Who: Kitty Pryde What: Metaphoric nightmares are a bitch! (Insomnia is her friend) When: The night after she returns to the institute Where: In her mind Rating/Warnings: Implied violence and bloody imagery Status: Closed | Complete
Everything is eerily dark and her footsteps echo in her ears as she walks through a familiar hallway. She is in her childhood home and something tells her that she has been here before. Not in the house because obviously she has been in the house, but in the past. She can feel it in her bones, this particular day has happened before.
Rounding the corner, she comes to an abrupt halt when she sees her six year old self staring at her intently.
"What are you doing here," the child asks curiously. "You shouldn't be here. He's coming."
"I think I was brought here, to see something."
"You'll regret this," the smaller version of herself replies in a cold tone before. "You never listen. You always come. You shouldn't do this to us..."
"What do you mean? I don't understand..."
With a tiny smirk, the little girl disappears into the wall behind her. "Catch me if you can!" The voice echoes through the house, and Kitty immediately begins playing her favorite game.
"Come out, come out where ever you are!"
The sun is now streaming through the windows as she peeks around corners looking for the girl. Younger Kitty is better at this game than she is, but she will find her...eventually. Failure is not an option. Every puzzle has a solution and she is determined to solve this one.
A little laugh seems to come from above and she smirks triumphantly.
"Little me?"
Dragging a chair over to the counter, she climbs up onto it and opens the cabinets one by one. Her eyes blink after she checks them all, because she swears the laughter came from inside. A grumble escapes her lips and she climbs down to survey the rest of the room.
"Can't find me, Kitty!"
Whipping around, she barely catches a glimpse of her as she dashes around the corner. The race is on now as she chases her around the house, her body constantly a hairs breath out of her reach.
"No fair! I had you!"
"No you didn't! No you didn't!"
"Did to!"
"Can't see me. Can't find me. Can't catch me. I’m better at this game!"
The six year old barely gets the word 'game' out of her mouth before Kitty's arms wrap around her from behind. The instant she touches her, the room begins to spin. It’s spinning so fast she holds onto her tighter and feels if she might be sick from it.
"What is happening?"
"I'm losing."
Even with her eyes closed, she can see the walls of their house melting away, leaving a dark a dank room behind. Kitty knows this place, she’s been here before but her mind won't wrap completely around what is happening. Shivering, she clings tighter to her younger self until a gut wrenching cry escapes the girl's lips.
Immediately withdrawing her arms, she gasps as the girl crumples to the ground. The sound her small frame makes as it hits the ground is so loud it pierces her ears. It’s an unmistakable popping noise, that causes her to cover her ears and scream-
"NO!"
Her hands feel warm and sticky against her face and it isn't until she pulls them away that she realizes why. The scent of the liquid on her hands makes her stomach churn, but all she can think about is getting to her other self...she needs to get to her...needs to help her. Somehow she forces herself to crawl across the floor, her arms and legs sliding as she moves. It's in this moment she realizes she isn't moving at all- she's simply slipping around in one place...in the blood. In the girl's blood.
The laugh she hears now, is neither playful or joyous. There is something decidedly sadistic behind it.
"No! No! No! No! Stop! Go away! Leave us alone!"
Walls begin to melt again, and she curls in on herself praying for it to stop as the spinning begins. When she opens her eyes, the girl is gone and she is standing in an unfamiliar room. The sun is no longer shining through the windows and she wonders if she fell asleep. Looking around, she swallows hard.
"Little me?"
"I lost..."
She opens her mouth to speak, but nothing comes out.
"Can't catch me..."
She tries to move but can't.
"Can't find me...I lost. Can't help me win!"
She stands helpless her eyes wide and panicked.
"Can't help him either..."
Suddenly her father is standing in front of her. He smiles at her the way he always does and lifts his arms slowly, beckoning her to come to him. She wants to yell for him, to run to him...but there isn't enough time.
The laughter begins again and the popping noise floods her ears as Carmen Pryde topples forward...
"DADDY" Kitty shot straight up out of bed, her entire body shaking long after the water has been splashed onto her face. She won't return to the claustrophobic blankets draped over her bed. No. She'll spend another night roaming the grounds and willing the images in her mind to disappear.