I blinked the haze off my eyes. One of the people from last night-Ulrich-was standing over me, talking to a blonde woman.
"Shh," the woman said. "She's waking up."
"Where-" my voice cracked. "Where am I? Who are you?"
The woman smiled. "This is Kadic academy. I'm Nurse Yolanda, and this is-"
"Ulrich," I remembered. "You were with me last night."
The nurse frowns. "That's not possible, young lady. Ulrich just found you passed out in the quad."
I shook my head. The world swayed and blurred. Things darkened, but I saw Ulrich glaring at me. The nurse found a syringe and moved towards me.
Oh, no. I thought. No, please, God, no. I spasmed to avoid the shot. Ulrich put his arms over mine. I couldn't let him keep me down. I flailed violently and kicked him in the jaw.
Suddenly, I was tired, so tired, and cold. I realized I hadn't eaten since I couldn't remember when. I stopped flailing and curled into the fetal position. I was so tired. I shivered. The world faded away again.
This time, I didn't want to wake up. If I woke up again, I knew that Shank would come. I had stopped trusting Shank when he killed my family. When he tried to kill the Professor and my best friend.
When he made the factory unlivable to me.
When I woke up, I saw the people who met me in the factory. The one called Ulrich was glaring at me. The purple one was staring down at me like I was a particularly interesting movie to watch. Jeremie was frowning at me, the goth one was staring at me mildly, and the pinkette was smiling at me. There was someone new, but they were standing behind Ulrich.
I tried to sit up, but Ulrich shoved me down roughly. I became aware of my surroundings and becalmed panicked, but dully. The most important thing was to get some sleep, and then I would feel better. I hadn't eaten since I couldn't remember when, and I was so tired. And it was so cold here. I shivered and closed my eyes. One of them slapped me, but I didn't care. All I wanted was to do was get some sleep. One of them shook me, and I opened my eyes. It was the new person, but I vaguely remembered him.
"So, Frogger, what do you want to do tonight? We could go to the Tower, or down Main Street to buy you a dress to make you even prettier." The boy winked.
Anne laughed at him. "Shank, I have all I need right here." She smiled and snuggled closer to Shank. He closed his eyes and started humming her lullaby. Anne smiled and sang along. "When the sun rises tomorrow, my darling, that's when I'll come to you, my darling, and that's when I'll rescue you, my darling."
Shank smiled and kissed the top of her head. Anne smiled and was glad for his warmth.
