StV: Awake Again, part two

Julie drank some water after she finished crying, and then drifted back off to sleep.

She woke up hungry and still scared, but the nausea had faded and she felt strong again. That should have made the whole situation easier to take, but it didn't. Had she really agreed to come here? Even for the sake of helping the Prophet? Did she even recognize herself anymore?

A red-haired woman was scrolling through a news site on a computer screen, sitting in a comfortable-looking chair with her back to Julie. 

Julie shifted her weight, trying to get a feel for how well she could move, then drew back. Not well, she thought. However much better she felt, she was still sleep-stupid and slow. The back of her right shoulder throbbed with a dull, steady ache.

The woman heard the movements and turned around, meeting her eyes with a friendly smile. "Awake again?" she asked.

Julie hesitated, then nodded. "Who are you?" She coughed and cleared her throat, but the woman answered anyway. 

"Ms. Brigham," she said. "Glimmer stayed with you as long as she could, but we all have to sleep sometime. She said you'd be thirsty when you woke up, and you'd probably want a restroom."

"Um," said Julie. Both those things were true. "Yes, I could use..." 

The woman rose, turned, and approached, settling herself beside the bed. "Do you think you can sit up?"

"Maybe," said Julie, and the woman held out her hand. 

Julie took it and pulled herself upright. The room kind of lurched around her, but it didn't start spinning and once she was upright her head felt clearer.  

"Which first?" asked the red-haired woman. "Water, or bathroom?"

Sitting up had very definitely settled that question. "Bathroom," Julie told her.

Challenge: Characters to Avoid

(This post is part of the Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge. You can find links to other writers' answers over at Long and Short Reviews. I kind of fell off last year, so we'll see how I do with it this year.)

Prompt: Characters I never want to meet...

I mean, let's just start with Hannibal Lecter. I don't think I'd be a likely victim of his -- don't fit the profile -- but who really wants to find that out? I like my liver right where it is. 

I'll just follow that one up with the Witch-king of Angmar. I'm both mortal and man, so I have exactly zero chance of killing him, and unless maybe we've negotiated a nice, fawning interview for Middle Earth News Network there's a pretty decent chance that he kills me very thoroughly, probably without even really noticing. 

Freddy Krueger might find me to be surprisingly difficult prey; I've always had interestingly narrative dreams, and frequently with pretty decent control over the direction of events. But, again, why would I want to risk it? Pass. 

Brooke Augustine is one of the most viciously cruel villains ever written; as a non-super-powered civilian, I wouldn't ever want to come to her attention, let alone meet her in person. Keep her and the D.U.P. far, far away from me.

StV: Awake Again, part one

Julie snapped awake again, unsure of where she was or what had just happened. This was becoming a little too much of a habit. She was... lying on a bed? Still dressed, but with her shoes off; still in the form of a deviant; more than a little nauseated. 

She rolled over on her side, and did her best to settle her breathing. She really didn't want to throw up.

"How are you feeling?" asked a gentle voice from behind her. 

"Bad," she said. 

The unseen voice chuckled. It was a woman's voice, Julie thought, soft and calming. "You got hit with a pretty big dose of tranquilizers. Whoever was after you wasn't being very careful. Do you know who they were?"

"No. No, I--" She cut off then, as fear shivered through her. Several fears, and she couldn't separate them. The people hunting her were supposed to be faking it, but her body had lost track of the distinction even before one of them shot her. Now she was presumably in a school full of the Deviant and Damned -- and since the woman hadn't commented on her appearance, she probably was -- which was terrifying in its own way. What if they realized she wasn't really one of them? What if they already knew?

"Hey. Hey, it's okay. You're safe now." The woman came around into her field of view and squatted down in front of her. Her skin and eyes alike were very dark brown, and she had a variety of colorful beads woven into the tight black braids of her hair. Slowly, carefully, the woman reached out and put a hand on Julie's shoulder. 

Julie started to sob. It would been perfect if she'd been acting -- her mother would be have been so proud -- but no, she was lying on the bed, half-sick and ugly-crying helplessly. Oh God, I'm so bad at this... 

The thought only made her cry harder.