"Are you a new employee?" Rebecca asked as she sipped from the tepid coffee. She had just managed to squeeze in a break. She had never expected there to be quite so much paperwork being a nurse for Hearthome but turns out actually helping people was the less likely of the two options.

"Of a sort," the woman at the warden's side barely smiled and Rebecca couldn't help but notice how she looked a little ill based on her pallid skin, although her bright blue eyes were strong.

"I am giving her the old tour," Warden Hearthome said with a smile. It was strange for the warden himself to give a tour so this woman must have been important. "To see if Hearthome is the right fit."

"How are you finding it so far?" Rebecca asked. "It's a nice building, no?"

"A very nice building," the woman nodded. "Not only that, but a good system as well. I'm not sure I've ever see patients so happy in a psychiatric hospital."

"We do try to offer the best care possible," Warden Hearthome said with a puff of his chest. Rebecca had also never seen the warden so peacocked up.

"It certainly is allowing me to consider the possibilities."

"Well, they've treated me right ever since I joined. Nothing but welcoming," Rebecca smiled and offered her hand. "Speaking of, I'm Rebecca Watts, a nurse here."

"Greetings," The woman reached forward and grasped Rebecca's hand. "I'm—"

The next thing Rebecca knew she was sitting on a chair facing another figure sitting on a chair, only this figure was wearing a mask – a mask with three small black stars on the forehead. The eyes behind the mask were strangely calming.

"Hello, Nurse Watts. How are you?"

Rebecca could feel herself answer without really thinking about the words she was saying.

"I am doing quite well."

"That is good to hear. Now, I have a special request to make of you."

"Who are you?"

"An interested party. My name is Pigritia."

"Pigritia?" Rebecca said the word out loud. It sounded foreign but strangely right. "That's a nice name."

"It is, isn't it? Now, will you listen to my request."

"Of course," Rebecca responded. Why wouldn't she? It seemed like the most normal thing in the world. A part of her, deep down, nearly deep enough to not be heard, was wondering why she was so calm. The last thing she remembered was shaking the hand of the woman next to the warden and now she was sitting in a strange dark room in front of a strange masked woman. She should have been terrified.

"Wonderful," Pigritia said from behind the mask. Rebecca noted the voice was modulated but again found that it was the most normal thing ever. "At your feet, you'll find a little item, a gift if you will."

Rebecca looked to her feet automatically and saw another mask staring up at her, this one with a moon etched into it. Almost as if it were drawing her in, Rebecca reached down and picked up the mask, staring into it. "How interesting," Rebecca heard herself say.

"Yes. And here, another present." Rebecca looked back to Pigritia and saw a handle offered to her. Rebecca found herself grabbing it without hesitation and holding the small knife out in front of her, deadly sharp. "This mask and this knife is now yours."

"Thank you."

"Now because I have given you these gifts, you owe me a favour."

"Of course," Rebecca nodded robotically. Why shouldn't she owe Pigritia a favour?

"There is a patient within Hearthome called Noah Barker. You are to find him and you are to talk to him. If talking is not a possibility, then I want you to kill him."

That deep, submerged part of Rebecca instantly grew alarmed but it was quickly swamped by the casual calm emotions up top. "Of course," Rebecca nodded. "When?"

"When I next talk to you, in four days time. You will know," Pigritia stood up and stepped towards Rebecca. "One more thing. When that mask is on, you are to call yourself Gula, is that understood?"

"Of course. Gula. Not a problem."

Rebecca could feel the warmth of the knife handle clutched in the palm of her hand. She could feel the weight of the mask she wore strapped to her face, that strange intrusive voice modulator touching her lips. As she slowly peered around the room, she could see Penelope with her back pressed against the wall, although she didn't exactly look scared, perhaps wary would be the word. In the middle of the library she could see the boy, Ollie. Bleeding. But moving. He was alive. The part of Rebecca that still retained some semblance of humanity was glad. She didn't want to kill.

Only Noah Barker.

Rebecca could feel the words creeping into her brain, trying to control her, to persuade her. She could only attribute the words to Gula and try as she might, Rebecca could not ignore that influence that had been put upon her. She didn't want this. She didn't want to hurt patients. She was a nurse, she needed to help. Yet here she was, holding a knife out of her mind, not because she should stop, but because she couldn't stop.

"Where are you?" Again, Rebecca wasn't consciously choosing those words. They just spoke through that mask like it was controlling her, a parasite latched to her face.

There was no response from either of the two that were hiding. She had no care for Robyn. Gula would not let her have any attention to the girl. It was focused on Noah, she was focused on Noah, she had to kill Noah. No, no you don't stop it. Only a whisper of denial, lost in the puppet strings of Rebecca's mask.

