The locks are harder, now.
Punishments more severe.
Less toleration.
But my smirk is back.
There's a way out. There's a way out! I got out, for just a few precious seconds! And it was worth it, all the added security and cruelty. There were stars in the sky, an infinite expanse that tells me once I get out, there are a million places to go where these white coats can never find me. I can be free, and I will be!
Thinking about this renews my vigor, and I start straining against the ectoranium cuffs on my wrists and ankles. This is how I got out last time. I broke them. But I don't have the strength this time...
Still, I yank my hands, desperate to free myself, tugging on poorly done stitches and putting strain on my bruises and cuts.
A warning shock is administered to my neck- the most unbearable of the new changes. "Warning shocks". They feel like fire in my blood.
Yet I continue straining.
Another shock, this time worse. So bad, in fact, I stop, leaning heavily back against the wall, panting. The shock... I hadn't screamed; it wasn't the worst. Yet the shivers of electricity still ache in my veins, a pain so familiar it's terrifying.
Still, after the spasms end, I struggle again.
"Zzz...pp..."
I don't understand the command, but my straining slows to a stop. I lean back, searching for the buzzing voice. There is nothing, but my eyes skim the room, looking for something.
Nothing.
Except... A patch of darkness slightly darker than the rest of the room. So subtle I believe my eyes are playing tricks on me. I incline my head towards it, as if to tell it I see it.
I'm crazy. Because it moves. Closer, out of the shadows. It is a shadow, but it seems congealed almost. It's come off from the wall. It moves closer, still nothing more than a slight distortion of darkness.
Then, I see the eyes. The eyes, purple eyes. It's as transparent as the rest of the shadow, barely perceptible, but the color is unmistakable.
I know you. I don't know who you are, but I know it's you. I can't remember your name. What's your name?
"Zzz... mmm..."
The words, so soft, muddled. I can't make it out, but I hear an "am" sound, with a hard A. "Amo," I whisper with my broken vocal chords. "Amo."
"Zzz... mmm..." it tries to correct.
I don't care if I'm wrong. "Amo." I struggle again. I must get to it. But it moves quickly, coming so close. This close, it is just another part of dark, but I know it's there.
The most coherent sound comes as a "wai..." I know immediately. I need to wait. I will wait.
**Man, I wish Danny Phantom and Young Justice were mine, but they're not. They go to their respective creators.**