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Post by DR KATHRYN LAWSON on Nov 13, 2011 15:48:53 GMT 9.5
“Thank you Ingrid but if you don’t mind I would rather be alone for the moment. I have no doubt we shall see each other more regularly around here. You should go tend to your new friend before they get restless”
She gave Ingrid a small smile; it had been nice to have some sort of company even if she had not been in the best frame of mind. She had no doubt though in time she would trust Ingrid enough for her to know all her secrets. She seemed like the type of person Kathryn could be friends with and that in itself was a rare thing, for so long she had difficulty making any friends, maybe leaving Praxis was exactly what she needed.
“Thank you for keeping me company tonight. I must say I am not always like this and I would love to learn more about medicine and such, I had been training I guess you could say before all hell broke loose”
And with that Kathryn drifted off into her own headspace again. Too many thoughts, far too many feelings all coming too her at once, the emotional overdrive brought back the headaches full force and with them another need to grab the bottle.
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Post by ingridrichards on Nov 13, 2011 16:29:03 GMT 9.5
"Not a problem. But if you change your mind, I'll be in the labs downstairs."
Ingrid smiled softly and exited Kathryn's room.
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Post by DR HELEN MAGNUS on Nov 13, 2011 17:13:38 GMT 9.5
  - - - - - -
Helen was a busy woman.
There was never a day that went by that Helen was doing nothing. Her work was her life, and if she wasn’t dedicated to the cause, her life was meaningless. There were days when Helen would be out of the Sanctuary for days, sometimes weeks on end trying to attend to endangered Abnormals around the world. Or simply to lend a hand to other Sanctuaries. But Helen was just one woman. There was only so much she could do at any one time, and there were day’s she wished she could do more. Albeit, you could argue that she was doing more than anyone could possibly amount to. But, she was exhausted. Mentally exhausted. She only wondered to herself how long she could keep this up.
Helen was still recovering from jet-lag of the previous day, when she arrived back from Munich, Germany after the German Sanctuary field team went missing. But now she was back home, she had more chaos to deal with. After the destruction of Praxis, and the military intervention of the Abnormal camps, she feared it was going to get worse, before it got better.
She had just returned from the Infirmary to help settle in a young Technopathic Abnormal refugee from Praxis, when she decided to check up on Kathryn Lawson. She wished she could have helped the woman settle in more, but so many other Abnormals had needed her attention that she barely had time. Strolling down the sun-lit corridors of the antique building, her heeled back satin shoes clicked on the way to Kathryn’s quarters. Her hair was let down, and hung just over her shoulders, which surprisingly, have not gone wayward yet. She had been whizzing around the Sanctuary for most of the morning, to even take much care for her appearance.
She finally arrived at the door to Kathryn’s quarters, when she gave the top several light taps. ”Kathryn, it’s me.” [/size] |
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Post by DR KATHRYN LAWSON on Nov 13, 2011 18:31:02 GMT 9.5
Alone again, Kathryn thought. Peace and quiet had entered her room once again and she let the quiet envelop her like a blanket but her moment of peace was broken quickly as the pain in her head returned full force.
“Dammit” she yelled, unsure whether anyone outside her room had heard her. She rubbed her temple trying to make sure the pain left but instead it became more intense. It was becoming clearer though when these episodes happened they were tied to her emotions and only happened at her most stressful moments far too many of which had been happening recently. But for the first time something else happened jagged images of people began to appear in her mind, only flashes but it was enough to make her wonder what on earth was happening to her. Her hands began to shake badly to the point where she needed to clasp both into fists so tight that her knuckles slowly turned what.
She couldn’t take it any longer and grabbed the glass on her desk still three quarters full of vodka and slung back what was left in one go. But it wasn’t enough and she went back for another glass pouring it quickly before putting it to her lips and slowly but surely the shaking subsided. Another moment of quiet occurred as she sat back and drank the contents more quickly. Trying to ignore everything that was around her she missed the knocking at the door to begin with, only for the second knock to jolt Kathryn back into reality.
“Dear god no”
It was Helen! Of all people to come see her now why did it have to be the only one who knew her past issues? She had no idea what to do, worry and fear just over took her mind creating chaos in the already overcrowded thought process going on. She could no longer handle everything that had happened and her grip on the glass became so tight in shattered into hundreds of pieces in her hand. She could have cried she could have cleaned up the mess; she could have tried to hide what had happened but instead just simply sat there with nothing more than a blank expression on her face.
