#howihavefallen

Ziva was woken, like she was every day, by the nurse at her door. She got up, corrected the nurse when she (once again) called her by the wrong name, took her pills, and got dressed. The thing about being in a mental hospital was that the routine was good for most patients. Ziva, it drove her up the wall. She hated routine. 

She walked into the common room, where all the patients quietly played around with a few bored games or chatted quietly. It felt like a funeral and, in a way, it was one. For sanity, at least. Ziva was sitting on a table by herself, as she always did, when the door opened. She looked up and spotted someone new. The nurses on either side of the raven-haired man made the hair on Ziva’s neck stand on end. They left eventually, leaving the man by himself. Olivia stood fluidly, a few of the other patients glancing at her nervously. She walked over to the new man and guided him to the edge of the room, careful not to touch him.

Olivia looked at him, tilting her head a bit. “Hello. What’s your name?” she asked, almost whispering. 

continued from here

| @howihavefallen |

Azriel, or Shepard, as she now went by, was wandering around, like she did from time to time. It helped her relax and get her mind off of things, plus she got to cause more mischief than normal.

She was walking down the street when she felt a familliar presence. Looking around, she finally spotted someone she had hoped to never see again. Castiel. But there was something different about him. She peered closer before appearing before him in a flutter of wings.

She couldn’t remember when everything went wrong. It was slow at first, but soon everything around her was dying. She tried going to deeper water, but everything was traveling so fast. She could feel herself getting weaker and soon found herself following the water highways. As she swam the waters she unknowing was getting closer to land instead of away.  By the time she realized she was in fresh water inland in was to late. She barely had any strength so she ended up just drifting until she washed up on shore. Drifting in and out of consciousness she let out a groan when she heard a unfamiliar noise. Her eyes fluttered open watching as a creature got closer trembling in fear. She could barely defend herself in the water at the moment, on land she was helpless. A weak whimper came from her as she pushed herself up on her arms gazing up at him with fear filled eyes. Was this a human? She had heard so many horrible things about them. She tried pushing herself back towards the water but just collapsed to the ground again.

Stuart couldn’t explain what had fallen upon the world... Nor was he blind. He had witnessed the decline with the rest of them. The disasters, the massacres, they’d taken their tole. He’d lost loved ones-- he’d lost contact-- yet miraculously, he'd remained alive. Was that lucky? He hadn’t decided. 

Camp Chitaqua was a dusty, gray oasis. Covered in dirt himself, with his muscles on fire from their strain, he couldn’t believe his eyes. Upon arrival he collapsed to the first available bed and slept for a day. No one disturbed him, and when he was ready, he was shown to the slop house. There he was fed. The last stop was one of hygiene. Stuart showered, and the feeling of hot water on his skin nearly broke him. For the first time in years he wept like a baby, ignoring the other blokes queued up for the latrine. 

With those formalities sated there wasn’t much left to do. He began to walk the premises. Test the borders. It was the noises that attracted him, very familiar, unapologetic noises issuing from of one the shack-cabins lining the property. Apparently, his timing was off. A small line of people were stepping down from the little porch-- ordered pattern, disordered appearance. He recognized the state. It was a pleasure he hadn’t had time to indulge in while fleeing for his life, and on another day the sight would have given him some amusement. Either way, this, whatever this was, demanded a closer examination. 

Stuart ducked through a beaded curtain, and took a look around. He wasn’t sure of what he'd find.