Alexia's Lullaby [open]

[craaazyisland]

I will make you great.

I will make you powerful.

Steve woke up in a cold sweat, but it was only cold for a moment. Then his body filled with heat, pulsing and surging and roaring in his head. He exhaled a breath he couldn't remember holding, then gasped for more.

The walls of his room were closing in on him. The lights were flickering and the air grew thicker and thicker. He stumbled to his feet and headed towards the door, clutching a hand to his forehead.

You are lucky to bask in my presence. You are lucky to have survived. You will be the one to carry on my legacy.

His head pounded as he stumbled down the hall. The whole crew quarters hallway was getting smaller now, smaller and darker, hotter and hotter. He had to get out before she reached him. He could hear her getting louder until it sounded like she was echoing in his ear, that voice that sent chills down his spine and made him grit his teeth. "Shut up, you bitch... shut up!"

I will raise you above the level of the slime who populate this world. I will give you the purpose you were born to fulfill.

I will give you the privilege of serving me, Mister 267.

Her laughter rang out and he was trapped in that cell again, stumbling up against the cold brick wall. He yelled out in shock and slammed his fists against the door hard enough to sting. "No! NO! NOO!"

Of course, as soon as he'd likely woken anybody sleeping behind the door he was banging on, it all faded and he was left staring blankly down the crew quarter hallway.

[ooc: Whose door is it? I don't know, but whoever you are, you've been awoken by a sleepwalking delirious teenager. Whoops. So much for a good night's sleep...]

Comments

[ghost-bait.livejournal.com]

Miku had been between falling asleep and being awake when the frightful pounding woke her up. The little, ungainly shriek she let out was hardly fitting, and she reached for her robe with one hand.

She was almostnearlysure that everyone who had been sickened earlier were well now. Still, if someone were out there... and it sounded like Steve...

Well, if it was him, there was absolutely no question in her mind that she needed to be there for him immediately. Miku pulled on her robe and hurried to the door, watching it slide open with a sense of impatience. "Steve? Steve, you scared me. What's the matter?"

[craaazyisland]

By the time the door slid open, Steve had woken up. In fact, he couldn't remember why he was standing here at all.

He stared blankly at Miku for a moment, looking absolutely baffled. "Miku?" he murmured. "What... what are you talking about?"

[ghost-bait.livejournal.com]

"You were pounding on my door and screaming," Miku pursed her lips and stood away, holding out her hand for his. "Come in, sit down. You look terrible." Her room was just as it usually was; neat, and effectively girly for all one could make it look.

[craaazyisland]

"No I-" Well, honestly, he had no idea what he was doing. Or why he was standing here in front of her room, or why his throat was hoarse, or why he was sweating like he'd been running in a marathon. But he did feel feverish and a little dizzy, so he let her lead him in.

"What happened?" he asked again, almost like he was half-asleep. "I don't..."

[ghost-bait.livejournal.com]

"Shh, it's all right," Miku assured him. "Maybe it was just a bad dream." Of course, he'd never sleepwalked before, so that was a whole new worry. Miku wondered for a moment if maybe she should tell Dr. Sera of this new, random development.

She lead him to her bed and sat him down on it gently, then reached for the handkerchief and the bottle of water at her bedside and wiped at his face. "You look really pale, though..." And warm. The heat was rolling off him even warmer than usual. She offered the water to him next. "Here, drink this."

[craaazyisland]

Steve groaned a little bit as she wiped his face, the water a huge contrast to how hot he felt. It felt good, though, and seemed to wipe away some of the fog. He leaned over to the side like he was halfway to lying down-- and looked like he might fall over at that.

"I'm fine," he murmured, reaching to hold her hand. "I-I just... I must've had a nightmare."

[ghost-bait.livejournal.com]

"You don't look fine," she chided gently, and helped him lie down. He had been half way there, already, after all. And it took her a minute to lift his legs onto the bed, and smooth the coverlet out before sitting beside him. "Do you remember it?"

Miku brushed his hair from his face again and tried her best to not sound as worried as she felt.

