[A Few Days Later]

I flicked ash off the cigarette and into the ashtray. Currently I was in my cell, smoking and rereading a book I had read at least a dozen times in my life. Then again, I do enjoy classic literature more then modern so maybe I should try switching it up. Suddenly the door to my cell opened and in walked Dr. Stevens.

Me: "Ah, Dr. Stevens. Here to drop off the books I requested?"

Stevens: "Unfortunately not. I'm here on another matter however I can tell you that the books you requested were denied."

I stopped reading and closed the book, then set it on the stand next to me.

Me: "Why were they denied?"

Stevens: "They were obviously for some kind of research. Which you are not to be conducting."

I sighed.

Me: "Believe it or not I AM a man of science as well. Am I really not allowed to read on topics that I have interest in?"

Stevens: "Not when they pertain to other subjects. Your interaction with 166 was helpful, it has improved her mental state, as well as her likelihood to cooperate with us for testing, however we no longer need your assistance with it. You'll be able to give the subject religious advice now and then, but you do not need to help with anything else. It's not your job, it is ours."

I nodded and slowly put out my cigarette, then placed it in the ashtray.

Me: "I apologize Dr. Stevens. I must've forgotten that I am no longer a caretaker. 114 years can make you fall into a routine after all. Now, the matter you came to discuss, I'm guessing another test?"

Stevens: "You are correct. Please stand up and come with me."

I slowly stood up and followed Stevens out the door where two guards then followed us, keeping a close eye on me. They didn't cuff me this time, which was a nice surprise.

Me: "Mind filling me in? Or am I going in blind again?"

Stevens: "You will be given directions when you are in the cell."

Me: "Of course."

I sighed. They certainly run things differently here then I did. Then again I was the only researcher in my facility. When we finally stopped walking we arrived at a door with no plaque. It was a testing cell, meaning I have no information what so ever.

Stevens: "You will enter alone. When you are inside we'll speak to you through the intercom."

I nodded. When Stevens opened the door I walked in without hesitation. I noticed two figures in the room. One, was a girl. I couldn't tell her age due to her being in the fetal position, she was sobbing. She had long black hair and was quite pale. The other figure was dead. A female agent, laying on the ground motionless. I walked over to the corpse and began examining it. There were no signs of external damage, so maybe internal? Or perhaps the girl has a way to kill without evidence. The only other thing in the room was an outlet, and a small nightlight shaped like a rabbit laying next to it, the bulb seemed to be scorched, maybe it has a fried circuit. I slowly walked up to the girl and crouched down.

Me: "Hello. My name is 4247. What's your name?"

She jumped and looked at me. She was young, maybe 16-17?

Female: "I-I didn't... didn't mean to!"

She was still sobbing uncontrollably. I have to calm her down.

Me: "Hey... Hey, I believe you. I know you didn't mean to. I'm here to help, I promise."

I smiled at her to show I truly meant well. Her sobbing slowed a bit, but she was still hysterical. I slowly sat down in front of her.

Female: "I-I j-just want to go home."

I sighed.

Me: "Believe me, I do too. Anything I can help with?"

She shook her head slowly.

Female: "I-I don't know what to do... I hate it here..."

Me: "Well, how about this, let's start over from the beginning. My name is (Y/N) (L/N). What's your name?"

Abigail: "A-Abigail Lawrence."

Me: "I knew an Abigail once. Wonderful girl, had a weird laugh through, she would snort really loud. I had to make sure there wasn't a pig in the room everytime she laughed."

Abigail gave off a small smile and held back a giggle. I chuckled.

Me: "Well your laugh sounds pretty normal, so I guess we'll get along."

Her smile got a bit bigger. She was definitely calmed down.

Me: "So. Think you can tell me about that nightlight over there? It seems broken."

She nodded.

Abigail: "It's where I came from... they broke it... now I'm trapped here."

I nodded.

Me: "Was the place in the nightlight your home?"

She nodded.

