The Cure To A Broken Mind

Chapter 3 ~ Concrete Jungle

         Familiar waters pulled and kneaded at my body. The crashing waves from the night before grew restless, pushing my form with slight force now, contrasting with the gentle tease from the night before. The darkness in my vision pulsated, drawing my attention to a thunderously ominous cloud drawing closer in the distance. I found myself floating aimlessly in the crashing sea, staring in fear as the waters dragged me back and forth.

        A storm was on its way.

        I easily found myself succumbing to the fear, terror resonating within my form as I turned away quickly, wading harshly in the water as I swam frantically to get away. Just as fast, though, I found that I couldn't escape the ocean's grasp. The wave's gentle embrace grew rough and forced, shoving me hard into the cold waters. I thrashed against the coursing seas, squirming as I crashed backward helplessly. My eyes shot to the water's surface, the breath knocked right out of my lungs. Salt water flowed into my mouth as I gasped, closing my eyes tightly. The waves were so loud...

        Suddenly, the doctor's voice tore through the sound, my eyes opening abruptly. I quickly sat up, gasping for breath, heaving slightly as I stared forward. He watched with concerned eyes.

        "I'm sorry, darling, did I startle you?" he whispered, "I was only attempting to wake you, doll...it's dark out, though, so we can go."

        "A-Alright...Just give me a moment." I susurrated in return, catching my breath. It took me a moment to soothe myself down.

        After a minute or so passed and the adrenaline had left my system, I looked up at the doctor quietly and nodded in clarification. He got up to his feet, crouching slightly beneath the low roof of the hut, taking my hand in his and pulling me up alongside him.

        Carefully, we turned and slipped back out into the world from the scrappy entrance, standing now in the damp, darkened world. It was clear it had been raining for a while; water still fell in droplets from the surfaces of leaves slowly.

        It was much darker now, in fact, the sun had already left the sky entirely. No telling what time it truly was, leaving me looking up to the stars in awe. It was cold, and dark, though surprisingly serene...

        After a moment of thought, and mental preparation on his end, I looked back to him and slowly twined his fingers with my own. Suddenly, I remembered how terrified I had been of his touch upon first meeting him, and here I was now, yearning for it all the time.

        He simply glanced back to me, smiling obliviously as he took my hand in his, looking away to guide me wordlessly through the twisting maze of trees.

        Hesitantly, we left the protecting grasp of the forest. An overwhelming feeling of freedom came over me in waves as I felt the true extent of the open world. The claustrophobic hold of the trees had let us go, and we stood open and vulnerable.

        It felt extravagant.

        The city was still far. We started through a field of grass that went all the way up to my knees, tickling against my skin through my tattered pants. We walked alone, hand in hand, standing by nothing but the faint light from the moon phasing between cotton-like clouds. I watched them as they drifted across the sky slowly...

        The Doctor's hand stayed clasped around mine, leathery textures rubbing over the back of my thumb. I looked over at him as I walked, smiling all the while.

-

        It only took around 25 minutes to scale the full distance. Soon we'd approached the larger than life buildings, towering over us much more than I'd previously assumed they might. Lights had long passed dimmed, not a single face in passing. Occasionally, a lone car would fly passed on the wide street. It had to have been extremely late in the night to have been so desolated... 

        It was more incredible than anything I could have imagined, but there was a certain unsettling feeling heavy in the air. Perhaps it was just the smoke. We glanced around in silence, taking it all in as we strode carefully under streetlights, filing thoughtfully on the concrete sidewalks.

        "Where to now, then, Doctor?" I mumbled quietly beneath my breath to him, keeping my eyes on my surroundings as I spoke.

        "I'm not entirely positive," he gave a nervous chuckle as he paused in thought, "suppose it would be in our best mind to spot a fair source of food and water."

        I nodded silently in agreement, hooking my arm around his now. He exchanged the gesture, resting his arm back around mine contently.

        "We're sticking together, right?" I tilted my head, glancing at him momentarily. He looked back to me with contemplating eyes.

        "Of course, darling. I wouldn't find it favorable in the slightest to mislay you, obliviously." he smiled nervously now as he looked back to me, twining his arm a bit tighter around mine.

        I gave a small, nervous laugh in turn, leaning over into him slightly for a second as we strode passed dim lights. I was steady with my movement, not wanting to knock him off balance, but he seemed to handle just fine as if there was no force exerting onto him at all.

        "Though we do have a behemothic amount of area to cover, I still believe it's best to stick together rather than splitting up." he paused, "I mean, ever seen a horror movie?" he smiled now, snickering, "it's always an awful idea to split up..."

        I nodded in agreement, returning the laughter to him as I lifted my chin.

        "Anyways, just keep your eyes peeled..."

         And with that, silence dawned onto the two of us, and I looked away from him once more. I kept contact with him as we walked, holding my arm still though nonchalant against his side. Conclusively, we trekked through the concrete jungle with caution. 

(A/n): Releasing this one a bit early since I'm going camping this weekend :0 hope you're enjoying the story so far! I apologize if it's starting a bit slow or anything; I promise there's chaos to come! Thanks for reading, fantabulous readers ^^ ~Mem