Heart Pain (Leila)

Leila watched as the ball grew and grew larger before her very eyes. All of her attentions were focused on it, waiting for the impact, for the pain. Then it hit her, Chester had unleashed it upon her and her expectations were left void. There was no pain at all. Only a gentle and warm caress, the lick of a lavish life flowing back into her.

She felt again! Everything, every human emotion and sensation she'd ever known was returning to her just then. All of the urges of life, love, happiness and fulfillment were returning to her. Leila felt herself smile as the overwhelmingly loving feelings flustered and swelled inside of her. Even the newest sensation, the desire to nurture another being. To foster life inside of her womb, to birth, mold and shelter a child. The feeling was different than any she'd ever felt, more alive than when she was alive. It was amazing, a high like none she'd ever experienced.

Then the worlds threw her, into the darkness and cold. A mere moments after all of that fulfillment and joy without measure, she felt it seething away. She laid on the cold ground and writhed as the life was being stolen from her, her spirit dying yet again. This time the potential life that was tearing away from her was more indignant and selfish than her initial embrace. She felt the little hands gently caressing her bosom evaporate away, watching through a window in her life that was shrinking into blackness.

Her unlife was claiming her again. She wanted to weep and buckle, to mourn her life for the first time since she was taken.

Spoiler:

Leila continued to shuffle along the wall of the building in the alley until she got to the street, then her still shaking consciousness came to trying to discern whereabouts she was in this huge town.

As she walked along the wall for support she felt herself trembling. She kept telling herself it was ok, she was a different person now, a different thing. That stuff didn't matter did it? Her mind had other alternatives, the image of the children she'd have fluttered in her mind repeatedly plastering her with guilt and shame. Little boys and little girls as beautiful and handsome as she expected her brothers and sisters to have been.

She wanted to feel the tug at her heart as her brain replayed these images but there was nothing. A vast wasteland of emptiness. What if these children had the souls of her lost siblings? What if she would've have been given a chance to give them the life those souls craved? She started to realize that she'd given all that up willingly. She looked each of those children, her lover, the feelings and emotions that left her and she began to wail. Her legs buckled and a low sob seeped from her lips finally. She slid back down to the ground, her head slamming into the bricks behind her.

She apologized to the heavens, to the children and her future. There would never be any light again and the cruel vision and feelings only cemented that further. Her head then fell forward into her waiting hands and her hair pooled over her face, shielding her pain from the world.

Leila saw the signs on the street corner, but had no idea of where she was in New York City.

Leila finally found the energy to press on, she stood up and gathered her things. The thoughts of her lost humanity still plagued her. She left the alley and went to the street, looking in each direction for any cabs or people.

It was certainly late, a cab passed by but refused to pick up Leila. No people around the streets were almost dead silent.

The girl was starting to get frustrated by the lack of available people or information on the streets. She took out her phone and called someone she felt knew NYC the most. She dialed Stein.

The phone rang once and twice, then Stein picked up.
"Good evening"

"Yes, I do." he says with Irony.

"Okay... Is it too much for you to tell me so I can get back to the club?"

Leila knew she had quite more than her fair share of favors called in to Stein already, so she wasn't annoyed at all by his reply.

Stein said with the same calm tone in the darker expression possible.
"You have a subway one block following the [Street]. That subway will lead you to Brooklyn, head for Prospect"

"Prospect? Like the park? Is the club near there?"

Leila started walking down the street following his directions the darkness in his voice sending irrational chills through her. On top of that she'd never taken the subway. She thought about telling him this but it'd only add to admission of a weakness so she held back.

Stein says calmy
"Have a good night Leila"

As Stein predicted she could see the Subway station at the end of the street.

"Thanks, night."

She mused more to herself than anything as she was sure he'd clicked off the line. She shoved her phone back into her purse and pressed onward with a few stray looks behind her. She meandered down into the station, taking the stairs down two at a time trying not to think about the chilling human urges that had over taken her. The thoughts ceased suddenly as she realized she had no idea how to use the subway. She knew she'd have to pay for it at least so she started looking around the underground station for a way to pay or get a ticket.

Leila decends by a wide concrete stair to the lower level that lead to an alley, it was wide poorly illuminated and had many graffities here and there. There were many posts painted on the walls in many cases under the graffities, most of them with ecologist message and information about the events on the city.

Eventually she went down two more levels there she found another alley that lead to a bunch of chrome machines all with a METROCARD sign on the top.

Leila approached the machine and she pulled her wallet from her purse, removed her debit card and placed her card in the slot for it. She put in her pin went through that whole process of paying for the single trip and out popped a little card. She took it and for a second paused to study the map looking for the line to Prospect.

Once she was sure she knew where she was going she headed down into the subway, paid for her trip with the card and waited for the subway line to Prospect. Once it arrived she cautiously boarded the freight and sat down at a seat close to the door. Her eyes looked all around her taking in the new experience.

The NYC Subway network was complicated, still Leila found her way around the system. She would have to do several tranfers before getting to the right station.

Spoiler:

Without further incidents and having her first experience in the subway Leila finally got to the Prospect Subway Station. The subway was at this hours a very strange place, seemed dangerous and dark like something was unhabiting it, something bad.

During the travel she saw herself reflected in the windows and was able to see the necklace given by Chester and which until now she had pending on her neck.

Brooklyn was quiet, except for the distant noises, at her right Leila saw the Prospect Park that dangerous unsettling place when she discover her beast.