Me: "I see. Do-"

Intercom: "4247, make physical contact with 1273."

The girl suddenly jumped back and crawled backwards away from me.

Abigail: "N-No don't! You'll... You'll..."

Oh come on! I was making progress!

Me: "Please stop talking. You're upsetting her."

I stood up and backed away a few steps.

Me: "Abigail, I'm not going to. I promise, okay? I'm here to help you."

She stared at me a moment then nodded. I walked over to the wall opposite her and sat down leaning against the wall.

Me: "Back to what I was saying, BEFORE I WAS SO RUDELY INTERRUPTED..."

I said not quite shouting but loud enough to be heard clearly through the speaker. Abigail let out a small giggle.

Me: "What's your home like? You seem to really want to get back there."

She hesitated. She may not want to talk about it.

Me: "Hey, if you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. Let's talk about-"

Abigail: "It's... so free. So open... so wonderful."

She's keeping it vague, but it's a start.

Me: "Huh... Sounds great. Is anyone else there? I feel like it'd get lonely in such an open place."

She nodded.

Abigail: "Not many... but there are other people."

Me: "Anyone your age?"

She nodded.

Me: "That's good. I'd be worried if you were like me, there's no one out there my age, least that I've met."

I chuckled.

Abigail: "Huh? How?"

Me: "Well... despite my appearance I'm about 500 years old. I've lived quite a long life!"

Abigail looked at me as if I were crazy. But then relaxed.

Abigail: "What's that like...?"

I rubbed the back of my neck.

Me: "Well... it can uh... be pretty boring honestly. It also makes you feel like your trapped in a... hm... whats the right word..."

Abigail/Me: "Endless loop."

I chuckled.

Me: "Jinx!"

Abigail covered her mouth to stop her from accidentally saying anything, but she was close to laughing.

Me: "Annnnnd... Abigail!"

She instantly started laughing.

Abigail: "I-I can't remember the last time my friends and I did that!"

Her smile was so genuine, and it seemed like it was long overdue. For the next 30 minutes Abigail and I started swapping stories and information about ourselves. Until finally Abigail was sitting next to me up against the wall.

Abigail: "I can't believe you're actually 500 years old... I feel like that'd be torture."

Me: "Yeah... it was at first. But then I found purpose in helping others like me. Life is about making your own purpose."

Abigail: "Really...? Wish I found my purpose before... well... before this happened."

Me: "Don't worry about that. You can make purpose for yourself no matter what happens. You just gotta adapt. It's what I had to do, and I'm sure you can too."

She thought about what I had said and nodded.

Me: "I've gotta talk about the elephant in the room now... what happened there?"

I motioned over to the body of the agent. She avoided looking at the corpse.

Abigail: "I... I didn't mean to... I was so mad... and scared when they broke the light and I couldn't go back... I tried to hit her... but... I just got stuck in her. Then I got sucked inside her body... I saw everything... her past... everything I saw, I saw it through her eyes. It was really weird... when I finally got out she was dead..."

I nodded. I understood what happened clearly. Abigail was not exactly a physical entity, she was more of an after image thus she had the ability to phase into people, and see through their life. However doing this ultimately kills the person. I wonder if I could do this too...

Me: "Hey. You didn't mean to. I have no doubt you were just scared. I would be too."

Abigail: "I knew you'd understand... You're the nicest person I've ever met..."

I chuckled.

Me: "I try."

I sighed.

Me: "But. Abigail, I want to try something."

She looked at me a moment then her eyes widened.

Abigail: "N-No! You'll-"

Me: "Abigail, I won't die. I can't. I want to help you. And this is the only thing I can think of. Please, trust me Abigail."

I held out a hand to her. She stared at it a moment then slowly put her hand on top of mine. Slowly her hand merged into mine. As more of her arm began to seep into my body my muscles began to tense.

Me: "I promise, I will get you back home."

