The bright hue of red seeps in through the darkness and colors everything in an eerie blood-like coating. I know this place like the back of my hand, and each time I visit, I regret ever closing my eyes.

It's too late. There's nothing I can do but walk the red hospital corridors with its stark black shadows, searching for the space I once called my own. Dozens of rooms line the hall with broken doors gaped open in a false sense of welcome while others rhythmically swing back and forth on its hinges.

The fastened doors frightened me the most, as they always seemed to house the scariest of these nightmarish forms. Creatures who love to creep and stalk so expertly that the wood between us offered nothing of protection, only heightening the tension.

And in this place, the tension invited them in.

Ominous shadows rested along the walls much like a horror comic or graphic novel as the light through the windows skewed the angles of objects. The moonlight shined white and enhanced the black and red like ink on a page.

The resonate screech of large claws slicing ceramic floor tiles made me grit my teeth and back into a corner. There was no hiding here. No escaping. I couldn't close my eyes, imagine a static television set, and demand the creatures to go away.

No, not here.

In this place, I was on their playing field, they set the rules and the only choice I had was to follow them.

A vicious snarl combined with the bubbling of thick liquid that oozed from its orifices let me know it was close. And the putrid smell would forever be burned into my memory if the concentrated tainted stench didn't burn my lungs first.

A cough tickled my throat as an itch, threatening to give away my position. I placed my hand over my mouth to prevent it from coming out. I inhaled slowly only to irritate the tickle instead of relieving it.

I cleared my throat as quietly as I could but just as I did, the constant raking of large claws on ceramic tiles stopped.

It had heard me.

My throat tingled and my lungs were in danger of bursting as I tried to prevent the cough by holding my breath. A low rumble of a growl filled the halls, but a second growl emerged from the opposite end.

Two. Now there were two.

I exhaled slowly, and the cough blasted from my lungs. The sound of large drops of syrupy liquid splattering on the tiles startled me, and the first of the large black, shadowy creatures approached down the hall with its neck curved like a question mark against the high ceiling.

I knew better than to scream, but it was too late. My body had taken over.

Then my eyes snapped open, and the red was gone.

I stood from the spot I had fallen asleep at and gazed around the room to get my bearings. The receptionist desk with the Winnie the Pooh backpack and the dried and brittle vines were still there, the only thing missing was white haired intruder.

I always hated visiting that place and tried my best to evade sleeping to avoid it. It took five minutes to get my heart rate back down to normal. Using my television technique was a literal life saver.

With help from the shifted light of the moon, I cautiously wandered the halls, looking for anything out of the ordinary. My thoughts were on the intruder, because I knew not to let my mind wander to anything else.

The sole of my worn shoes softly patted the cracked and chipped tile as I made my way down the familiar corridor lined with rooms. Passing each one often triggered a gloomy feeling and remorse for the girls that once safely occupied the space.

The guilt would never leave, but I had to choose to ignore it or it would consume me, much like the creatures.

I listened to the faint sound of air seeping in through the cracks of the building, like the hospital's very own set of lungs. Eventually, I gave up looking for the intruder after minutes of no luck. It was the wisest thing to do, as I learned fast that if you go looking for trouble, you'll most likely find it.

I would have to go another day without nutrients, and my stomach reminded me with its own tiny rumble and growl.

With a fleeting sense of ease, I continued down the hall, reminiscing about other girls who had accompanied me in this place. We all had similar plans laid out for us to be healed to perfection. For some reason, none of the girls were ever released due to their perfectly healed ailments. In fact, no one ever left. It took a massive catastrophic event to make this once full and thriving hospital empty.

Naturally, thinking about my previous mates and the old asylum, as we used to call it, led me even further back to my childhood where I tried to picture my mother and father. What did they look like? Did they love me once if ever, or decide to immediately abandon me upon proof of conception? Did they rid of me for their own good or mine?

It was all a blur anyway, whenever I thought of them. They were nothing more than humanoid silhouettes with barely a shape or face to them. Not even a smile crept upon the vacant faces as my imagination soared. Pointless, I stopped. Thinking about them did nothing for me, and now was a good time to look for my intruder and see what became of them.

I continued down the long corridor, stopping only to peer inside the rooms with the doors missing or pried open. The closed doors remained that way, most of them had been locked by the nurses to keep the patients inside during the night when we were supposed to be sleeping. I'm pretty sure whatever remained of those patients is still there.

