Don't Run - Parts 1-4 (long) (739 hits)
Category: NoneRating: 1.44 on 12 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by Lojope <lojope.at.juno.com> (View user info) at 2005-05-01 14:17:53 EDT
(Disclaimer: This is the beginning of a series I tried to start awhile back under the name of an alter I created soley for that purpose. I started it at a time when I was getting a lot of flack/spamming on everything I posted, (you all know what that's like) so I was hoping to have a chance to get some real feedback on it without the stigma that had been attached to my name. It got to be too much of a headache to keep track of two names, so I abandoned the alter, and therefore the story as well. I've decided that I'd like to continue the story now, but am going to do so under this name. So, without further ado, here are the four parts I'd written before.)
PART 1
Mikki wiped the blood from her eyes with the sleeve of her T-Shirt. As she tried to arrange her blanket into a comfortable position on the floor, she winced as pain shot through her arms. At least it was Friday. They left her alone on weekends. They were too busy having their parties to bother with the eight-year-old cowering in their basement.
The urge to run away was greater than it had ever been before. Mikki looked to the garage door with longing in her heart. If only she could make it past the front lawn. She could find someone. She could tell them. They would help her. Wouldn't they?
She could do it. All she had to do was reach for the doorknob, and go.
Mikki's hand brush across her foot, and suddenly her hopes of escape were violently ripped away. Fear grew in the pit of her stomach as she remembered. She remembered the last time.
She closed her mind to the thoughts of freedom, and lay her bruised head on the floor.
As Mikki closed her eyes she tried to picture the garden. Her special place, created in the recesses of her tortured mind, a place to escape. She pictured herself sitting under the big willow tree, surrounded by roses. She imagined herself calling out to Sandra, the girl with the golden hair who lived there.
Sandra came, as she always did, and began to lovingly brush Mikki's hair.
"Why do they do this, Sandra?"
"If they didn't I wouldn't be here."
"Why not?"
"Because you made me to save you."
Mikki didn't understand. Sandra was so real to her, it didn't seem possible for her to ever not exist.
"I don't want to live."
"Shut up, Mikki!" Mikki jumped. Her Sandra had never spoken so harshly before.
"Sandra?"
"All you ever do is cry to me about not wanting to live! I am tired of it! If you don't want this life, LEAVE!"
Tears pricked Mikki's eyes. This couldn't be happening. Not here. No one yells here. Sandra doesn't yell. Sandra loved her. Sandra had always loved her.
"Sandra, please..."
"Shut UP, Mikki! All it would take was a few steps and we could be free. It is YOUR fault we stay here. It is YOUR fault this happens everyday. RUN AWAY!"
The garden grew dark, as if poisoned by Sandra's rage. The roses began to wilt and the wind picked up. Mikki sat sobbing, helpless as her only refuge broke down around her.
Her hand moved to her foot again, and felt the scar tissue where her toe used to be. A remnant of her last escape attempt.
She heard his voice hiss in her ear, "See if you can run now, you little bitch!"
"I can't run, Sandra."
"You can. You must. You have to get us out of here."
Mikki sobbed in fear. "I can't... I can't..."
"Fine!" Sandra snarled. "You made me to save you, so I will."
"No. Don't you know what will happen to us if you do?"
"Don't you know what will happen to us if I don't?"
Mikki balled her fists. In that moment she felt more anger than in the rest of her life combined. Sandra was trying to betray her. Sandra who was supposed to love her. Sandra who waited in the garden to save her each night. And now she was trying to take it all away.
"No! I won't let you do it, Sandra Marie!" Mikki pinched herself hard.
Suddenly, the garden was gone. The wind was gone. Sandra was gone.
It was only Mikki, alone on her blanket, shivering and sobbing.
"Don't run, Mikki." She whispered to herself. "Don't run."
All at once her hand shot out towards the doorknob. She pulled it against her chest, only to have it reach for the door again against her will.
What was happening?
Mikki stood without meaning to, and her legs began moving towards the exit.
"Sandra? Sandra! NO! DON'T RUN!"
Mikki fought against herself, clawing at the walls, trying to keep Sandra from taking control. As her body continued in it's path, Mikki frantically reached for the workbench nearby. When she felt what she was looking for, she gripped it tightly.
With all of her strength she stopped her feet from moving. Perspiration beaded on her forehead as she struggled to hold still.
She stretched her free hand across the floorboard and got hold of a nail that was laying nearby.
She held her hand steady as she took aim and raised her hammer.
"Don't run, Sandra." She said, her voice cracking.
With one swift motion, she drove the nail through her foot and into the floor.
"Don't run."
***************************************************************
PART 2:
Dr. Anne Holloway tried in vain to keep the horror from showing on her face.
"So, let me get this straight. You nailed your own foot to the floor?"
Michael sighed. "No. I didn't. Mikki did."
"Aren't you Mikki?"
"No. I'm Michael. Mikki can't handle talking about this stuff, so I took over."
