#axisii

barry is a good guy. at least he likes to think so; walks his little sister to school, always cooks dinner for his mom on saturdays, had a job since he was thirteen to help with bills around the house (paper rounds, pizza boy, cleaning pools, that kinda stuff). barry believes in karma and past lives. barry doesn’t know why or what bad thing he did leads some complete whackjob to hold a gun to a strangers head and say:  “  you’re going to deliver a message for me, barry, or i’m going to blow this guy’s brains across the pavement.  “

barry cares about the environment, carbon emissions and the state of world affairs. he volunteers at shelters feeding soup to the homeless. the dude with a gun to his head? looks fucking terrified, and there isn’t a shadow of hesitation in the woman who holds him RANSOM. barry nods. 

             barry winds up being led to a street corner with an earpiece and the same cutesy but sinister voice feeding instructions. he walks to the corner and waits for another woman, her picture white knuckled in his slightly shaking hands, and when he sees her, sets off after her. 

          “  doctor grey. this is a very pleasant surprise.  “

( change of meds, change of doctor –––– carmichael is her in-house therapist, but no longer presiding physician. it’s a nice CHANGE of pace these days but root has much bigger plans, and agent shaw’s presence throws a few things off kilter. at least –– for now. )

           all in all, this is by far the absolute worst thing they could have possibly done to her: root is not built PRISON, for confinement of any type. ( the cage had been bad enough. days bleeding into days bleeding into days without any other voice than harold’s - it hadn’t been the lack of contact with the machine, devastating though it was, but the lack of fresh air and otherness. it had been frustrating and undignified. this place? it’s fucking humiliating. ) she slides into a seat across from shaw in the yard (she watched shawshank as precursor research). 

( shaw is the one shining beacon and even that’s tenuous; the guards call her the crazy deaf chick constantly talking to herself and roll their eyes, file their reports, call her stupid and whacked - as if they have the audacity to believe themselves better, smarter - and she’s reminded of a less self aware lionel fusco. she HATES THEM. and every single person in it. it’s a matter of time until someone takes notice and packs her off to psych and if they do, it’s game over. )