Lovely [The Unedited Version]

Chapter 8

The world was on fire, no, her world was on fire. Shadows flitted around her and she ran ahead. The only thing she could do to stop the pain that was lancing through her body was run. And so she ran.

The shadows parted for her and watched with cold eyes as she dashed past. She could hear them talking among themselves, they whisper about her and the maze city she was running through. They told her that she would never get out, that soon she would be like them.

She slowed down until she was stopped and the shadows converged on her, all trying to rend her apart. As the mass of shadows grew thicker, she closed her eyes and prepared for the minute they plunged their icy hands into her body.

Suddenly she was out and the shadows were gone, in their place stood a man with his hand outstretched to her. As she moved to take it, he began to grow distant. She screamed and ran after him, yelling at him not to abandon her.

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Lovely sat up quickly, an act that she instantly regretted. Pain ripped through her body and she collapsed back onto the bed. Tears streamed from Lovely’s eyes as she tried to focus the shapes moving in front of her.

“Lovely are you in any pain?” asked a voice from her bedside.

“Damn right I am!”

Lovely shot the girl a withering glare and pushed herself up in the bed. She gritted her teeth against the pain, reaching behind her to rub her back. As Lovely increased the pressure of her rubbing, the pain eased and she felt six cuts of varying lengths.

“What,” lovely asked after a minute,” Are these?”

“That is not my question to answer. That is Raven’s, he should be coming soon.”

The girl turned and busied herself with cleaning up the bedside table ,which was strewn with a number of surgical instruments. Lovely shuddered: she was all too familiar with the clippers and scalpels.

There was a knock on the door. Without turning, the girl commanded the knocker to enter. Raven pushed through and fell onto Lovely’s bed, an act which caused it to shake.

“That,” said Lovely, “Was not helpful in the slightest.”

She tried vainly to kick Raven, which resulted in her foot getting caught in a fold of fabric. While he dissolved into fits of laughter, Lovely took the opportunity to peek at the hallway beyond her room. Doors lined the wall, each with it’s number. Some were painted and plastered with pictures, while some were plain wood.

Refocusing to Raven Lovely asked the question she had asked the girl before him. To her disappointment he answer aloofly.

“It’s pretty obvious when you think about it.”

“Why is it pretty obvious? And what is pretty obvious?”

“It’s obvious because it’s the only logical answer. And the what remains to be discovered by you.”

“Stop talking in riddles Raven! The poor girls been through a lot recently.” Said the girl, still busy at the bedside table.

She turned to Lovely. “We took out those shocking chips. Oh, and my name’s Rose.”

“Thank you Rose for being the only straight forward one in the room.”

“No problem.” Rose smiled and continued her cleaning.

“Lovely,” said Raven seriously, “We’ll give you a day to recover from your surgery, but then we’ll need you to tell us everything about you time in the Institute and the conditions of your introduction to humanity.”

“I thought all of you were in the Institute once. Why do you need me?”

A pained expression came onto his face and then softened into tenderness, “Yes we all have, but so far you're the only one who had Morpheus himself as a Handler. Besides,” he said sitting back, all traces of tenderness gone, “You, out of everyone, has been there the longest.”

“Really? How long were you there?”

“Hm… about… ten years? No, sorry, eleven. I’ve got the second longest time.”

“Compared to me?”

“Yeah.”

“How bout you Rose?”

“Only eight years. Raven and I escaped at the same time.”

“Wow, that’s amazing! Do you know how many like us are still there?”

“Last time I checked there was only one other still in the Institute. In total our species numbers one hundred, give or take about ten. Here there are around fifty of us, the rest are either in New York or scattered throughout the US.”

“Hm… that’s… new.”

“Quite.” Raven got up and pulled Rose with him, “There are clothes for you in the drawers and the kitchen is in the next hallway. Have fun!” He gave her a jaunty wave and skipped out of the room pulling Rose with him.

Lovely plopped back against the pillows. “God, what have you done?” she said, then burst into laughter. For once in her life Lovely felt safe and happy.

“This ain’t gonna last.” Muttered Lovely. She got out of bed and began rummaging for the perfect outfit.