the more her curiosity ate her alive from the inside out,

"Can I get a closer look?" Adelina asked, still not believing her sight,

Most things hardly looked real to her, since months ago, after the experiments.

"Sure" Lorelai shrugged as she put on a pair of jeans that were a size too big for her figure.

Adelina got up and walked towards Lorelai's side of the room,

She tilted her head from side to side as she closely scrutinized the tattoo,

Still smothered by disbelief, she touched it with her finger to ensure it was real,

And it was real,

Medusa's head,

Sitting resplendent on her fair soft back,

Embraced by locks of snakes as hair,

Eyes almost as white as snow,

Lips slightly apart, as if she was still begging Athena for mercy,

"Spare me" Adelina heard,

She could've sworn she saw the mouth of the tattoo move.

But yet again, she wasn't really sure that she was sane so she shook her head profusely like it could chase the hallucination away.

Her eyes narrowed down on the tattoo and her brows furrowed as she made a theory in her head.

"What's wrong, Adeli?" Lorelai asked as she watched her through the mirror,

Adelina moved her head and looked into her eyes through the mirror,

Adelina's eyes seemed to darken as her pupils dilated,

"Who did it to you?" Adelina asked, calmly but dangerously, in a very soft tone

Staring into Lorelai's soul in a way that it sent a warning that she shouldn't try lying about the matter at hand.