Chapter Four: Where Am I?

Stein woke up feeling very dizzy. He had no clue what was going on, however, he felt very strange. He was lying on his stomach, face down. It felt as if he were laying on something soft, something comfortable. He also felt warm, a feeling he never felt in his small metal room. He had always woken up chilled nearly to death. He didn't try to move, though, He simply lay still, enjoying the warmth he felt. That was when he remembered the events of the past few nights.

Several days ago he had escaped from the asylum.

~The Events of Several prior to this point in time~

Stein needed to move quickly, he could hear the guards from the asylum running after him. He had reached a dense forest, filled with who knows what. He had no choice but to go through it. If he kept moving on the road that lead to the nearest city, he would be a goner. The guards would capture him. He could hear them yelling to each other in the distance. He wasn't paying attention to what was in front of him.

Before he could stop himself, he slammed into something hard. He fell back onto his bottom, looking up, he saw a disfigured beast. He took a deep jagged breath, attempting to scoot away from the monster. However, the beast reached it's large bony hand out and snatched Stein up by the head. He nearly shrieked from the utter terror and the pain. The creature was so ugly, so ghastly that Stein wanted to look away, but it's glowing eyes stunned him. He could only look into the redness of the orbs.

Before he knew it, Stein was being lifted from the ground and brought closer to the it's body. Just as the distance between him and the monster was about to be closed, Stein's arm shot out as a defence mechanism. His palm connected with the beast's chest and something odd happened. Stein felt a surge of energy rip through his arm and into the creature, causing it to backlash and fall to the ground. It's grip on Stein went limp, causing him to fall to the ground as well.

When the creature did not get up, Stein did. He got to his feet and made a run for it. It seemed like days before he reached the end of the forest, but when he finally had, he was blinded by the city lights in the night sky. He could see the shine behind the barbed wire fence. That was where he needed to be, inside of that fence, inside of that city. He could hide there. Stein started to search for an entrance.

He did not find one, however, he did find a tear in the fencing. He crouched and squeezed himself through. And, to he disadvantage, he was not unscathed. He had acquired a wound to his shoulder. It bled badly but Stein knew not where to go. He couldn't go to a hospital, he had no proof of ID. Besides that, he was still wearing his asylum uniform underneath of the lab coat.

So, he'd decided to find somewhere that would shield him from the eyes of the citizens. He hid in an alley overlaid with darkness.

~Present~

Stein couldn't help but wonder if he had actually died. It didn't feel as though he was dead, however, it felt too nice for him to be alive. He hadn't felt as nice as he was in a long time. All he knew was dark, cold rooms with steel beds and paper thin blankets. Taking a deep breath, he placed both of his palms against the object that he was lying against, and begun rising. He nearly collapsed due to the overwhelming ache he felt in his left shoulder. But, he rose despite the pain.

When he could finally get a clear look, he saw that he was on a bed and covered with a blanket. He sat fully rightside up and had a look around. It appeared to him that he was in some sort of shabby apartment. That was when Stein saw him. His breath caught in his throat as he scanned over the man's features. What had caught his attention most was the man's tousled red hair. He had never seen somebody with such a vibrant hair color before. The second thing that caught Stein's attention was the light bruises that traced Spirit's cheekbone and his mouth.

The man lay slumped against the bed, his face pressed against its upper edge. His cheek was smooshed between it. Looking at the man, Stein felt some kind of unknown emotion burst through his chest. Although, that had been happening a lot lately. Stein felt as though he wanted to reach out and touch the other's face, but he kept that impulse to himself. Instead, he quietly rose completely off of the bed and headed to what he assumed was the bathroom. He was correct and upon entering, he gazed intently into the mirror. Stein hadn't seen his own reflection in a little more than ten years.

To say he was shocked would be an understatement. He looked unnaturally pale, and very sick. His skin was tight against his bones and his cheeks were slightly sucked in, he was way too thin. Looking at himself made his stomach weak. He nearly wanted to keel over and puke, but there was nothing in his stomach to puke up. Stein decided that it would be best to leave, he decided that it would be best not to involve the man that lay in the other rooms in his affairs. He didn't want to cause any harm to come to other's. He was the criminal, not them.

Besides that, according to the doctors at the asylum, Stein was dangerous and he didn't want to hurt the man that had helped him. However, Stein's outward appearance would cause suspicion among the citizens of the city. So, Stein raided the man's clothing, taking a pair of dark jeans, a black sweatshirt and a pair of socks. He dressed in the bathroom, carrying his former clothes out of the room with him. He would dispose of them elsewhere. He couldn't believe how many stairs there were in the apartment building, and felt even guiltier that the man had carried him all the way to his room.

Once outside, Stein deposited his clothing into a nearby dumpster. Though, before doing so he checked the lab coat's pockets and found a wallet and a letter. He tucked the letter inside of his jeans pocket and looked into the wallet. To his surprise, there was around two thousand and five hundred dollars inside. The man that had helped him at the asylum must have intended to give him his lab coat. Stein simply stuffed the wallet inside of his pocket as well. He decided that he would find somewhere to go and eat. He walked down the crowded streets of the city, only attracting a few gazes as he did so.

He was attracted by a delightful smell coming from a small cafe. He entered the building, warmth slamming against him. He breathed in and smiled a bit. He was happy that he was going to be able to finally have a good meal. He sat in a small booth, observing the way the other customers ordered their food. He had never ordered food from anywhere before, so he needed to figure out the proper way to go about it. He found himself staring at a young woman with dreadlocked hair. When she caught him staring, he looked away shyly.

"Can I help you?" a delicate voice asked.

Stein looked over to find the girl that he was staring at standing to the side of his table.

"I...um, I apologize for staring at you," he stammered.

He looked up at the girl's face as she laughed at him. Stein couldn't understand why she laughed, he hadn't said anything funny.

"I mean, can I help you with your order," she clarified.

Stein had obviously neglected the fact that she was a waitress here.

"Oh...um, what would you recommend?" he asked her.

"First time coming here?" she questioned.

Stein gave her a slight nod.

"Okay, hun. How about you let me order something for you then?" she suggested.

Stein just nodded again and watched as she walked away, scribbling something onto a notepad. It was a while before she returned, and Stein found himself examining the way that the other people in the cafe were acting. He saw a man and a woman holding hands, a young couple whispering into each other's ears and a family laughing and talking. He also noticed that all of these people were smiling. They were all happy. Happiness was a feeling that eluded Stein, and as he watched, he felt his chest pinch with a sadness that was almost unbearable.

The woman came back and sat down his meal. He looked down at it. There was a lot there. Eggs, bacon, pancakes and sausage, she even ordered him a steaming cup of hot chocolate.

"I've never seen someone with such sad face expression before," the girl whispered so low that Stein almost didn't catch it, but he had.

He didn't say anything in return, however, instead he simply asked how much the meal was.

The girl replied by saying,"It's on me, dear."

Stein read her name tag before she went, it read "Mira Nygus." Stein spent the rest of his meal wishing that he could feel the happiness that others felt. There were many things that Stein lacked that caused his sadness, but the most pressing one was that he had nobody to share happiness with. Stein was all alone in the world.