Mad Love

Chapter 2

The girl's eyes shot open and found that she was in a hospital bed and dressed in clothes that weren't hers. At least she didn't think they were hers. She couldn't remember anything before the accident, not even her name. 

She frantically looked around and once she confirmed she was alone, she got up and went to the bathroom. Her head was wrapped in bandages and when she lifted her shirt, she found that her torso was also wrapped up. This confirmed that the horrifying image of her insides being wide open wasn't a dream.

"I... need to get out of here" She returned to the hospital room and quickly made her way to the door.

Unexpectedly, it was unlocked, and she stumbled her way out into a long hallway. It was quite disorienting being alone in such a place, but she couldn't let that stop her from finding the exit. She also needed to avoid that psychotic doctor or whoever he was.

It was so odd to her that there were actually signs in the empty space, as if it really was a hospital. There was no way a legitimate practice would allow a psycho like that to wake up a patient during surgery.

As her mind ran rampant with how unbelievable her situation was, she followed signs for an exit. She didn't dare try to look into the other room, afraid of what horrors she would find.

She then stumbled upon some stairs with an exit sign posted above them. Was this an underground facility? There was no time to think about it now, the girl simply wanted to just get out.

As she burst through the double doors, the girl's heart sank at the sight before her. The hospital was more than just an underground facility, it looked to be part of some abandoned military base. There were stretches of road and parking spaces with high barbed wire gates around the paramotor, but it looked like there was nothing else for miles. She was stranded with a complete lunatic.

"You were rather quick to try to escape. It was a futile effort, but you're smart. I like that." A chill ran down her spine as she heard the familiar voice devoid of any emotion.

She sunk to her knees as the doctor walked up behind her. She could hear the scratching of a pen and she looked up at him to see that he was writing on a clipboard. He was watching her the whole time. This was a test and she played right into his hands.

"Alright, now that we've tested your cognitive function, let's return inside Celine." She flinched away from his hand as he tried to reach for her. "Are you afraid of me? That actually works better for me. If you hated me instead, then you would be more likely to fight back and disobey orders. If you liked me, I'd be concerned with your mental health."

What was this lunatic rambling on about? The girl couldn't even fathom what this man could have possibly wanted from her. "W-why am I here?" Her shaky voice caught his attention, and he gave her a manic smile. 

"Oh good. You can still speak. I'll explain everything to you back inside. Allow me to help you up. If you bend too much, you could open your sutures." He extended his hand towards her again and with a soft whimper, she allowed him to pull her up. She then followed him back inside.

~~~~

"My name is Dr. Jeremiah Galloway. From now on, you shall be Celine," The man began as he opened the door to a conference room and allowed Celine to enter first. Her clumsy way of walking was so endearing that he wanted to trip her, but he was a gentleman, so he refrained from doing so.

He gestured toward a nearby chair, and she took a seat in it. He then turned on the room's projector and showcased a list of rules onto the dry erase board. "You died a few days ago, but I brought you back for the soul purpose of being my partner. Living people are too much of a liability to keep as companion."

Jeremiah could feel his heart flutter as the girl's eyes grew wide with horror at the news that she was dead. He would probably never get tired of scaring her. She was too precious with how expressive she was.

"I'm dead? So, the accident killed me?" "Yes, you were brought to the general hospital for surgery, but I couldn't save you in time. Instead of taking you to the morgue, I brought you here to see if I could bring you back. It worked out quite nicely don't you think?"

Celine jumped from her chair with an exacerbated expression. "You didn't even know if it would work?" He let out a small chuckle in response to her outrage. "I've been working on the formula involving electricity to bring back the dead. I haven't been able to get it right until I tried it with your body."

"You're insane..." "Psychopath, actually. I was tested when I was a teenager. While I'm not good with empathy, my hands are steady in stressful situations. It's what makes me such an elite surgeon. Anyway, we're getting sidetracked. On the board are the rules you will be required to follow." He pointed toward said board, prompting Celine to hesitantly sit back down and turn her attention to the rules listed.

"First and foremost, you will obey my orders. Everything I tell you is for your safety and to make our arrangement go smoothly. Second, no messing around inside the hospital. There is a lot of dangerous equipment here and I don't want you getting hurt. Third, you will be staying with me in a house I have here on the compound. You may use and enter any room there except my study and bedroom. I will respect your privacy as long as you respect mine. If you wish for anything to decorate with or any other items such as clothing or objects to keep you occupied, just ask me and I will get it for you. No cell phones, for obvious reasons. Any questions?"

Celine was reading through the list as Jeremiah was explaining them. "No Doctor... There's really no point in trying to go against any of these rules." He smiled as Celine didn't have any arguments and gently patted her head. "Good. You're a smart girl, my dear angel." Celine tightened her fists at his touch and the nickname.

"Would you like to see your new home?"