Alarms.

Sirens.

The rush of cars and the screech when they stop.

That's all you heard.

But then you woke up.

You shaded your eyes with your hand as they adjusted to the bright light. You sat up and flinched, a unbearable pain coming from your hip raced through you. You took a deep breath and leaned on the wall behind you, trying to calm the pain down.

It did eventually as more calm breaths were released from you. You looked around the place, surprised to find that you were in a hospital room. All you could remember was a cheshire grin smiling and blood red eyes full of evil.

Then it hit you hard in the face.

There was someone in there.

Someone evil.

Someone murderous.

Someone dark.

But you still wanted to go back.

Your gaze drifted over your surroundings again, this time landing on someone in a nearby chair. She had fluffy light blonde hair that stuck up in many directions and pale skin dotted with freckles. A wave of recognition crashed upon you. That was your best friend, the childish but 23 year old Mallory. She was asleep in her chair from staying up most of the night watching you. You smiled at her loyalty.

Mallory was the kind of person that could've lived in Neverland but was never greeted by Peter Pan. She was a true believer in everything from Santa Clause to unicorns to the creatures that lurked in the dark. Despite the fact that Mal stumbles on her words and has a hard time knowing the right time to speak, she was a great friend that promised to stick with you to the end.

You decided not to wake her, but your head did snap to the door as it creaked open.

"Ms. (L/N)?" a female voice said softly.

"I'm awake." you croaked as the woman entered. She had curly black hair that went to her shoulders and fair skin. She sat at the edge of the bed and you managed to get a glimpse of her name tag. It said 'Emily'.

"What happened?" You asked.

Emily looks at you. "Someone found you in a pool of your own blood in front of a abandoned hospital. They called the ambulance and we brought you here. You've lost a lot of blood, so you are gonna need to stay here for a week or so."

You sighed and nodded.

You were patient as Emily rebandaged and cleaned your wound, calm every time pain shook your body. You focused on the steady beating of your heart instead of on the nurse. But when you looked back at the edge of your bed, Emily was gone, only to be replaced by Mallory.

She yawned, her baby blue eyes flickering all over you. "Y/N!" she shouted. "Don't you dare worry me like that again! I had to freaking leave my job at Build-A-Bear early because of you!" You blinked a couple times as she sighed. "But I'm glad you're alright." The blonde latched herself on your arm and squeezed it. With your free arm, you returned the embrace.

You guys talked for awhile, well mainly Mallory, note your sore throat. She blabbed on and on about many things, all until Emily shushed her out because you needed to rest. Mal pouted and stormed out the door.

Like before, Emily cleaned your wound and rebandaged it.

"Good night." she said as she turned off the lights, closing the door behind her.

You sighed and shifted in your spot on the medical bed.

"ῖ thϴῠght shϵ'δ ͷϵνϵr lϵανϵ. (I though she'd never leave)." growled someone from the foot of your bed. You looked up and saw the familiar cheshire cat grin and red eyes.

The face vanished and reappeared by your head. You scrunched up against the matress railing, shaking.

The face let out a dark chuckle at your reaction.

"ῖ thϴῠght ϒϴῠ wϵrϵ α ͼϴϼ (I thought you were a cop)." It sneered. "αͷδ αrϵͷ't ͼϴϼs sͼαrϵδ ϴf ͷϴthῖͷg (And aren't cops scared of nothing)?"

You opened your mouth to speak, but nothing came out. You quickly closed it. "All cops have s-some sort of...... f-fear." You managed to say. Your throat burned. "Wheter i-it's the dark or n-needles, every cop h-has to be afraid of s-something." That was all you could say before the burn consumed your voice.

You looked around for the glass of water Emily had left the second time she came to swap the bandages. There- on the small table near your bed. You reached for it. Almost there.... Almost there.... But unfortunately, the glass tipped and spilled all over the floor.

"ϴϴϼs (Oops)." the voice giggled.

The noise you made in reaction sounded like a groan, a grumble, and whine mixed together. Grumine, haha.

But when the figure saw your desperate expression, its insides turned uneasily. It refilled the glass and cleaned the spill.

It gazed at what it just did with shock. It was almost like it pitied you, but it never pitied anyone. Showing or giving pity or Mercy was the exact opposite of its normal behavior: Fighting, killing, R E S E T T I N G..... Empathy was not a option. Empathy was never a option. But why.....

You took the container and let the cold liquid glide down your throat, easing the burns that held your voice captive. You set the cup back on the table with a shaking arm and looked back to the visitor. Or where it was supposed to be. It vanished without a trace, letting you stare and the darkened wall in front of you.

With a sigh, you uncurled your shivering body from the railing and comfortably sunk into the matress.

It was an hour or two before you were able to drift into unconsciousness. With your mind racing and your heart beating, it was difficult to focus on a night's sleep, but you managed to close your eyes and relax, letting the worries and queasy feelings to fade away...

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