Abigail nodded and gave me a wary smile. A few moments passed until Abigail was fully merged with me. Every muscle in my body felt tense and my mind felt cluttered, it was hard to think. There was a sharp pain in my chest, then my head. I took a few deep breaths and controlled my heart rate, making it steady and calm. I then felt myself close my eyes, without even meaning to. I began seeing memories that were not my own, scenes I had no recollection of. A family; a mother, a father, then a daughter, it was Abigail. 16 years passed by quickly. I got glimpses of certain events, her life's story in a sort of highlights reel. Close to the end I saw her sitting down in her room, a few odd objects around her. She was saying something I couldn't quite hear. Then, she suddenly went limp as if she fainted. A moment or two passed then a ethereal image of Abigail rose from her body and slowly drifted into the nightlight that was in the corner of the room, the same one that was in the testing chamber. Everything else was... blurry. A tall figure in an open field, other teenagers and some older adults. The tall figure was covered in a shining light that I couldn't see through. Abigail was laughing and talking with the other people there. She was happy there, when she wasn't in life. Abigail was often an outcast, very quiet and reserved. She found interest in things of occult nature. She performed a... ritual of sort? The light of the nightlight was her gate to that world, when it broke she was on the wrong side and got stuck here in the real world. If we fix the light she can go back. But if we can't, she'll be stuck here forever. She just wants a place where she feels like she belongs. If the light can't be fixed, then she needs to find purpose. And I promised to help her. Suddenly the tall figure covered in light appeared in my vision. It reached out for me. It was trying grab me, trying to take me to the other world. When it's hand reached me, it simply phazed through me. I couldn't see a face or anything, but from the body language of the figure, it seemed confused. The figure slowly backed away, obviously uneasy about something. As it got further away, everything went black. I felt my eyes open and saw Abigail staring at me with tears in her eyes. I had a headache that was slowly fading.  I blinked a few times, my eyes weren't adjusted to the light.

Abigail: "I-I-I thought... I thought..."

Shit, she's getting hysterical again.

Me: "I'm okay. See? Just a little headache but very much alive. Are you alright?"

She nodded while still sniffling and trying to wipe away the endless stream of tears. Instinctively, and without any thought, I reached out and wiped away her tears. Only after realizing what I had just done did I find this odd. She was an actual physical entity. Quickly she realized what this meant and grabbed my hand, feeling my skin. She looked at me in surprise, then suddenly tackled me into a hug. Now... it's been... a few hundred years since I've been hugged, so this threw my composure off slightly. All I could really manage at that point was patting her on the back slightly. She eventually let go and looked at me.

Abigail: "I-I saw... I saw everything... You... You're..."

Me: "Old?"

Abigail: "In pain."

Well... You try living 500 years and not being able to die, it gets a little painful to watch everything wither while you're still kicking. I shook my head and smiled.

Me: "And here I was hoping you wouldn't see everything. Talk about a long movie, 500 years long."

Abigail: "607 actually. You were born in 1412."

I chuckled.

Me: "Well at least someone can remember. I thought I was born in the late 1400's."

Abigail: "You really are like me... You're trapped in an endless loop, it has no end."

Me: "I'm not trapped. Like I said, I gave myself purpose."

Abigail: "But they took it away from you. You're so worried about that place with all the children."

Me: "Of course I am. I've looked after them like they were my own... and then they just replace me."

Abigail: "I also saw-"

Intercom: "4247, please stand up and approach the door."

I sighed.

Me: "Times up I guess..."

I slowly stood up and stretched, it felt like I had been sitting for at least a few hours. Suddenly Abigail grabbed onto my hand.

Abigail: "N-No! Please don't leave me alone!"

Me: "I have to Abi, but I'll try to visit as much as they'll let me. Just hang in there, I promise I'll find a way to get you back home."

She slowly let go of my hand and nodded.

Me: "Everything will be okay."

I smiled at her and she gave a small smile back. I guess 187 was right, I do have a smile that says 'everything will be okay.'