insomnia [✔]

scene. iii

Madeleine was on her knees, the darkness intensifying around her. Determination quickened her pulse. She thought of Gar. And she remembered Conner, and then Krypto. These three had become her friends. We had to face the facts, she cared about them. She had unknowingly developed a kind of affection for them. Little by little was born the idea in her mind that she would not abandon them a second time. She would do anything in her power to save them. None of them will be lost, she promised.

She got up slowly. The moment breathed a kind of solemnity. A decisive moment. She mobilized all her strength, all the concentration of which she was capable. Purple sand spilled around her. Covered the ground, forming dunes, like a desert. Madeleine found herself at the top of a sheer dune. Silhouettes were trying to climb this kind of natural platform, but none of them succeeded. On closer inspection, one could see that these "silhouettes" were actually normal people, with the only difference that they were devoid of color, like those characters from black and white movies. These people seemed to want to escape from some sort of pit.

Madeleine didn't know any of them, but they seemed drawn to her, like insects to a source of light. They were obsessed, uttering disturbing complaints. Then came a silhouette much paler than the others, almost entirely white, like a ghost. Unlike the others, she guarded the dune in effort. His movements were slow and gave the impression that this person was floating. The dark haired girl recognized Hazel with awe. She hadn't contacted him, how could he be there? Maybe he had invited himself? Does that mean he had the ability?

The young woman felt unsettled, she was losing control. A huge wave of tsumi made of purple sand was growing behind Hazel. When they found themselves face to face, the young man gave her a mischievous smile, and the high wave of about 50 meters, fell on them with violence. Madeleine closed her eyes, but she felt caught in a whirlpool below the surface of the water. She was going to drown, she knew it.

"So, Madeleine? Happy to see me? I'm currently in your head. I thought I had told you this the last time... The only survivor of a disaster caused by a monster, may be one too? Or… he's trying to become one" said Hazel's voice which seemed to come from all directions at once.

"I apologized for what I did! Do you think I have no guilt? I feel it every moment!" Madeleine shouted.

"I'm glad to hear it! But I'm not going to leave you alone. You took everything I had! I'm not going to give up my revenge that easily! Oh... you're sorry? What the hell is this? It's a tragedy what happened, and no words can justify it! But the hour of your judgment has come, and I will personally make sure that justice will be done. You will dive like I do. Dive..."

////////////////////

"It's a real carnage! A tiger on the loose sows terror in the city. There are many seriously injured victims, and some of them had already died before the arrival of the ambulances..."

It was the voice of a journalist. Madeleine was sinking now, she no longer understood what was happening. Other people around her were sinking into abysses whose depth she did not know. Should she face the facts and accept her defeat? Maybe there was nothing she could do? The more this thought took on importance, the more hope left her and exhausted her last strength. Was it still worth trying to resist Hazel?

"What do you want from me?" thought Madeleine and her voice echoed all around her. However, she got no response from Hazel.

The water became cold as death, the limbs of the young woman became frozen. She closed her eyes and passed out. She doesn't know how much time passed, or what happened in the meantime. However, when she opened her eyes again, she was in a room with padded walls. A sort of confinement chamber for dangerous psychiatric patients. There was nothing else. She realized she was wearing white pajamas. Something was around her neck: an electronic collar.

She let herself slide to the ground, completely discouraged. She no longer had any motivation, her gaze was dull. Then a melody began to play. An air of classical music played with elegance on the piano. The sound seemed to come from a radio, and looking up, the young woman saw that it was coming from a loudspeaker. She quickly disinterested and wrapped her arms around her knees. Her irises turned purple without her realizing it. Gradually, she felt tired, she felt dizzy and her head wobbled.

A hidden camera broadcast the images live. In another room, scientists were taking notes of the experiment. They talked about conditioning. Behind them stood two disturbing people. A cold green-eyed woman named Mercy Graves, head of security. And Hazel whose face was devoid of emotion.

"She is ready." declared a scientist "she will carry out the least of your orders without the slightest hesitation."

"Excellent," Graves replied with a smirk of satisfaction.

Then she turned to Hazel and said, "Thank you for your cooperation. But, we no longer need your services."

"Are you ending our agreement?" Hazel answered vehemently.

"The goals are achieved, aren't they?" declared Graves "Mr. Luthor will be grateful."

"I don't care about the money... I did all this to earn the right to torture Madeleine and slowly kill her..." answered Hazel.

"Well, this is where you encroach on our interests. The deal was for us to deliver Miss Sandman. She's ours now. She's the perfect weapon..." Graves said.

"You seem to forget that I'm the only one who can defuse it" sneered Hazel.

"Of course! But I accept the risk and choose to pull the pin out of the grenade" Graves smiles and quickly draws a gun with which she aims Hazel.

"Game over..." he laughed and a bang sounded. His body collapsed lifeless and blood splattered on the ground.