CYOA Page 147

[lumy12]

Page One Hundred Forty-Seven

You know exactly which slide you want to try. It seems to be in reasonably good condition, and it looks really fun. It's reeeeeally high up there... but it's not the tallest one in the park. It winds around a few times... and, of course, there's no water at the bottom. But you figure, without the water running down the slide to propel you along, you won't go as fast -- and it won't be all slippery in there, so you can grab onto the sides to stop yourself. You won't just tumble out onto the concrete like Joel thinks! And since it's just a long tube, it's not like you can flip over the side or something. You feel totally confident about this.

Just do it quick, before Joel gets back!

It takes you a minute to even find the place to climb up to the start of the one that you want -- the safest-looking one that doesn't have fucked-up 'stilts' under it, or that now bends at an unnatural angle... one slide is even missing chunks of tubing. You don't blame Joel for not wanting you to go down one, but if he knew you chose a really good one... I mean, I'm not a total idiot. ...Are you sure about that?! *ahem*

Staring down the tube, into the darkness... you feel a ripple of fear. Obviously, it's thrill-fear -- like the kind people get from watching a stupid horror movie, right? You've faced rooms full of infected. A fucking slide is nothing.

Still... you test it a little first. You creep into the tube, bracing yourself against the sides with your hands and feet... oh yeah, I got this. If I just push up like this I can slow myself down... okay, ready? Here... I... GO!!!

The second you release your hold and start your journey down the tube, you could swear you hear Joel calling your name. But he couldn't possibly be back yet, and if he was, he wouldn't know where you were--

You don't have time to think about it, though -- you are now flying through this tube! Your body is hurtling down it at an alarming rate, which is thrilling and fucking terrifying at the same time -- you thought you'd taken note of the point where you'd need to start slowing yourself down, approaching the bottom, but that knowledge has flown right out of your head -- I better just slow down now -- like, NOW -- fuck! FUCK I can't-- It's not--

You scream as you see the end of the slide rapidly approaching -- perhaps a little slower for your efforts, but you meant to stop yourself entirely on that flat spot at the bottom, right before--

You tumble onto the fucking concrete (FUCK, Joel was right!) way too fast, arms flailing in a vain attempt to stop yourself from skidding right into the--

Joel's going to kill me!

You don't actually remember cracking your head against the wall; you're out cold.

* * * * * * *

"Ellie... ... Ellie?... ... Ellie... ... ...ELLIE!"

Your eyelids are heavy, but Joel's yelling at you, and you think he wants you to wake up, so...

"Ellie! What the hell were you DOING?"

"...What? ...what... happened?" You're sitting... well, not really, cuz you're leaning against Joel. You need to lay down...

"No no no..." Joel doesn't let you. "You've got one hell of a nasty gash on your head. We need to clean it up. Look at me. Look at me..."

You look. "My... head hurts..."

"No shit." He snorts. "Your pupils are dilated. You might have a concussion. Come on -- put your arms around me."

You close your eyes. "Too bright out here."

"Did you hear me? Put your--"

"I heard you." You oblige him, wincing as he lifts you up. You remember flying down the slide now... the thrill of it... the terror of it... and the last thought you had before blacking out. "You're gonna kill me," you tell him.

"No -- you're gonna kill you. What the hell were you thinkin', doin' somethin' crazy like that?"

"...Uh... sliding down a slide isn't crazy..."

"Yes. Yes it is. Especially after I told you not to. I even told you why, thinkin' that might make you listen to me for a change."

You listen to Joel all the fucking time; you hate when he takes one time and blows it up to always. "I... thought I had it figured out. Like... how to stop, at the bottom."

"Well, that was really goddamn stupid."

You can feel the anger pulsing through him. "I'm sorry," you say in a small voice.

He sets you down in a shady spot by a wall -- but he sets you on your feet, not your ass. "Can you walk? Show me."

You clutch his arm. "Too spinny. -Dizzy."

"But can you walk. Hold on to me an' take a few steps."

You take baby steps. Your head is pounding, and you feel like you're going to fall over, and Joel hates you--

"Good, good. Now sit down right here... lean against the wall... there you go... don't fall over into the dirt, all right? I'm gonna get the... Ellie?" He crouches in front of you, surprised at what's just happened to your face... "What's wrong? Does it hurt real bad?"

"...N-no... just... don't hate me," you blubber. Tears stream down your cheeks...

...and Joel cups your face in his hands, catching them. "I could never hate you." And there's the tenderness that was missing from his voice before.

"Promise?"

"I promise."

"You still-l-l-love me?" you sniffle.

