LITERAL POISON

Locusta shoved her hands deep into her pockets, scrunching up her shoulders. The dark night hid everything in shadows, keeping things secret that Locusta didn't want to think about. She focused on the snow, letting the crunch of it underfoot soothe her racing heart. She never liked walking home alone, yet alone in the dark. There were two things she was petrified of - the dark, and the unknown. Combine the two and Locusta found it difficult to breathe. 

Her staggered breaths came out in puffs in front of her. Had it not been illuminated by the deep shade of sky she would've been fascinated by it, just like she was by all things. The chill nipped at her cheeks and sneaked into her shoes, freezing her toes. Thoughts of a roaring fire and a cup of coca cupped in her hand rang in her head. She increased her pace. 

She only had at least five more minutes to walk and those dreams would become reality. 

Her eyes narrowed down on the ground, her body closing in further on itself. If she let the noises from all around her hit her ears she'd take in the blaring sirens, screech of homeless cats and the distant chatter of a group of men. She blocked them all out though, letting only the crunch, crunch filter through. 

If she had been paying attention she could've saved herself a lot of heartache. 

It was only when she walked past an alley with a few hooded figures in it she became wary. She tugged her coat closer, her calves burning at the sudden increase of effort. A cold sweat broke out on her back, dripping down her skin, sending shivers down her spine. Her breaths matched her pace - she was sucking more air in before she had completely exhaled. The terrifying thing - they were slower than the footsteps behind her. 

Cautiously, she risked a glance over her shoulder. Three people wearing baggy, black clothing and masks were a few steps behind her. They made no effort to look conspicuous, staring staright back at her. She snapped her back around, pushing herself to be faster, begging her body to let her escape. 

No matter how hard she tried, she wasn't fast enough. 

In a single moment, a pointed object dug into her back. She froze. 

"Do as we say, or this knife will cut right through you." The voice was light and sweet, a feminine voice. It contrasted their words, which were dripping with poison. 

Locusta only nodded, complying when they told her to move forward. She kept moving forward, eyes scouring the streets hoping that someone, anyone, would come see and help. As luck would have it, nobody did. Locusta gulped, palms slick. 

She had no idea how to get out of this situation. And that terrified her more than anything because she knew whatever happened next would be unstoppable. It was as though fate had taken control and had sapped her mind of it's intellect and quick thinking, forcing her down a path she wasn't sure she wanted to take. 

Reluctantly she was pushed into a side alley, two people taking hold of her hands and pinning them to the wall. A small whimper escaped no matter how hard she swallowed it down. She was certain that it would leave bruises.

"Give us your purse." The one with the knife demanded, holding it closer to her. She could feel the edge of it digging into her skin, hard enough to draw blood. She didn't dare speak, acutely aware of the sharpness of the blade and the frailness of her skin. "Well?" 

Locusta nodded, wincing slightly when the blade grazed against her neck. Slowly, she reached for it, taking it out of her bag at a snail like pace and throwing it to the ground. The pair holding her arms down rushed to it, greedily ripping it open and ogling the contents. 

"Holy crap, there's like forty dollars in here!" Locusta stared at the one with the knife, pleading silently. "Come on, we've got we wanted. Lets go." 

The woman with the knife hesitated. "She could snitch." 

In a flash she plunged the blade into Locusta's side. Her lips parted in shock, staring at the woman in disbelief. The woman had an equal look of shock on her face, fear lingering in her eyes. Before anything else could be said, the woman sprinted away, leaving her two lapdogs chasing after her cursing. 

Locusta knew she shouldn't look down at the wound, and just pretend that its not there. She should try getting help, and get fixed as soon as possible and pretend that this never happened. But morbid curiosity won the fight. 

Looking down, Locusta nearly threw up. Sticking out of her lower stomach was the hilt of the blade. Red had stained the front of her shirt, marring the white colour and tainting it an unholy shade. Unbearable agony spread from the wound, and a involuntary sob slipped past her lips. 

She could die. 

She fumbled down the alleyway, already feeling light headed from the blood loss. She didn't want to give into the darkness just yet, she was too scared. She wanted to stay in the light, stay in the safety and be okay. If she stayed in the light she'd be fine. 

