Chapter 24: Sigmund's Challenge
It was all exceptionally hazy. Vision blurred and confused, colours indistinct, sound distorted. Danielle’s feet connected with the stairs beneath her. But she couldn’t really feel them - almost like she was floating. There was a figure in front of her she couldn’t quite make out, but she followed nonetheless, slowly making her way upstairs, each step appearing to be in slow motion.
After ascending for an age, the figure in front of her stopped, and reached a hand back towards her. It was trying to stop her from seeing something, but she insisted. It came harshly into vision - flashes of red and beige. Her eyes adjusted and the forms came together in a terrible image. Bodies torn apart. Faces frozen in horror. Shards of glass covered the floor. She turned away but couldn’t shake what she saw. As she stumbled down the stairs, the image lay across her eyes like a filter over film footage. Downstairs, she moved into the living room and tumbled into a sofa. She held her hands to her eyes, but couldn’t stop the horror being burnt in.
When she eventually moved them from in front of her, she looked towards the dining table. Trying hard to focus, she saw something underneath. Compelled by something she didn't understand, Danielle stood again and moved towards the table. Her legs felt oddly unstable, but she persevered. As she got closer, it became clear that the thing she saw under the table was a small child. She crouched to see closer. The child came into better focus - still fuzzy, but a stronger form. His hands were covering his ears and his head placed between his knees.
She tried to whisper in quiet reassurance as she moved her hand towards him. The second her hand touched his arm, his head bolted upright. All fuzziness gone, he was suddenly sharp and clear. She fell backwards as she looked into his cold and vacant stare.
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