Karkat walked into the cafeteria, the appetizing smells once again making his stomach gurgle in anticipation. It was nowhere near as loud as it had been the previous day, so he decided not to worry. I've been far hungrier before. I remember when dad kept me locked in my room for three days with only a gallon of water. That certainly wasn't fun. He scanned the writhing beast that was the crowd, looking for the familiar face of Kanaya. He jumped as she appeared right next to him, as if summoned by his very thoughts.

"Jeez, don't scare me like that!"

"I was standing right next to you for about thirty seconds before you noticed me," Kanaya spoke in a slightly reproachful tone, "I didn't mean to startle you."

"Don't apologize to me," Karkat spoke under his breath, "Everyone knows that I'm not worth their time." He glanced at her, his eyes dark with self-loathing.

"Why do you find it so hard to accept help from anyone? Yesterday I nearly had to force-feed you, and you would not let my sister, Porrim, drive you home. So, what is the problem?"

"Don't. Bother. With. Me. I am not worth your time, your effort, or your pity. For a smart girl, you just can't get that fact through your head." He turned away, and walked back out the doors. Kanaya followed him.

Once he left the noisy confines of the cafeteria, he sighed in relief. "Good, at least I can hear myself think out here." He spoke without realizing that Kanaya was behind him. "Why, you stupid piece of shit, why does she think that you deserve anything? You're worthless, no, less than that. If you were a product, people would pay to get rid of you." He continued on like this for several minutes, all while walking to the grassy haven.

Kanaya felt her heart lurch with each word he said. How can he even say things like that, much less believe them? This abuse must not be anything new to him. He's going to school with two injuries that anyone would go to the hospital for without even caring. He's no stranger to pain, but kindness is a concept so foreign to him that it terrifies him. She waited behind the corner while Karkat went on into the thin canyon.

She waited a few minutes, and was about to leave when she heard a rhythmic thumping coming from around the corner. As it progressed, the sound changed subtly, becoming softer, slightly muted. Kanaya was curious, but restrained herself from rounding the corner to look. This resolve held out until before each thump she heard a small cry. She rounded the corner and nearly fainted in shock.

Karkat was standing ten feet down the wall, facing the smooth-sided building. Blood was running down his face in streams, their source a large wound on his forehead. "KARKAT! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?"

He spun around in shock and terror, his face going snowy white while covered in crimson blood. His eyes were glazed over in pain and… self-loathing wasn't a strong enough word to describe it. Karkat looked as if he wanted nothing more than to wipe the earth free of him. "Worthless… nobody… can care…" His voice was dazed and slurred, telltale signs of a concussion.

"You can't do this to yourself Karkat! It's bad enough that you have two broken bones, you won't help yourself like this."

"Why… would I … want to help myself?" His voice had changed, no emotion seeping out. It was lifeless and cold.

Kanaya choked back a sob. "You don't even know that? It's because you should want to live!"

"Living? That… means more pain. I want to sleep… no more pain…" He trailed off, his eyes closed, a single tear escaping.

Kanaya shook him trying to get him to wake up. "Karkat? Get up. Come on, wake up." She was sobbing by now, remembering her dream. I can't let him 'live' like this anymore. He needs help. She slipped one arm around his torso, the other under his knees, and started to carry him. He's so light. He weighs almost nothing. She tried to remember where the nurse's office was, but her panic-stricken mind refused to cooperate. Instead, she started running to the front office.

She was forced to slow down when she saw how Karkat's head was whipping around. As she continued, walking now, Kanaya heard Karkat groaning. He's coming to. Good. She saw his eyes open, and then his head lift up. Instead of the expected reaction of him telling her he was fine, his response was far more disturbing. In a sudden flurry of motion, Karkat escaped Kanaya's arms and tried to run. His eyes were full of an animal terror.

He couldn't run because his legs had lost all of their strength. He fell after getting ten feet, but he wouldn't give up. He scrambled backwards on all fours until he ran into a wall. He was cornered and trapped, so he curled up into a tight little ball, quivering in an inexplicable fear. Kanaya walked over to him, knelt down, and tried to comfort him. When she touched him, his entire body jumped, every tendon standing out in what could only be interpreted as pure, unadulterated fear.

