In.the.Dark. --open

[tarynn badamonte]

My loving heart
Lost in the dark
For hope I’d give my everything

A prisoner. The perfect word for what she was. She was a prisoner, not only in the world around her, but in her own mind. She was captured and locked away where no one would give her a second glance. She wasn't worth anything and would amount to nothing. That is what she believed.

She believed that she was cursed. Being thrown into the deepest pits of hell may have been better because there, at least, she would've earned it. Her sins would pile against her and she would fail the test of Heaven and be thrown into the Devil's lair. But there, she would be welcome. Here, in this forsaken place, she was nothing. She had no one. She cold do nothing. She was put here when she didn't deserve it. Forced here against her own will and she hadn't earned it. She hadn't made herself that way; that was what she believed.

Tarynn paid little attention to the people around her. Some were on a couple of instruments, testing to see if they were any good. She knew the instrument she could use; the one she'd nearly perfected. The one instrument that would let her pour her soul into the keys that reflected her life. Black and white. There was no color, no goals, no one on the distant horizon waiting for her. There was no one that cared, no one that would listen and no one that would be there when she needed them.

She wouldn't trust them if they were, though, so she hadn't regretted it much. Even if she didn't believe it, it was nice to have someone say they loved you. The one person she believed was her mother. She would listen to whatever her mother told her without question. THe problem was, her mother was dead.

And yet, every day, whether it was in her dreams or in her made-up world, her mother was there, speaking to her, telling her that she still loved Tarynn and that she wanted her to be happy. She told her to send away those icky thoughts of what death would feel like. She urged her to try her hardest to push away this imaginary world. She told her that her brother still loved her.

Tarynn became stilled before approaching the piano. She looked around the room again, seeing a few familiar faces. If she'd learned their names before, she'd forgotten them now. She had a hard time with that.

There was a small groan in the bench that held her when she sat down. Her fingers were stilled and placid, hovering over the keys. She took a moment to ease her mind, clearing the thoughts away and breathing deeply and evenly. Her eyes seemed to come to life as she pressed one finger onto the key and started her song.

She played 'Fur Elise' perfectly with no error at all. The melody ran through her ears and she was absorbed at what she was doing. When the song ended, she promptly began a new one. This time it was quick paced. It reminded her of Christmas and of the little children tip-toeing merrily to see Santa Claus come down the chimney. In the twisted world of hers, though, the jolly-ol'-toy-bringer turned on the children and enclosed them in his grasp.

Her fingers abruptly stopped and they slammed down on too many keys at once. The sound was loud and echoing and caught the attention of the people that were listening in the room. They stared at her, wondering if she was seizuring because of her listless look at the notebook in front of her. She blinked rapidly and in her mind she saw the blood ooze down the leather gloves of the person who was supposed to make them happy.

She saw the limp bodies and the bones potruding every-which-way and yet the children were still alive. They were still sitting there, hearts beating, lungs pumping while they were tortured to death. Her heart raced faster and it felt as if it would pop out of her chest. The old fat man chuckled and took a chimney poker and it went through their heads.

Tarynn bit her tongue so hard it started to bleed. She kept from screaming, but there was a small squeak pressing between her lips. The taste of blood ran through her mouth, stuck on her tongue even as she took several gulps to swallow it down. Her teeth had not unlocked from her tongue yet, either. She had to wait until the vision receded. She was aware of the staring and hoped to god she hadn't caught the attention of a worker.

[kyle danager]

I've made mistake
But I'll find my way
There's no explaination for
The things I've failed at before
They can't hold my hand

The sun seemed, for once not to be showing fully, which was often odd, especially in September weather. Today was supposed to be a good day, her brother was coming in for a visit. Tomorrow, he'd be on his way to New York, and leave Kyle alone again. Where most people would rejoice, she was resentful-- Jealous, even.. Of the person who she was closest to. You see, her brother was her link.. The reassurance that life was so much more than this lame town, that you could actually experience things.. Whilst expiercing said things, it appeared he forgot about the ones he left behind.. Not so much her mother and father.. Her, Kyle, she her biggest fear was manifesting. The fear of being forgotten--- Hey wasn't that a song by Blaqk Audio? Tch, whatever at this point she honestly didn't care. Work had just ended, and more work began, this day was not going to end any time soon, of that she was sure. To be honest, she hadn't been sure of many things today.. Hell if you told her the sky was a deep crimson, and the water had been turned into cherry zinfandel, she probably would've believed you. Hell you may have been able to walk up to her and said that her name was Borat, and she may have believed you.. Or just may have done his accent, whichever came first.. She guessed. There had been multiple bands that had been helping clear her head, two of them had vocalists in here.. Yes Twisted Illusions and Autumn Falls. Believe it or not, she wasn't totally fangirl as some teenage fans are, to be honest.. She felt bad that they were in here. Kyle didn't lie, ever, and it would not be a wrong assumption to presume she hated this place. The doctors were so distant.. Save Dr. Vestrall, he seemed to actually care about his patients.. Maybe that was just her mind playing tricks though. The car finally stopped, the beginning of "Tortures Of The Damned" by Bayside was playing, and she sighed.

