Ward 13

Run, Little Rabbit

POV: Elodie Fray

Location: The North Woods, Perimeter of Hallowed Halls

Track: Run Boy Run – Woodkid (Slowed the next, he is crowding my space, his body a wall of heat against the freezing rain. I try to scratch him, to fight, to aim for his eyes, but he catches my wrists in one hand with effortless, insulting ease.

He pins my hands above my head against the black gate. The position leaves me exposed, vulnerable, my chest heaving against his soaked suit jacket.

"Let me go," I sob, the fight draining out of me as his scent—clinical antiseptic, rain, and expensive, musky scotch—invades my senses. It triggers a Pavlovian response in my brain. Fear. Obedience.

"Let you go?" Alaric leans down, his lips brushing the shell of my ear. The sensation sends a violent shiver down my spine that has nothing to do with the cold. His hot breath ghosting over my wet skin is a violation.

"Elodie, look at you," he whispers, his free hand coming up to trace the line of my jaw, his thumb pressing against my pulse point. He’s counting the beats. "You’re a mess. You’re bleeding. You’re hysterical. You are clearly not well."

"I’m not crazy," I gasp, looking up into his eyes. They are the color of a winter storm, devoid of mercy.

"I know," he whispers, and for a second, I see something dark swirl in his gaze. Something hungry. "That makes this so much more fun."

I feel the sharp, sudden prick of a needle against the side of my neck. I didn't even see him pull the syringe. He is a magician of pain.

"What... what did you..." My tongue feels thick. Heavy. As if my mouth is full of cotton.

"A sedative cocktail of my own design," he murmurs against my throat, finally releasing my wrists. "It acts within seconds. Muscle relaxation first. Then the euphoria. Then the sleep."

I try to push him away, to run, but my arms feel like lead weights. My legs turn to water. The ground beneath me seems to dissolve.

The world tilts. The rain turns to silence. The harsh lights of the asylum blur into halos of blinding white. I fall forward, bracing for the mud.

But I never hit the ground.

Strong arms catch me. He scoops me up bridal style, holding me close to his chest. I am paralyzed, trapped in my own body, unable to move a finger but feeling everything. I feel the rough wool of his coat against my cheek. I feel the steady, slow beat of his heart against my ear.

He isn't even elevated. My escape attempt didn't even raise his heart rate.

"Shh," he soothes, stroking my wet hair away from my face. His touch is clinical, yet sickeningly possessive. "Don't fight it, Elodie. Gravity always wins."

He turns back toward the asylum, carrying me back into the dark. My head lolls against his shoulder, my eyes heavy, fighting to stay open.

"You locked me in," I slur, the words barely forming. "You... monster."

Alaric chuckles, a dark sound that vibrates through his chest and into mine.

"Oh, petite," he whispers, his lips brushing my forehead as he carries me across the threshold of the grounds. "You misunderstand the game."

I force my eyes to focus on his face one last time. He is smiling.

"I didn't lock the gate to keep you in. I unlocked it to see if you would run."

He tightens his grip on me.

"It wasn't an escape. It was a fetch game. And the wolf just caught the rabbit."

Darkness takes me.