She looked up at the sound of a door screeching against the concrete, questions flooding her mind. She backed up further into her little corner, the place she spent the last three years in. Her eyes stung as a light came shining through, watching as a figure was thrown in. She couldn't see the face or the reason of them being here, but she was overcome with relief and uncertainty of interaction with another human being. The figure slowly started to move, crept towards her, panic striking her mind. She thought they were done testing, the needles, the torture, the pain. Noises came from outside the door- voices. The sounds she hadn't heard of for the longest time. The figure turned and crept toward the wall, dragging in pain. The door started to close, her panic rising once more. She scurred towards the door hesitantly, continuing to press herself up against the wall. The door started to close, taking the sliver of hope she had  with it. The greyness of the room returned as the light vanished as she slinked back to the corner. She tightened her knees to her chest, her mind burdened with regret once again.

She eyed the visitor in front of her, the clothes tattered and worn, with piece of cloth wrapped around their face. She felt the gaze of the figure looming over her, both of them not making a sound. The figure sat in the opposite corner as her, their legs crossed. Their hands crept up to their face, and around to the back of their head, a faint snapping sound echoed across the walls, seeming far more loud than it should have. The cloth came off, revealing the face of a male, who seemed to be a little older than herself. His blue eyes lingered downward, his messy dark brown hair tossed in all directions. He had a scar running across the side of his forehead, and she wondered about the story behind it.

They both just sat in silence, not saying a word. Hearing someone else's breathing intoxicated her, adding more questions to her list. She could tell he was also studying her, his eyes drifting as she ran her fingers through her long, untamed, dark brown hair that fell past her shoulders. Her blue-green eyes shining against all the scars on her arms, legs, hands, neck, face, back, and hands. She wondered what he thought of her, all the questions he himself had.

She turned her eyes to her arms, counting all the marks again for the hundredth time. A sigh went through her as she turned to the left wall of the corner. Her hands brushed over the jagged stones and found a loose one, then pulled it out and set it next to her quietly. She reached her hand in, and pulled out a sharp rock, a tattered notebook, a piece of charcoal, a pen, and a pencil. She moved along the wall and found an empty spot that didn't have anything on it. A image played around in her mind, a lost form of memory she wanted to keep. She took the pencil in her left hand, then started to sketch out what her mind saw- the elegant lines and shapes of something she faintly remembered. She moved gracefully, adding something in different parts as it was focused on in her mind. She took the charcoal, feeling the dusty substance transfer onto her hand, and added some shading, making it seem more and more recognizable. She finished and stepped away, the memory of childhood coming back to her.

She was walking to a window, the floorboards creaking under her, the cold crisp of rain seeping into everything. She looked up from her bare feet covered in smudges at a sound that cooed.  She saw a magnificent bird, the feathers the color of the sea and sky. The rain made the bird stand out more, the droplets running off the smooth feathers. She reached out, feeling rain on her arm as she moved to touch the bird, her hand lightly brushing its beak and feathers, a smile ran across her face, a rare movement for her to encounter. She heard someone yell, and the bird flew away, droplets shaking to the ground. She felt the prickle of fear in her chest as she realized it was the scream of her aunt, the only one who would take her in. She turned and ran, trying to keep her feet quiet against the cold floor. She sped down the stairs and down the hall, paintings and frames flashing by, her eyes caught snipits of them, all in ruins with holes piercing through the canvas. She slowed as she heard a commotion beyond a door, and pressing herself against the wall to listen. There was yelling and cursing, most of which came from Aunt... Mya, the name was foggy in her mind, and a small part from a deeper voice. There was a loud noise, and the door knob slowly turned. She backed away along the wall, still trying to listen. The knob stopped at the sound of a crash, as if something had been thrown. There was an angry grunt followed by quick footsteps, aimed away from the door. The suspense was eating away at her, questions echoing in her mind. She felt angry and terrified, unsure of what to do. There was another loud grunt, mixed with some kind of metal clang. She slowly made her way back to the door, and crouched to see through the keyhole. A buff man was standing with his back turned to her, Aunt Mya standing with a metal pole in her hand. They made eye contact, her chocolate spheres glazing over with a look of protection and final assurance. She mouthed a word, but the man caught the movement and turned around. He had scars all over him, with a piece of his shirt tied around a bleeding eye. He had a dusty light brown beard that was finely trimmed, stopping before coming off the chin. A tattered and expensive looking suit matched his glaring expression, sending a prickle down her spine. He moved towards the door, but Mya whacked him across the back and shoulder, the sound echoing in their ears. He turned around and barked, "I've had enough with you." Reaching for his belt, he pulled out a gun. He aimed it right at her head, "Tell me where she is!" His yell screamed through the air.

