Shadow Slave

Not long before that, Morgan heard the door lock after the psychiatrist left the room.

Some time later, the door opened again, and a nurse walked in, accompanied by three burly orderlies.

Morgan did not move, continuing to look out the window. She was seated in a wheelchair, her arms bound by a straitjacket… which wasn’t that uncomfortable. What really drove her mad was that she was not allowed to shower without supervision, and the hospital staff was too afraid of her to wash her properly. Not that she would allow anyone to touch her.

Her personal hygiene situation was sorrowful.

Outside the window, the world was dark and veiled by rain. Distant spotlights were shining through the torrents of falling water on the dam that towered above the city like a great barrier. The sight of this illusory world... was strange and wondrous.

Morgan was not taking in the darkly stunning landscape, though. She was tracking the movements of the four people who had entered her room in the reflections on the surface of the window.

The orderlies locked the door and took positions around her, while the nurse brightened the lights and went about preparing an injection. She filled a disposable syringe with a transparent liquid from a medical ampule, then flicked it a few times and pressed the plunger lightly to let out the tiny bubbles of air.

”Miss Morgan, I will administer your medicine now.”

Her tone was pleasant and polite.

Morgan did not turn her way, continuing to face the window.

She did speak, however.

”How strange.”

The nurse gave her a confused look. Most of her face was obscured by a mask, but there was definitely a silent question in her eyes.

”Strange? What do you mean?”

Morgan sighed.

”You are not afraid of me.”

She finally turned her head, looking at the nurse calmly.

”Anyone on the hospital staff would be at least a little wary. You must be new. Come to think of it, I don’t recognize any of you.”

The nurse chuckled in a friendly manner.

”Oh, yes. There are a lot of recent hires in the hospital these days, Miss Morgan. Now, if you allow me…”

Morgan smiled faintly.

”Oh, but you see, not only do I not recognize you, but I am also not scheduled to receive any injections at this time. And on top of that…”

She looked at the syringe the nurse was holding in her hand.

”The medication I’ve been receiving has a yellow tint. This one is entirely transparent, though. So, a nurse I don’t recognize wants to inject me with a substance I don’t know… at the wrong hour, no less. How peculiar, don’t you think?” ꞦᴀꞐộβËȘ

The nurse remained silent for a while, looking at her kindly.

Then, kindness slowly drained from her eyes.

Giving one of the orderlies a cold stare, she said in a harsh tone:

”Hold her tightly. Ah, but make sure not to leave any bruises — it has to look natural, you know.”

’Amusing.’

The orderlies stepped forward to hold Morgan down. Their rough hands landed on her neck and her shoulders, pressing her into the wheelchair and making it impossible for her to move. The nurse took a step in their direction, preparing the syringe.

Morgan laughed.

”Four entire people to handle one poor me. Well… I guess I’m worth it. I am Morgan of Valor, after all. Even if Valor doesn’t exist anymore.”

Her laughter stopped abruptly, and she pierced the nurse with a gaze so cold that it made the woman stumble.

”You made a mistake, though. Do you know what your mistake is?”

Morgan’s hands moved under the white fabric of the straitjacket, as if she was turning her wrists.

A derisive smile twisted her scarlet lips.

”Thinking that just four will be enough.”

The nurse had regained her composure by then. Her eyes narrowed, and her voice gained a mocking undertone:

”Don’t mind her. What can she even…”

Then, there was the sound of tearing fabric, and Morgan’s ten fingers easily pierced the straitjacket. She pulled her hands down, and the tough fabric parted easily, as if cut by ten razor-sharp knives.

”I suggest you run.”

But, of course, the three muscular orderlies holding her down and the nurse carrying a syringe full of an unidentified substance did not listen to her advice.

The patient room had padded walls. It was quite soundproof when it needed to be.

…When the screams died out, Morgan exhaled slowly and looked up, at the white ceiling of the sterile room that had served as her prison cell for the past few months.

The ceiling was painted red with chaotic splatters now. The soft padding on the floor was slowly absorbing vast puddles of blood. The walls were torn apart and dripping crimson.

There was barely any white left in the room.

Pulling off the pitiful remains of her straitjacket, Morgan turned to the only corner that remained free of the blood. There, the supposed nurse was pressing herself against the soft walls, shivering as she looked up at Morgan with horror.

”M—monster! Monster! You are... ”

Dropping the torn straitjacket to the floor, Morgan walked over to the shaking woman and crouched near her.

”Hey, you.”

She picked up the abandoned syringe from the floor and looked at the nurse impassively.

”Do you know why I left you for last?”

The woman tried to press herself even deeper into the wall, shaking her head in terror.

Morgan smiled.

”It’s because I wanted to… keep your uniform clean…”

Some time later, the lights in the patient room went out. The door opened, and a woman in blue scrubs walked out into the corridor. Her face was covered by a mask, and her black hair was gathered in a tidy bun. She looked perfectly unassuming, just like any other nurse in the private wing of the psychiatric hospital.

The door locked behind her with an audible click.

As the woman headed away with confident steps, a passing doctor gave her a stare, and then asked in a confused tone:

”Huh? Did you just walk out of that room?”

The woman lowered her eyes and responded politely.

”Yes. Please keep your voice down, doctor — Miss Morgan is asleep.”

He studied her silently for a few moments…

Then chuckled.

”You went there alone? Brave girl!”

Shaking his head and chuckling, the doctor walked away, leaving the woman alone.

She did not linger, either, and soon, no one was left in front of the locked door and its dark window.