Craaven

Chapter 11: Mortemville, Montana 1979 October 27th

I paused at her question at first, taken aback by the sudden odd remark. I didn't plan on saving her, I just wanted to say hi mostly. However, as I was about to say no, that I wanted to just be friends, the realisation dawned on me that she was probably more disconnected from reality than I thought because of the abuse. So she probably thought I existed just to take her away to a magical land where she could run around the forest all day. It made me sad, honestly.

"... If you want me to, sure," I responded kindly. The girl's smile remained and finally, it reached her eyes. She seemed genuinely happy and I was proud of myself for cheering her up. The girl climbed to her feet, wincing from the pain in her side and standing shakily for a moment; all the while, I remained on the palm of her hand and watched her struggle without knowing how to help.

"I'm Ally," she stated once she was steady on her feet.

"It's a pleasure," I responded with a nod. Ally cradled me on her arm as she slowly made her way up the steps to the asylum. She was limping and holding her wound with her free hand but, still not knowing what to do or say in regards to her injury, I just remained silent until she spoke again.

"I hope you don't mind if it's messy inside... we're renovating the place," she commented as she pushed open the door. I nodded and remained quiet as she entered and made her way through the dim foyer. There were boxes sitting on a tarp in the middle of the room and a few were opened as some items had been taken out to be placed elsewhere. Everything else, although much cleaner than the last time I was here, still appeared grey and filthy and it creeped me out how lonely it felt inside.

Ally pressed on, unbothered by the atmosphere and staring at the different graffiti artworks that littered the walls. I strangely felt protected in the crook of her arm so, while I was unnerved, I wasn't disturbed enough to fly away.

"So, where are you from?" Ally wondered and I looked up at her.

"Where do I sound like I'm from?" I answered her question with my own because I thought the answer should've been obvious.

"... are you from a fairytale...?" she asked hesitantly and knocked my train of thought off track. A fairytale? Really?? I stared at her for a moment before simply answering, "No-"

"I'm from England," I continued and Ally's expression fell.

"I'm sorry... I didn't know," she said softly.

"Oh! No! I didn't mean to sound offended, don't be sad!" I quickly tried to correct the situation so she didn't feel bad again. She only nodded and didn't say anything more until we had arrived at the barbaric room she used as a bedroom. She opened the door and the familiar sight of the cremator sitting at the back of the room greeted me.

"Why did you choose this room to sleep in? Isn't it uncomfortable?" I wondered as Ally sat down on her newspaper bed.

"I didn't. My mom put me here because it was out of the way of the rest of the building and the farthest from her," she answered and grabbed her box of things to find the first aid kit. I watched quietly, standing across from her and silently wondering if she knew what she was doing.

"Isn't it a bit... dirty? Shouldn't you clean it first...?" I asked after a while and Ally only shrugged.

"It'll be fine," she answered casually. I wasn't convinced that it would be fine. The wound was pretty deep and the cause of it had been outside for days and covered in Lord only knows what. I may have been uneducated about a lot of things but I still knew a thing or two about germs and infections.

I didn't say anything more about her lack of disinfectant and I watched as she gently taped a large gauze pad over the wound and tossed the wrappers to the side. After that, she carefully pulled herself to her feet and announced that she was going to grab a quick meal and asked if I wanted to come with her. Naturally, I said yes because I would never turn down an opportunity for free food.