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Fictober 2024 14: That's not the point
Megara sighed and ran her fingers through her pale blue mane of hair. Leaning back behind her desk, the keeper of Limbo rubbed at her eyes. It was going to be another one of those days.
“Alright then, Mr. Englund.”
The short, skinny man across from her clutched the brim of his battered fedora in his hands. His head bobbed up and down on his slender neck as he nodded his head. “Uh.. J.. Jackie.. please.. call me Jackie.”
She wrinkled her nose a bit, sighing. “Alright then, Jackie. If that makes you more comfortable. Let's see why you're here instead of Mr. Stillwinter's office.”
She opened his file and almost immediately felt ill. The pictures that scattered across her desk, and the nightmarish accounts of the things this man had done. The express elevator straight down seemed to be a given. She gritted her teeth a little, flickers of blue flames seemed to ignite within her hair as she thought that Nathan had dumped another real creep like Barkridge on her again.
She was about to storm right over to his office as she turned the final page and saw a bright red sheet of paper with two seals stamped at the bottom, one a glimmering gold and the other so black it looked like it was burned into the paper. Large font block text at the top of the sheet read “EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCE: POSSIBLE POSSESSION”
Giving a groan, the flames fizzling out, she started reading over the information on the final sheet and frowned. Yes, it was cut and dried, he wasn't meant for Nathan at all, this fell squarely in her department.
“Okay, so. You've done some pretty.. awful things, Mis.. er.. Jackie.”
He looked down at his hands, gripping his hat even tighter. He looked lost, almost child-like. She frowned even harder, her brow furrowed as this wasn't going to be easy, especially with the big bosses up top and below getting personally involved.
His voice cracked as he spoke again, “Y.. Yes ma'am. I did awful, awful things. I.. I just couldn't take it anymore. The nightmares. I couldn't sleep, I couldn't eat, I felt like I was going crazy, or dying.. maybe both.”
She nodded, looking over earlier parts of his file. “I see that, brought on by the sudden traumatic loss of both parents. You suffered with it nearly your entire life.”
“Yes, ma'am.”
She stood up and started pacing behind her desk. Her comfortable flats barely made a sound on the carpeted floor as she folded her hands behind her back as she walked.
“It says here you started hearing voices in your head.”
“N.. no ma'am.”
She blinked, stopping at that, “No?”
He nodded again, his close-cropped red hair almost seeming to shimmer in the florescent light from overhead. “Not voices, just one voice. Fred.”
“Fred.. Fred Krueger?”
“Yeah, that's him. Told me to do things to make people remember him. Awful things.”
She nodded to herself, settling back down in her chair. She'd dealt with this asshole before.
“Before he got into your head, it shows your record was pretty much spotless. No sins, no violence, a lot of good deeds. You were on your way up, but now.” She sighed. “Look, no two ways about it, this is going to take a long time to sort out. In the meantime I have to place you into Limbo.”
He frowned, biting his bottom lip. “I really am dead, huh?”
“I'm afraid so. But, Limbo shouldn't be so bad. It's like falling asleep for a while and we'll wake you up once everything's been worked out.”
The man shivered in his seat. “Will I dream?”
“Really, Jackie, that's not the point...”
His head suddenly snapped up as he barked out at her, “It's the only point that matter to me!” He looked angry, hurt, and sad all at the same time. His pain seemed to lash out at her, causing her to scoot back in her seat.
She took a deep breath. She was ready just banish him and be done with it, powers that be, be damned. Instead, she calmed herself. Standing and walking over beside him. She gripped his arm with surprising strength, helping him to his feet and leading him towards a door that Jackie swore hadn't been there a moment before.
It was large and vault-like with a huge round handle like a steering wheel to open it. Frost covered the surface, water vapor rolling down towards the floor and forming a low mist that lapped at his work boots. She slowly opened the door into darkness and guided the man inside. As soon as he passed the threshold, he started to float in the void, slowly curling up and closing his eyes.
