An unfamiliar sensation drew me up from the mire of unreality in which I'd buried myself. The iota of self that remained reluctantly lifted my head up to track abnormal sounds. The crash of many small things thrown to the floor in a haphazard clatter of metal. A loud thud. The moaning cry of one of the monsters.

My head pounded as the noise warned me to pay the intrusion no heed, but my curiosity had the better of me. I stared at the corner outside my cell, not daring to move my body. I wasn't allowed. The external cacophony continued as I heard a voice I could understand. "Why... do you reject it?" The voice wavered. Its tone was flat despite the clear unevenness that spoke of physical effort whenever its voice cracked. It was Sarah. What was she doing here? Our cells were nowhere near each other, yet she was just down the hall. And she seemed... less calm than usual. "I can give you what you want. I can make everything so much better for you. Make you happy. Content. Joyful. Why do you want to be like me?"

Then she made a noise I had never heard from her before. Something that sent a shiver up my spine. Something that even made the noise flinch in its unwavering assault on me. The tittering whisper of a laugh. "You... You want so badly to be empty, don't you? To take it all away. You don't know what it's like. Don't you understand? Don't you see what I am? And you want to be like me?" A peal of uproarious laughter, loud, sharp and cackling erupted from her throat, the lights overhead flickered, and suddenly, my body was mine again.

The noise did not cease its assault, but it lightened enough for the first time in what felt like ages. I was allowed a degree of agency over my body again. My fingers twitched as I tried to remember what movement of my own volition felt like again, proprioception returning in fits as I took stock of myself. I was still muzzled, and my arms were bound within the strait jacket as expected... though the canvas felt loose. As if it weren't tightened properly. My lips quivered as I resisted the urge to cry, the noise still unbearable, especially while I was trying to work out how my body worked again. But it was clear that I could not let her hear me.

"Why can't I just be like you? So easy to control," she spoke, her voice rising as she began to sound increasingly disturbed. "I would make myself so happy. All the time. Just happy. Instead, I have to suffer..." I heard a loud metal bang. "Why?" Then came a series of loud repeated smashing noises, the lights flickering again and the noise wavering in turn as her voice rose up and she screamed with each blow, "WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY?!"

What was she doing? Why was it making the noise weaker? I tugged at my bindings for a moment, wriggling the sleeve until it slipped free, and I began snaking my limbs through the opening, panting with effort until I looked at my bare arms at last. I whimpered to myself and acknowledged the inviting urge to rip off the muzzle and give myself a dose of that wonderful physical pain for just a moment's reprieve. And I would have if there wasn't another metal crash somewhere down the hall. Some part of me understood that I was in danger. Such things were usually not my concern; only the sensations of pain made sense to focus in on. But I'd suffered Sarah's powers before, and that sensation was worse. I could not risk drawing her attention if I cried out in relief.

Instead, I put my hands on the floor and shakily pushed myself up onto my feet, stumbling back into the wall and putting my hands to my head as the aching pain concentrated there. Blood rushed to my brain as physical activity pushed me to my limit. I tried to keep my whimpering and moaning quiet so as not to alert Sarah, but it wasn't as if I had anywhere to hide. I tried to walk forward, but I only stumbled back without support. I was too weak to walk without aid. Instead, I followed the wall, brushing myself along the soft surface as I tried to find a better angle to watch from. Once I got to the glass wall up front, I was already exhausted.

I peered down the hallway, holding a hand against my muzzle in a futile attempt to silence my panting. I could barely see a pile of surgical tools scattered along the floor, and the messy smear of a dark red handprint across the wall.

My other hand went up to try to stifle my shocked breathing, and I dragged myself back further into my cell. I was no longer curious. I needed to hide. I may have been a pain-addled shell of a person, but I understood the external danger of bloodshed well enough.

Down the hall, I heard loud panting noises, Sarah making noises somewhere between sobbing and laughing. And then I heard a quiet beep close by that had me reeling around so fast that I almost fell over. Thankfully, my gasp was too hoarse to have drawn Sarah's attention.

