They had told us to sleep. But like everyone in the hospital, fear kept us all awake.
There was a scream.
Then silence.
And then darkness.
My eyes flickered open and I could see instantly that something was wrong. A woman was sitting on her knees sobbing, a handkerchief in her hand.
"She's gone, she's gone", She said
They had taken someone else. 61 victims known to be alive, and they are dying with every year that passes.
And even though every one of the victims in the room was once filled with hope, the life has been drained from them all and there is only the will to be dead.
So once again, a year passes in the blink of an eye and the 11th of the 7th is all too near.
They tell us to sleep, but everyone is kept awake by fear. Again.
And again there is a scream.
Again there is silence.
Again there is only darkness.
She's gone.
The one person who filled me with hope, the person who could brighten my darkest days. Is gone.
And this time, I know there is no hope of her coming back.
Abigail is dead.
Although, 60 has become 59 overnight, the appearance of a fresh victim who is filled with hope has caused quite a stir.
The worse thing is that I know that I am next.
The waiting is the worst. The fact that I know that I am next is awful. There is no way to count the seconds, minutes and hours.
They tell everyone to sleep. I don't.
A while later, the scream is mine and then everything is black.
I awaken to a blinding light being shined in my face. A masked man. At least I assume that it's a man.
Taking a deep breath, I ask shakily, "Who are you? Why am I here?"
Then he begins to speak in a deep and raspy voice, as if he is quite old.
"I am Jacob Magna. I assume that you know of me. I was 2 when I ran away from the hospital. I am going to tell you why you are here but first let me tell you why I am here, for inspiration. I am here because I had cancer. I stole the cure from the hospital one night. They lied to me. I was told it was terminal, that there was no cure. There were four of us. Madeline, Daniel, Elizabeth and me. We ran away. One per year, always on the same day. We took one patient every 11th of the 7th to give them another life. Some accepted. Others didn't, such as those two patients that you found last year. Every year, we also offer one patient a special chance. To join a cause worth fighting for."
"And what is that cause?"
"Revenge against the hospital"
"Why? It's not like they've done anything wrong, they are trying to cure us, if you hadn't taken me, I might be able to walk in a year or so"
"They lied to you, you can never be cured. Not by them, so join us"
"Us? You mean you, not us. Never us"
"I am surprised by you, she told me you were clever, she told me you would be the first to agree"
"Who?" I asked, dreading the answer.
"Me" said a familiar voice, and someone stepped out of the shadows and into the light.
She took of her mask and placed it on the table.
She was the only one that I was sure of. I trusted her. But I was wrong.
"Abigail."