"Calm down, it's alright. I'm here now, you're safe." Kanaya was weeping from the pain she sensed from the tiny young man in front of her.

Gradually, his body relaxed and he looked up at her. There was once again no emotion in his eyes. Strange. He seems to be at war with his mind and instincts. He's so terrified one minute and emotionally dead the next. I-I can't help him on my own. Kanaya hated to leave him like this, but she needed to get the nurse.

TIME SKIP

Karkat woke up suddenly. He was lying in a bed that was softer than anything he'd even laid on before. The last thing he remembered was seeing Kanaya appear from around the corner or the building. The rest was just blank. He tried to lift his arm to rub the last vestiges of sleep from his eyes, but strangely, it wouldn't move. None of his limbs would move.

He heard a beeping in the background, and the more he struggled, trying to get his limbs to move, the more frequent the beeping got. "I can't move!" he called out, desperately trying to get some answers. He heard a door open and rapid footsteps approach him. Suddenly, an unfamiliar face entered his field of vision.

"Yes, you can't move because you are restrained. You tried to escape four times already."

"What? I don't remember any of that. And where am I? Who are you?"

"You are in the hospital right now. I am Calliope, the nurse in charge of this floor section."

"Oh, God, the hospital?"

"You sound surprised. Don't be. In addition to your forehead wound, you have a badly fractured skull, a snapped rib, and so many scars on your flesh I don't even know where to begin. Additionally, you seem to have no epidermal layer on your skin and your body is in a state of malnourished anemic shock. So, I feel like I should ask the questions here."

"Can I at least sit up and have my arms free?"

"That isn't a problem. You seem to be in a rational state now. Earlier, you behaved like a caged animal. We thought you had gone insane." Calliope pressed a few buttons and Karkat's bed turned into a large chair. He tried to focus on her, but couldn't gather any details about her. My mind can't process much information.

"So, your name is Karkat Vantas, correct?"

"Yes, but how-"

"The girl that came with you told us. It's interesting because you have no records in any government database except for Derse High. Can I ask you how you got hose injuries?"

I can't tell her the truth. If dad even finds out I'm in here, he'll literally slit my throat. "I- uh… they're self-inflicted."

"Really? You're saying you carved abusive words into your own flesh? That you broke your own rib and skull? Sorry, but I'm not buying that."

"Then this conversation is at an end. Let me go."

"I'm afraid I can't do that. Kanaya warned us that you don't tell anyone anything." Calliope leaned in closely, her face hovering over his, "But we don't even know where you live."

"Fine by me. You won't get a thing out of me."

"I kind of got that much from the scars on your back. Tell me, why are they that straight? And why do they have acid burn scars on them?"

"GO AWAY! NOW!"

Calliope was startled by his outburst, but decided that it would be best to leave. As she left, Kanaya came bursting in through the door.

"Karkat, how DARE you not tell me?! I saw the pictures; did your dad do that to you? How could you even live with a monster like that?"

"Kanaya, my dad didn't do any of this to me. Really, I'm fine. I shouldn't even be here. It's wasting valuable time and space. Just try to get them to let me leave."

"No. You are scarred so deeply, in so many ways. You need their help Karkat."

"I don't need anything."

"Not even food? Again, I've seen the pictures. Your ribs stand out so much that you're nearly a walking corpse. And why the HELL do you have a GPS tracker embedded in your skull?"

Oh, no. Not that one. Years before, when Karkat was in second grade, he was late home from school. His dad had smacked him a few times, then took a power drill and drilled a hole into his skull and put a GPS tracker chip in it. He remembered the cold laugh his dad gave as he watched the young Karkat shriek and writhe in agony on the floor.

Kanaya watched as Karkat's eyes grew wide at the mention of the GPS in his head. He turned pale, then started to shake. A different nurse rushed into the room, apparently receiving a wireless signal.

"He's having a panic attack! Get me a sedative, stat!" Another nurse ran in with a syringe and plunged it into his thigh. Karkat's shaking stopped and his breathing became regular. He slumped forward in his bed before flopping back on it as it reclined again.

"We should leave," one of the nurses said, "It'll be awhile before he wakes up. A dose that large with his body weight, what is he? 85 pounds? It might be twelve hours before he wakes up." The group exited the room, leaving Karkat alone in the room with his dreams.