Ten months later.
The hallway stretched long and narrow before her.
It was swallowed in dim, suffocating shadow that pressed in from every side and clung to the walls.
Overhead lights flickered erratically, bzzzt… bzzzt…, their weak glow buzzing like dying insects clinging to their final moments as the light struggled to remain steady.
Footsteps pounded against the cold, unforgiving floor, thud… thud… thud, each impact sharp and heavy as the echoes carried unnaturally far along the enclosed passage.
The claustrophobic corridor trapped every sound and forced it back upon her, louder, closer, and impossible to escape.
I need to escape this place fast...
A woman stumbled through the darkness, running for her life with what little strength she had left.
Her long, curly hair streamed wildly behind her, brushing against the stained walls as she forced herself forward without slowing.
Blood trailed steadily down her legs, warm and persistent, smearing unevenly across the sterile floor and marking each step she took.
Still bleeding… why won't it stop…? No, don't think about it... just move.
With every step, her strength threatened to give out as her body grew heavier and harder to control.
Her breath came in broken, ragged gasps, HAAH… hhk… HAAH, sharp and uneven as they tore through her chest and strained her lungs.
Low, strained groans slipped between them, nnngh… nghh… ah, each inhale scraping painfully as it forced its way in.
"There's no time…" she whispered weakly, her voice barely holding together.
No time to slow down. No time to fall. If I fall...
The words felt fragile, as though even thinking them might break what little strength she had left.
Her tear-blurred eyes struggled to see ahead as fear pressed deeper into her thoughts and dulled her focus.
It tightened around her mind with suffocating clarity and left no room for anything else.
If they caught her, they would take her back to the table.
The thought alone made her body shudder violently and nearly steal her balance.
Her memories were fragile, slipping from her grasp one moment and returning the next, her mind fractured by the treatment she had endured.
Memory rose with cruel precision.
Restraints bit into her wrists and ankles while the cold surface beneath her drained her warmth.
Blinding light erased everything but the voices.
Then the current surged, forcing every muscle to seize as a scream tore from her throat.
No... Stop! Not again...
Her trembling hand scraped along the wall for support, scrape… scrape…, the faint sound trailing behind her as her fingers dragged unevenly across the surface.
She staggered onward, nearly blind with exhaustion as her grip slipped and failed to steady her.
From somewhere in the distance, voices reached her, low and controlled, carrying clearly through the corridor.
Their calmness made them far more terrifying.
"She got away again. Track her now," one ordered, smooth and certain, his voice carrying no doubt, only quiet inevitability.
BANG.
A door burst open behind her, the sound ricocheting violently through the corridor and striking the walls as she flinched, the echo lingering longer than it should.
"Wait… how did she even escape this time?" another voice asked, sharper with tension.
BANG.
Another door slammed open, closer now, followed by hurried movement inside.
"Clear!" came the immediate response as they moved on without hesitation.
Her pace faltered as she recognized the pattern, they were moving room by room, closing in without pause, leaving no gap and no place left unchecked.
"She stabbed a staff right in the neck," one said flatly, almost bored.
The words stirred a flicker of memory she could not fully grasp, something sharp in her hand, resistance, warmth, then silence, a jagged piece of metal clutched tightly in her grip.
BANG.
"Nothing here!" frustration crept into the voice.
"Check every room now," another snapped, urgency returning.
CLANG.
A metal door slammed somewhere ahead, the vibration running through the floor beneath her feet.
The hallway seemed to tighten with every sound and grow more suffocating.
"She was restrained. How did she get free?" one demanded.
"She broke the tray and used a jagged piece of it as a weapon," someone answered, his tone flat.
"I warned you she was deteriorating," another replied, tension threading his voice.
BANG.
"Clear!" the rhythm continued, relentless and closing in. "Spread out. Hallways, exits, everything."
Footsteps scattered, tap… tap… tap…, spreading through the corridors and surrounding her from all sides as the sound pressed inward, tightening like a net around her.
"She knew exactly where to strike," one muttered uneasily. The realization settled heavily among them.