Kathryn watched the blood drip down her hand like a tiny river which had no destination. She was surprised she felt no pain from the incident, she felt sober enough but then she wasn’t sure about anything anymore. She had simply got to a point where she needed someone to take her aside and help her through what Praxis had tried to stop. She wanted to feel like she had a purpose again.
Out of the corner of her eye she saw the door to her room open, she knew it was Helen so she didn’t even bother to look up. Kathryn finally realised as she looked at the blood that this was her lowest point after all.
“There is no point hiding it anymore Helen, I simply can’t do this.”
She said nothing else as the tears began to fall.
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Post by DR HELEN MAGNUS on Nov 13, 2011 20:56:00 GMT 9.5
Helen was on her way through the door, when she heard the sickening shatter of glass. Her forehead creased up in worry, as she made her way through to find Kathryn on the floor, sobbing, with blood dripping from her wrist. A strong smell of alcohol wafted under her nose, as she knew instantly what had happened. Well, for the most far. The moment Helen saw the blood dripping from Kathryn’s palm, she rushed to the wardrobe in her room, and pulled out a small, basic med kit. She was sure to have one handy in every guest room, because you’d never what may happen. She pulled it off the top ledge, and shut the wardrobe. Helen had said nothing by this point, and it was not until Helen placed the box on the bed, did she finally find the words.
”My God, Kathryn. What has come over you?” Helen walked over to where Kathryn was sitting, and urged her to move up from the floor, and sit on the bed so she could take a closer look at the wound. Helen grabbed her non-bleeding hand, and placed it over her shoulder as she lifted the woman up from the glass-shattered floor. Helen by this point, was devastated. Hurt, among other emotions. But what made Helen stand there in shock, is that Kathryn never even confronted Helen to talk about this. To talk as friends. Not just as a Doctor to their patient.
Once Kathryn was on the edge of the bed, Helen ripped over the medical kit, and retrieved a set of bandages, a pair of tweezers, and an antiseptic swab. And yet still, Helen had not said a word. But as Helen gently grabbed Kathryn’s bleeding hand, she finally mustered up the will to look into her tear-stained face.
”Why didn’t you come to me sooner? Seen me in my office? Alcohol is not the solution here, Kathryn. “ Of course, instantly Helen had feared that Kathryn was trying to end her life. Well, what else would you make of alcohol, tears, broken glass, and a bleeding palm? Helen’s azure eyes grew wide in worry. She had always worried about her, ever since she appeared wounded, at the Sanctuary doorstep. The first thing was concerned about what her mental wellbeing. She has seen many people reached the darkest depths in her lifetime, and to see it happen to a dear friend was horrifying. She was just sick and tired of people dying around her.
”I did not realise it would reach this point. “ Helen’s voice was soft. She didn’t mean her words to be intimidating, nor patronizing. She just wanted to know why Kathryn was acting like this. ”Please, Kathryn. Tell me what’s on your mind. Confide in me. I need to know, so I can help you in the best way possible. I refuse to see you go down this path.” Helen had already picked up the tweezers, and tried to remove the small pieces of glass that was still embedded in her palm. Once that was done, she picked up the antiseptic swab, and attempted to clean the wound. It wasn’t necessarily a deep wound, but it was enough to draw quite a large amount of blood.
After she had cleaned the wound, she began to wrap it in the bandage that was supplied. It didn’t take long, and when that was done, she dropped Kathryn’s hand gently and placed a reassuring hand on the woman’s shoulder. In all honestly, Helen hated being put in this position. She was never the type of woman for this situation. To give any kind of emotional support or comfort. Here’s to say, Helen had always redrawn herself and hide away in these situations. She just never knew how to handle them, hence why Will was better for the job. After all those years, Helen had learned to shut herself emotionally from the world.
It was less chaotic that way.
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Post by DR KATHRYN LAWSON on Nov 13, 2011 21:52:18 GMT 9.5
Kathryn sat on the edge of the bed staring at her hand. She still had not said anything by this stage as Helen was wrapping her wrist trying to understand what had happened. The concern on Helen’s face was obvious, she would automatically assume she had tried to kill herself but that wasn’t the case. The realisation of everything that had happened had just hit her all at once and her emotions had simply not been able to handle it. Kathryn looked up at Helen for a moment, her face still wet from tears, her hair a mess, she wasn’t the picture of health she wanted to be.
“I wasn’t trying to kill myself Helen. I’m sorry”
No she didn’t see a point in ending her life. If she had a chance to end her life she would have done it months ago but instead she fought on until the day Praxis fell. The strong exterior she had shown for so long had fallen all too quickly in recent weeks, breaking down like a wall. She got up from Helen’s side and walked back over to her desk, carefully stepping over the broken glass which still lay all over the floor; she picked up the photo and handed it to Helen sitting back down next to her. She watched as Helen examined the photo for a moment, clearly seeing that this photo has done a lot of travelling in its lifetime.