Maybe she was just burning out.. It was doomed to happen, and unfortunately, due to the fact she took everyone's request seriously, and did it.. Flawlessly.. It was doomed to happen, and like an asteroid, it was finally impacting and crushing her. looking into the rearview mirror, she glared. "What the fuck is wrong with you, Squirtle," She spoke to herself, not truly understanding what was going on with her, "Let's fake this smile, and make it work." Like a usual day, her smile seemed bright, and like usual.. Warm and inviting.. Even though, mentally.. She just wanted to go to a show, and scream away her problems, drink until her liver gave out [she'd only done that once], and wake up not remembering where or how she got to where she was. Finally she got out of her black Infinity. Black converse hit the ground gently as she headed inside. Luckily, the volunteers did not have to wear scrubs..Which was nice. Her attire was pretty normal, for her. A white and pink striped tee shirt laid on her upper half with a pair of flared and fitted jeans. French-tip manicured nails tapped against the side of the wall as she found her nametag and lanyard. It had a bunch of band buttons on it. Yeah, could you tell it was old?

A black-rimmed, pink eyeshadow clad eyes scanned her chart she read off the list. "Rec, Cafe, Garden," 'Only three today? Thank God,' the seventeen year old thought as a smile played those smooth, pierced lips of hers. She wore a hoodie, it was gray, and halfway zippered.. Some band's logo in pink.. It may have said 'Brokencyde', but then again.. it could have said anything and she would've been fine with it. It was only halfway zippered, revealing her shirt and a heart necklace. Heading down the hall.. She noted that the doors were just closed, not locked. which meant patients were out--- Why wouldn't they be? It was day, not night out. Suddenly the pretty music that had once filled the slightly pale girl's ears... Stopped, quite abruptly with the sound of someone slamming on the keys..

Heading inside, she glanced to the piano, everyone seemed to have gone back to what they were doing, so.. Kyle decided to investigate, the curious girl. "Um, hello," Her voice was sweet and soft, kind, and very.. Well.. Soprano-like, "Is there something wrong?" Hey, she hadn't known what was going on, and to be honest.. She was hesitant about finding out.

[tarynn badamonte]

My loving heart
Lost in the dark
For hope I’d give my everything

She could hear the real world, taste the air where everyone had presided, saw the objects around her. She could tell what was real; the pianos in the real world weren't made with rib cages and teeth. The melody didn't sound haunted, either. She could see the people around her, see their eye color, their clothes, their shapes. She could distinguish the beautiful people from the ugly ones. She could feel the hatred, the love, the pain, the sorrow from the real world. She knew the difference.

But then, why was it so hard to not be afraid of the images running through her head. Over and over the children's bodies were mangled and rearranged different ways. Right when they seemed like they were taking their last breath and ending their torture, the Santa Claus figure would make it so they were alive again and crack and re-do his ghastly project of bones and skin. She wasn't a woman with maternal instincts; it wouldn't have matter if it was an adult or a baby, it was still wrong in her eyes.

Her chest heaved inwardly and her fingers started on the piano again; she didn't want to catch any attention. Still, through her mind ran the terrible and disgusting images that were placed there. As she started on her song, though, the entire pattern changed.

Something happened...like a rock breaking through the surface of still water and distorting the reflection in it, a voice cracked through her delusions. Tarynn blinked a couple of times, almost relieved as the world other than the one she was in, was peaceful again. Um, hello...Is there something wrong? The voice echoed in the land. The bones that stuck out from the ground vibrated from the small sound. Her fingers stopped again before she turned to see the woman standing beside her.

She licked her teeth clean of blood and swallowed down the last of it. She was preparing what she would say. She'd been seen and that was the worst possible thing that could've happened to her again. Would she be isolated again? No, that was far too cruel for one mental image.

"Nothing at all," but Tarynn'd put too much emphasis on it. She sounded too sweet, too innocent. It was an obvious tip off. Granted, Tarynn's face gave off the 'innocent' look, but even that was too much to buy. Re-approaching her tactics, Tarynn patted the empty space on the bench beside her. "Sit," it was more of a question than an order. She placed her fingers on the keys again and worked on a melody she'd created herself.

It was mostly in the high-pitched keys. Her fingers danced in rhythms. It was originally made at a time when she explored her imaginary world, seeing all it had to offer. She'd tried to describe it on the keys and what had come out was a haunting, in both worlds, sound. It was mourning thrown in the mix with discovery. If it was a music video, it'd been a girl wandering aimlessly through a humongous graveyard, stopping every now and then to sob at a random grave. Then, she would fall upon something new; something she'd never seen before. What it would be, Tarynn didn't know, but she imagined the scenario all the same.