At the door to my cell, Lily stood, like a beacon in this horror show, and stared right at me. She gestured toward herself as the door slid open with a subtle whoosh that made me wonder if it was scared as well. Lily held a keycard in her hand, pressed against the panel by my door.

"L-" I started, before she held a finger up to her mouth and looked somewhere down the hall for a tense moment. Sarah let out a scream and there were more crashing noises, but while I flinched, Lily remained still and calm. She motioned me toward her again.

I didn't know what was happening. I rarely knew what was happening, but this was abnormal. Lily hadn't been unaccompanied near me since that first time she snuck back into my cell. And Sarah was running rampant nearby. Still, I trusted Lily more than anyone else, so I simply followed her instructions, stumbling my way slowly along the wall again to join her. She looked at me with a tense, worried expression as I limped my way along. Perhaps she didn't know I was so physically impaired.

When I made it to the door, she took me by my arm and pulled me into her, giving me the briefest of hugs. Despite the apparent danger behind me, it was one of the most comfortable and relieving moments I could recall, and I almost let out a sob as she held me. Lily was holding me, and the noise's influence was minimized for now. It was more than I ever thought I could ask for. It was just a moment, though, before she put me against her shoulder and began walking away from the carnage.

I didn't dare to look back at Sarah. I didn't understand what had happened back there, but I knew I didn't want to see it. I just focused on putting one foot in front of the other and trying to hold myself up as best as I could. I heard another round of a wordless tantrum begin somewhere behind me.

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We reached a closed door, and Lily reached over to press her keycard against the panel, causing it to whir open. As soon as we were through, and the door shut behind us, I felt a wave of relief that we'd escaped her. Lily had rescued me. We were safe now. "Th-Thank you," I stammered, but stopped and had a finger pressed to my lips before I could continue.

"Meryll... do you trust me?" She asked in a low whisper. I nodded as quickly as I could. "I only saw so far, but y-... we're escaping."

Escaping? Escaping the monsters? ... Dare I hope, escaping the noise? "Okay," was all I said, but in my heart, I was doing backflips. Was there actually hope I could get away from the suffering? Could I leave the pain behind?

We started moving again, and I shuffled along as quickly as I could through the sterile halls by her side. She could have moved so much faster without me, but she came for me. She was so nice. Nicer than I deserved. I had to try my best so she didn't regret this. I wouldn't disappoint her. I shook off my fatigue as best I could and pushed forward.

She opened another door at the side of the hallway and shuffled us inside before closing us into a small room and setting me down on the floor. Pressing her ear against the door, she waited until a series of thumping footsteps and monstrous grunts passed us by. Lily continuously held her finger to her mouth, and I obeyed.

After they passed, she stepped away from the door and sat next to me, wrapping her arms tight around me and breathing a shaky sigh. "We need to wait or else we get caught," she explained. I just leaned into her and closed my eyes, relaxing into her comfort. Safe. The lack of movement made me settle back into the pain once more. I could rest and lose myself again here.

It was another few moments before she roused me, interrupting my descent back into oblivion. "Meryll... Meryll, listen closely, okay?" I opened my eyes again and nodded back at her, slowly this time. I had some degree of clarity with the noise quieted. It was still there. Still drilling into me. But I could stay numb to this lessened suffering. At least for a while. "I only have flashes of what happens after we get on the transport, but we're going to meet up with Tara and sneak on board in the confusion, got it? She can get us all to safety."

I tilted my head at my sister, uncertain what she meant. I whispered back to her, "Who's Tara?"

She clicked her tongue and looked at the door. "Right. Don't worry about it. She's a friend. To both of us. You'll remember her soon, we just have to take advantage of what Sarah and Cassie are doing."

"Cassandra's coming too?" I asked. I hoped she wasn't escaping with us. She always made me feel terrible. She deserved whatever the monsters wanted to do to her. Serves her right.

"No, it's just us three. Just you, me, and Tara, okay? Those two are just making a scene. A plan of their own, and theirs isn't going to work. We're taking advantage of that, alright? You don't have to worry about Cassie or Sarah anymore, okay?"