Anne's nose crinkled. "I don't think I follow. What game is this Mikki?"
"It's not a game, and please stop calling her name. She'll come forward and I'm telling you, she can't handle this."
"Ok... Michael. How is it that I am looking at Mikki and hearing Mikki, and yet I am talking to you?"
Michael paused for a moment, unsure of what he should say. They'd only tried to share their secret to one other person, an Aunt who had then tried to lock them in a mental institution. But Anne was different, wasn't she? She was a therapist after all...
"Michael?"
"Hold on!" Michael snapped. A war was brewing inside his head and he needed a moment to sort it out.
-
"Tell her!" Sandra begged, she was always the boldest and she hated secrets. Michael valued her opinion, but rarely let her have the final say. Her headstrong nature made it impossible to convince her that decisions needed to be made based on what was best for the whole group, not just what she wanted at the moment.
Kevin began to whimper "I'm scawed. Don't tell the secwet, Mikey, don't tell hew." Kevin's thumb found his way to his mouth and his crying quieted.
Michael tried to sort through all the voices. With so many opinions, there was no way to come to a consensus. In most cases, majority ruled, but as the Protector, Michael's word was usually law.
He closed his eyes briefly and made his decision. Then he directed his attention back to the front.
-
Anne marveled at what she was seeing. After Mikki's voice snapped at her to "hold on" the entire body had gone limp. Underneath the eyelids, the eyes darted around as if dreaming, and Anne watch as the lips formed unintelligible words without sound.
Nothing in all her years of school and training had prepared her for what she was witnessing in her tiny office as she watched the 23 year old brunette be taken hold of by her inner demons.
Anne startled when Mikki's eyes shot open and her voice returned.
"Ok."
"Ok what, Mikk- Michael?"
"Ok, we are going to tell you."
"Michael... what do you mean by WE?"
************************************************************************************
PART 3:
Mikki felt a pinch on her leg, and opened her eyes with a start. She looked down to see it was her own hand doing the pinching. Disoriented, she tried to take in her surroundings.
Pale yellow walls with eggshell trim. She was sitting on a flower-print loveseat. The carpet was tan. There was a bookshelf to her left with a framed diploma on it.
Anne Holloway
Doctorate of Clinical Psychology
Alliant International University
San Diego, California
1971
So the woman sitting across the room must be Anne...
Suddenly, Mikki remembered. The therapist. Her eyes darted around the room looking for a clock. 5:30. It had been two hours since she arrived. Frantically, Mikki tried to remember what she was talking about. How long had she been spaced out for?
"I... I'm sorry, Anne. I must have been daydreaming. I..."
"It's ok, Mikki. Calm down. I had company while you were gone."
"What? Who was here? Did I fall asleep? Did you have another patient with me sleeping here?!?"
Mikki was freaking out. She hated when she lost time like this. So often she would wake up and hours had passed. Hours that she had no memory of. It was the reason she couldn't hold a job or keep an apartment. It was the reason she was here. All the catscans and MRIs showed nothing abnormal. The doctors were stumped. One finally suggested the problem could be psychological, and gave her Anne's number.
And now she had done it again, and on her first visit no less.
"No, Mikki, I didn't have another patient. Please calm down."
Tears welled up in Mikki's eyes. "I'm sorry. I spaced out again. I'm sorry. Please don't kick me out."
"Why would I kick you out? I am here to help you, Mikki."
"Can you?"
"I don't know. Mikki, I have something I need to tell you."
-
Mikki slammed the front door behind her when she got in the house. With both hands she reached up and grabbed fistfulls of hair. She screamed and pulled as hard as she could.
In her head, inside her body, without her knowing. People, other people, living inside. Looking through her eyes, talking through her mouth. People inside her. Other minds, other souls.
Mikki walked to the bathroom, wiped the tears from her eyes, and looked at herself in the mirror.
"Where are you?"
She stared intently into her own eyes. Nothing but her own eyes stared back.
Her reflection broke into a thousand tiny fractals as her fists shattered the mirror.
She collapsed to the floor, her bloody hands gripping her chest. Sobs shook her body as she tried to understand what Anne had told her.
-
"Multiple Personality Disorder is a relatively undocumented condition. There are very few cases on record, and many renowned psychologists are not even sure it exists."
Anne went on to tell her that, until that very day, she hadn't even been sure it existed.
"But I know what I just saw, Mikki. And there is no other explanation. I believe you. And I am going to help you."
-
When her crying slowed, Mikki picked herself up off the floor. She rinsed the dried blood from her knuckles and brushed the pieces of glass on the sink into the garbage can.
Forcing herself to breathe slowly and deeply, she made her way into her bedroom and sat down at her desk. Just like Anne had suggested, she took out a clean sheet of paper and a pencil and wrote carefully and neatly on the first line.
"Is anyone there? Who are you?"
Mikki tried to clear her mind. She closed here eyes and waited quietly, determined not to move from the chair until something happened.