Much to her surprise, someone stood out from the library shelves. Expectation lost to disappointment when she saw it was the girl, it was Robyn. Rebecca could see that she looked scared and she wanted to apologise, tell her she didn't mean it, but the puppet strings were taut and instead Rebecca found herself pointing her knife at Robyn.

"Where is Noah? Nobody else has to get hurt." Robyn put up her hands and her face was a mask of sadness. Was she trying to disarm her? Rebecca felt herself grow on edge but nevertheless she stepped forward. "Tell me!"

"He—He is over there…" Robyn's voice was quiet. She looked to her feet. "Why? Why did you do it?" When Robyn looked back up, Rebecca found the young woman's face wet with tears. Deep inside of her, Rebecca found herself wanting to reach out and comfort, but Gula had no qualms with feeling no remorse for her. Robyn's face twisted again. "You killed him, you monster! He bled out like a stuck pig! How could you?! What did he even do to you? What did he even do to deserve such a thing? What did you want!?"

"…Dead?" Rebecca felt herself respond. Something wriggled in the back of her mind. "Bring him here."

"I'm not dragging… I can't just…" Robyn shook her head, walking over to a near table and pressing her palms on top of it, her shoulders surging. "Go look. Prove it with your own eyes. See for yourself what you've done. I thought you were supposed to help us! I thought you were supposed to care for us! Are just meat to you, idle playthings for you to swing that thing around at? I just—I just—" Robyn's shoulders heaved as she crumpled into a chair, sobbing loudly.

Look what you've done. What kind of nurse are you?

Again, Rebecca could feel Gula taking those words and stuffing them deep within her own body. If only she could cut these strings, reverse whatever was done with her. She didn't want this mask, didn't want this knife, and all because of a handshake…

Rebecca found her feet moving forward tentatively past Robyn, who didn't move save for her sobbing. She looked past her to the library alley she had come out of. The knife drawn in front of her, she slowly stepped towards the opening, ready for any tricks. Ready to pierce Noah Barker's heart. Yes, she had hit him but Gula did not think those were killing blows.

She turned the corner.

There he was, slumped in a seated position against the shelves, body lump, face turned away. Blood was dripping to the floor of the library. Something within Rebecca, something primal, something controlled by Gula, felt pleasure. This pleasure disgusted Rebecca and opened up that hole to resist just a little bit more.

Gula had to check. Rebecca found herself moving forward. Perhaps she would thrust the knife into the ear, just to confirm the kill. Then Pigritia would be happy. Then what? The goal is done. Would Gula go? Can I live with what Gula – No, what I've done?

Rebecca got close to Noah and leaned down. As she did, Noah suddenly moved, hands reaching up for the mask. Gula could sense the trap and Rebecca found herself stepping back and immediately found herself losing her balance. Rebecca's world went topsy-turvy as she landed backfirst onto the floor, staring at Robyn's grinning face. Rebecca desperately sliced out towards Robyn but found her hand grappled. Looking to her fight she found that Ollie who she had thought was injured in the middle of the room was the one who had tripped her, and was now holding her hand with the knife, trying to lever the weapon out of her.

"Get off me!"

"Can't believe you fell for my crocodile tears!" Robyn grinned as she kneeled down and grabbed Rebecca's other arm. She could feel Gula fighting but Gula only used Rebecca's strength, and Rebecca wasn't strong at all. Deep inside, Rebecca was cheering and whooping – happy that these patients were besting her.

Noah stood up and he was clearly injured and pale despite his feigning death. Nevertheless he hobbled over clutching his stomach and reached down, pulling the mask of Gula off of her face. Despite the fact in reality it was nothing more than a simple mask, Gula screamed and sobbed as it was pulled from Rebecca's face.

"Just stop it!" Ollie exclaimed as he, Robyn and Noah looked down at her. "Please Nurse Watts… Just stop…

As if the mask itself was a stopper, Rebecca found herself pushing and crawler her way back up. She could feel in her palms not the grasp of Robyn, nor the grasp of Ollie, but the grasp of that woman and she could feel that grasp slowly dissipate until finally she could not feel it any more, and Gula was gone, and that freedom sent Rebecca into a fit of sobbing relief.

Lily found herself standing at the entrance gates of Hearthome, uncertain whether to head out or not. Part of her wanted to go into the forest to find Gerald while the other half didn't want to seem so obsessive. It was strange, Lily had never really worried about it before, she always knew that she was a borderline stalker back in Gerald's superstardom days but quite frankly she had enjoyed the way he would always react when she got into his dressing room in places that were supposed to be secret.

Maybe it was time they had a talk.

