We have the answer to all your fears; it's short, it's simple, it's crystal clear

[allucinator]

Date & Time: Night of June 1st!
Location: Apartment unit 706
Characters: Jack Kelly; Galadriel
Summary: Jack has PTSD; thank god someone's there to wake him up.
Warnings: References to torture.

[Night. It's always night here; even when the sunlight manages to slip in through the barred windows, it's a gloomy sunlight, highlighting the darkness, giving shape to the rot and gloom, instead of illuminating it. Screams echo all around him, putting him on edge; screams and pleas and whimpers, please oh please someone help me please oh please anyone I need someone oh god help me, but he can't, he has to keep going.

On and on and on, until he's at a door, until he's suddenly in a room, holding a knife over that poor boy's face, until he's slipping the knife forward (please oh please don't oh god someone help oh god), until he's slicing into his flesh, cutting him open, splitting him like a piece of fruit, and the blood wells up, up and over his face, over Jack's hands, spilling over the chair, over his feet, covering him, choking him, god, he can't breathe for the stuff, and all the while the screams, and now there's the smell of smoke, of fire, fire, he's burning, he has that tinny taste in his mouth and he's burning and there's flames all around and that laughter, rising above the screams, haunting and high-pitched and familiar, "Oh Jacky what have you gotten yourself into now--"]

Oh god please oh god no don't don't I'm sorry please--

[It's a nearly inhuman shriek, a terrified scream, interspersed with pleading words. Jack thrashes on his bed, limbs flailing wildly, striking out at invisible foes.]

Comments

[inafadingcrown]

[He didn't wake her; she had never slept. Still, the screams do give her a start- just enough for her to blotch the ink on what she's writing. There's a second's pause before she remembers and then she's up, tossing a robe over her nightdress and making her way out into the common room and to Jack's door.

She knocks first, loudly and insistently, and speaks gently but firmly through the door.]

Jack.