[andyallgrownup.livejournal.com]

Andy sighed, getting out of his bed as he heard the banging on his door. "What is it!?" he shouted, moving to the door so it could open and show him who was keeping him from sleeping.

[craaazyisland]

It was a very clueless-looking teenage boy right about Andy's age.

Steve stared at him for a moment, then seemed to snap out of whatever little state he was in. "... who are you?" he asked. "What...?"

[andyallgrownup.livejournal.com]

Andy stared. "Name's Andy. Who are you and why were you knocking on my door?"

[craaazyisland]

"Steve," Steve mumbled, very distracted as he tried to remember the answer to that second one.

"I... Sorry," he said quickly. "I didn't mean to."

[andyallgrownup.livejournal.com]

Andy sighed. "You alright?" he asked. Not knowing why he was here probably wasn't a good thing.

[craaazyisland]

"Yeah, I'm fine," Steve replied, rubbing his head. And he didn't exactly look fine, but he was very insistent. "I think I was just... sleepwalking or something."

[silverduelist]

Being so very used to startled awakenings, and practiced in the art of instant up-and-outness from sudden emergencies on the battlefield, Yzak of course assumed the worst when it came to frantic door-knocking. So once he snapped awake, hearing the banging and the yelling, up he jumped, ready to sprint his ass to the hangar and launch into battle.

--and he stopped short when the door opened. "What--?!"

[craaazyisland]

The boy staring back at him looked just as confused. Steve looked at him silently and his face sunk into confusion. He blinked a few times.

"Huh...?"

[silverduelist]

"What are you yelling and banging about? Did something happen?"

With a slight tone of urgency, Yzak poked his head out into the hallway and looked around, almost expecting a full on ruckus.

[craaazyisland]

It was apparent on the kid's face he had absolutely no idea what had just happened. He stared at Yzak, nearly with horror, and frowned.

"I... I don't know," he murmured. "I'm sorry..."

[silverduelist]

In turn, Yzak twisted his own face up in confusion. Well, this was just weird. And the way the kid was reacting ... it wasn't just an act.

"Then why were you doing that?" A nightmare? After the virus that had just hit, maybe such strange behavior had something to do with that?

[craaazyisland]

"I don't know!" he said defensively, though he looked more frightened than actually angry. "I- I didn't mean to, okay? I'm sorry I woke you up. It's nothing."

[riseupnchargem.livejournal.com]

It was probably against his better judgment that Jamie'd opened his door after being startled out of an exhausted sleep , but here he was, staring muzzily at the person on the other side. It took a moment for it to sink in who the guy was: the kid whose face had bled fire when Jamie'd picked a fight with him.

"Oh god. Oh crap." He hadn't exactly intended to say what he was thinking out loud, but, well, his brain wasn't quite firing on all cylinders yet.

[craaazyisland]

Neither was Steve's, apparently.

"What...?" He stared at Jamie, looking absolutely baffled. "What's going on?"

[riseupnchargem.livejournal.com]

This was not the behavior of a man who'd come to beat the daylights out of him, unless it was just some cunning plan to lull Jamie into a false sense of security; nonetheless Jamie was maintaining the somewhat hunched, apprehensive posture of someone anticipating a pummeling, regarding Steve with half-awake wariness and befuddlement.

"...I have no idea," he managed in response to Steve's question. "You were kind of...pounding on the door. And yelling."

[craaazyisland]

"I... I was?" Steve looked horrified at the very notion, but from the way his throat was hoarse and his fists were stinging, he supposed it wasn't untrue.

"I-I'm really sorry," he said quickly, turning the same shade of red as his hair. "I didn't mean to."

[riseupnchargem.livejournal.com]

Jamie shook his head. "No! No. It's okay, really. Don't worry about it." He fidgeted, still eying the other teen apprehensively. "Uhm. Everything...okay?"

[craaazyisland]

"Yeah," he insisted. "I'm fine. I was just... must have been sleepwalking or something."

He had already recognized the other boy, but didn't really want to break this awkward with the awkward from the other day. It was better than continuing this particular conversation, though. "You're that guy from the other day," he said, somewhat out of left field. "You feel better now?"