Walk Unafraid

The look of astonishment on the Creator's face faded after a moment, and a look of clinical detachment assumed itself. He stepped towards Deanna, and looked deep into her blue eyes,

"Well, you speaking wasn't something I expected. Why do you say you're ready to leave this place?

Deanna was able to turn her head slightly to match the Creator's gaze. She looked understandably nervous and confused, but... I swore there was something more... a slight glimpse of... confidence.

"Because... because I'm not afraid any more."

The Creator cocked his head slightly to one side. "Explain, please. As fully as you can, Deanna. Tell us... tell him, what you mean."

Deanna took a deep breath. "I don't remember much... though some things have come back to me recently. I recall... an incident. It was in a shopping mall or something. I felt... pursued. I felt unsafe. I was scared. Something bad... had almost happened to me...

"I couldn't trust any one... I couldn't trust anything... I only felt 'safe' when I woke up here... in this place. This hell. I felt safe in these walls. In the middle of this desert. Stone walls, and only one door. Not enough beds, and not enough chairs. No privacy whatsoever. Nothing to see out the windows but sand and mountains. But yet... no one could get to me here.

"Then... this madness started. Seven more people showed up. Most of them as messed up as I was. Six other women I could bond with and commiserate with, even as we tried to keep ourselves alive in this... underfunded facility." She smiled, and turned her head towards me. "And then, he showed up."

I couldn't speak, I was too enraptured by what she was saying. My rage was replaced by an aching longing to hear what she would say next.
"The other women were in bad shape, like me. We couldn't do much to help ourselves besides the necessities of life, aside from what meager entertainment we had available to us. But Brian... he wasn't medicated. He didn't know who he was any better than we did. but he had a plan. He took care of us. He fed us until we could cook ourselves. He took care of us when there were fires. He got to know us, he made sure we knew he was going to get us out of here. He got jobs to get money to keep us fed, and he repaired what broke or got clogged.

"We didn't make it easy for him. There were fights... there were fires... there were nights none of us could sleep. We all had our breakdowns due to the lack of professional care here. Bad decisions were made at times, by all of us, but he kept going, and did everything he could. He put our welfare above his own at times. And we survived."

She smiled, warmly. "And he loved me. He showed me how to laugh. He showed me how to trust. He showed me that though the world is still dangerous, it has its good points too. He showed me, that even if you live in Hell, you don't have to live in constant fear. He danced with me on this crusted-over stone floor next to a candle that passed for a lamp, and it felt like a grand ballroom, just him and I. And now... I feel like I can handle anything."

My knees would have buckled, were they not locked in place. The Creator's eyebrows rose slightly, then he turned to look at me, and then back to Deanna.

"Like what?" He asked.

"Well," she replied, involuntarily looking towards the ceiling. "I feel like I could walk down the street. I feel like I could say 'Hello' to new people. I feel like I could get a job. I feel like I could be a wife, and even a mother. I feel like I can make friends. I feel... safe."
The Creator nodded, even as I fought like a demon to break free of whatever was keeping our free will turned off. Nothing worked, however, and I stayed absolutely still. I threw a longing gaze at Deanna trying to get across that I'd want nothing more to throw my arms around her. I saw her look back at me and wink.

"Very impressive, Deanna," the Creator replied. "So, you feel like you can make your own choices in life, if I understand correctly."

"Yes, I do," she replied, with as much of a nod as she could manage. He turned to her, then back to me.

"We already know what others present would choose. I ask you Deanna, what is the first thing you would choose if given release from this place?"

To my surprise, Deanna gritted her teeth and made a slight growl under her breath. To mine, and the Creator's astonishment, her body started shaking slightly. Somehow, impossibly, despite the powers of the Creator, she managed to lift her arm, and point at.... me. She was pointing at me.
"My first choice," she said with a smile through her clenched teeth, "would be him. Brian. I love him, and would want to be his wife. I would be his reward, for he would be mine." She relaxed her jaw, and her arm fell as the enchantment grasped her again.

The Creator's eyebrows lifted slightly. "That was very touching, and very convincing, Deanna. I believe you. It seems you are mentally, and emotionally fit to leave this center. There's just one thing you need to know...."
As a dead silence loomed over the room, the Creator glanced at me, and at the looming yet inert forms of Rocco and Snakes. It was His turn to say three words to stun us all...

"You aren't safe."