Vivienne

Heather locked the cart in front of Wendy and walked around where The Darla was standing. “Art is all in the eyes of who’s looking at it, Right Loved One?” Heather asked and opened her bag, and pulled free a small syringe and started filling it with a dark liquid through its rubber stopper. “I think it needs something to make it more vibrant, make it more personal? Right now, that is textbook, Loved One.”  She looked at Wendy. “This will relax you.  Even if you don’t deserve it.”  Captain Addison paused, “You sit there crying, because you are scared of dying.” Heather walked over to Wendy’s shoulder and rolled up the sleeve and stopped just before injecting her. “I loved him, Wendy.”  Captain Addison dug out a picture of the couple and shook her head. “No, I can see it in your eyes. You are crying, but you don’t care.”  Captain Addison plunged the picture back in her pocket, “You deserve this.”  She turned to The Darla, “Loved One, I see the disease you are referring to.”  Heather raised her runed hand and waved it over Wendy’s trapped form. “All I see is a gray outline.  It’s like you are as dead as the ones we hunt.”

The Darla turned up the volume so Wendy could still hear the lyrics of Tomorrow Wendy, “Very good, Heather.  You gave me a great idea.  Gray matter.”  -Tink…tink..swish…scribble..- “Careful with that, she did have the drink a few minutes ago.”  The Darla stopped working and pointed the pen she was holding at Captain Addison. “I do not want her dead, Captain.”

“Only God says jump
But I set the time
'cause if he ever saw it

The Darla watched as her cleric lowered the dose in the needle. “A little tough love will fix things like this, Wendy.”  She conjured up another image of Wendy back in Nick’s home and played the scene until all three heard Wendy’s past proclamation, ‘I prefer the term curious psychotic.’

Wendy watched her past self once more, “I…I…he…”  She sputtered hopelessly and strained against her restraints. “I…c-can..ch-ch-change, please..Loved…One.”

The Darla stopped the music from another loop and turned the easel around to reveal the inked drawing. “Of that, I can guarantee.”  Her light hazel eyes gleamed wickedly at Wendy.  The Darla nodded to Captain Addison and the cleric plunged the needle into Wendy’s arm and depressed the plunger. “Tough Love, Wendy.”  Using her quill as a pointer, The Darla explained the picture on the canvas. “As you can see, this is a cut-away.  One side has your nose and nasal canal up to the front part of your brain.” The Darla mimicked what Wendy had done to Nick and tapped her forehead with the fountain-pen. “This is the best part, Wendy.  Pay close attention.”  The Darla pointed to the section of the canvas showing a human brain in vibrant pink with the frontal lobe in gray. “You know my fascination with the fifties, dear.”  The Darla slid her stool back beside Wendy, “See that gray matter?  That is what we will be taking care of.  You will be receiving a lobotomy.”  The Darla slowly turned to see the look of shock and horror creep over Wendy’s features. “See how much I love you, dear?  I am going to have Captain Addison remove the disease and set you free to love everyone again.”  Denise touched the inside edge of Wendy’s eye. “You know, this was a very common practice and perfected in the…”  The Darla stretched her lips into her subtle and sinister smile. “...Fifties.”

Wendy’s normally devilish brown eyes darted hopelessly between Captain Addison and The Darla.  Feeling the numbness of the injection starting to take effect, Wendy tried to focus on one final spell. -Burn her.-  The last vestiges of her little voice echoed.  She took a hesitant breath and outstretched her fingers.  The infiltrator pushed all of her hate and disgust she’d held back for months and poured it into the spell.  Twisting her wrist and curling her fingers up to form a wicked cup, Wendy’s rune glowed a solid and bright green for a split second before fire arced from her fingers, headed directly for The Darla.

Watching as her fountain-pen melted from the fire that had been cast directly at her, The Darla pointed at Wendy’s wrists. “I would have tried to burn the leather, Dear.” As fire danced and licked over her small frame harmlessly, The Darla pressed her palm into Wendy’s and transferred the copy of the letter that was still imprinted on the redhead's hand. “Please proceed, Captain Addison.”  The Darla set the easel with the inked graphic beside her first. “Before, During…Now we start on After.”  The Darla picked up her stool and carried it in front of the remaining easel. “Wendy, Dear.  I will show you this after Heather has finished her duty, you will appreciate it much better with a cleared…head.”

Captain Addison bowed, “Yes, Loved One.”  Heather turned and retrieved a stainless steel hammer and an orbitoclast from her bag, cleaning them both with alcohol.  Opening her palm and revealing an egg white rune that matched the others, Heather looked back to The Darla once more. “May Gaia guide these instruments of love so that our sister might be free of her disease.”  

“Gaia is with you, Heather.”  The Darla looked at her canvas. -Dab..dab…swish…dab..dab- The Darla hummed softly to herself as the paint colors started covering the canvas. “Wendy, you are going to be my second best piece of art.  A living display of my love and support.”  -Swish..swish…poke.-

Wendy felt the cold steel press against her tear duct and tried to turn her head. “No…no…don’t do…”

-Ti..ii…nnnn….gggg-

Wendy screamed and howled in both agony and terror as the steel needle penetrated into the bone of her eye socket.

-Ti...ii…nnn…ggg…crack-

Wendy heard and felt the bone crunch. “St…stop…ple…..”  Wendy screamed through her pain and suffering.

Captain Addison put the hammer back on her medical cart, “I am five centimeters in, Loved One.”  Heather grasped the metal handle and took one more look at The Darla.

-Dab…swish…smear…poke..poke..twist.- The Darla tilted her head and sat back to look at the painting. “With my blessing, Captain Addison. Twist with love.”  The Darla blotted the painting with blues and yellows, a thin trail of red and even a rancid muddy brown.

Wendy screamed and tried to wiggle for a few more seconds and suddenly everything she was thinking seemed to erase.

Captain Addison pulled the rod free and unbuckled Wendy’s head from the chair, and wrapped the stoic woman’s head in a bandage.  Heather wiped drool from Wendy’s chin and removed the restraints from her other limbs.  Wendy fell forward into the medic’s arms. “Loved One, she will need to recover.  Only time will tell if the disease is clear.”

The Darla turned the final easel and displayed the painting, “Wendy. This is you now.”  Denise gently lifted Wendy’s head to so it was in the direction of the painting. “See, that is you.  With birdseed, feeding the ducks by the pond.”  Denise stroked the long curly red hair. “You are no longer gray, you are vibrant now…My love cured you.”  Denise studied Wendy for a moment and saw visible brown eye lazily tracking her movements. “You did well, Heather.  Take her to the third floor and let her recover in her new room.”  She cleaned her brushes and set them down. “Don’t forget her…stage art.”