In. Out. In. Out. I can breathe. I can breathe. Oh no! I can't see!
Everything's black!
In. Out. In. Out. My eyes are open and I can see. It's just that there's nothing to see in this pitch-black darkness.
In. Out. In. Out. Ssssshhh!
Footsteps! They're coming! They're coming! Quick-find a corner! Hide! I can smell them!
They're here!
A bolt screeches against the paint-chipped metals as it slides open. The hinges of the metal door shriek and a narrow beam of light slices the dark, causing the woman to shuffle herself into a tighter ball in a hard cement corner.
"Arethra, it's time for your medicine."
Please go away.
"Arethra, it's time to leave now, come here." The white lab coat rubs roughly against the metal door frame and the light grows wider.
Please, just go away.
"Arethra, if I have to come and get you, you're going to be punished."
I believe you're going to hurt me. I know you're going to hurt me. Just please forget me and go away. I don't want any. Go away!
A badly muffled step and twin shadows block the light. The second moves from hiding and follows the first into the room. She curls her black feathered wings around her and whimpers in despair.
Don't find me! Please, don't find me!
She can feel the lab coat frown.
"Arethra, you're being a very bad girl." The lab coat slipped a clipboard under one arm and suddenly grasped her arms so tightly it pinched.
The woman froze in panic and the second lab coat seized her other arm. She squealed and tried to struggle, but was only rewarded with a smarting slap across the cheek.
They hurt me! They hurt me!
She hung limp in their grasp and silently sobbed in fear. Both lab coats shook her hard until she found her balance.
"Let's go Arethra. You've already wasted ten minutes and it's coming out of your feeding," said the stern lab coat. "Now use your feet and walk with us to go get your medicine."
And with the girl sobbing and a series more of harsh, painful squeezes, Arethra trudged out of the room and into the cold white light.
In. Out. In. Out. My eyes are open and I can see. It's just that there's nothing to see in this pitch-black darkness.
In. Out. In. Out. Ssssshhh!
Footsteps! They're coming! They're coming! Quick-find a corner! Hide! I can smell them!
They're here!
A bolt screeches against the paint-chipped metals as it slides open. The hinges of the metal door shriek and a narrow beam of light slices the dark, causing the woman to shuffle herself into a tighter ball in a hard cement corner.
"Arethra, it's time for your medicine."
Please go away.
"Arethra, it's time to leave now, come here." The white lab coat rubs roughly against the metal door frame and the light grows wider.
Please, just go away.
"Arethra, if I have to come and get you, you're going to be punished."
I believe you're going to hurt me. I know you're going to hurt me. Just please forget me and go away. I don't want any. Go away!
A badly muffled step and twin shadows block the light. The second moves from hiding and follows the first into the room. She curls her black feathered wings around her and whimpers in despair.
Don't find me! Please, don't find me!
She can feel the lab coat frown.
"Arethra, you're being a very bad girl." The lab coat slipped a clipboard under one arm and suddenly grasped her arms so tightly it pinched.
The woman froze in panic and the second lab coat seized her other arm. She squealed and tried to struggle, but was only rewarded with a smarting slap across the cheek.
They hurt me! They hurt me!
She hung limp in their grasp and silently sobbed in fear. Both lab coats shook her hard until she found her balance.
"Let's go Arethra. You've already wasted ten minutes and it's coming out of your feeding," said the stern lab coat. "Now use your feet and walk with us to go get your medicine."
And with the girl sobbing and a series more of harsh, painful squeezes, Arethra trudged out of the room and into the cold white light.
