The Paper Shreds of Your Humanity

Light filtered in. Bright. Dim. Blurry and unfocused, dropping in and out between fuzzy blinks.

There was a soft beeping, somewhere. Quiet, burbled rushes of sound. Couldn’t... tell what they were. A soft thudding in his ribcage.

Dray’s eyes opened, and a soft hiss groaned past his lips, a flare of burning, throbbing fire swirling on the edges of his flickering consciousness. On his neck. Shoulder. Somewhere between the two. Running.... Nightmare...? His arm twitched, fabric rustling as he moved to—

Couldn’t move.

Pressure tightened around his wrist, and his heart thudded into his throat. The sound of beeps and a quiet rush of air-conditioning—distant voices mumbling—sharpened. What was—? Where am I—?

He strained at the thing holding him, at both of them, fighting to turn his stiff neck and focus on... a black band looped around his right wrist. A wrist slipped into a smooth bandage sleeve. Hospital grade.

His fingers flexed weakly as his neck throbbed, and he squeezed his eyes shut, breath hitching in his lungs for a strangled second. Felt like tingling nightmare fingers jabbed into his neck. Didn’t... didn’t hurt so much as it burned.

What... what happened? Did—

His gaze roamed around the room, a privacy screen blurring both sides, something flashing and beeping above him. Could feel monitor-patches stuck to his skin—on his torso and neck. Bare skin, covered by a sheet, but he still felt... vaguely naked.

Why am I... why am I tied down?

He tried to move his head and gritted his teeth hard against the twinge, going rigid until it faded and he could breathe properly again.

The therrolf... we were trying to escape. ‘Tia, the floffie; the ruins. The... the force came? Er-Erold— Oh Light, Erold! He— wait. Wait no I—

In a flash of clarity, he remembered the thyre coiling to leap at his brother. Remembered... remembered....

I....

Shielding Erold, a weight slamming into him, fangs stabbing into—

Oh shihk!

His heart pounded up into his throat, his mouth drying up. “Wait no— oh Light—” He jolted up—tried to—the burn flaring as his pulse thudded in his ears, instinctively fighting to clutch at the side of his neck but he couldn’t. His neck.

And the bite.

“No no no—” Raspy, shaky mumbles broke the quiet. The beeping rang shrilly, a shudder chasing down his spine, chest fluttering under thin fabric; cold sweat turning his skin clammy.

Miasma. The burn itching at the crook of his shoulder— miasma. In his veins. In his soul.

Nausea jolted violently at his stomach, and he slammed his eyelids closed, fighting down a choking surge of bile cramming up into the back of his throat. “Hh-hn—” His arms shook weakly as he swallowed it back, trying to curl in.

Heartbeat drumming over the frantic beeping, he distantly, desperately hoped there was something planned if he spewed, because he couldn't move with his wrists bound like he was a monster too dangerous to even have one hand free. Please— Eyah. Eyah, I-I— Mum and Dad— did they know? What'd happened to Stov and Erold? Neri? If the force hadn’t caught the thyre....

Sweat stung his eyes as he yanked at the bonds. “Nghah!” They wouldn’t budge, and the beeping in his ears buzzed, his heartrate refusing to calm down. How long had he been here? What time was it? It seemed dark— how- how long did he have?

A soft clunk-click he almost missed cut through the haze of panic, and he froze, chest heaving, fighting to stifle the breath rasping in his ears. Footsteps. A nurse? Or... maybe one of the others? A flicker of hope fluttered to life where his heart had been before it moved to his temples.

Only to extinguish as the privacy screen fizzled out and the harsh face of a woman nurse scowled down at him.

He fought not to cringe as she reached over, silencing the rapid beeping, and shuffled as far over to the other side of the bed as he could, despite the niffing bonds around his wrists.

“Lie still, and quiet.”

That was all she said, displays unfolding from the unit. Eyes running over them, she barely even acknowledged his existence. Why was she ignoring him? He wasn’t a— a—

“Please,” he rasped out, fighting to keep himself from shaking, “I don’t— what’s going on? I just... I just need to know what’s going on.”

Her eyes flicked up. She didn’t reply.

“What... what’s going to happen to me?”

The displays folded away with a dismissive gesture, her face unreadable. “You were attacked by a therrolf, and infected with miasma. We will release you to the care of a holding facility for therrolves, and you'll be placed into monitored isolation until the miasma takes hold, at which point you will be referred to a suitable community.”

A— it took his addled mind a moment to wrap around the words her thin, severe lips formed. She didn’t respond to the pleading twisting in his chest—This isn’t real this isn’t real the whole thing had to be a nightmare has to be a nightmare—just stated facts. Cold, hard facts.

Locked away. Infected. Miasma takes hold.

"No... please, I—" He didn't realise the thought had choked out until he cut it off, fighting to keep his voice from shaking as he started again. "I'm— I'm not a therrolf— please—"

“You will be,” she said simply. And he flinched like she'd just slapped him. It would've hurt less. “Is there anything else you'd like to note?”

Squeezing his eyes shut, he breathed in and out through his nose, fighting the urge to lash out. This couldn't be happening. It wasn't happening. Jrahk— jrahk I need to get a grip. “Can I have a hand free? It hurts. And it’s driving me crazy.”

She was silent for a long moment, her face expressionless as he opened his eyes, finger tapping at her MIP. Probably wouldn't be allowed to. Too "dangerous".

To his surprise, she released his left hand. “You may. Though, to be clear, you are being monitored and the force have a team on hospital grounds in case there’s an incident. If you stay here quietly, you can make your transition to the facility safely, without harm to anyone else, or yourself.”

...That sounded like a threat. As soon as she was out of range, he gingerly cradled the bandaged side of his neck. The relief was like a dunk in cool water, and a shiver chased down his spine as the door closed.

He curled in on himself, digging his fingers tighter. All of it— either it was a hyperrealistic dream or real. And if it was real, if he stayed here, they'd whisk him away.

I need to get out of here.

He swallowed the twisting in his gut, shoving everything else out of his head, and took his hand away from his neck to work at his right. At least she'd untied his dominant one. That made it easier.

The band slipped off, and he exhaled. Just needed to get out without the monitor giving him away. Taking a deep breath, he slipped bare feet over the edge, gingerly rising and keeping half an eye on the monitor's slightly-quick beat. It should be fine, as long as he didn’t get suspiciously... suspiciously....

Ugh. Lightheaded. The room spun, the throb in his neck flaring, and his fingers clutched tighter, teeth gritted. Stov hadn’t been kidding—wasn’t a feeling he could miss.

He stumbled drunkenly, half-sliding along the wall, feeling sweat break out again. They wouldn’t be far away, not with a patient like him. Surprising they hadn’t put a guard right in here with him. Maybe he’d looked too out of it.

Should be out of it. Shouldn’t be moving. His hand slapped next to the door, half-sagging against the wall, huffing for breath. Just needed to... needed to get out before the....

He barely registered the door sliding open, practically falling through the opening and reeling into an impossibly bright corridor.

Where a pair of tall uniformed force members by the door immediately snapped around.

Oh shihk. He stumbled back from a hand snatching out for him, pulse jumping up into his throat again. Shihk shihk niffing kritz—

He sprinted as fast as his weak legs could carry him, shouts ringing off the walls. I need to get out of here!

A nurse stepped into the hallway and stumbled back as he flashed past. Couldn’t apologise. Skidding around a corner, he launched himself forward without any idea where he was going or what he was doing, just running.

Had to get out had to get out had to—

“Dray!”

What—?

Someone stepped in front of him, and a hand snatched him through an open doorway into the dark.