Ever since Jorge decided not to believe her, she hasn't gotten another punishment, but neither has she gotten more talkative.

She never really talks anymore, in fact. And she doesn't dare to make any sings with her fingers either.

She tried to see it from his perspective, and all it did was make her doubt Amery's words, which she believed were lies. Now the 'he'll laugh at you' isn't that crazy.

But, alright, most adults would also think kids were joking if they made a sex sign with their hands, as they were grinning.

Siren was not grinning, though. She was smiling a small smile because she finally found a way to tell him.

Either way, she is no longer locked up, so that's something.

She locks herself up now. In an invisible cage that no one ever really trespasses. Brenda is no longer angry about the nickname thing—it was weeks ago—and Jorge has decided that maybe just letting the girl be would do wonders.

Physically, it might look like it.

She eats, she sleeps, she silently obeys.

She eats in the corner of the room, on the ground, eating slowly because she doesn't trust it. She doesn't trust anything at the moment. Even the walk she sits against feels strange.

Jorge and Brenda eat ten times faster, but they don't comment on it. It'd be ridiculous.

She sleeps after the nightmares happen. And while the nightmares happen. The nightmares are sometimes spread around the day, too.

And she silently obeys because the more she gets locked up in her room, the more often he'll take his chance.

"Siren?" Jorge asks carefully, a week or three after thinking she was joking. "I cleaned the simulation room and gave it an update. Do you want to be the first one to try it?"

She hopes her glare towards him tells him that suddenly 'putting her first' will not make anything up.

Yet she nods, even as she's glaring. It's the least thing she can do to keep her mind off things.

꥟

She has dropped the knife minutes ago, when she saw the kids in the stimulation.

It's raining outside. The kids are inside, behind a window. Two of them are wrestling. The rest are talking and laughing. She's outside, in the rain.

It feels real enough to make her lips tremble and fingers to lose feelings as she stands there, staring.

Would they believe her?

They look the same age as her. They look... fun. Everyone seems to like each other. They all seem nice to each other, even though she can't hear them.

Their faces are unclear. They're blurry. She can only see their bodies very clearly, but that is enough. The laughs are radiating off them.

Suddenly, there's a tap on the window. She's busy recovering from her jumpiness as the boy leans forward.

"Hi. Do you want to come inside?"

Siren looks around. There's nothing but darkness and rain. Inside, it's warm and there's kids.

So she nods. The faceless boy helps her climb through the window.

They ask her name. They don't ask how she got there. They ask how she's doing. She lies, but seeing all of them listen attentively is enough to cure the pain.

"You're our friend now, Siren," they decide.

And then she laughs and listens to them the whole night.

She doesn't talk much herself. It's not even necessary. She is having more fun than ever and she doesn't even have to work for it.

Who knows how long later, the door of the tiny room opens. The kids have faded away before she can hear what the newcomer had to say.

She's still in WCKD's building—where she was supposed to train, not talk with kids—but this time, in a bed.

It scares her for a moment, feeling two arms around her, holding her with... not lust, for once. Not with force so she can't escape.

They're just gently wrapped around her. The hands of the arms are on her arms, thumbs rubbing circles. Soft hums leave the woman's mouth, music to Siren's ears. She smells nice, too. Like some kind of perfume, but not too much, and also the smell of fire. Not rough fire, but... Christmas fire, almost. The nice fire.

As she hums along, she nearly dozes off. This relaxation is unreal— technically, it actually is. But she likes to believe it's real.

"I love you," the woman says. It's strange how comfortable it feels, even though Siren has no idea who this is.

All the girl does in reply is turn around and snuggle closer to the warm body. She doesn't look at the face, knowing it'll be blurred.

The woman begins singing to the rhythm she just hummed at. Siren's eyebrows scrunch lightly as she takes in the lyrics.

Once she gets the hang of it, she sings along. Not with full enthusiasm or very loudly, but she sings, and the woman seems to like it, and it doesn't bad to her own ears either.

After the song is finished, the woman speaks, "I have to go now." A kiss on her forehead. "I'll see you again, Siren."

Then she's back in the empty, glass simulation room, her eyes shimmering with tears.

Jorge is waiting for her outside the room. He luckily isn't looking at the device, so he hasn't followed what was going on in the stimulation. He must be able to see the tears, though.

"Do you want to know what the update is?"

Instead of replying, she wipes her tears away as her feet work towards the exit.

"It shows your deepest desires now," Jorge announces.

She freezes in her spot, hand hovering over the knob.

"The point is to conquer your desires, so no one can ever manipulate you with them," he continues. "Did you manage to do that?"

She shakes her head.

"That's fine. Give it a try next time."

Absolutely not. She's not wasting this precious simulation. It was the best thing ever.

What enemy is going to offer her some comfort in their arms anyway?

Yet she nods.

"Awesome," Jorge says. "Good night, Siren."

She vanishes without a reply, to spare her energy. The horror will require it again.

Her heart sinks at the reminder.

If only she could stay in simulations forever.