my ignorance has struck again, i failed to see it from the start

--:--

Jane won't let me near Anna.

I do not know exactly why. But I do wonder. There is not much you can do to hurt yourself the way Anna is hurt in this rather empty facility.

Leah's words never leave me. There is something the brokers want hidden from us. I suspect they want us to keep quiet about some things.

So why not just remove these things from our minds and memories? And when someone speaks... well, Anna may be evidence of what they do. But I am not eager to be distrustful of Michael and Jane, not yet. So I ignore all the warning signs flying through my head.

Jane has decided it would be better for me to have my meals in my room, far from everyone and everything else.

So here I am. Seated on the floor, with a plate of rations in front of me. The pills by the plate don't look quite as appetizing as the bland mashed potatoes on the plate, but Jane said I must take them. I have been taking them during all my time here. And only now am I suspicious.

I suddenly feel something liquid between my legs. It is like water is pouring out of me. Horrified, I look down.

Blood stains the floor in small droplets. What is this? Panicked, I stand and stagger backwards into the wall. But I cannot get away from the blood.

It keeps dripping from between my legs. There is a sharp pain in my stomach. I double over, trying to reach my bed. All I want to do is lie down and never get up.

I need Jane. I do not know what to do. She will know, she always knows what to do.

I scream, my throat raw. I have not used my voice in such a way since my last trip to the Sanitorium. That must have been weeks ago.

My stomach aches for food. It is a painful and empty sensation. I lie, cradled in my own arms, until Jane runs into the room. The floor around my legs is covered in a small pool of blood.

Jane looks horrified for a moment, but her face then relaxes. She almost looks like she's trying not to laugh. Picking me up gently, she takes me out of the room and down the route I know so well. We are going to the Sanitorium.

When Jane puts me down on a bed, she disappears for a moment then comes back with a towel soaked in hot water and... a pair of underwear?

My mind whirls in confusion. How is this going to help me? I'm bleeding out and Jane looks like she is having the time of her life.

She suddenly rips open a small white packet I did not notice was holding, and sticks it down on the underwear. She gestures for me to put the hot towel on my stomach. Immediately, some of the pain dissipates.

Gently, Jane pulls off my underwear and put on a new pair. When she is done, she hands me a glass of water and my pills. I forgot to take them.

I down them weakly. The throbbing pain in my stomach has reached my head. I want to sleep. Jane realises this, standing up from my bed and closing the curtain around the bed.

The bright lights of the Sanitorium disappear as I fall asleep.

I awake from the same dream. Rubbing my aching head, I check the sheets beneath me. No blood. Curiosity gets the best of me and I check between my legs. Or rather, down my pants.

The white...sheet that Jane stuck to my underwear is soaked in dark blood. I groan as a wave of pain hits my stomach, lying back down. Only then do I realise Leah is standing at the foot of my bed, smiling.

"First period, huh?"

"What?" I frown.

"Thought you said you were sixteen."

"I am."

"Oh," Leah hesitates, then whistles sharply, "Damn, that is one late period. I got mine the minute when I turned thirteen."

"Got what?"

"Got my period, dumbass," Leah rolls her eyes, still smiling.

I grimace as my stomach continues to ache. "What's that? What's a... period?"

Leah raises an eyebrow. "You know. When your uterus contracts and attempts to kill itself by cutting off the blood supply?"

"My what attempts to do what?"

Leah laughs, the sound clear and genuine. "Nevermind, Mary."

Silence echoes around us. It is a comfortable silence, I think. I am not sure, for I do not know what an uncomfortable silence would be like. I break the silence, as if it were fragile, with a whisper.

"Leah," I begin. Leah looks startled. For once, I am the one to start a conversation. "Tell me what you meant."

She frowns. "What I meant...?"

"When you said their drugs did not work on you. When we first met."

"Oh."

Leah pauses, looking a bit uncertain. Then she grins. It does not seem to be a happy grin, but more like one that is forced. "My parents were Night Runners."

"Ok," I am confused, "What does this have to do with my question?"

"Patience, birdy," Leah laughs, "I'm getting to it. Anyways. My parents were Night Runners. And, so was I. For some time. My cousin - she's an orphan - travelled with us through the Ruins. We were a team, tight as hell."

Leah closes her eyes for a second before continuing. "We travelled with another group of Night Runners. Strange ones, though, always on about Old Europe. When we finally reached the Landmarked Ruins near...fuck, I can't remember where. Anyways, when we got there we met up with a big group of Night Runners. They were waiting for us, I think."

I still do not see where her story leads to my question, but I am patient as she asked.

"Only, they weren't the only ones waiting for us. There were brokers among them. Of course, we had no idea. We stayed at the Landmarked Ruins for, I don't know, three months or something. Wasn't too bad. Wasn't a shithole like this place, but people were pretty out of their minds there too. Before they brought me to this ward, I watched them put a bullet through my cousin's head," Leah laughs, without humour, "Allia was the only one who I really ever loved, and they took her away."

I do not know what to say. What can I say to someone who has lost everything? I cannot say sorry, for I know it is not my fault.

"Little did I know, my bloody immune system became much stronger out in the Ruins. So when they locked me away three years ago, my immune system rejected anything they put in me. And since they don't actually give two shits about me, they made no effort to find better drugs and stuck me in here, the Sanitorium."

"Are they okay?"

"What?"

"Are your parents okay?"

Leah looks down, her eyes dark. "I wouldn't know. They took me away from them. Maybe they're in another facility. Maybe they're dead. I don't fucking know, okay, Mary?"

Leah wasn't crying, but I felt her tears of sorrow as if they were real. When she looks up, finally, I see that she is not just trying to escape. She is trying to return to the last place that the people she loved most were taken from her. She is trying to find Allia.

--:--

A/N

Please don't remind me how bad this chapter is :( It's just a filler chapter and there's some background info on Leah, before we actually dive into the real plot. Now that you know stuff about ~most~ characters, we can actually get to the story.

Heads up, I've decided on a total of 36 chapters for this book. So...30 more chapters to go :)

Also, I've written up character files for each of the characters, containing background information like full names (Mary ;)) and ethnicity, etc. but I probably won't release them till near the end of the book otherwise, they'll spoil a lot.

Anyways, don't forget to vote, comment and share if you like this book! I'm decreasing in reads :((((

Can we try and get my book to 100 votes? PLEASE LMAO

Love, Tori

P.S. What do you think Night Runners do? Comment!!