Page 4 of Petals and Strings
Being lost in the fog meant I had a lot of moments of finding myself somewhere new when I finally managed to escape back to reality.
Though, escape wasn’t the right word. I’d live there if I could. Forever. Though, my attempts to do that sent me here, the angry scars and phantom pain in my gut stark reminders that I tried.
And failed.
Just like I failed them.
“Stay here,” Theo said gently. “I have to help. Our new arrival is here.”
The screams echoed out louder now and he winced, giving me a gentle pat before running to the other side of the lobby.
A woman, an omega with a shock of blonde hair and covered in dirt and grime, fought the police who had her cuffed between them.
She snarled at them, baring her teeth like an alpha. This little beast was drawing a crowd, more orderlies and therapists rushing out to either gawk at her or help.
A small half-smile curved over my lips as I watched her fight. She definitely had fire. It was loud enough to keep me present and that was no easy feat.
She continued to fight them until Director Cross clicked a bracelet on her wrists. She didn't know yet not to fight against it. It was something we all wore at the beginning.
I lost mine two years in.
She’d learn soon enough that it was best to not show them your crazy. We were long-term stays. They weren’t aiming to send us home, they were studying us, trying out new experimental medicines that made you feel awful, and reporting back to the powers that be.
Okay, that was a bit ‘conspiracy theorist’ of me, but it felt like the truth. Our meds were always changing, our symptoms up and down enough to make anyone dizzy, and we were constantly kept in the dark.
We were the anomalies, the horror stories of what could happen when you loved and lost or tempted fate.
Either way, once you crossed that threshold, there was no going back.
A gust of air blew in as a nurse walked inside. The door caught her attention right as the police went for her cuffs. I could see it coming a mile away, but they didn’t.
Not at first.
Even if she did break through, the bracelet had a tracker, working like a dog with an electric fence. It would sedate her the moment she got over it. If she even made it that far.
A single inch off the property line and it was lights out.
They snatched her body out of the air with ease, her screams forcing my mind to snap back to another memory.
“No!” My screams were stolen by the wind and sirens. Blue and red flashing lights. A fan of dark hair on the pavement.
Blood. So much blood.
A feral scream broke free, my voice echoing in the night.
Only, it wasn’t simply in my head. My screams and hers melded until she succumbed to the sedative.
A sob escaped me, as broken and jagged as the gaping hole in my chest. It tore me open every time I was forced to watch that scene unfold again.
I’d tried to avoid those memories. The dark ones.
A sharp prick in my bicep was followed by that awful icy sedative hit me, too. It wasn’t long until my memories faded completely, leaving me right back in the lobby.
The girl was carried away as a few nurses stood over her. She was docile now, the cold, ghostly touch of sedatives slowing her mind and fight.
Two orderlies forced me to my feet, escorting me back to the west wing. I trudged along with stumbling steps. My mind was calm and numb.
They took away my memories. My emotions. A blessing and a curse.
