This Thing A Quiet Madness Made

Chapter 34

Closer and closer and closer again. He knelt down in front of her, her tired gaze following his until he came to eye level, barely an arm's length away. His voice was low, soft now, only loud enough for her to hear.

"I know you'll come back, dear, I know you will. We'll all be together again, and we can move on like we always have. You'll be happy to listen to me like you used to; we can be a family, always there for each other, protecting each other. You can't run from family, Unknown, even if you're far, far away, we'll always be with you right here." Softly, he tapped her forehead. "We're all we have. We stay together no matter what, no matter who tries to tear us apart. You may think you're free, but you're a prisoner now more than you ever were, can't you see? Oh, my precious child, I haven't given up on you yet. After all, children who run away always have people looking for them."

Unknown turned away, squeezing her eyes shut as tears fell, dropping straight down her cheeks and leaving wet trails where they touched.

Eventually, she looked back.

The Manager was gone, and she was alone again.

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Unknown sat at the foot of her bed, staring intently at the lines and swirls of her fingerprints. They were clean and graceful, spinning nicely from the center outwards, almost too minuscule to notice.

She shifted, leaning over the side of the bed to peek at the dull gray frame holding up the mattress. She slowly pressed the pad of her pointer finger onto the clean, opaque metal surface, then lifted it back up. She leaned closer, body pressing into the sheets, hands gathered beneath her chin, her nose almost brushing against the frame as she peered intently at the spot she had just touched.

She stared.

After a moment, she leaned just a bit closer, breathing a huff of warm air over the metal.

Then she finally saw it. She smiled as she found the faint, oval imprint of those same swirls pressed onto the bedframe.

Giggling, she fell backward carelessly, bouncing a few times as she hit the mattress.

The lights were bright today. She wondered if they would explode and shower the room in broken glass. They were a little too bright, in fact. They made her head hurt.

Letting out a soft whine, she flipped onto her stomach, pulling the covers over her head as she curled into a ball underneath.

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Unknown tilted her head as she stared at the little camera. She stood next to the little one-way mirror, arms resting at her sides, shoulders relaxed as she stared up at the shiny black camera nestled in the corner of the ceiling.

The room was quiet, save for the faint mechanical humming from somewhere beyond the walls. She remained still, gaze fixated on the round lens.

The red light blinked, and she blinked back.

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Unknown sat cross-legged, sitting atop her little white pillow. Her arms were extended loosely in front of her, elbows resting bent. Her plain white t-shirt wrinkled near her stomach as she sat a bit hunched. Her hair fell messily around her shoulders, a few strands sticking out or ruffled into some strange position. She blinked as stared at the little girl sitting at the foot of her bed.