༺The Evil Within༻Room 36

IV. Touch

❁

"If I told you what I was,
Would you turn your back on me?
And if I seem dangerous,
Would you be s c a r e d?"

❁

Sophie slept longer than she'd meant to. A side effect of the serum no doubt.

She flung herself out of her bed, sending her paper thin sheets flying. The clock above the sink read '10:00' a.m. She'd missed breakfast!

The schedule was surprisingly lenient in Beacon. For her anyway. But the chance of her getting a meal now were nonexistent. She would have to wait until lunch at 12:00. Which would have been fine any other time, if it hadn't been for the fact that she'd also missed dinner last night.

After Ruben left, she had passed out. Her sleep was not a peaceful one. Filled with nightmares and strange dreams, it was a relief to wake up. What had they injected her with yesterday?

She spent a moment to freshen up. Running her frizzled mane of red hair through a measly little comb, she frowned in dismay at her reflection. Her pale face and sunken features made her appear sickly. Her unkempt hair only worsened it. She didn't have anything other than her comb, and it did nothing to help with her thick locks.

She sighed. Finishing up by brushing her teeth and slipping on her clothes, she slipped outside. The halls were mostly empty, aside from the occasional mumbling patient being escorted to their rooms by nurses. The dim light from the large window at the end of the hall caught her eye. It looked cloudy outside, almost rainy.

Shuffling to the reception area, her gaze couldn't help but dart about in search of Ruben. He was the one person in her life that made her feel safe, wanted.

Of course, she was still slightly wary of him. Sophie was never one to trust easily. After living in a hell hole like this for so long, she'd grown to be very selective of who to trust.

So far, only Leslie had met her requirements.

Speaking of Leslie, where was he? She looked about. Most of the patients had retired to their rooms, some lingering about still in the reception on the many couches and chairs. 'He must be outside,' she thought to herself.

Asking permission from one of the kinder nurses, she gained access to the playground: Leslie's little retreat to happiness.

A smile broke across her lips as she spotted him immediately. He sat on the yellow seesaw by himself, a pale finger extended to serve as a perch to a tiny, blue butterfly. She was too far away to hear, but she watched his lips move and imagined him whispering softly to himself, "Pretty, pretty, pretty..."

She approached him with her hands playfully held behind her back. "Can I sit with you, Leslie?"

The young boy's attention deterred from the insect to her. His pale eyes stared at her in surprise. "Sit, sit, sit. S-Sophie, sit.." He stammered.

She sat on the opposite side of the seesaw and they began to rock. Leslie was heavier than she, so he had to stand to allow her to lift. Sophie threw her head back and smiled at be overcast sky above. A distant rumble of thunder sounded as rain began to fall sparsely around them.