Chapter Ten

It was late at night when they met again, or at the very least the evening had begun to give way to true darkness. It always seemed to be late. The staff had begun their switchover between those that worked in the day and those that haunted the graveyard shift. Lana never hid her envy for those so free to come and go as they pleased, who witnessed the horrors between the walls but could forget them once the clock struck time and they returned to whatever awaited them in the real world again. Sleep was once again a hard game to play, and she wandered the halls with weary bones but a wired mind. Admittedly she had taken a detour or two, not quite ready to return to her cell and succumb to the solitude that was by no means silent, even at night, but always just as suffocating. After the incident in the common room earlier in the day, Lana had been thankful that Thredson hadn't followed up on why she had left so suddenly in the midst of their conversation. As for Mary Eunice she had made it her priority to avoid the woman for as long as possible. A plan which had worked out in her favour up until that last moment where she spotted the young woman just a few metres down the hall. It was too late to turn back though, as if she could sense her presence at such a distance, the sister had looked up and caught Lana's gaze. As much as Lana wanted to escape, not be confronted by the woman again, that same hall she stood in was the direct route she needed to take in order to get to her cell, and she wasn't confident enough about the layout of the rest of the building at that point to successfully plan another way that didn't involve having to face the sister. It crossed her mind then, that perhaps that was the reason she was in that hallway then anyway, perhaps she had been on the way to her cell thinking Lana was already there… Lana shook her head free of the thoughts; they seemed selfish, stupid even. She had allowed the woman to get under her skin too many times and so she thought she had something of worth to the woman. Didn't she once say she had her uses? Though she never divulged what they truly were…beyond the obvious, Lana couldn't help but wonder… She didn't have long to ponder such things though, as Mary stood before her – when had she moved so fast? – and looked her up and down.

'Out of bed are we, Miss Winters?' She asked.

'Same could be said for you.'

'What seems to be the problem? Can't sleep? Too many dreams?' Mary mocked but rather than shaking her head in response, Lana looked back at her with an absence of expression.

'Too many screams.' She replied in a deadpan tone.

'I guess it is a little disruptive,' Mary said with a chuckle. 'When they're not yours I mean. Perhaps we should do something about that.'

'I shouldn't…I should go.' Lana tried to sidestep her, find her way, a way to slip around the nun and continue on her way but with each of her slightest movements, Mary seemed to mirror them, replicate them and barricade the rest of the hallway as always. All without a touch. And that was what irritated Lana the most. She didn't even have to make physical contact in order to keep her on edge. But if she did, oh if she did it was much worse. For all the power she claimed through words, height and gesture, it was all for nought when skin touched skin. Beneath her fingertips, in the depths of her mind, the nun possessed a power corrupted. Such power was absolute. They both knew it. She relished it. And Lana despised her for it.

'What is it that you are so desperate to get back to I wonder…' Mary placed a finger to her lips as if in thought. 'If I remember correctly, you were in quite the hurry this morning too. One has to wonder what you get up to, all alone.'

'What are you talking about?' She was well aware of exactly what Mary was referring to, but she wasn't about to let it slide so easily into the open. Mary sneered at her response; they weren't fooling each other. They skirted around with words, but they both knew the truth. And lately what had merely been a morsel to mess with had become a much more entertaining player in the devil's games. Where she had expected Lana to bend and submit as time went on, the woman had developed an attitude of the opposite kind and formed a stubborn opposition that grew with each interaction. It was as interesting as it was irritating that neither of them wanted to back down to the other. They weren't exactly butting horns, Lana liked to skit around and find an alternate opening if she could, find a weakness and exploit it rather than face head on and Mary herself was similar in some respects although her actual application was vastly different and she had no trouble if it came to blows which she could give or return with much pleasure if needed. Still, the reporter, how she wriggled out of her grasp and writhed under her touch…Such an energetic little mouse for such an eager cat to play with.

'Your little therapy sessions with Thredson not good enough for you now? Or was it something else? Someone else?' The suggestive wink certainly hadn't gone amiss and tried as she might to restrain herself, Lana's vexation was seen in her curled fists, her clenched jaw. Such visible exasperation as always only provoked the sister who tutted a few times before she added with considerable condescension; 'You'll never get better if you don't admit you have a problem, your problem.' The animalistic groan – or was it more of a growl? – from Lana was so unlike her previous displays of stoic character that for a second Mary was genuinely surprised. In that same second, Lana took the taller of the two by the shoulders and twisted the pair of them until the nun's back hit the wall with a dull thunk. In truth she hadn't meant to push so hard, yet at the same time there was a satisfaction that came with the sound albeit it was soon lost.

'Would you stop?' Lana asked; her voice an unusual amalgamation of both growl and beg. Mary seemed unperturbed by the turn of events and smiled.

'Stop what?' The brunette shook her again, her shoulders hit the wall repeatedly.

'Please, just stop…I can't…' Lana's voice faltered, her eyes looked away from Mary's own that shone with an inhuman light.

'Can't handle this? Finally you admit?' The nun's head cocked to the side with a lop-sided grin. Lana shook her head, although her hands remained tight on Mary's upper arms. If anything, her grip became tighter as though she tried to convince herself of something, the truth that was right in front of her?

'I never wanted this.' She denied determinedly, and the words came out louder than she had initially intended. But which of them was she trying to convince?

'But you do now.' So confident, so self-assured, so smug. But was she right? Had she fallen so far?

'I…'

'And you will.' That smirk would be the death of her. She slammed the woman against the wall once more with another aggravated groan.

'You don't…' Her voice dropped as she heard footsteps as they echoed down the hallway. The steps were slow, but nearby. One quick glance – Lana didn't trust the blonde with more than a moment's distraction in such a position – and sure enough it was confirmed. She hadn't imagined it. The noise of their conversation had finally attracted inevitable, and unwanted, attention. One of the older nuns, who bore a remarkable similarity to the plump woman who had guided Lana to the showers that day – perhaps it was the same woman who had lost the tiniest bit of weight about her face – had spotted them from across the hall. It was difficult to tell in the dim light with a little more distance between them but at a best guess the look on her face was one of criticism.

'Back to bed you two,' she called to them. So she knew who they were, that would have made a change considering how often they went unseen, one way or another… Perhaps she didn't know and merely assumed… No, she knew, from the way the woman waddled towards them and shook her head as she got closer. Even if she hadn't before, she recognised them then. No doubt she disapproved of the two of them, the injured sister and the insane patient left alone to wander the halls and cause a scene so late into the evening. Lana let go of the woman's shoulders, took a step back. The plump sister seemed to look them both up and down, searched for some sign or explanation of a discrepancy between the two but having found none simply repeated herself in a voice presumably meant to sound firmer than it did. 'Back to bed, both of you.' The sister turned to walk back the way she had come, although Lana did wonder why she had bothered at all if that was all she was about to do, then the woman stopped as though she noticed Sister Eunice was not following and waited. Lana made no move to leave herself but waited for the other two to go on ahead which would then have left her with a free route to her room with no interventions the second time around. Much like the other woman, she waited for Mary, although she watched while the plump one still had her back turned away. With this advantage in mind, Mary lashed out a hand, gripped Lana's wrist tight – she could probably have felt the bone beneath her skin in such a grip – and yanked her close once more so that her lips were level to the reporter's ear as she whispered. A close proximity that had become an all too familiar feeling.

'I'm in control. You helped put me back here. And now there is no going back, for anyone. Remember that.'