Locusta made it to the doorstep of her house when the darkness finally stole her.

*

An incessant beeping greeted her the moment she slipped back into consciousness. Her eyes felt heavy and her body weak, and she had the greatest desire to itch at her hand. Stale chlorine enveloped her senses. A weight was laying on her hand. Her tongue felt like sandpaper. Her body felt unfamiliar, as though her brain had been placed inside someone else, and a foreign, fiery pain lit up all of her nerves.

Eyes fluttering open, she was attacked by harsh, piercing light. Instantly her eyes snapped back shut, an involuntary groan slipping past her lips. Even the act of breathing hurt. 

"Hey baby, it's us. You can open your eyes." It was them. Their voice triggered memories to be released into the mind, relishing all of their happy moments together. Relishing the way they loved and cared for her.

Her parents. 

Slowly, she eased her eyes open. Locusta found herself squinting in the razor light; she didn't care. Because in her line of sight were two people who knew her inside and out. 

Instantly the tears she was holding back were released. A choked cry escaped her chapped lips. "It hurts so much!" 

"We know darling, we know." Her parents stood by her bedside, the glassiness of their eyes matching Locusta's. "But you're okay now." 

Her mother reached up to stroke her cheek. Locusta sighed at the action, mind not processing the hands encased in thick gloves and the quarantine like tent around them. She was only focused on her mothers loving, relieved gaze. 

Until she made one single, simple request. "Can you lie with me?" 

They shared a look. "I - I'm sorry babe, but I can't." 

"And why not? Don't you love me?" 

"Of course we do baby! It's just that... we can't." Locusta stared at her mother, disbelief written across her features. "The knife they stabbed you with... It had an unknown bacteria on it, with poisonous qualities. It left you in a coma, with little chance of waking up. We were offered a drug to help, and we took it." 

Locusta wasn't sure if she wanted to hear what was coming next. She had known that her body didn't feel right, that there was something deeply wrong about it. Yet she had never expected something like this. 

Her mothers voice was so choked up she could barely make out what she was saying. "The drug did work to an extent. The bacteria merged, in a sense, with your body. You can secrete poison. If anyone touches you, they'll die Locusta." 

Locusta instantly froze. She remembered this now. She remembered how she sobbed for hours, how all her parents could do was look at her sorrowfully and offer words of comfort. But in that version, they said her real name. 

Messalina. Messalina said something about the planes between two realities...

This wasn't real.

"Who the fuck are you?" Locusta seethed, sitting up in her bed, fighting back the waves of agony crashing in her body. She ignored the looks on her 'parents' faces, ripping the IV needle out of her hand and jumping to her feet. They reached out to her, she shrugged them off. "I'm literal poison, remember?" 

Without saying another word, she pushed her way through the tent flaps.  Almost immediately after a cold, piercing breeze attacked her body. Night sky was all see could see for miles, houses lining the area. Her feet lost their grip, slipping on the new surface underfoot. Locusta's heart was in her throat as she slid down the tiles, desperately grasping at anything. 

A shrill scream left her body as her body was catapulted over the edge. Her hand shot out, snatching at the gutter and clasping on for dear life. Her descent halted. She was dangling thirty feet in the air. 

Breathlessly, she commented below her breath. "Well, this is a predicament."

-

hi guys! i hope you enjoyed the little insight into locusta's past. the memory she experienced, along with curio's, were just hallucinations created by the plane to keep them from entering a new reality. it's completely unnatural and the plane was trying to stop them by keeping them in the hallucination long enough for the portal to close around them and kill them. messalina didn't experience it as she was originally tasked to lead them all through the portal, and had been trained. does that make sense? 

i'm so freaking happy, as i had a job interview today, and it went really fucking well! one step closer to hopefully earning money again! and i'm getting my hair dyed soon so i'm freaking pumped for that - i'm going purple ombre and oh my fuck it's going to be beautiful. anyone had anything good happen this week?

thanks you reading, see you guys!

-thirdwheelchurchill