[open] Locked within a room of memory, locked up away with no light of day

[powerdealer]

Seth sits in his bed, back against the wall, facing the door.

This is not his current room. No trace of the sleek, clean style he favours. No decorations, no furniture at all except for the bed. The walls are brick and stone, the floor dirty cement, the air musty and heavy, with just a hint of smell from the sewers coming from the toilet in the corner. There's a constricting feeling of anxiety and dread, his attentions focused on the heavy, bolted door.

There used to be books and writing equipment at least, but they took that away before they returned him here. They even took away his nice blanket. It's funny the simple things you get attached to when there's nothing else.

Any moment now, he knows, one of the rebels will come through that door and discipline him. Tell him he'll do as they say, or else. He wonders what it is he did this time. There's been quite a few times over the more than three months they kept him here that he didn't want to do what they told him to.

He's had this dream before. He doesn't quite know it's a dream yet, but it'll soon come to him. And while it's not a nightmare that makes him wake with a start and a strangled scream, it's the sort that weighs heavily on him the entire following day, like a weight on his chest, making it hard to breathe, making any small room feel like a trap.

The door opens, and someone steps in, the door closing heavily behind them.

[This is a recurring dream for Seth, so he can have a different visitor on different nights. If you tag in, merely pick a date.]

Comments

[powerdealer]

"Sorry I dragged you into my nightmare," he answers with a half-shrug. It's not the first time, so he assumes that's what happened. It just... got a lot worse than it usually does, that much is right.

He gives a nod in response to the question. Well. He's not really, but it's not Johnny's fault, nor is there much he can do about it.

He sighs. "What the hell was that place? You seemed like you knew it," he asks. Considering Johnny knows (or at least has enough information to work it out) the circumstances of Seth's bits of the dream.

[johnny_truant]

Johnny shakes his head. "I don't know how to explain," he mutters. "We'll get drunk again soon, and I can tell you the whole fun story, and then you can take this fucking power out of me. How about that?"

It's blunt, but he's exhausted, and he has no energy to go into his messy internal life while they're both half-naked and recovering from being eaten by zombies. Gentler, he adds, "You sure you're okay?"

There's an undertone of don't go in there and shoot up, but he's not willing to say it out loud.

[powerdealer]

"Sounds good," he agrees. He doesn't think he's up for hearing the whole fun story at the moment anyway, so probably for the best. It currently doesn't occur to him that the story and the power are connected, just that it something he wants rid off. If he were more awake, he might've connected the dots.

"Peachy," he echoes from earlier, but this time there's a bit of a smile to go with it to show he's joking. "I'm gonna go take a shower, I feel gross." Some of his hair is plastered to his forehead from waking up all clammy.

[johnny_truant]

"Right," says Johnny, only enough energy to muster mild suspicion. He turns back to his apartment. "Sweet dreams."

[powerdealer]

"Yeah, you too," he answers, though he doubts he'll get to sleep anytime soon to have any dreams at all.

He's just about to turn back into his apartment when he notices the scars on Johnny's back, though for a brief moment he thinks he's just imagining things after that dream. But no, they're faint, but there.

"Johnny?" he asks before he can stop himself.

[johnny_truant]

"Yeah?" Johnny turns back, squinting at him, sleepy and confused.

[powerdealer]

"That thing... That thing that clawed you," he says, frowning and not entirely sure if he's prying. "Did that really happen?"

[johnny_truant]

Johnny blinks at him. Hadn't they just agreed they wouldn't get into this now? What's he even - reflexively, Johnny moves his hand to the back of his neck, tracing the scar there. It's too small, and he's hair's gotten too long, for Seth to possibly have seen it now. So what's he -

Oh. Oh, fuck. He's almost forgotten about them, the scars on his back. Gabe's never once asked about them. He doesn't know where they came from.

"Sort of," he says. "But not like that." He stands stiffly, not sure how to explain without going further into it.

[powerdealer]

Seth watches him, a little worried what the poor kid must've gone through, not just with that, but with everything.

"Right," he answers after a few moments. "Sorry," he adds, remembering that even if Johnny might be inclined to share sometime, that time is definitely not now.

He shakes his head a bit in a 'never mind' way, and finally heads back into his apartment. "Night."