For you, I'd Burn the World

chapter 2

Chapter 2 – Names and Numbers

Claire followed Peter down another set of sterile corridors, her bare feet silent against the cold linoleum floor. Despite her confusion, there was a strange sense of calm that came with his presence—not because he smiled or made her feel welcome, but because he seemed... human, in a place that felt anything but.

“So,” she began quietly, “are you just an orderly or something more?”

Peter didn’t look at her, but his lips twitched slightly. “I’m here to help keep things running smoothly.”

“That’s not an answer,” she muttered.

They stopped at a door labeled TATTOOING ROOM. Claire took a step back.

Peter noticed. “It’s just a number. You won’t feel much.”

“That’s not what I’m worried about,” she said, but walked through the door anyway.

Inside, the room was as sterile as the rest of the lab. There was a chair in the center, a tray of tools beside it, and a man in a lab coat already waiting. Claire sat down reluctantly.

Peter stood nearby, arms crossed.

“This won’t take long,” the technician muttered, then gently took her wrist. “You’ll be 027.”

Claire flinched as the tattooing began. It was quick, but the sensation of the needle breaking skin still made her jaw tighten. She stared at Peter the whole time, wondering why his presence mattered. Why she felt like she could trust him.

When it was over, she looked down at the fresh ink: 027. Just three numbers. But they meant something more. Something permanent.

Peter walked her back in silence. When they were halfway down the hall, Claire finally asked, “Why do you work here?”

He paused. His expression didn’t change, but there was something in his eyes. Something haunted.

“Some of us don’t have a choice,” he said simply.

Before she could reply, they reached her door again. Peter opened it, and Claire stepped inside. She turned just before it closed.

“You don’t seem like the others,” she whispered.

He hesitated. Then, softly, “Neither do you.”

And then the door sealed between them, leaving Claire alone again, the sting of the tattoo fresh on her skin—and the orderly’s words lingering in her mind.