CHAPTER THREE ,
words

⠀He counted the specks he found in the hospital hallway. The ones that seemed ingrained in the floors, splatters of blues and greys hidden beneath the surface. It seemed there were millions; therefore millions for him to count. He started just at the beginning of the hallway, in the corner at the turning. He never went above ten. He would count that high and then start again.

⠀Because it then seemed like there was no end, no end to trailing his eyes across the surface. He wouldn't mind if he spent the rest of his days counting these seemingly worthless specks in the floor below his feet. It would then, maybe, create an atmosphere of another world. Something else than this.

⠀Anything was better than this.

⠀For what seemed to be the hundredth time, in the midst of his daydreaming, he almost let the wood of the mop fall to the ground as it daintily hung from his fingertips. He wondered if he should stop counting, and maybe he would finish mopping the floors in better time. But he would stay here all day if need be. Even with his aches, he wouldn't mind staying here.

⠀But it was briefly interrupted by the, now, familiar clicks echoing down the hallway that he had previously wiped clean. He didn't even turn up his nose at the sight of the scuffed floors ― just unpicked that area from his mind like a flower lay prone. The officer followed Dawn, with her footfalls and words. Isiah didn't listen in, except another figure caught his attention.

⠀As he turned to the utensil in his hand, a shorter girl strode down the hallway. If not for his keen eye for the dirt on the ground, he wouldn't have spotted the red marks that layered one of her faded sneakers.

⠀His eyes widened for a moment at the image, and he could only speak in his mind the question. "What did his sister do?" The once meek image of Beth was wiped clean, a slate now of ragged edges and worn stitches. He figured she looked much like him now, except he had descended.

⠀Almost like their passing in the hallway, they passed by like ships, only just missing each other.

⠀Beth didn't even pass a glance, keeping an icy distance as she realised the mess on her attire, and looked down the hallway to Dawn. Isiah watched the thoughts on her face, registering her defiance, as despite the blood, she kept on walking.

⠀Isiah almost reached out the grab her as she brushed past him, but she was too quick and his muscles ached too much. His wrist quivered around the mop, and he retracted his eyes to the other end of the hallway; right to where she was going.

⠀"Beth?" Isiah listened in now as the big boss questioned his sister, who's widened eyes told all to him. "Everything alright?" But only when the young girl spoke, did he have faith in her once more. The young man kept his eyes downcast, letting hair fall to his eyes in fear of what she might say next.

⠀"Joan was looking for you. I saw her and Gormon heading to your office." The brother didn't expect for the words to strike something in him, like the shuttling beating of wings. It rippled through every vein in his body. Because the wound was still fresh. He could barely walk, but it didn't seem so.

⠀When Dawn appreciated her message, Beth passed over a short smile, before walking further towards a boy Isiah couldn't put a name to.

⠀The young man continued his work, with not a even an ounce of gratitude given to him as the officer's passed over. They simple stepped around him like they were tiptoeing over uneven ground.

⠀When he saw they were no longer in view, he brought his hands to his eyes and let the mop fall to the ground. It let out a small noise, and he hardly registered it as his own breath echoed against his palms ― that were now pressed firmly to his cheeks, so he could cover his eyes.

⠀The turmoil was then interrupted by a hand latching onto his arm, whereas one time in his life he would have offended, he simply stilled.

⠀Beth's voice rose to his ears, but he almost didn't hear her. And it took him a moment to reply. "Beth?"

⠀Her wide eyes stared up at him, gripping the identical scrubs that adorned his body. She pulled him towards her and he seemed to follow for a moment without question. "I can't explain," she whispered. "But we're getting out of here."

⠀Isiah almost leapt at her words, running in the direction she was going. He would follow her wherever she was going, if it meant being away from here. But he felt spilt, like a vase of flowers tipped. The dead petals strewn through dirty water.

⠀"What?" He pulled back, the contact of his sister suddenly burning his skin. "No."