A cold awareness formed within her as the words echoed, she did not remember choosing, only what had already been done.
"Then she is thinking clearly again. Do not underestimate her," the calm voice returned, steady and precise.
It carried quiet authority that silenced the others, her stomach twisting at the sound of it as she realized that voice did not doubt her, it understood her.
"If necessary, increase the current when she is secured," he continued without hesitation, his tone controlled and clinical. "Her resistance must be corrected."
Her body jolted involuntarily, as if the memory alone had triggered something physical.
CLICK.
A lock engaged ahead, sharp and final, then another and another, the corridor sealing piece by piece until every direction was closed off.
She forced herself forward as the path split, one side swallowed in darkness while the other was flooded with harsh, sterile light.
Something about that light felt horribly familiar and deeply wrong, yet drawn by it despite the dread, she moved closer as her body hesitated but the pull proved stronger.
The door creaked open, Creeeak., revealing polished metal and neatly arranged instruments.
At the center stood the table, its straps hanging loose as if waiting for her return.
Her breath caught as memory crashed over her, the surge, the pain, her body arching uncontrollably beneath it.
A faint tightening rippled through her limbs, not memory alone but something deeper that lingered beneath the surface.
It was as though her body had learned the pain and was now repeating it on its own.
"She is near the surgical wing," the voice said, closer now. Its certainty never wavered.
Panic surged violently through her as she tore herself away from the doorway and stumbled back into the corridor.
"Seal the exits," the command came immediately.
CLANG.
A heavy door slammed in the distance, followed by another, each impact echoing through the corridor as the sound carried with a final, sealing weight.
The hallway seemed to close in around her, the walls pressing tighter as the space felt narrower with every passing second.
She ran, but a sharp pain twisted through her abdomen, disrupting her balance and forcing her to stagger as her body struggled to keep up.
The same erratic sensation flickered through her limbs, making every step uneven and unstable as her movements grew harder to control.
"I… can't… stop…" she murmured under her breath, the words were barely audible, but they kept her moving.
Move... Even if it breaks me...
She turned a corner and lunged toward a door at the end of the corridor, grasping the handle with trembling hands as she forced it down, but it was locked.
She tried again, panic rising as her grip slipped, but the door still refused to move no matter how hard she pushed.
"There you are," the calm voice came from behind, close enough to feel, its presence settling over her like something inescapable.
They've caught on.
Her entire body went rigid, fear holding her in place more effectively than any restraint as her breath caught in her throat.
"Do not damage her," he said evenly as his footsteps approached, slow and certain.
"We still require her intact," he continued, each word measured and deliberate.
Her strength drained as her fingers slipped from the handle, the last of her resistance fading with it.
"Prepare the equipment and increase the current," he instructed without pause.
The outcome had already been decided long before this moment.
Her body trembled violently as memory and reality blurred together, the table, the needles, the current, all of it crashing into her at once with suffocating clarity.
"If her body resists, then we will simply push it further," he finished, his tone unchanged, there was no room for escape in his voice, no hesitation, no doubt.
No, don't listen... just escape, another torment is waiting if they catch me.
Her nails scraped weakly against the door, scrape… scrape…, as her knees began to give and her strength finally slipped away.
Then creeeak... a soft, drawn-out sound cut through everything.
It was quiet and unnatural against the chaos as she turned weakly and saw another door along the wall, partially hidden and slightly open.
Even if I don't know what's inside… as long as it's not them... run.
"Stop her from running!" the man shouted, his voice breaking through the silence.
She locked the door behind her on the way in, forcing it shut to keep them from following.
Beyond it was only darkness, still and suffocating, waiting without shape or sound.
The corridor behind her fell eerily silent, with no footsteps, no voices, only a heavy, unnatural quiet.
"I must escape no matter what," she whispered, faint but steadier than before.
The words anchored what little resolve she had left.
Then she forced herself away from the locked door and staggered toward the darkness.
She crossed the threshold just as her body finally gave out, her vision fading as she collapsed into whatever waited beyond.
Behind her, the people chasing her reached the door and began to pound against it, the heavy blows echoing through the corridor as it held firm.