Sunday, July 24, 2022

Rubberman that hill

I was listening to "Master of Puppets" in the background (not my typical kind of editing music) as I was editing Rubberman's Exodus, but by the end of the following section, I was required by law to switch to "Running up that hill". Sasha recently discovered that she was very agoraphobic.... and yet...
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Tara had little time to absorb the idea before Sasha's grip on her hand tightened. “Us?” Sasha asked meekly, “going into that? And going out into all that to get there?” Her eyes were locked on the outside, wide, and darting around all that 'empty' out there.

Messenger cast a sympathetic eye on Sasha. “I suppose just Tara would be - ”

Sasha made a sharp whimpering noise. “N-no...” A mix of not having Tara with her, or worrying about Tara out there alone was terrible enough. But there was one final factor that she could address with less embarrassment. “I can do it. I'm going to do what needs to be done. I can do it.”

Tara took Sasha's hands in hers. “Are you sure?”

Sasha blinked with a nod, and did her best to reset herself. “I can. It's just right over there. I can see it, I'll be back inside in no time.”

“That's right,” Tara said, looking closely into Sasha's eyes.

“If you're ready...” Messenger said quietly. He turned to one of the nearby Providers. “I don't know how long this will take. Maybe an hour? I'll call if it looks like it will go longer.”

“We can do this together.” Tara said, holding Sasha as if it were a dance. They began slowly towards the void, but Sasha's breathing wasn't calming down.

They got ever closer to that looming void, and Sasha's confidence crumbled. “I appreciate what you're trying to do hon, but it's not.. it's not...” Sasha's steps broke any rhythm of dance, becoming smaller and less frequent.

Tara leaned in with a kiss, and turned the dance more intimate. She held Tara and did most of the work of moving into the light. “We can.” she whispered into Tara's ear, “We're together.”

Tears came from Sasha with a gasp that turned into a gentle sob. “And you're in just as much danger out here as I am. We have to go back.” Sasha gently, but forcibly moved against Tara's body, to try to push them back inside.

Surprised at the strength Sasha was using, Tara couldn't bring herself to fight with enough force to correct their course. Instead, she simply stopped, and grabbed Sasha tight. “It... it's okay. I... you win.” Holding her so close, Sasha's trembling breath seemed to overtake them both.

Messenger quietly stepped closer, and held out the comm device Tavish had given him. “Hang onto this,” he said softly to Tara, “I can probably get the Colonel to call you on it if we need to talk.” After Tara took it, Messenger began walking back to the AirLimb.

“Neil,” Tara called to him, with apologetic eyes.

“I understand.” Messenger replied before continuing on, leaving Tara holding Sasha.

Sasha began to buckle, but caught herself. “I'm failing at my duty.”

“Hush.”

“And I'm causing you to fail because you need to take care of my weak ass.”

“Hush.”

“No hush, Tara,” Sasha said, pulling away. Before Tara could react, Sasha bolted out into the void towards the AirLimb, head low, as fast as she could.