I'm going to be fine, nothing can happen to me in the pit. She repeated to herself forcefully to chase away the already creeping demons of her mind. The utter blackness of the pit seemed to seep into her soul and her very breathing sounded foreign to her ears. She clutched her head to try and minimize the sound.

Rene wasn't afraid of the dark. The dark was natural. It was necessary. No she wasn't afraid of the dark; she was terrified of what could be in the dark. The unknown things that could be hidden within its depths and emerge without warning. Being afraid of the dark was silly and childish, being haunted by the things her mind concocted and yet she couldn't see, well now that just was insane.  I'm going to be fine, nothing can happen to me in the pit. Perhaps if she said it enough even she would believe it. Like what her social worker used to tell her, "Fake it till you make it."

Basically lie your butt off until you and everyone around you believes it.  If only she was a better liar she wouldn't even be here, the asylum, the pit. It was because she couldn't fake the happy for the string of foster families nor lie her way to a normal life that she was condemned for being different. Every family the same story, she's too weird, too sad, a delinquent. And don't even get people started on the tattoos. There was only so much the system could take before it spit her out like the poison she was. So five years ago, it was decided that there was nowhere better to develop a remedy to that toxin than the asylum.

Now technically the asylum was a licensed boarding school for troubled youth, specializing in those with mental disorders who needed closer attention than provided by the typical school. With certified PhDs in psychology, psychiatry, and other long fancy words, the various counselors were entrusted with the students' mental health while their brains were educated by the best professors money can buy, privately funded of course. Sure at one point the program probably worked great, but greed changes things. A place that once set out to help those that society had abandoned now focused on squeezing the asylum dry, leaving only the dejected. Even the best psychologists eventually got brought down into the pit of pain that was the asylum.

Rene curled herself into a ball pressed up against a corner in the room. Nothing. No sound, no light penetrated what is the pit. Outside the doors, the world could end and she would never know. If not for the subtle twitching of muscles from her eyes blinking she may have though it was her end. Open, close, it didn't matter. The darkness around her was leaking into her rotting mind. I am not insane. I will not break. I am not insane, I will not break. Isn't repetition the definition of insanity? No, I believe that would be talking to yourself and getting a response. Damn... screwed either way.

Time bled together like a fresh wound until the light washed over her feeling like a physical blow to her psyche. The dark was bad, the light could be worse. It shows all and knows all. All the crap and pain you try to hide are forced into being by the light. And then there is what the light brings. "Wake up crazy, time to go a couple more rounds." The guard's voice yelled.

Rene shakily got up and stumbled her way towards the door. "Learn your lesson?" he inquired.

"Yes, when you get in a fight make sure your daddy is paying everyone's salary." Rene smiled softly.

A hand slammed down near her head blocking the doorway. The guard leered into her face with a sneer. "I could just leave you down here, no one would even notice if you are gone. Besides these walls are pretty thick, we could have a lot of fun in the pit." His eyes raked her body like a carnivore.

Rene suppressed a shudder before dunking under his arm and striding confidently towards the door.  She would like to see him try and make a move on her. Rene was a lot of things but she would not be weak. She would not be someone's prey. Never again.

Rene marched her way up the stairs to the main floor. Glancing at a clock on the wall, she realized she was just in time for free period. Great, she needed to clear her head and a run would leave her stupid thoughts from the pit in the dust. Rene slammed open the front doors giving a nod to the outside guard on duty, a young women. Rene tolerated her because unlike a majority of the guards she seemed to have a level of compassion to at least treat the residents like humans. Rene walked to the fence surrounding the compound and took a brief moment to listen to the buzz of electricity humming through it. With a deep sigh, she dug in and took off running staying close enough to the fence for the hairs of her arm to stand on end. Rene enjoyed running, it killed thought. Running would exhaust her to the point of collapse and occasional vomit, but it was all worth it if she could escape reality even if only for a short time. She was diving into the rhythmic pounding of her feet against the ground when her pattern was interrupted. Someone was trying to catch up to her. Rene forced herself to move faster pulling away from the shadow which was creeping towards her. The shadow followed suit and soon was gaining on her. Like a game of cat and mouse they traded paces with her pulling ahead and the shadow soon catching up. Infuriated Rene slammed to a stop and spun on the person who dared to enter her sanctuary. "Hey, was wondering when you would stop. You're really fast you know that?" The boy from outside Miss Rachel's office yesterday gave her a disarming smile as he put his hands behind his head.

Rene's face twitched annoyed and intrigued at the same time.  "Can I help you with something?" she carefully asked.

"Yea," he answered only slightly out of breath compared to her more labored breathing, "you could run a little slower, makes someone think you don't want to talk with them if you are always picking up speed."

"Well then, apparently I will have to try harder, because you obviously didn't get the hint."

"Oh, right in the heart, blondie." He staggered grabbing at his chest dramatically before falling back onto the ground.

Rene shook her head annoyed and started to jog away before slowing down when she didn't hear him follow. Sighing exaggeratedly, she turned around and walked back towards him. Standing over him she cocked her head at this latest annoyance. Who in the world was stupid enough to not only run after her, when most people avoided her like the plague she was, let alone try to gain and keep her attention? Flattered or annoyed this definitely demanded more information. As she cast her shadow over his head he slowly cracked an eye open looking at her. "You know in the fairy tales this would be the point where the princess kisses the prince to wake him up from his slumber." The boy slyly grinned.

Rene's face flashed beat red. "One, it's the other way around the prince saves the princess, two there is no way I'm a princess, and three..." Rene sighed losing her steam while looking around, "This place is too close to Hell to belong in a fairy tale."

Rene forced a breath out through her nose before glancing back at the boy and holding out a hand. "Here this will have to do."

He grasped her hand with a chuckle and bounced back on his feet with no effort from her. "Name is Michael by the way. And who is my knight in shining armor?"

Rene shook her head at the continued reference, "Rene, my name is Rene."

"Well, Rene thank you for the assistance," Michael gave an over the top bow, "shall we continue our run?"

"You are not going to leave me alone are you?" Rene replied suspiciously.

"I am just running and stretching out my legs by this lovely fence. If I just so happen to run near you it's mere coincidence."

Rene ignored the prodding and started running again at a more comfortable and less frantic pace. Michael was obviously in better shape than her and had been messing with her earlier. There was no point trying to outrun her problem when he could surpass her. "So..." Michael carefully broached, "What's with the ink, don't get me wrong it's pretty awesome, just not the thing you see on the typical girl. Weird or not." Rene didn't need to look to know exactly what he was talking about. She felt her run slow to a jog and watched Michael match her from the corner of her eye. "I mean come on they are incredibly sweet, but that outline I've never seen anything like that on a tat. Special request?" Michael continued.

"No, because it's not ink, the outline my mother did with a knife." At which point Rene spun on him, daring him to pity her.

Michael stopped and just gazed down at her evenly. "I see... Mother didn't approve."

"Something like that." She whispered gazing down at the ink.

Two dragons encircling someone so small and insignificant in the world. One black with red eyes its head appearing to bite into the palm of her right hand and the body snaking its way up her bicep. One white with gold eyes making the reverse track along her left arm. Beautiful. Powerful. Everything she was not despite her best efforts. She couldn't even remember how she got them. One day poof, there they were, appearing at an age where she couldn't even get them without her mother's permission. And they were just the first. Michael's voice drew her out of herself. "Someday you are going to have to tell me where you got them. I've always wanted some ink."

With a turn on his heel, he started running again at a pace where Rene could easily fall in with. The rest of free period was spent in silence just the pattern of their feet against the dirt.