The Grey. *-(A SciFi Thriller)-*

Part VI: Sabrina

It was tough for Sabrina to tell just how much time had passed. She had been staring out the curved bedside window, tracing the delicate dancing trails of the delivery drones for what could have been days, weeks, or maybe even hours. The floor was still dirty behind her - a broken needle and its clear empty casing resting just by the door. She had looked at it once, and thought about cleaning it up - but only for a moment before that same sick shame and familiar guilt froze her in place yet again.

Several automated food deliveries had piled high though the tiny delivery door in the kitchen - a silver air-lock door only accessible by the few delivery drones that made it into the building. Every time a chime would signal a new delivery, pushing a plastic box through the counter door, Sabrina would jump just a little, breaking her from her windowed daydream. Eventually, the counter filled, and the boxes pushed each other forward, splatting to the ground in a pile. It reminded Sabrina of the arcade coin machines from her childhood and she smiled - but only for a moment before she started to trace the familiar lines of the drones yet again.

Eventually, a sickly scent filled the kitchen area, potent enough to make a steady whispering trail into Sabrina's bedroom. It was only then that Sabrina decided it was time to finally do something, and with a weak and shaking stretch, she lifted herself out of bed.

As expected, the small kitchen was a disaster - decaying food lay in splatters on the cold white floor, the noxious scent contorting her face. She stared at the pile, unsure of where to begin, pacing back and forth, and plucking out what few arm hairs she had left.

I can fix this.

I need to fix this.

I can't fix this.

And with a final slump, Sabrina's already weak legs gave in, and she fell to the cold floor, her white hair dancing around her like little ghosts.

How could she be so tired without even doing anything? She slipped back further, letting her head rest against the cold floor. She turned her head away from the mess, only to be confronted with the tiny broken needle at the front door, inches from her face.

Sabrina knew what she had done. She saw it in flashes every time she closed her eyes. Red's horrified stare just before the door slammed in her face - the empty needle in her hand. She remembered throwing it against the heavy metal door - over and over again until it finally broke in shards on the floor.

Why though?

Why did she hurt him? Why did she hurt the only person that seemed to really care about her the entire time she's been in this mess? It tore into her, clinging to her chest in new tight ringlets, and her breath caught in her throat yet again.

She wanted to Sage more than anything - to dance and run and to exist without the aching horror that gripped her - tying her arms and legs to the floor in invisible chains.

Had anyone found Red yet? Or was he still out there on the floor of the hallway, alone like her, in perfect mirror just out of her reach? The door had remained tightly locked shut since he had closed it just in front of her face - and she was grateful for it. She had no desire to go outside - she preferred to hide here, melting away in her own mess. Maybe the growing food pile would finally consume her, and she would be one with the filth, decaying with it until she was nothing but another sickly smell.

She closed her eyes.

There was yet another bright chiming noise from the kitchen, and a plastic box slid through the drawer to the counter, toppling over the ever-growing tower of food. With a steady squeak, the box pushed the already piled high meals, pushing them off all at once with a dramatic and wet cascade to the pile on the floor. Tiny bright arcade bells whistled around Sabrina's head as the coins continued to fall. She smiled. She had won the grand prize.