“No dreams, Jackie. I promise.”
“Alright then, Mr. Englund.”
The short, skinny man across from her clutched the brim of his battered fedora in his hands. His head bobbed up and down on his slender neck as he nodded his head. “Uh.. J.. Jackie.. please.. call me Jackie.”
She wrinkled her nose a bit, sighing. “Alright then, Jackie. If that makes you more comfortable. Let's see why you're here instead of Mr. Stillwinter's office.”
She opened his file and almost immediately felt ill. The pictures that scattered across her desk, and the nightmarish accounts of the things this man had done. The express elevator straight down seemed to be a given. She gritted her teeth a little, flickers of blue flames seemed to ignite within her hair as she thought that Nathan had dumped another real creep like Barkridge on her again.
She was about to storm right over to his office as she turned the final page and saw a bright red sheet of paper with two seals stamped at the bottom, one a glimmering gold and the other so black it looked like it was burned into the paper. Large font block text at the top of the sheet read “EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCE: POSSIBLE POSSESSION”
Giving a groan, the flames fizzling out, she started reading over the information on the final sheet and frowned. Yes, it was cut and dried, he wasn't meant for Nathan at all, this fell squarely in her department.
“Okay, so. You've done some pretty.. awful things, Mis.. er.. Jackie.”
He looked down at his hands, gripping his hat even tighter. He looked lost, almost child-like. She frowned even harder, her brow furrowed as this wasn't going to be easy, especially with the big bosses up top and below getting personally involved.
His voice cracked as he spoke again, “Y.. Yes ma'am. I did awful, awful things. I.. I just couldn't take it anymore. The nightmares. I couldn't sleep, I couldn't eat, I felt like I was going crazy, or dying.. maybe both.”
She nodded, looking over earlier parts of his file. “I see that, brought on by the sudden traumatic loss of both parents. You suffered with it nearly your entire life.”
“Yes, ma'am.”
She stood up and started pacing behind her desk. Her comfortable flats barely made a sound on the carpeted floor as she folded her hands behind her back as she walked.
“It says here you started hearing voices in your head.”
“N.. no ma'am.”
She blinked, stopping at that, “No?”
He nodded again, his close-cropped red hair almost seeming to shimmer in the florescent light from overhead. “Not voices, just one voice. Fred.”
“Fred.. Fred Krueger?”
“Yeah, that's him. Told me to do things to make people remember him. Awful things.”
She nodded to herself, settling back down in her chair. She'd dealt with this asshole before.
“Before he got into your head, it shows your record was pretty much spotless. No sins, no violence, a lot of good deeds. You were on your way up, but now.” She sighed. “Look, no two ways about it, this is going to take a long time to sort out. In the meantime I have to place you into Limbo.”
He frowned, biting his bottom lip. “I really am dead, huh?”
“I'm afraid so. But, Limbo shouldn't be so bad. It's like falling asleep for a while and we'll wake you up once everything's been worked out.”
The man shivered in his seat. “Will I dream?”
“Really, Jackie, that's not the point...”
His head suddenly snapped up as he barked out at her, “It's the only point that matter to me!” He looked angry, hurt, and sad all at the same time. His pain seemed to lash out at her, causing her to scoot back in her seat.
She took a deep breath. She was ready just banish him and be done with it, powers that be, be damned. Instead, she calmed herself. Standing and walking over beside him. She gripped his arm with surprising strength, helping him to his feet and leading him towards a door that Jackie swore hadn't been there a moment before.
It was large and vault-like with a huge round handle like a steering wheel to open it. Frost covered the surface, water vapor rolling down towards the floor and forming a low mist that lapped at his work boots. She slowly opened the door into darkness and guided the man inside. As soon as he passed the threshold, he started to float in the void, slowly curling up and closing his eyes.
“No dreams, Jackie. I promise.”
Category Story / All
Species Unspecified / Any
Size 120 x 113px
File Size 58.9 kB
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