“About 20 years ago in Praxis I was working at the medical institute. We were on the verge of making a huge breakthrough in neural pathway repairs when I met a young research assistant lost on his first day at work. His name was Daxun, and after showing him the correct office he decided to thank me by buying me lunch. I didn’t think anything would come of it but I loved spending time with him, he made me laugh and smile, was an amazing cook and was just happy being with me. One thing led to another and eventually we were inseparable. He was my whole world Helen, for the first time since I had been brought to Praxis I felt like I belonged.”
Kathryn did her best to fight back the tears just thinking about Daxun tore her up inside, she had still not spoken about the nightmare of that day in full. She got up again from the bed and began to pace, this was far from enjoyable.
“You probably heard about one of Adam Worth’s mistakes? The one where he destroyed a whole city block killing thousands? Well I was one of the few doctors on call that day. I had only recently been qualified as a practising physician and this was the first time I had been needed. One of my few friends came with me as she was also a doctor and we went to try and help those who were still alive. I didn’t have a chance to think for hours as I worked on hundreds of people but near the end of the day my friend ran into a building to save some kids and the building went up. I lost one of my few friends that day but it didn’t end there....”
She trailed off for a moment, trying to find the strength to finish her story.
“I had little chance to think at that stage but it was only in a moment of peace I realised where I was. You see Daxun was a weapon smith and unlike many others he was a traditionalist he loved his small shop and.....and........It was only a street away from the main explosion. He didn’t stand a chance Helen. That piece of garbage Worth took the only man who had ever loved me from me!”
She stopped for a moment, refusing to allow herself to cry, she needed Helen to understand everything.
“I will admit my problems with alcohol started before Praxis, after our argument I remember downing a whole bottle of scotch whiskey to try and forget what happened. But when I was with Daxun I didn’t drink for years, but when I lost him my whole world fell apart. Then went Praxis fell soon after I felt like I didn’t get a chance to allow myself to let it sink in.”
Kathryn looked over at her desk, and all that remained of her life.
“That right there Helen, on that desk is all the possessions I have left. That photo is my only physical reminder of him.”
Relief washed over her, finally someone knew about what had happened. She looked down at the glass all over the floor and realised she had not mentioned what happened earlier.
“I apologise for the glass everywhere Helen, the stress and pain in my head hit me all at once and the drinking glass shattered in my hand. The medication I had been taking to suppress whatever it is I can do has now totally worn off, the only thing I have been able to use to stop the pain and shaking in my hands is alcohol. I think whatever this abnormality is it’s directly related to this”
Kathryn lifted up the side of her t-shirt to reveal the area where she had been stabbed less than 3 days earlier. The wound had completely healed.
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Post by DR HELEN MAGNUS on Nov 14, 2011 20:05:15 GMT 9.5
Helen remained seated on the edge of Kathryn’s bed, as she watched the woman begin to pace her room. Despite not having seen her for decades, she still knew her well enough. Kathryn was distressed. It was fairly obvious. There was not much Helen could do now, but listen. She prepared herself, because even she did not fully understand everything that Kathryn had been through. Having lived down in Hollow Earth for so many years, it was no wonder the woman had grown attached to that place. Praxis was curious city. A magnificent, high-rising city in all its technological glory. Quite the eye-opener, as opposed to the society that Helen had seen being built around her. Her Earth was no match for the wonders in the centre of the globe. Simply phenomenal. Though sadly, the last thing she saw of that city was all its foundation lying in dust and rubble.
Utterly devastating.
Helen knew better than to interrupt Kathryn in the middle of sharing her story. She had always wished she knew more of the life the people had lead back in Praxis. Now thanks to Kathryn, she would have a better understanding what had happened, before the horrific blast took out much of the population.
With her hands neatly clasped on her lap, she watched at Kathryn began to tear up again. Helen hated being put in these situations. As much as she hated to admit it, she hated the whole idea of trying to give some sort of emotional support. That was more Will’s expertise, hence why she seemed to confront him with these sort of issues. But trying to offer this type of guidance was not something Helen was good with. In fact, if anything she would try to find a way to avoid it. It was a terrible thing to do. She knew this. But she couldn’t help it. She was a medical doctor and scientist. Yes. She’d tend to the wounded, research ways to combat rare sickness or disease, relocate Abnormals to safer home, seek out those who needed her protection….But emotional confrontation was beyond her. Hell, she could barely resolve any issues with John, let alone a dear friend who she originally believed to be dead for so many decades.