⠀Instead, his sister didn't listen. She pulled his arm taught by the hand, down hallways. He felt he should be more defiant, except his breathes left him in panicked spurts. He had only just woken up that day, and he still felt the weight on his eyes of his short-lived coma. But he woke up with fire in his blood and it took under three hours for that to be put out.

⠀He felt put to rest, without the benefit of dying.

⠀"Beth?" He still kept calling her, but it all fell on deaf ears. "I― I can't. Don't make me, please."

⠀His legs burned under his own weight, and he felt he may crumble into ash and collect in his sister's palm.

⠀"Where are we going?"

⠀Again, she didn't answer. She only gave a brief glance and a thin smile towards him, still latching her fingers onto him. And after a while, some of his hand seemed to relax, right until they turned into a doorway.

⠀He heard faint screams coming from down the hallway, and he had to speak a but louder despite his ability to get either the boy or Beth's attention. "What's happening?"

⠀His sister pushed him forward, letting him take the lead towards the lift caved open. It looked dirty, finger marks adorning the otherwise spotless walls. He took a moment to glance at the lists on the said wall, his eyes going to 'cardiac' immediately. As if by a spell, or by coincidence, his heart clenched.

⠀"Isiah?" Beth called out, and he heard the astonishment in his voice. So when he turned to her, he followed her eyes to the spot on the back of his trousers.

⠀Small specks of red covered his rear, and looked further to inspect the trail leading down his leg. It peeked through the fabric in painted strokes. He couldn't say. He didn't know how to feel about it.

⠀"It's―" he didn't finish.

⠀But then he realised he didn't start. It was all in his head. His own words echoed amongst his skull, but never made enough impact to break free. They simply stayed within him, and he hadn't spoken since he had to redress himself. Still, he kept talking, wherever the words would go. "He... I couldn't."

⠀Of course, his sister could not hear his thoughts.

⠀So instead of facing the girl, it took everything in him to push out the syllables from his lips. They rushed out, more of an exertion than a complex translation of thoughts. "Don't come for me... I... stay." It was like a caveman in him, and he felt he needed to lay down after it.

⠀As fast as his legs could carry him, he spurred past the girl and out the door. Carrying himself forward despite the voices behind him.

⠀He felt jealous of the voices.

━━━━━━━━━━

⠀Isiah Greene had finished the night, with his eyes on the outside. The room they gave him faced the front of the hospital, and he witnessed his sister being detained.

⠀He didn't have the guts to leave that door and see how she was doing. He didn't know that would happen, he just felt the need to stay. Even after what he did.

⠀Even after what he couldn't do anymore, because on his way back, he spotted the corpse being rolled out of Dawn's office. The blood peeked from the fabrics like the man had left Isiah.

⠀He had been sitting in his clothes for a while now, simply looking at nothing at all. The specks again, except this time the ones on his clothes. He strained his neck to look as the back of his trousers slowly turned a dark pomegranate. He should be shaking at the sight, but he just wasn't.

⠀He wondered if the door to his right led to anything, and that was the only thing that had spiked his brain nerves since he entered this room. And so he carefully got off from the bed, facing the wooden panel and approaching slowly like it were a cave bear.

⠀Opening it slowly, he was met with a bathroom and he was able to breathe a sigh of relief.

⠀And it was inviting, the most inviting thing in that grey place. It wasn't long before he had the cold water spraying the tub. It didn't turn warm for even a second, but that didn't stop him from entering the fall of water and carefully ripping the clothes from his body.

⠀He was bare and naked, yet felt less vulnerable despite how cold his skin was. The spray hit him like bricks, causing a shudder to shatter his ribs. It felt like icicles were hanging from his bones, and he clutched the pipe with his long fingers.

⠀He didn't feel at all bare, he didn't feel at all weak.

⠀Only when the blood trailed down the inner line of his legs, and they fell weak beneath him under the icy atmosphere.

━━━━━━━━━━

(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ note.
that last scene was inspired by the movie ' the girl with the dragon
tattoo ' which really was the source of inspiration for the early scenes in this book . may not seem so
( edited ✓ )