The girl stumbles onto the street. People snicker at her and walk into her without so much as noticing that they did. She had broken into a cold sweat and her eyes darted around like a ball in a game of pool. She has never been more confused than she is now. Well, not that she can remember. A little boy pulls on her sleeve and is about to say something before his mother, or at least someone who looks the part, guides him away from her. She stood there stupidly, attempting to collect her racing thoughts. She has no clue where she is or why. And she does not know why she only wears a hospital gown under the oversized coat she had stolen just some minutes before. A voice broke through her thoughts and a face was in front of her now. When did he get there?


    “Miss? Miss, are you alright, I think, is your head is bleeding?” His voice seemed to echo in her hollow mind full of things she cannot hold onto. She feels her head and looks down at the hot red liquid on her hand. She suddenly heard yelling behind her and for a reason that she does not know she pushes the man out of her way and starts running. She barrels through shocked men and women. She ran even though her bare feet were cold and hurting.


    “It’s her! Ten ‘o’ clock!” A man yells and she looks behind her for a brief second. A brief and fatal second. She trips and blood trickles from her bare knees. White polished boots appear in front of her, she looks up. The man’s short hair casts a shadow over the blue facemask. His long white coat blows in the soft wind. His left hand rests on a holstered pistol.


    “You are the most troublesome of patients. You certainly do belong in our care.” He grabs the collar of her coat and pulls her to her feet. Two other men nearly identical to him come behind her and put her in handcuffs. “Get her away from these good folk. I will deal with her shortly.” His words seeped out like venom. He was a snake waiting to strike. He looked at the crowd of "good folk" that had now been watching intently. “My dear citizens,” He begins with a booming voice.” We have regained control of the situation! She will return to the institute with no further disturbances!” If anyone had doubts against it, they were silenced by fear. It was all just too absurd for her to speak as she weakly allowed the men to lead her.


    They load her into the back of a white van and sedate her. The only warmth this night came from the exhaust the van spat out behind it.


    ***


    As she slowly comes to, voices dance around her and her eyes struggle to focus. You need to get out of here. Run away again. Oh yeah, that worked real well last time. Try again. Run. They grow louder as they argue, and she cannot shake them. She cannot open her eyes completely, she can hardly hear anything other than the voices. But then she did. A door opens somewhere, and footsteps move closer to her. Each step is louder than the last until they are so loud it drowns out the arguments within her. But the man had never moved at all, still standing in the open doorway doing something with his hands. She can finally open her eyes. She lays in the corner of a plain padded white room. Her arm is still sore from the needle as are her feet and knees.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    She slowly pushes herself up and uses the wall for support. The man in the doorway wears his short hair neatly combed back and his eyes seem to glow above his facemask. His long white coat is stained with splotches of red and orange, but his boots remain in pristine condition.


    “Who are you? You were there last night...why am I here? You cannot keep me here!“


    “Hush child. Your whining is annoying.” He narrows his eyes, they are silver deadly bullets, they glisten in the hallway’s light. That’s right, she realizes. This is Salem. My personal devil. She’s confused now because she can’t remember why she hates him; how does she even know him?


    Her thoughts are interrupted by his deep sigh.


    “It is because they left you here.” He explained with the same boredom as if he has been telling a little kid the same story he''s told them a dozen times. "They left you to suffer and maybe even learn something from this place, your parents I mean. Do you remember them?” He steps in and puts the mask back into place. She does remember, kind of. She nods but he knows it’s not the truth. Not the whole truth. She has never told the whole truth. “Let me remind you.” He chuckles. “They thought you had gone mad. They couldn’t help you, they wouldn’t. They were scared of you!” He walked closer with every word until he was only a breath away. “They didn’t love you so they left you here, we care more than they did so you must stay here. Don''t you go wandering off again.” She felt numb and weak. Everything he said is true and she hates that she forgot it.


    He grabs her arm and leads her out of the room. Her legs are wobbly and sore from running last night. She doesn’t care though; it is not the worst of her worries after all. You should care. What’s wrong with you? Stupid child. The voices pester her. Do they aim to help or to destroy? Is there a reason? Is she really insane? Salem squeezed her arm and whispered to her; “You are not crazy”. What? Why does he torture her so? It was a notion that scared her and confused her more than anything else could.


    They reached a door at the far end of the hall. Her eyes had just adjusted to the LED lights when she was pushed into the dark room. The girl looks behind her at Salem who merely nods slightly and closes the door. She returns her attention to what’s in front of her. Three men in masks and lab coats wait for her around the operation table. One man stands beside a tray of different tools and medicines that have yet to be tested.


    “Hello, Ula.” They say in unison.