So now she felt as lost as ever. What could she possibly say, or do, to make it right? That was it. There was nothing she really could do. She felt helpless, and she hated that feeling. She hated feeling like a failure, and that her efforts were making no effect. But it was all up to Kathryn. She needed to push through this as best as she possibly could. Helen would be there to listen. Offer advice here and there, but in all actual fact, that was the best that she could do.
Helen sat there stunned, as she listened to Kathryn’s every word. Her story was incredible. So much life. So much tragedy. So much that was loved, and so much that was lost. She felt sorry for her. She really did. But this kind of emotional stress could not be healed in a day. She needed time to heal. Time to gather her thoughts, and Helen knew how difficult that was. God, she suffered that all throughout her own twisted life. She was tired of losing people, and as dark as it sounds, Helen was getting used to it. Each death came at a blow, and each death left her even more numb than before.
Helen glanced at Kathryn solemnly, and tried to find the right words to say. ”Kathryn – You have been through such a terrible tragedy. I know what it feels like to lose a loved one. Oh, I know that feeling very well. But I can’t say that it will be easy to forget, nor move on. But you need to accept what has happened, and try and make a new life for yourself. What has happened to Praxis was beyond anybody’s control. No one was prepared for it.” Helen took in a deep breath, and leaned forward, ”I will try and be here for you, to the best of my ability. I will stop Adam Worth, even if it’s the last thing I ever do. I am not usually one to break my promises.”
Helen rose up from the bed, to take a closer look at where Kathryn’s wounds used to be. ”Incredible. There is simply no trace of any scar tissue.”
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Post by DR KATHRYN LAWSON on Nov 15, 2011 13:25:28 GMT 9.5
Kathryn watched as Helen examined her side, she wasn’t surprised that she was able to switch off and onto another issue. That was Helen the way she had always known her. A part of her did feel guilty though for suddenly dumping this on Helen, Kathryn knew full well that this was something she didn’t deal well with. She thought that must have been why she saw a young man talking to patients in the infirmary, Helen must have hired a psychiatrist to help the patients deal with emotional stress and considering everything that had happened recently having him around made complete sense.
It was good that Helen had tried to console her she thought. At least she had tried which is more than what members of the Praxian council had managed after Daxun died. Trying to cover up the incident was a joke in her eyes and not even giving the dead a proper send off hurt most of all, not being given a chance to say goodbye well and truly got her. But Helen was right she had to do her best to move on as tough as that may be, but forgetting could never happen.
“Normal people can forget details over time. Normal people can forget tiny details like a date or a time but for the most part will remember they lost someone. But I don’t get that luxury for as long as I am alive I will remember every part in graphic detail.”
But as she said those words she realised something else, ever since she was little she had always been able to remember incredibly large amounts of information. Some had called her a walking library but that’s all it had been, she had to physically learn something to remember it. If she had gone somewhere or met someone in passing she may forget their name or a face, but it seemed now her abnormality had grown; now she could forget nothing. Her memory was now exactly what she had always dreaded, it was perfect.
The sheer mention of Adam Worth’s name made her skin crawl and brought a skin feeling to her stomach. He had done so much to her that she wasn’t sure she would ever be able to control herself if she ever saw him again.
“Helen if I ever saw Worth again I would put a bullet in the back of his brain so fast no-one would be able to stop me. So I am holding you to your promise because my god I doubt I could contain my anger.”
The thought of Worth brought out her anger and with it the return of the throbbing pain in her head. The pain became so intense this time that she could barely stand, the shaking in her hands returned so quickly that she barely had a chance to clench them shut. All the thoughts in her mind cleared until all that was left was fear. Flashes of something began to appear again; she thought they were people maybe? She didn’t want to know at this point. It hurt so bad to think let alone talk but with all her might she turned to look at a now shocked Helen.
“...He..l.p ...Me ...Helen”
Kathryn collapsed onto her hands and knees, she could feel Helen tried to hold her up and she thought she was saying something but she couldn’t make it out. Her head was now full of noise and she couldn’t stand it, but at least now Helen could finally see what the Praxian scientists had done to her. Maybe if she had been given a chance to evolve into this abnormality then it wouldn’t have hit her all at once. Her body was trying to catch up to what should have happened naturally decades ago.
The pain and thoughts in her head all became too much, her mind couldn’t take it anymore and her body did the only thing it could, she passed out. Her last thought before letting the dark in was a feeling of dread that something awful was going to happen in the future.
