Classified: A New Life

Chapter IV: Day 4; Midnight

Emory is running.

She doesn't think she's ever run so fast in her life, breath scraping in her throat, the branches of trees slapping at her face. The ground is soft and damp beneath her feet. She doesn't know exactly what she's running from, only that it would be very very bad if she were to get caught. Her foot catches on a rather sturdy tree root, and she goes sprawling onto the...floor?

Emory's hands slam against an immaculately clean white tile floor.

What?

Her brain goes all fuzzy and she frowns as she picks herself back up and tries to make sense of this strange new environment. Somehow, it feels even scarier than whatever had been outside. She pats herself down, probing for injuries, and finds none. Her eyes scan the room, looking for a clue as to where she might be. She turns around, still searching, and comes face-to-face with a dead-eyed receptionist in a wrinkled set of scrubs. Behind her is a sign, dangling, crookedly from the ceiling that says:

Welcome To Ivory Hill Assignment Center

Emory screams.

Whatever had been chasing her outside can't possibly be worse than this.

She whirls, bolting for a set of glass double doors that sit beneath an 'Exit' sign. The doors are locked, but Melody is on the other side.

"Mellie, you gotta get me outta here!" Emory shouts.

Melody gives a sad, slow shake of her head, and backs away from the door. "I'm sorry. I can't carry you anymore."

Emory's vision swims with tears. "Mellie no! Don't leave me!"

Melody continues to back away from the doors, her figure becoming smaller and smaller as she goes.

Emory sinks to her knees, sobbing and trembling. "Mellie! Please don't go! I need you!" she presses a hand against the glass, as if she can make the door open by sheer force of will.

A bony, weathered hand squeezes her shoulder, too tightly to be comforting.

"Don't worry." The receptionist's voice is a paper-thin whisper. "We'll take good care of you."

Emory just wails.

*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Emmy, wake up!" Melody's voice, along with the shaking of her shoulder, brings Emory back to wakefulness with a choked sob.

Emory is drenched in sweat, her face streaked with tears, and she can't seem to stop shaking. She can feel Melody lifting her out of bed, and she clings to her with every ounce of strength she can muster.

"I've got you, I've got you." Melody says, her voice tender and soothing next to Emory's ear. "It's okay. It was just a dream, you're safe." She reaches under Emory's shirt to rub her back, and doesn't even complain about how gross and sweaty she is.

Emory can't bring herself to speak, too shaken by her dream to say anything. Her heart is still trying to batter its way out of her chest, and a cold dread ties her stomach in an anxious knot.

"Shh." Melody soothes. "It's okay. I'm right here. How about we get you in a nice, warm bath, hmm? I bet you'll feel much better when you're not so sweaty, won't you?" Melody's voice is unbelievably gentle, and she doesn't seem to expect a response from Emory. She carries Emory to the bathroom.

The tiles are cool against Emory's bare feet, and she immediately clings to Melody's shirt after being put down. "No..." She says, so quietly that she can barely hear herself, her anxiety spiking once more.