Three Hearts Left Intact

Chapter 72: Mind Games

After an endless and ruthless day Kaila was tired and beyond exhausted. Her entire body ached with every little movement and her body was ready to retire for the night.

"Are you tired?" He mocked Kaila who was up against the glass wall with sweat running down her face with dried tears on her cheeks. Her red eyes were an indication of how drained she was. All the mental and physical struggles Dr. Todd's practices put her through had sucked the life out of her.

She didn't even have the strength to move or say anything. She just stood with shaky legs against the glass breathing heavily at an irregular pace. "Fine we'll call it a night. But just to let you know Kaila, this isn't even the half of it. Today we went over obedience, and tomorrow if you decide to start rebelling again...well then we can just go through a repeat of today." He laughed seeing the horror in Kaila's eyes about even thinking of repeating a day like this.

As Dr. Todd grabbed his belongings and opened the glass door, he stepped out. Right before he slammed the door Kaila felt a different wave of fear wash over her. "Wait!" She had attempted to yell out at him but her voice was soft.

The doctor turned around looking at Kaila with an unamused look, "what?"

"I...I don't wanna stay here alone." She truthfully said. The room that all the cages were lined up in was already dimly lit, and the small amounts of light that shone through the small holes in the roof of this place were disappearing as night approached.

"Well..." Dr. Todd leaned against the doorframe looking down at the floor as he rubbed his chin. "If that's the case then I suppose I could just take you to see if Ms. Fendly is kind enough to let you have different sleeping arrangements." He paused nodding his head while Kaila almost perked up hearing that there was a chance she wouldn't have to stay in a dark room all alone.

Timidly she pulled herself together as she began to walk over to the doctor. As she got in arms length, he stretched his hand out stopping her. "Wait a second. Why would I do that?" He laughed maniacally to himself shutting the glass door in Kaila's face as his laugh silenced.

"No! Please!" She begged running to the door pounding on the glass. Outside under all the darkness she could see him waving with a wicked smile as he walked away.

"No! Come back! Please, don't leave me here!" She cried hitting the door harder as she felt her knees giving in when she realized all she was left with was darkness. "Please..." her voice came out as a whisper as she slammed her knees into the floor, while hitting her forehead against the glass door.

Over time her cries turned to sniffles. Turning around she sat with her back against the door. Pulling her legs into herself she looked out at the room around her seeing nothing.

Neither the cages, nor the walls had any kind of light source on them. Leaving all the patients in total darkness until morning. As Kaila's eyes cleared of the remaining waterworks, her vision had adjusted ever so slightly to her surroundings.

Under the dark blanket she was able to barely make out the patients in the cages directly besides her. To her right she noticed a small body laying flat on the floor completely still. And to her left was the same.

'How can they sleep like this?! Who knows what kind of monsters are lurking around us right now?!' Her fear began to arise. At first the simple thought of monsters was frightening, but with nothing to keep her mind occupied it left her with nothing but to continuously think about the possibility of the shadow creatures. Her hands started shaking as she shot her head looking all around the room.

As the night progressed she became more terrified when she thought she saw shadows moving around the halls. She had put the picture of monsters in her head, and now her mind started producing those scary thoughts into hallucinations.

Everything was quiet. Not a single sound besides her own breathing could she hear. But in the midst of the silence, a loud bang echoed behind the small girl. She jumped instantly screaming as she looked behind seeing nothing but a dark abyss.

"You're ok...you're ok. There's nothing there, you're just imagining things." Her voice trembled as she shut her eyes sitting in the middle of her cage. She knew she was only imagining the horrible images of creepy crawlers wandering around, but nonetheless she was terrified.

Curling herself into a tight ball on the floor, she hid her face into her body. Trying to hide from as much darkness as she could. While the room was kept at room temperature all day long, Kaila was cold to the touch. Her body feared for its life. While she was thankful to have the glass around her as a shield, she was more fearful of not knowing if one of those figments of her imagination could still get to her.

She couldn't help but feel herself getting choked up. Every part of her was filled with dread. Shutting her eyes tightly she tried to block out everything going on around her. All the monsters and the horrible darkness that filled the room, the memories lingered with Kaila for most of the night. But as fate would have it, she was lucky to find herself so exhausted that her body shut down finally allowing her to get some sleep.

But sleep was a dangerous game. Kaila's mind was active in ways she didn't like. Her mind was capable of producing images from her thoughts and projecting them into the real world, and while she knew they weren't real, they looked as if they were. Her hallucinations were clear and hazy at the same time.

Some of them looked like exact replicas from her mind while others seemed like fabrications of dark fuzz. But finally having Kaila fast asleep, her mind wasn't done with her. Having a more array of power, it was capable of producing even more monsters. Some she had never thought of before, and all the while each of them looked even more real than before. None looking like they belonged in a storybook or something that came from a blur, but each of them were extremely detailed.

Each having their own special design and horrific look. They were as clear as day, the colors and patterns on their skin looked like tattoos that  protruded out of their flesh.

Kaila had a long night. One full of constantly waking up with minutes of sleep in between. Each time she found it harder to fall back asleep than the last. She dreaded tomorrow more than anything in the world.
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Let me know what you think about Kaila's imagination. Thanks Lexx signing off