Butterfly Wings

Epilogue

                             Epilogue Part 2

I wake to whimpering whispers as the fogginess fades and I become more alert and coherent, my eyes clear and I can now see several people in my room, two men in suites, an officer in the corner, a nurse standing at my side, and finally the two people I have wished to see for so long.

My parents, my dad now with a face full of facial stubs, and he seems more built and tanner then I remember, and my mom at his side, her normally tall skinny figure seems skinnier than usual, with her dyed hair grown out to show bright gray roots of hair, they are talking quietly to the men in the suites at the end of my bed, the officer just watching my mother who whimpers with their voices, and the nurse who seems too distracted checking my vitals and my medicine to notice my eyes staring her down with a sense of fear but also a sense of safety.

I lay still and quiet for some time watching everyone's movements without turning my head or eyes, as I stare at the ceiling and hope he does not walk into the room, when suddenly a loud gasp and a cry of joy sounds in the room as my mother's figure jumps into my line of vision, she runs her hand down through my hair while her other hand grasp my cheek softly; my father joining at her side taking my hand in his, I watch as tears gathered in their eyes all the while I stare emotionless, unmoving, and unfeeling on the bed.

I watch as the nurse speaks in a whisper to the man and officers before leaving the room, my mother leaning over kissing my face all over, and my dad seems to just stare at my face, uncertainty in his eyes. I can tell he knows something is not right with me, as a single tear yet again slips from my eye, my mother quickly wipes it away, she grasps my face with her hands and whispers comforting words all while unknowing the monster was here. I hear the door open again and the same nurse and a doctor walk into the room.

"Hello, I am Hayley's doctor, my name is Dr. Tammy Lee. I would like to run some tests while we have her awake and not sedated, I would need you both to step into the hallway if that is alright that way, we can do the test and I can talk to you both in private afterwards."

I watch my mother nod while my father looks hesitant, he nods before speaking to her, "We can do that if you can give us answers, like why the hell my daughter looks like she isn't even there, and even more so, why she's still restrained to the bed."

Dr. Tammy nods agreeing, and my parents walk into the hallway. The so-called test lasted about 15 minutes, words were spoken I could not even begin to understand, and the restraints were taken off, yet I still laid there, unmoving, emotionless; no matter how hard I tried I just could not get my body to move.

Melissa's POV

"She is still showing signs of slight hypothermia as her temperature is still very low, her hand is shattered in several places, she has lacerations all over her body, her left leg is broken, her shoulder was dislocated, a tendon was ripped in her hip as well as her back is severely bruised, she has whip marks and what look to be very clear word that were etched into her back, and she has a broken rib. She was bleeding internally and as for her eyes and how she is acting, her eye seems to have been changed, how we are not sure, but this is not unheard of, in fact there is an illegal procedure that is seen more in other countries than here in the United States, as for how she is acting, she is catatonic, which just means there's an abnormality of movement and behavior, typically it is seen in schizophrenic patients but can occur in extreme cases of PTSD."

I gasp at the information, and I am quick to realize that Dr. Tammy looks hesitant and nervous, like she is not telling me everything.

"What do you mean, what word is etched into my daughters back?" John asks horrified.