"Never." Told Mya sternly, looking once more into the hazel eyes of the clever little girl she cared so dearly for, and smiled the familiar warm half smile, her eyes welling up. Time seemed to stop, then rushed back, pelting her with a sickening fear. Finally, she heard it. The sound that ripped through her world, demolishing anything and everything in its path. It seemed like an eternity of agony placed upon them, tearing the life she had once known out of her. A scream ripped from her lips, her mind stopped working, hot tears streaming down her face. Her vision started to fade, engulfing the event back to the darkness. She realized she closed her eyes, and opening them the last image of the one person who once cared for her fell to the ground.
She blinked fiercely, her eyes focused on a concerned face in front of her.
His eyes moved from side to side, studying her. She lept backward and scattered her tools. Scrambling quickly, she picked them up and shoved them back into the corner. He stayed there, watching her continually, eyes recording everything. On making her way back to her corner, the other images on the cement beckoned upward at her. Flashes of painful memories playing across her mind, and she bit down on her cheek. Blood dissolved on her tongue. She pulled her knees up to her chest, pressing her back further to the cool adjointed walls behind her. She laid her head down on her kneecaps and slowly started rocking back and forth, muttering things to herself. A thought rose in her mind, and she probably seemed crazy to her visitor… but even she didn’t know what she was getting him into

She felt his gaze lingering on all her drawings, presumably judging each one. She listened to his breathing echo across the walls of her memories, letting it coat her like a blanket as she calmed. She heard him move over to his corner, and the faint movement of his hands and fingers brushing against each other as he thought.

"Who are you?" The words startled her, hearing another's voice but her own. She stopped rocking to lift her head. Opening her mouth, the rusted gears of her voice beginning to work once more. "I could ask you the same thing." She told him, unsure of her own voice. He smirked, "Why did you scream?" She paused for a long time, eyes moving to look at him. "Pain." He looked up from his fingers, "Why are you in pain?" Her eyes stared back at him, "Why do you ask so many questions?" A sigh went through him and he ran his fingers through his hair, "I just want to make sense of why they put me here, especially with someone like you." She continued the blank stare on her face, "Its been 2 years, 6 months, 258 days, 102 weeks, 20 hours, and 45 minutes... you're not going to find that answer if I haven't." They both were quiet after that, occasionally looking up at each other with the mere slip of movement. She even came up with a name for him: Guy. THe 30 minutes they stayed like this felt like an eternity, all the six walls screaming to move closer yet further apart.

There was an alarm that sounded, startling the both of them to their feet. They haven't done a Clean Day in a long time... The thought ran through her mind, remembering the cold shivers of the water pouring down on the face and the smell of other bodies around her. The door swung open with a loud crash, making them jump. This time, she didn't hesitate to run, to get out. The hallway was just more concrete, the walls dimly lit with false lighting. The brightness stund the eyes at first but slowly recovered as they focused. Guy stood just beside the door, unsure of what to do. A smirk played across her lips, then she questioned if she should help him or not. "Lights go out in 2 minutes, better move." Her words echoed to him as she took off running.

Pain went up her legs hurt at first, working out all the cramps from staying in there. It felt amazing, feeling the cold but warm air flowing through the chest, long dark brown hair flying behind her. She felt the need to scream at the top of her lungs, the sound echoing across the walls and back to the ears, amazed at how good it felt. Her laugh bounced along the walls, something that hadn’t been done for longer than three years. She looked behind, checking if Guy followed her. He looked at back with a curious expression, examining everything around him. Facing forward once more she turned a corner, passing door after open door, wondering where they all were, or if i'm the only one left.

A familiar door focused in her path, and she headed straight toward it, bracing herself out of instinct like she would before. A collision of another body rammed into her, tackling them both to the ground. She squirmed, kicked, and pushed, trying to get them off. Hands wrapped around her neck as a face came into view. It was a face of a man, but it was covered in blood, oozing from his eye. She continued kicking and gasping of air, trying to shake him off. His eyes were dilated and crazed, like a wild animal. There was a loud crack as something hit him across the head, and he slumped off and tumbled to the floor.

Standing there, with a pole of somesort in hand, was Guy. Her eyes met his, then moved to the crumpled man and back again. He set down the pole as she scrambled to stand up, feeling her neck. “Might as well keep that.” She said, her voice scratchy as he picked it up again.

Her eyes moved toward the door, questions running around her mind. She whipped the blood from her lip on her hand, deciding on what to do. Her eyes moved back toward him, “Want to continue on?” He met her eyes, “Might as well try and get out of here.”