A Ruined Core

Chapter Three

Blood. Staining her hands, her clothes, and her eyes. Blood that covered a sharp knife pressed against one man's skin. She blinked, and it was gone. Now she was alone, coughing up blood that ran black from her lungs. Every breath was a needle stabbing through her chest. Her body crumpled to the ground, blood leaking from her mouth in a thick river.

Before her stood the girl on the other side of the mirror. Red gashes covered her arms and legs, while three thin red scars mirrored the gashes in her neck. Her nails were covered in red liquid, and she smiled.

"I. Win."

Radiant woke in a panic. The walls around her were padded, and bare. The bed was no more than a mattress unsupported on the ground. Opposite of her was a glass wall, bulletproof, she guessed, judging from what was past the glass. Tables covered in folders and medical tools. Medical tools?

Radiant had little grip on what had happened before she woke up. All she could recall was that horrible dream. Reaching up to her neck, she felt the strong, soft gauze used for bandages. And she knew her dream had been real. She knew instantly. She couldn't speak. She now understood where she was. A mental hospital. The other side of the glass was for the doctors and visitors. The only people to put her here was Melody, Marina, her friends, and Detective Alex.

"For her safety, and to help her recover. You'll let me be on the other side of this glass until she gets better."

Melody's words rang in her head. And she cried. No sound was heard but she cried. She curled up on the mattress and poured out her tears. And no doctor watching to calm her down. She knew in her head she couldn't tell them to go away. Couldn't tell them what she needed unless she wrote it down. Couldn't sing if she wanted to. So she cried until she could cry no more.

"The patient is suffering from extreme emotional shifts. We'll try to calm her before doing a daily checkup and bandage cleaning."

"Is she going to be okay?"

Radiant could barely see the figures that walked over to her. Her eyes were full of water, and the lights overhead hurt even more. Her whole body was in pain, wreaked from her outburst hours ago.

"Easy. It's okay. We're just doing a quick checkup, then we'll replace your bandages, okay?" The taller figure came into focus. It was a man, dressed well in light blue, with a white coat covering it. Radiant turned to the other figure, and slowly, her sobs came to a silent whimper.

"It's okay, Ray. I'll be here with you. And when I leave this room I'll be on the other side of the glass so you can see me. I'm not going home until you get better."

Thank you, Radiant mouthed, closing her eyes for a bit.

"We'll bring you a cot to sleep on and move her mattress closer to the glass so she can have a bit more comfort. This is a noble thing you're doing for her, you know that?"

"Of course. It's what my dad would do with his buddies if they got sick overseas."

Radiant shifted and slowly opened her eyes. Melody was talking to another doctor, presumably about Radiant herself, on the other side of the glass wall. The lights had been dimmed, and a part of the padded wall had been removed, showing a small window leading to the warm spring day outside. Radiant tried to see what else might be different but found it was only the bandages she wore and the IV that had been placed in her arm to help her sleep after her checkup.

"Let me take that out for you, dear."

A bright-eyed nurse gently removed the IV and headed out of the room, leaving Radiant alone with her horrible thoughts.

"Kill them, and we can be free together!"

No. You're not real!

"I am you! You and I are both very real, Radiant."

Shut up. Get out of my head and leave me alone!

"Why should I? I wanted to have fun. Let me have fun."

You nearly killed me. So leave me alone.

"Radiant?"

Radiant could hardly stand the voice that mocked her in her head. Her voice mocking her, being real like her. Now she couldn't say what was going on in her mind. And she couldn't stand anyone else talking.

Everything was black. Black as she wandered through the open void of her mind. What happened? Where was she? Something was wrong. She could tell by the rotting scent of iron and silent screams that swallowed her up. What did you do? She felt her body shake in laughter, heard it being forced through shattered vocal cords that may never recover from that.

Ahead of her stood the girl from across the veil. No. That wasn't her. It was the real cause of the problem of her pain.

"Doesn't it look good on people to be dressed in blood?"

"What... Did.... You... Do?" Radiant slowly muttered from her chiled lungs.

"Nothing. I didn't manage to lay a finger on anyone there. I just got free from that cage!"

"You... Ran... Away? For... What?" Radiant fell to her knees, choking on her words.

"For freedom. For fun."

"You... Tried to... Kill me." She could hardly breath under the choking air.

"And I'm winning."

"You need... To stop this... Ruined." Radiant croaked, looking up at her mirrored twin.

"What are you talking about?"

"I know you... Want to be... Free. But I can't... Let you or... You'll kill everyone."

"I don't think you understand."

"I'll let you.... Stay with me... In here. You... can be my... Keeper. Please," Radiant said, struggling to stand.

"But. Why are you trying to be so nice to me?"

"I'm being nice, so that we can both be free to be who we want to be," Radiant finished taking a breath and extending her hand.

"You want us to be free together?"

Radiant nodded,

"I know I'll choke on blood when i get my body back. But I already know Melody and Marina are waiting to help me. And I can keep myself from fainting for them. Let me return and I'll let you be free."

Her mirrored twin stood there staring at her.

Why are you so sweet and nice to me?