I nodded slowly. Just Lily and I, with someone else she trusted. No more monsters. No more sisters who hate me and make my pain even worse. I didn't know how Lily could possibly have managed something like this, but I trusted her. She would keep me safe.

I started to close my eyes, knowing I could leave the rest to her, and just let the noise take me away again, but she shook my shoulder. "Meryll... come on. You have to stay with me. I know. I know it hurts, but listen. I can't carry you if you're asleep. You have to walk a little bit more, okay? Do you think you can handle that? We'll be free soon, and then you can rest all you want, okay?"

I was so tired. But I nodded, shaking off the sleepiness. She needed me to at least do that much. I could show her I wasn't completely worthless. I could resist for a little longer, for her. The lights flickered again, and again the noise abated for just a moment. She looked up at the ceiling, and then patted me on the shoulder, pulling me up to my feet. "Come on now, it's time to go. Let's go."

Lily put me back on her shoulder, and we walked back into the hall, moving slowly along the featureless corridors. I could never tell where I was going in this place; it all looked exactly the same to me. I'd never had the mental bandwidth to try to keep track of the twisting corridors. Lily knew what she was doing, though. She chose the directions we followed with purpose, and I dutifully followed her lead, taking every heavy step I could to help her carry me.

At one point, we paused leaning up against a wall at a crossroads, and she gave me a stern look with her finger up against her mouth again. A group of four of the monsters passed within feet of us, turning the corner opposite of ours and never looking back to see us. Even Lily let out a tense breath as they moved out of earshot, and then we moved on in the same direction they came from.

It felt like our journey took ages. I clung to Lily like my life depended on it. As far as I knew, it did. But I was becoming exhausted. My feet were sore, my muscles wanted rest, and I felt like I was going to pass out if we kept going much longer. Despite the strange disruption, the pain persisted. The noise was relentless. I wasn't strong enough.

I was ready to give in and drop to the floor when Lily opened yet another door in front of us and the scene changed. My eyes went wide as I looked into a room bigger than any I'd seen in my life. A massive structure lay in front of us, surrounded by uncountable enormous boxes, piled in staggered, random piles.

And behind one of them was a familiar face. One of our own. Tara?

She turned toward us, but my vision went fuzzy. Something was off about her. She was... familiar? She blurred, and as she spoke, my world went white.

—

I inhaled sharply as my eyes opened. No pain. No noise. Just the comfort of warm fur against my chest. That was... not how my nightmares typically ended. I clung to as many details of the dream as I could, trying to piece together what had happened after we'd rendezvoused with someone, but everything after that just felt like static. It wasn't even a vague feeling of missing memories scattered by amnesia; everything after that felt like it was gone.

That must have been the day I escaped the lab, but if Lily had been there with me, why wasn't she with me on the transport when Theseus attacked it?

I suppose I could just ask Lily. I cuddled up close to Ray, glad I hadn't disturbed her sleep again, and closed my eyes. According to my system clock, it was early morning, so she would be up by now. 'Hey Lily, are you awake?'

'Are you? Pretty early for you, isn't it?' She prodded. 'I imagine you're anxious for today. Me too, and I'm not even doing anything beyond waiting on the ship.'

'Kinda. But I had a dream. I remembered our escape attempt.'

'Oh.' She didn't type anything for a few moments. 'Are you going to be okay? Do you need me to be there?'

'I'm fine, I'm awake now.' I messaged quickly to assuage her concerns. I really did feel fine. Remarkably well for just having experienced one of my nightmares, actually. 'But it ended in a weird way. Just after we got to the hangar and' I sent what I had as I tried to wrack my brain, digging for what details I could recall, but there was nothing. 'I remember seeing the ship and a bunch of containers, but after that it just kind of... ends. Like I passed out right there.'

There was a long pause where I saw Lily's typing indicator appear and disappear multiple times. Was she okay? Finally, the words that had me even more confused popped up into my head: 'You know, I do remember returning to my cell. I remember you weren't there anymore. And that was right before they shipped me off... but I can't remember what happened at the ship, either."

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