Fumes and the Future PV Finished

@Brinley Bardot

She turned her head, her cheeks were flushed and her eyes stung horribly but a calmness seemed to force itself upon her as she looked at the Professor. Professor Bardot’s face was incredibly serene, unbelievably so, and her voice mimicked this nature. However there was a sombre undertone that Ann could not ignore, a stifling sense of despair that had grasped both of them and was steadily filling the room, rising and rising like steam from hot tea.

"I'm here if you ever need me, dear, not just for readings but also to talk."

“Thank you Professor.” The sides of her mouth twitched and shook as she attempted to raise them upwards. Ann tried to offer back even an ounce of the same kindness she was being given but it seemed impossible despite her trying.

She then walked towards the cloth that covered the Office's entrance and pulled it to the side, sending minute ripples across its surface, the light from outside the office pierced through the curtain’s thin skin causing un unusual pattern to tremble on the walls. She began her descent. Each step echoed like the thump of a heart inside a chest - it made the tower seem far emptier than it was. Reaching the bottom of the tower and exiting the classroom was a far faster process than Ann could have imagined, in fact it was entirely a blur, she couldn’t remember whether the banister was wood or metal or whether she had passed any other students or no one at all. She was filled head to toe with a dense fog that filled the large cavity forming in her chest but made everything else around her extremely hard to process.

Instinctively her feet started to walk the path to the common room and every other part of her was too exhausted to resist. Her body gave over to muscle memory and her mind began to drift into horrific scenarios … filled with blood, threat and death which she felt was inevitably tied to her future.