Little Lila

prologue | crazy children

They can't take Sara. 

She's so sweet. Innocent. My best friend. 

She's not even crazy like me. She's an orphan. But she's normal.

"No!" I shout. "I want to go!" Sara looks at me in disbelief. She shakes her head wildly in disapproval. 

The man smiles. "Ah, a fighter," He notes. He grips my forearm, about to drag me off, but Sara's hand wraps around mine. 

"No..." She whispers. Tears stream down her cheeks. A nurse comes up behind Sara, and lifts her from me. 

Sara is kicking and shrieking. "Lila! No!" 

That's the last thing I hear before I'm blinded and pass out. 

———

I wake up on a hard bed. My crazy clothes are gone. Now I wear a black top and black pants. My neck is sore. 

I reach up and feel an outline on the back of my neck. My face pales. 

Where am I? 

I'm in an empty room filled with many beds. The walls are concrete. The door is metal. I see a small camera in the corner. 

Another child walks in. He is older than me. Taller. Stronger, but still bony. I look so weak compared to him. 

He walks towards me. I cower away in fear. His eyes soften. "You're so... small. How old are you?" He asks. 

I shrug. 

"You're from the asylum, aren't you?" 

I nod.

"I'm 28. And you're 102." 

A frown forms onto my face. I am 405. Lila. Not 102. Have I been re-numbered? Moved to another asylum? Was I too crazy for the first? 

"Where... where... a—am I?"  He intimidates me. My voice comes out all soft and broken. 

"The Center," 28 replies. 

"What... what's that?" 

"This place breeds the best assassins in the world. And now you're one of us." 

I don't want to kill people. 

Anger swells in my stomach. 

The nurses would've let Sara, kind, naive Sara, come here? 

"I—I don't want to hurt anyone." 

28 shrugs. "You'll have to get over your moral dilemmas quickly, 102. It's either kill or be killed here." 

"My name is Lila," I whisper. 

28 looks angry. He narrows his eyes at me. "Are you insane? Don't say that, 102." 

Yes. 

I am insane. 

I can feel pressure being added to my chest. I see people running towards me. They hold guns. 28 laughs.  

I shriek. "No!" 

Suddenly hands wrap around me. The men have come to take me away. To where? I don't know. But they're here and they'll hurt me. 

"Snap out of it! We need to get to practice!" 28 harshly whispers. 

The men disappear. 

28 releases me from his hold. My eyes were wild. Red. I sniffle. 

"C'mon. Let's go to the Training Room." I nod softly, and follow him out, down the long halls made of cement, past the stern guards, and to a room full of killer kids. 

Two Years Prior

I slice a man's neck. He drops to the floor, his blood staining the expensive carpet beneath him. I take my knife and bring it into his heart. 

He dies moments later. 

I sneak out through the vents—I'm small enough to weave my way out easily—and climb into the back of a black van waiting for me in an alley. Gas wafts its way into the back, and I'm knocked out. 

I wake up on a bed. But I'm not in the Center's dormitory for girls. I'm in the windowless room of the asylum. 

I'm wearing the familiar hospital gown. 

Why have I been brought back? 

Panic fills my chest. 

My hallucinations have been under control. They give me pills every night. They silence my delusions. 

A nurse strolls into the room. I lurch up. My skin feels clean. The blood has been washed away. My blonde hair flows down my back. 

She frowns at me. "I suppose you'll be here for a bit." She's disappointed. I was a troublemaker. 

"Why have I been brought back?" 

"I guess they don't want you anymore. Have you been a bad girl, sweetheart?" 

"But... I don't understand. I've been doing a good job. Why am I here? I'm not insane anymore..." 

The nurse chuckles. An evil glint is in her eyes. 

I think I'm going to puke. 

"Oh sweetie," She sighs, "You'll always be a crazy, little girl." 

———

I run through the hallway. The white shoes on my feet slap against the tiles. I rush to the familiar room labeled "30". 

I push it open. 

A small brunette girl sits on the bed. Her eyes are red. Her hair is pulled back into a tight braid. Her head whips in my direction. 

"Sara..." I mutter. 

She's so... different. The light has left her eyes long ago, I can tell. 

We've been broken.

"Lila!" She says, running up to me. Her hands wrap around my torso. She hugs me tightly. Tears cover our clothes. 

"What happened, Sara?" I ask when I break away from the hug. 

"I'm not normal anymore. They don't like me anymore." 

"What? How come you're not normal? What's happened to you?" 

She doesn't answer. Her gaze wanders. I bite my lip. My best friend seems to be lost inside her head. 

Sara is gone. 

A hollow shell remains. 

Six Months Prior

I'm back at the Center. 

I'm back to killing daily. Torturing hourly. 

The hallucinations are back. Stronger than ever. When I shoot a crying little boy, I see a smirking man instead. 

When I torture a pregnant woman, I see one of the asylum nurses in her place. 

Being crazy makes me a better killer. 

And I'm slowly losing my senses of what's real or fake. 

Will I ever be able to reach the surface? 

Will I ever stop drowning? 

———

Hi, loves!

Let me know what you thought of this chapter!

Make sure to vote and comment. 

Au revoir, 

Eva