I imagined what was left of the broken and mangled skeletons were scattered around the rooms amongst the viscous tar-like excrement. Even though I knew most of the dead, I couldn't allow the guilt to seep in. I bowed my head as I passed the doors in respect for the lost lives.

As I approached the entrance to the doctors' quarters, I paused and stared at the shut double doors. The entrance always remained locked when the clinicians occupied it. Out of instinct and conditioning, I knew not to go beyond the threshold, but also because the most chaos took place beyond those doors.

The memories were paralyzing.

The intruder wouldn't have made it inside the area anyway unless they found another way through one of the broken windows or an unlocked door at the opposite end of the hospital.

I turned and returned to the reception area, passing the desk to go directly to the main entrance, removing the large plank of wood that secured the doors closed.

I pushed both doors and they swung open, cracking and screeching wildly on it hinges. The early light of the sunrise was welcoming, and not only to me but the many researchers who would come to take pictures, samples, and such.

My stomach growled and it wasn't anything new. "Today will be the day," I whispered to my belly, making a promise.

A strand of hair tickled my neck and I reached back to take it in my palm. The band of hair differed from the rest of my regular curly locks due to the tension of constantly tugging and caressing it between my fingers.

I've later learned smoothing the strands was a coping mechanism for the stress and anxiety that constantly pulsed through my body worse than adrenaline. Having a large puff ball of kinky hair except a few perfectly long, straight locks at the nape was not only an identifying characteristic in Knoques, but something of a signature look.

Many identified me by my hair. "Oh, Kyla? The girl with a stray piece of straight hair in her afro?" or some variation.

Memories were always welcomed as a distraction, but only the good ones, which weren't many.

Taking a good look at my surroundings, I made my way around the side of the building, listening, watching, taking in the sensations. No wind. And there never was. Not because it was blocked by a thicket of trees and their brushes of leaves, but because there never was.

Not any rainfall either. Rain clouds hadn't formed over the Scalded ever. And being in the middle of autumn, I would normally expect a change in weather.

Finally, off in the distance, beyond the building and the root covered soil, the white-haired intruder sat on the lip of a vine-obscured bike railing.

"Hey, you?" I called. The person immediately looked up, a sense of curiosity in their expression. "Where'd you come from?" I knew they didn't come from the city, they seemed to be in tuned with the Scalded, not afraid of it but afraid of what lay beyond it.

"Such an intriguing first question to ask a person, don't you think?" The intruder cocked their head and the sunlight bounced from the white of their hair. "There are many first questions you could asked. For instance, what's your name is a good one." Was that an attempt at a smile on their full lips?

"Well, what is it then?" I shrugged, pausing with a mere ten feet between us for caution.

"Lilac." They nodded. Before I could add anything, they continued, "Yes, like the flower."

"Or the color." I liked that color. It was soothing.

"Yeah, like the color." The person stood, swiping their palms along their dirty stained and splotchy shirt to no avail. "You?"

"Kyla. Kyla Shepard."

"Well, nice to meet you Kyla Shepard. I am Lilac Pauper and it's great to make your acquaintance."

"How long have you been here?" The traces of root juice on their cheek gave me an approximation. "Months? Since the beginning?"

They nodded. "Something like that."

And they managed like me to avoid the dangers? "You know about the hunters."

"The crazy men that come at night to shoot anything that moves? Yes, I know about them. They remind me so much of my dad. 'Son,'" his voice dropped to mimic his father's. "You gotta fight for and take back what's yours.' Yeah, big, bold tough guys out there, doing what their daddies taught them."

I stared in the direction of the vine-engulfed barricade that rested near the edge of the radius. "They'll come back. You know."

He nodded in agreement. "They always do."

My stomach rumbled, and in the quiet of the morning light he heard it too. "I need nourishment. It's been a couple of days." I stared at the black smear on his white cheek.

He put a finger up as if he just had a revelation. "I know the perfect spot. Tonight, when the moon's out. I'll take you there."

"Is it safe?" I sneered, judging his character and if I should trust such a stranger. Nothing in me told me I shouldn't, he didn't give off any mischievous signals.

"Why would I put us in danger?" He nodded with confidence. "It's as safe as safe can be in this place. Trust me."

~~~

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