Into Darkness

[Julia]

Release

A few days later it was finally time, I was released from the infirmary. It looked like my efforts of pretending to be a good girl paid off after all. I was allowed to continue my life in this hell, but I had to take some medicine now. The doctors told me I would feel happy when I take them and all my worries would disappear. Surprisingly, I was approached by Mary on the first day I was handed over the medicine. She urged me not to take them. I didn't exactly know why, but I sure wasn't planning to take them anyway. I didn't doubt the effect of the medicine, but the only thing that made me really happy was Mellanie.

The next day I woke up with a broad smile on my face. I was going to see Mellanie and that without any restrains. I made my way to the showers and waited there for Mellanie. Surprisingly, I was there rather early, unusually for me.

Mellanie didn't expect me to be released from the infirmary as she wasn’t informed about a release date, even when it was something Mellanie had kept asking for.

So seeing me in the bathroom came as a surprise to her.
"They released you?!" Mellanie asked, sounding cheerful and fully awake all of a sudden as she walked in the bathroom and saw me there.
"Yeeep! I promised you that I wouldn't attempt anything stupid. And I didn't. It paid off! Come on!" I said with a big smile, reaching with a hand toward Mellanie, wanting to guide her into one of the changing rooms.
"So you didn't escape?" Mellanie asked with a smirk, following me into the changing rooms.
"Haha, no no! I didn't escape. I was allowed to leave under one condition. I have to take some medicine every day." I replied with a smile and entered the changing room.
"Medicine?" Mellanie asked on a concerned tone this time.
"Antidepressants." I replied with a shrug and a smile, gesturing Mellanie to close the door behind her.
"Sure you don't need them with that smile." Mellanie said before turning a bit more serious and closing the door behind her.
"All I need is you, you make me smile." I said with a slight blush and rushed towards her the moment she closed the door and hugged her tightly.
“So I'm your drug?" Mellanie whispered with a quiet chuckle, wrapping her own arms around me in a content way.
"Hm... pretty much." I replied with a giggle while continuing to hold her tightly, not seeming to want to let her go.
Mellanie didn't mind, willing to hold me for a while longer even though she didn't want to waste too much time as she didn't want to be late for breakfast, as usually.
"I... m-missed the chance to feel your warmth... your closeness..." I said quietly and continued to hold her.
"Erm... sure Anne, but we should really get ready for breakfast." Mellanie said slowly, seeming to find what I said a little strange to say the least.
"O-okay..." I said with a frown and let go off Mellanie, lowered my head and looked down on the floor.
"What's wrong?" Mellanie asked carefully.
"I-it's nothing." I replied, but it was obvious that it wasn't. I was wondering whether I should confront her about the way I was feeling towards her or not, but decided to leave it for now.
"Let's finish up with the shower and head to breakfast." I said and reached with my hands to Mellanie's clothes. "I will help you to get rid of them!"
"Anne?" Mellanie asked, reaching for my hands to hold them lightly in hers. "What are you doing?"
"Helping you!" I replied giggling, enjoying Mellanie holding my hands. The warmth of her hands gave me a content feeling.
"Anne, tell me what's wrong." Mellanie asked, remaining to hold my hands as she felt uncomfortable by how I acted but was more worried than anything.
"Nothing's wrong... why do you ask? I thought it was okay... we're good friends, aren't we?" I asked with a frown.
"You remember the rules... have to think about things before doing them. We're not even supposed to be in the same dress room." Mellanie said carefully on a soft voice.
"I haven't been able to do this for so long... I am sorry... I am just so happy to be here with you again." I said with a sigh and hugged Mellanie again before I let go off her.
"It's okay..." Mellanie said, giving me a light squeezing hug before she would move back to the door.
I watched Mellanie moving to the door and waited for her to leave before I would undress myself for the shower. Once she had left the changing room I began to take off my clothes and wrapped the big towel around me. Back in the shower cabins I took one next to Mellanie's as we were used to.

Later on when we were eating breakfast I looked at Mellanie with a curious expression.
"What did you find out about the nurse? Is she trustworthy?" I asked.
"She's okay, she looks after the other patients well too, and I was allowed to keep seeing you, which was actually taking her effort to arrange." Mellanie replied.
"But why is she taking that risk? It's beyond me... you probably don't know?" I asked with a sigh while looking down at my plate.
"Because she's a nurse and wants to make people better." She replied quietly.
"She is the only nurse then..." I said and began to eat from my breakfast.
"Almost all people that studied medicine or became a doctor do it to help people, and she wants to help you. Don't worry there is nothing wrong with her." Mellanie said quietly while she also began to eat.
"Alright." I said and looked briefly at Mellanie. "What's our plan anyway now?"
"After school when we study in the library, we'll brainstorm some about what we're going to do." Mellanie only replied.
"Okay, sounds like a plan." I said with a smile and continued to eat from my breakfast. Both of us were finished soon and made our way back to the school. Even if I disliked the school, I still was quite happy and cheerful to be there together with Mellanie.


Later we went to the library where we took a seat on a table for two persons. I looked at Mellanie with a big smile as if to ask 'what now?'
"You want to do something about what is going on around here right?" Mellanie whispered.
"I... I don't know... I just want to be with you in a friendlier... environment. But we can't just let them do what they want with the orphans. We have to do something, that's for sure." I replied.
"So here is what I thought, first we have to find a way to get out of here, if we need to. When we have that working we'll see how we can stop these people from hurting the other orphans." Mellanie explained.
"Sounds like a good plan... but finding a way out of this place doesn't seem to be an easy thing." I replied with a crooked expression.
"That's why we'll have to think a lot about it. There should be phones but they are only used by the management. If we can get to one and call the emergency number, then we should be able to get out somehow." Mellanie replied with a whisper.
"Couldn't Mary help us with that maybe?" I asked, thinking she had the means to achieve that.
"Keeping someone busy at the most, I guess." She said slowly.
"How do we get there?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.
"If Mary can distract one of them, we can sneak by, but I guess it has to be dark." Mellanie replied slowly.
"Alright... so we just have to inform about Mary then and hear her out." I said with a nod, sounding confidentially.
"Yeah... guess that's the first thing we'll have to do. Suppose you're allowed to go back to the medical room if you don't feel right or something. We can ask her to help us then." Mellanie whispered.
"Hm... she is almost everywhere to be found. We will catch her sooner or later." I said giggling and opened a school book. "Dammit, I barely can remember anything from the school stuff I learned in the past weeks."
"That's okay. So we just carry on until we run into Mary?" She asked.
"Yeah." I replied simply and began to work on my homework together with Mellanie.