"I am not myself, you see?"

Posted on Sun Dec 14th, 2014 @ 9:52am by Lieutenant JG Heather Quinn

810 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: What Dreams May Come
Location: Lt. Quinn's Quarters
Timeline: Shortly after Do You See What I See?

ON:

Thinking over the past few days events, Heather Quinn couldn't quite place the uneasy feeling she'd been experiencing. Maybe it had to do with the nightmares she'd been having since they'd entered the cloud. She currently was in her bedroom, slipping into her pale green-colored, lace-trimmed, floor-length nightgown. Once finished, she began brushing her hair out, wanting nothing more than to fall asleep, and forget the uneasy feeling that was plaguing her.

Setting the brush down, she went to her bed and slid under the covers. Pulling them up around her, she hoped that she'd fall asleep soon. But as she lay there, the uneasy feeling kept her from closing her eyes, making her gaze out her windows, staring at the deep color of the cloud, wishing it was the welcoming view of a thousand stars twinkling back at her. Breathing a frustrated sigh, she eased into a sitting position, before getting out of bed, grabbing the sheer, peignoir draped over the chair near her dressing table. Easing into it, she padded into her living area and ordered a drink from the replicator.

"Chamomile tea, hot," her soft British-French accent echoing dimly into the room. Grabbing it quickly, she inhaled the scent before taking a sip from the steaming liquid. She walked over to her desk, setting the drink down, and figuring she'd work on some medical reports if she wasn't going to sleep. After a few minutes of work, she heard a noise shatter the silence of her quarters.

Glancing away from the screen, her chartreuse gaze filtered over the dim area, trying to see where the noise had come from. Shrugging her shoulders after a few seconds, she went back to what she'd been doing. No more than five minutes later, the noise came again. Casting her gaze about again, she looked to where the noise had come from. It had seemed closer this time. Once again, she couldn't discern anything and went back to her work.

Once again, five minutes later, the noise came again. Only this time, it sounded like it had come from right next to her. Turning abruptly, she jerked out of her chair, taking a half-step away. Her heart thumped fast and her pulse raced. But there was nothing. It was also then that she realized the noise had sounded like someone whispering. And then it came again, only this time from her other side. Turning, she saw nothing, no one. Gazing about, she clutched at her skirt, clenching the fabric tightly. The whispering was beginning to come from all around her, and it was slowly building, more dim voices adding the original whisper. Soon it was a cacophony of sound, each voice layering over the others, some deep and others high pitched. Slowly what was being whispered began to register in her mind.

"I'm... Not... Myself... You... See..." The phrase was echoing all around, deafening her in an odd way, the whispers becoming louder and louder. Heather backed away from her desk, knocking her chair over in the process. She walked backwards towards the door of her quarters, needing to get out of the space immediately. The whispers and voices, all saying the same phrase over and over and over again.

Turning, she was just a foot away from the entrance, when everything went so abruptly quiet, the silence was boomingly loud. Her heart thumped so loudly in her ears and her pulse raced swiftly. She placed a hand to her chest and closed her eyes briefly, hoping it was over.

Then, a lone voice echoed around her quarters, sounding very much like her own, yet giggling darkly at the end of the phrase.

"I'm not myself, you see?"

Heather bolted out of her quarters then, stumbling out into the brightly lit corridor, a scream clawing its way out of her throat, while tears of fear ran down her delicate face. Crewmen in the hall stopped and stared at her in alarm. She collapsed to the floor, wailing in fear, holding her face in her hands as tears shook her slender frame.

A moment later, someone was pulling her hands from her face, asking gently, "Lieutenant Quinn, is everything OK?" Gazing through her tears, Heather looked upon the face of Ensign Edward Collins kneeling in front of her, his dark blue eyes crinkled in worry and concern.

"No... No... I-I'm not," she uttered, her voice fearful and ragged sounding.

"I-It's gonna be ok? I'll take you to sickbay. Ensign Allemand can help you there. OK?" The young man said, pulling Heather into a standing position. He cradled her under an arm, guiding her towards the turbolift.

The only thing she could say, repeating it over and over again:

"I'm not myself, you see?"

OFF:

Lieutenant JG Heather Quinn
Assistant Chief Medical Officer
USS Ranger

Ensign Edward Collins
Medical Officer
USS Ranger

 

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