Lily smirked to herself wryly. What, going to tell him properly that you love him? Then what. A dead girl telling someone you loved them won't do anything good for him. But maybe she could tell him about physically touching the objects. Just maybe she could be more than a dead girl. Could it be possible for their to be a future for her and Gerald after all?

"Lily?" Jason appeared running down the road, looking a little out of breath. "Have you seen them?"

"Who?" Lily asked. Jason seemed a little concerned, his face pale.

"John, Wasp, and Rhino. I just got contacted, they are on their way. Two minor injuries, one serious."

Something fell in the pit of Lily's ghostly stomach. "What? Who's seriously injured?"

Jason's lack of response was all Lily needed. She turned immediately and went to run through the gate and into the forest in order find John. Jason grabbed her shoulder and physically stopped her. "Stop, look!" He pointed and the black vehicle the trio had left in pulled up to the gate, which opened courtesy of a guard in a control room. The van drove straight past Jason and Lily towards the administrative building.

Without a word, Lily burst into a sprint following the van until it stopped as close as it could to the doors of the medical bay. The sliding door opened and Rhino was the first one out, carefully holding a knife that was poking out of his side. He nodded wordlessly at Jason as he got out of the car. Next was Wasp, limping with blood coming out of her thigh. She turned around and with the help of someone else in the van, pulled out the motionlessly, lanky body of Gerald Ryoushi.

"Gerald!" Lily couldn't control her voice as she dived forward to look at him. Her attention was so focused that she did not see the other three all sharply look around. No, her eyes for for Gerald and the stained blood around his lower torso. She immediately put her hands on Gerald's face and barely registered the fact that she was touching him – actually physically touching him without the help of Jason. "Gerald!"

"Who the fuck are you and where the fuck did you just come from?" A man with shaggy hair said, staring directly at Lily.

Wasp was holding Gerald and couldn't do a thing, but Rhino immediately raised one hand in a combat stance despite the other hand holding the blade in his ribs.

"She's an ally," Jason immediately said, stepping in front of Rhino. "You can see her?"

Rhino blinked for a moment, faltering. "She's gone?"

"I know I definitely didn't just imagine a punk chick, right?" Conner said from inside the van.

"We don't have time! Shepherd, got him?" Wasp said, as she and the man with shaggy hair who must no doubt be the infamous Conner Shepherd, got Gerald out of the van. "Gunshot wound to the stomach. Pulse low. We need to get him to the medical bay immediately, if it's not too late."

"You and Rhino?" Jason asked quickly.

"Fine. We'll get him to medical."

"Good. Conner, with me," Jason reached forward and grabbed Conner's arm. Conner struggled but Jason simply pulled him along like a child.

"What the fuck man!?"

"If I can prevent any orderlies from seeing you then all the better. Let's go."

A few more words were exchanged, but Lily had no ears for them. Instead she followed next to Gerald with one hand on his face and the other over the wound in his belly, despite the furtive glances from Rhino and Wasp. This couldn't be happening. He couldn't be hurt this badly, he just couldn't be. It's because I wasn't there! I wasn't there to watch him and this is what happens! If he—he won't—but if he – he won't!

Just as they walked into the administrative building, they almost ran straight into Noah who was looking extremely worse for wear. There was blood on his shirt as well.

"Jason?" Noah looked to Jason who looked incredusouly back.

"What happened?"

"Attacked by a mask. Only one. We have her contained in the library. Ollie, Robyn, and Penelope are there."

Jason nodded and continued pulling Conner. "To the library then, Conner."

"You don't have to keep pulling me!"

"Noah, to the medical bay."

"I'm on my way. Ollie's hurt as well but he won't move. Is that… John?"

Again the words rose and ebbed in Lily's ears. She followed them all the way into the medical bay, where Gerald was placed on a bed. A doctor and a nurse immediately came over and before she knew it they had torn away his shirt and she got a good look at the wound in his stomach. It was a clean shot, but blood was still leaking out of it. She could only imagine how much blood he had lost. As the doctor and the nurse bustled around Gerald, words were exchanged, Wasp, Rhino, and Noah were all led by other staff to their own beds, and they moved straight through and around Lily. Nevertheless, Lily's physical touch of Gerald never disappeared, as she desperately willed him to be okay, to live, to survive.

A/N:- How is everyone doing? In the spirit of experimentation, I think I'm somewhat happy with how everything is going. We are entering into the twilight chapters of the story, but still a bit to go yet. In two chapters there is a chapter I've been looking forward to for a very long time. The hope is that we will conclude as summer arrives, so let's us see how we go. Thanks as always for reading and watching the experiment unfurl - BT