Change || The Promised Neverland

⚜ Chapter Twenty-Eight: Ghosts ⚜

<< Why do the ghosts of the past continue to haunt me? >>

«────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ──────»

[Name] wanted to slap herself - and she almost did.

She'd been too careless. That stupid music box always got her - why did she even think of playing again? Because it made her feel safe? No, she was never safe here. [Name] knew that, and yet, she let herself fall asleep into this hell.

Actually, scratch that. She'd always been in hell - she'd just destroyed her only escape.

"79784."

Arianna pushed herself off the bed. [Name]'s eyes widened when she registered that she could see the green-eyed girl, meaning she was no longer in her body. Looking down, [Name] saw her own body, fading and almost a mist, as if she were the spirit she was in the machine-orientated dreams.

The state of the other girl was how [Name] felt most of the time - she was just a lot better at hiding it. But still, Arianna looked a lot worse. It was clear that she hadn't slept in days. Bags hung under her eyes, and her skin had sunken. As she slid off the bed, it was almost as if it used up all of her strength to keep herself up.

"Who..?" Arianna managed. Wincing at a sudden throb in her head, she held her head with one hand, barely keeping her eyes open.

"Doctor Sidra is out today," the scientist said through the microphone. "We'll be conducting your memory test instead."

Arianna shook her head. "Today... Break day," she muttered. "Only intelligence test today."

"79784," the scientist sighed, "is your mind this muddled from the tests? Your rest day is tomorrow."

"That's not right," Arianna replied, rubbing her eyes. "It's Wednesday."

"No, it's Tuesday," the scientist insisted. Arianna narrowed her eyes.

"Why are you lying to me?" she asked grumpily. "I'm not so disoriented that I don't know what day it is."

"You don't have a calendar in there," the scientist responded, sounding a bit irritated. "I do. It's Tuesday, I can assure you that."

The green-eyed girl didn't seem convinced, but she begrudgingly accepted the scientist's words. Soon, she had tested her vitals and finished her breakfast. [Name] couldn't push back the unsettling pit in her stomach as Arianna stood in front of the door, awaiting her testing day.

The break days were essential, [Name] knew that if they weren't there, her brain wouldn't have been able to keep up. If Arianna was so sure that today was her break day, then why was the scientist insisting otherwise?

A male scientist opened the door, leading Arianna out and into the hallways. [Name] glanced at his partner, flinching at the familiar face. Smee stared blankly down at her - almost as if he could see her spirit.

[Name] shook it off, knowing full well that he couldn't - this was a dream, a memory, and she wasn't actually there.

Arianna could barely keep up with the quick-footed scientists, who didn't stop to wait for her. She rubbed her arms, wincing at her constant headache that would surely explode with the memory test. Soon, they entered the memory room, Arianna stumbling up the spiraling stairs until she seated herself in the large chair.

Reluctantly, she slid on the headphones. Personally, [Name] had never skipped out on an intelligence or break day, so she was both morbidly curious and apprehensive for what was to come. Considering that Arianna wasn't alive to this day, she knew it wasn't good.