"Of course I do." He chuckles. "What's gotten into you? I thought you liked pissin' me off."

"I don't!" ...Well, SOMETIMES I do. But not this time!

He's totally not used to seeing you cry openly like this. "I'm just tryin' to... determine the extent of your injury. An' fix you up, best I can. Will you let me do that?"

You nod, which only makes your headache worse. You cringe. "Concussions are... not good."

"No they ain't. But you're talkin' to me. That's good."

"I'm... always talking."

He smiles. "That's why I was gonna be real worried if you weren't. If you couldn't."

"...If I couldn't?"

"You hit your head real hard. Do you realize how lucky you are? Your skull... that's pretty good protection, but if your brains were sloshin' around in there..."

"Eww."

"Yeah. So if you act different... you don't usually cry, for example..."

Come to think of it, you would normally be ashamed for Joel (or anyone) to see you cry. And you wouldn't draw his attention to it the way you did with that babyish blubbering. "That's from... this?"

"Could be. There could be personality changes, yeah. Your brain does a lot. Motor functions... memory... processin' emotions... all kinds of shit. Now if you'll let me--"

You clutch his shirt, trying to keep him there with you. "Joel, wait... I thought I heard your voice... right before... did you see me?"

"No, thank God. I don' need that image hauntin' me."

"So you weren't... -how did you find me?"

"I heard you. I heard you scream. Right after I left, I got this nigglin' feelin' that I should take you with me, so I turned around... went back... an' you were gone."

"...So I heard you calling me. Looking for me."

"Yes." He kisses your nose. "I'll be right--"

"I'm sorry, Joel."

"I know."

"Really sorry."

"...I know."

"You must've been so scared... when you found me..."

"You scared the shit out of me, yes."

"Did you think I was..."

"...dead? I wouldn't let myself think that. Sure was a relief to get to you an' see you were breathin', though. You were out for less than a minute."

"You don't have to take care of me. I'll do it myself." You've put him through enough! You start to--

"Bullshit. Sit your ass back down. You don' need to punish yourself for this one, kiddo: you're prob'ly gonna be in pain for a while. Maybe we can get you some meds at the hospital. You know, you're also damn lucky you didn't break any bones."

You didn't, but pretty much your whole body feels like it's stinging. It's a mild pain compared to your fucking head, though. Your head hurts like a bitch. "I didn't do it right."

"Damn straight you didn't -- you shouldn't've gone down that thing at all."

"Well, yeah, but I mean... when you fall... you're supposed to protect your head. I wonder why I didn't."

"I reckon it all happened so fast you didn't have a choice. That's correct, though. So you do listen to me, some of the time."

"Most of the time," you groan. "Joel, from now on, I'll listen to you about everything. I swear. Whatever you say is... law.... no-- gospel, as far as I'm concerned."

"Mm, I like the sound of that. Can I get that in writin'?" he teases.

"I'm serious. I'm so sorry."

He looks at you appraisingly. "I think you've apologized five times now. You ain't usually this... contrite..."

Great -- so now any time I do something that's even just a little bit outside the norm, he's going to attribute it to my brains sloshing around? "I am when I fuck up real bad," you grumble.

"It's all right. You learned your lesson."

...Yeah, that will come in handy the next time I have the opportunity to go down a water slide minus the water. Cuz THAT happens every day... You finally let him get up and leave you to get the first aid kit and stuff.

He returns quickly... and pulls your hands away from your head. "Don't touch it. Wait 'til I get a bandage on first. I'll do what I can... the hospital's prob'ly gonna have to shave your head in that spot, though."

"What, like... a little patch?"

"Unless you want 'em to shave your whole head, I guess."

"No! I don't want them to shave it at all!" you cry.

"Don't worry, it'll grow back quick."

"Nooo!" ...And you're crying again.

"It's just hair, Ellie."

"No it's not! It's-- you'll think I'm ugly!"

"I'd never think that. All right, now, you know the drill, this is gonna sting like hell..."

"I don't wanna be ug-- owwwwwwww!"

"Sorry... I'm sorry, baby girl, just hang on..."

You cry (quietly, at least?) the whole time he's cleaning and bandaging the wound. Not from the pain (...maybe a teensy bit from the pain?), but from the thought of how gross your head is -- and will be for a long time. Joel has to wrap the gauze all the way around it... like a mummy. I must look like a freak... and Joel won't pet my hair anymore... I won't even HAVE hair to pet--

"I should do some of your scrapes, too... you all right?" he asks when he's done.

"Is my face ugly too?" you wail.

"No, it's beautiful like always." It seems he's already adjusted to your tears... as if you cry all the fucking time, no big deal. "If you're askin' if it has any abrasions... some. But not too bad. Don' worry about it, all right? You're gonna be just fine."