She awoke there the next morning.
The page was still empty.
Tears welled up in her eyes as Mikki crumpled the paper and threw it away.
******************************************************************************************
PART 4:
Sandra Marie paced angrily under the willow tree.
"How could you not let me write to her?!? What is the MATTER with you?!?"
Michael ran his fingers through his hair and sighed.
"It wasn't the right time, Sandra."
"How could it not be the right time? She wanted to talk! She wrote to us!"
"She isn't ready." Michael sat on the grass, trying to remain calm.
"Not ready? Not READY?!? Who made you king of the world?!" Michael jumped to his feet in anger.
"SHE did, remember? The night YOU tried to talk control, or have you forgotten what happened the night YOU decided YOU knew what was best? She made ME to stop YOU from getting HER killed!" Sandra's face reddened with shame as he spoke. Michael was rarely harsh with anyone, so when he was, it hurt. Michael saw, and his face softened.
A single tear ran down Sandra's face.
"I just want to talk to her, Mike. Really talk to her." Her voice broke, and Michael wrapped his arms around her.
"I know. I do too. Soon, Sandra. I promise, we will talk to her soon."
-
From behind the willow tree, Kevin and Daniel watched the Big Ones arguing.
"Why them yellin, Kevvy?" Kevin put a hand on his twin brother's arm.
"I don't know. But thew stoppin now."
"We gonna talk to Mikki soon?"
"I hope so. Maybe she gonna let us come out to pway wif the kitties."
"Ya!" Daniel grinned and poked Kevin's arm, the topic at hand quickly forgotten as was a common occurence among the small boys. "You'we it!" He shrieked, and ran off with Kevin laughing and chasing right on his tail.
-
Mikki woke in a cold sweat, her hands shaking. The room was empty and dark. She reached for the light, but found the bulb had blown out. Her stomach turned into a lump of fear as she raggedly drew her breath.
She whispered into the darkness, "If there really is anyone in there, now would be a good time to talk to me. Hello?"
No one answered
-
Sandra looked hopefully to Michael.
"Not yet." He said, "I'm just going to pull her back inside now and let her rest. Go wait for her in the garden, she'll think she's dreaming."
"Ok." Sandra sighed and headed towards the willow tree.
"And, Sandra?"
"Yes?"
"I'll be close enough to hear you. Don't do anything rash."
"Michael, it's me." Sandra laughed and walked away.
"That's what I'm afraid of." Michael mumbled before focusing all his attention to the heavy task of pulling Mikki inside against her will.
**********************************************************************
(Ok, so that's all I have so far. Hopefully there will be another installment soon, I am very interested in continuing this story.)
User Reviews
Submitted by lojope (user info) at 2005-05-04 15:15:17 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Haha. Sorry, dear. 5 months? Really? That IS a long time.
Anyway, I figured I was better off reposting the first 4 parts and explaining the name change, than just randomly coming out with a Part 5 with no beginning. Plus, only about 6 people actually read these 4 parts the last time, so I figured it wasn't going to be a repeat for too many people.
Don't worry, part 5 is in editing right now. I need to re-work a few paragraphs and scan for and delete any "single tear" lines so I can earn my Apollo +2. :o)
Submitted by JohnGalt (user info) at 2005-05-04 08:53:09 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Continuing would be nice. It's been a 5 month wait and all we get is the first 4 again? On to part 5 already.
Submitted by ruthless (user info) at 2005-05-02 14:04:02 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by lojope (user info) at 2005-05-02 13:09:04 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
I know you hate that Apollo, but it was actually a necesary evil in this case. Sandra almost never actually cries, she's too tough for that, at least she thinks she is. Occasionally a tear or two eke their way out, but little else. This becomes important later on, which is why I had to set the stage for it now.
Submitted by apollo88 (user info) at 2005-05-02 11:27:28 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
Was going to be a plus two for sheer inventiveness up until....
"""A single tear ran down Sandra's face. """
Don't use that line again, ever. PLEASE?
Submitted by choc_bongo (user info) at 2005-05-02 10:52:11 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Nice change in Part 2. Wish I'd read it in installments. I'll be looking out for the next one...
Submitted by lojope (user info) at 2005-05-02 09:52:00 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
I don't remember you rating it the last time, Remission, so what do you care? Besides, I explained the repost anyway.
Submitted by Remission (user info) at 2005-05-01 21:32:28 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Thank you for posting this... again...
Submitted by Aiya (user info) at 2005-05-01 16:13:50 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I didn't plan on reading it all right now, but I couldn't stop.
This is excellent.
Submitted by MANICMOTHER (user info) at 2005-05-01 15:50:06 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
WOW!
Submitted by bush_for_god (user info) at 2005-05-01 14:54:03 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
AWESOME
Submitted by Renata (user info) at 2005-05-01 14:19:41 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
By the way, this is the alter this story first started to appear under, in case you were curious.