River woke up screaming, as she often did; memories flooded back to her…
"we have to get out we have to" River couldn't stop ranting she knew her words made no sense and yet she couldn't stop. She longed for her freedom, but at what cost? "leave River you shouldn't be here, remember what they did to you the last time they caught you here" River shivered, despite the warm air she remembered how could she possibly forget…
"River River wake up its okay, have your medicine" "No" yelled River she knew the danger of taking drugs from doctors. "There were so many layers but the princess still felt the pea, why?" Simon shook his head and a sadness filled his heart he wished for his sister to be healthy and sane but at least he had saved her from the academy. "miss me I can feel the loneliness what happens when… forgetting is dangerous leads to bad" Simon smiled his heart in his eyes as he softly replied "don't worry River I won't leave you again you can trust me". She didn't the voice in her head whispered he took you away keeps you secret, hidden. It's for my own good the other voice replied I'm not stable not safe, not safe for everyone else.
Mal stomped into the infirmary "how is she today doctor" "same as yesterday" Simon replied sighing as he realized his lack of progress. "I don't know what to do, there's no medicine that her body doesn't break down, no drug that really suppresses whatever it is she hears" "I'm sorry doc, it must be hard, but I need you to treat my crew while you try to figure out your crazy sister" "of course I didn't forget out deal" "good" with that Mal strode out of the room inwardly sighing their morning rituals never went as he wanted, they always ended with him sounding like a soulless moron.
"Nothing will work the same when half is missing half is lost" River sometimes questioned her brother, it was so simple but she couldn't express her opinion not with the voices in control. Simon walked over to River, a syringe in hand. "Time to sleep River we will be on Aerial soon". River was overtaken by fear "no no no no not unconscious changes changing things change when you don't focus, pay attention" "I know River it's going to be okay". He injected the needle praying for the day to come when his sister could sleep by her own free will. He slammed his hand against the desk, sending random tools flying everywhere. What had they done to River? What kind of human being could do that to an innocent little girl? She was his little sister, he was supposed to protect her, and he had failed. He couldn't even manage to put the broken pieces back together goramit!
River felt her subconscious slowly take over as the syringe emptied its content into her neck. She remembered her promise, as she always did every time she was forced to rest, "don't forget me because I won't forget you" "never" River had replied and yet during the day her mind was fogged in, something blocking the sane part of her mind, she forgot and every single time when she remembered her heart would break and she was filled with guilt. Not fair why me? I shouldn't have left no one could survive the academy alone and because of that River knew deep done that the one she had left behind had left this world behind. But her mind argued that she would have felt it but how she barely felt anything anymore, no she felt everything so it numbed her senses until she couldn't speak, couldn't think, and could only listen.