You turn and give him a hug... a fierce one. "Don't let them shave my head," you plead.

He chuckles. "Just that one little place."

"No!"

"We'll get you a cowboy hat. No one'll even see it."

"You will see it!"

He chuckles. "Do you know how silly you're bein' right now? You coulda died, an' you're worried about your hair gettin' messed up. Like a girl."

...Oh, ZING! You can't decide if you're annoyed at him making light of your woes, or comforted by his dismissal of them. You are comforted by his arms around you...

"Didn't you jus' say you're gonna listen to me from now on, no matter what? You remember that?"

"...Yeah..."

"Good, your short-term memory's workin'. So, listen to me when I tell you what's important an' what ain't."

"Okay." He's right... I AM being dumb right now... "So how long 'til I get my old personality back?"

He laughs. "Well... it ain't like you had a transplant or somethin'..."

"Are you gonna make fun of me forever now?"

"It ain't makin' fun. It's--"

"--enjoying me," you finish for him.

"Yes. You remember that, too, hmm?"

But really, it's making fun. "So how long?"

"I don' know... we'll ask 'em at the hospital, how long the symptoms'll prob'ly last."

"...Will I get my old personality back?"

He sighs. "It ain't like... I don' know, all right? But you're still... you."

"I am?"

"Who else would you be?"

"Um..."

"That was a rhetorical question." He tries to pry you off of him, but you're very... clingy. -Probably a facet of your new personality. "Hey... I think you're maybe a little... disoriented, right now. When we finish fixin' you up, you can rest, an' then I'm sure you'll--"

"Then I'll be myself?"

"...You are yourself." He rocks you a little, then finally gets you to pull back enough that he can look you in the eye. "You're still my adorable... funny... sweet baby girl that I love so much. Nothin' can change that. You understand?" He kisses you gently. "I'm sorry if I freaked you out, the way I said it."

You smile a little. "You didn't. I'm just... I dunno..."

"Maybe it's just a bad case of PMS."

You groan. "This early?"

"Uh... maybe not, then."

"Besides, you know I get more... bitchy, really."

"Irritable." Joel doesn't like you to refer to yourself as a bitch, for some reason. Even in adjective form, which you would consider to be a milder sense of the word.

"Yeah -- bitchy, like I said. Hey, maybe you'll get lucky and that will change -- I'll be totally agreeable and pleasant to be around instead!"

He smiles. "Your sense of humor is still in there."

You give him a little kiss, then start arranging yourself more comfortably -- and in his lap rather than on the ground, with him leaning back against the wall.

"Hey, I ain't done fixin' you up yet."

"Yes you are. I don't care about the other cuts and stuff."

"Well, I do. Now--"

"Nooooo, I wanna stay like this... please..." With your head on his chest.

He mock-sighs. "So much for listenin' to me from here on out. That sure didn't last long."

You make a noise that most closely resembles a giggle. "Love you, Joel."

"Love you, too. Don't you think I should at least go bring the horses down here, though?"

"Mmm... in a minute... okay? Wait 'til I fall asleep." You do want the horses close to you. And you know Joel's itching to go get them so he can keep an eye on them.

"You're gonna fall asleep... in one minute? An' you know this... how?"

You think he's still teasing you... "Cuz... I'm tired?"

"I don' know if I should let you do that. And I sure ain't gonna leave you alone when you're asleep."

Oh yeah... that's one of his Outside rules... "Well, they can wait, then."

"You remember where we left 'em?"

"The parking garage."

"Very good."

"...Are you gonna quiz me like this all the time now... like... to see how fucked up my brain is?"

"Maybe I will."

"You can go get them. I'll be fine. I promise I won't go down any more slides."

He chuckles. "You'd better not."

That's the last thing you remember him saying before you doze off. You only sleep intermittently (thanks to the pain, probably?)... and every time you wake up, you find yourself still safe and snug in Joel's arms.

Yes, you do realize how lucky you are.



THE END



If you'd like to start another adventure, return to page 1.

[PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: don't try this at home, kiddos! I watched a few vids -- that's some scary shit!]

Comments

Carlos

[(Anonymous)]

Wow that was so scary... I didn't now that a person can go down one without water, but this is just a fiction fic so everything is possible. LOL

I just thought that you're going to kill Ellie in this part, but lucky you didn't it.

RE: Carlos

[luminations.livejournal.com]

Lol it IS possible, that's why I added that thing at the end, I really did watch vids and one guy slammed his head into the concrete just like Ellie! I thought about killing her but decided against it :)