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Post by DR HELEN MAGNUS on Nov 17, 2011 23:08:44 GMT 9.5
Helen looked away briefly, as she took the small moment to close her eyes and take all this new information in. Every day, she was learning something new and extraordinary about Kathryn and her abnormalities. Each new fact fascinated her, yet she could not do anything about the helpless feeling deep within herself. She felt like a failure. She hadn’t even begin to diagnose what she had, despite having spent countless hours in the lab trying to discover it. A part of Helen and her somewhat twisted thoughts, wanted to put Kathryn under stasis in order to do some heavy researching. However as a friend, she could not bear to bring herself to do it. Helen was well dedicated to her work, but experimenting on a dear friend was simply out of the question.
She opened her eyes, and glanced back at Kathryn’s face once more, with a curious smile. ”And yet, you could harness that abnormality to help innocent people. Think of all the countless lives you could save, just by simply remembering a single detail.” Helen lifted her chin, and studied the woman’s face. Her look became stern, and she shook her head slightly, ”No, you will certainly not. I will not allow you to have that kind of blood on your hands. This must be dealt with swiftly, not in a reckless manner.”
Suddenly, Helen’s stern expression moulded into horror, as Kathryn began to fall. Helen, being only a few feet away, jumped up from the bed, and managed to catch her before she fell. Slowly and carefully, she continued to lower her to the ground. Placing her hand on her forehead, she took note of the fever which was quickly elevating, until she grabbed her wrist and began to measure her pulse. Her pulse was racing incredibly fast, she could practically feel the blood pressure building. She needed to be put under an IV drip, to monitor her vital signs. From what Helen could gather, they were skyrocketing at an alarming rate. The Infirmary was just down the hall, so she needed to somehow get Kathryn there.
Helen grabbed her phone and began to dial her colleagues. First she tried Will, no answer. She had sent Will and Henry on a simple retrieval mission, so she tried his line as well. Nothing but static. She frowned, as she began to dial Kate. Before she hit ‘call’, she mentally kicked herself. Kate was currently stuck in one of the Abnormal camps. She could not leave, and there was no way she could get to the Sanctuary in time. Same went for Biggie. There was simply no-one within reach. So she did the only thing she could. She rose up from the ground, grabbing Kathryn’s arm, and placing it over her shoulder as she lifted the woman up. As carefully and quickly as she could, she managed to pull the woman all the way down the hall, into the Infirmary. It was not a simply task, considering at this point, Kathryn was a dead weight by her side.
She hoisted the woman up on one of the beds, and then began to rush around the room in a frantic attempt to get her stable again. The time she took to bring her to the Infirmary was precious. Every second was crucial, and every wasted moment could make the situation worse. Helen pulled open the woman’s blouse, in order to attach several heart monitors to her chest. Her heart was racing, and if Helen could not slow it down, she could go into cardiac arrest.
She could not let his happen. She will not let this happen.
The next thing she did, was insert a small needle into the back of her hand, in which she attached an IV drip in order to stabilise her fever and blood pressure. Helen was working overtime, as finally, she pulled a small mask over Kathryn’s delicate features in order to pump oxygen into the woman’s lungs. It was the least she could at this point, until she can further examine the side effects of her abnormality. Whatever it may it.
Helen clenched her jaw, ”Come on, Kathryn. Wake up now. Please, wake up. Breathe.”
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Post by DR KATHRYN LAWSON on Dec 4, 2011 23:04:10 GMT 9.5
(OOC Sorry fo the delay)
Kathryn could sense everything around her but try as she might she could not wake up, her body had reached a point where she had nothing left, the drain of so much pain had got to a point where her body had all but given up. She was now ready to give up and let herself be taken by the darkness permanently, maybe then she might be able to see Daxun again. But somewhere Kathryn felt a sudden jolt of life run through her system and slowly she began to be pulled back from the darkness, she felt a second jolt hit her and suddenly without warning woke up.
Kathryn’s eyes bolted open and she looked up at the ceiling, still not in total control of her own functions she grabbed Helen’s arm and fixed on it so tightly that Helen couldn’t shake her. Clearly frightened Kathryn tired to look at Helen but was unable but what she could feel was the pulsing of energy running through her system. It was if the energy shock had somehow woken her up and now her body was finally repairing itself but she had no way to control it. Confused Kathryn tried to get up but she was still locked onto Helen’s arm as she tried to shake it Helen obviously took it as some sort of attack because the next moment she felt a needle being plunged into her neck.
It was clear to Kathryn quickly that it was a drug and slowly she felt her body relax. In the last few moments before passing out she felt herself drift off into another world and finally allowed the sleep she so desperately needed.
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