Chapter Two: Casper Hospital:

The ambulance pulled up to the hospital in the early morning hours. The stretcher wheeled through the first doors. My body still wasn’t conscious by this point. I watched for the outside as I remembered what my savior told me in my head when he touched my hand.

Follow Megan through the maze. Listen to her story and bring her home.

Problem was, he only told me that much. He didn’t tell me who “Megan” was or where to find her through the “maze.” Still, I had to try. I owed him my life after all. That was, if I didn’t die first. No, I can’t die yet. I still have to avenge Blake. He would be so disappointed if he died for nothing. I clenched my fists at my side.

I will not die yet!, I thought. I will stay alive to kill that man.

“Is that right?” I heard someone ask. I opened my eyes and saw a pair of dull blue eyes staring back at me. My feet to a small step backwards.

“Dr. Stonem?” I asked. His face remained just as emotionless and beautiful as I last remembered it. I tried to not let my face show what my heart was feeling in that moment. My head and my heart are always at war with each other when I see him.

“Still the same as ever,” he said.

“What are you doing here?” I asked in a stern voice.

“I work here,” Dr. Stonem replied. I froze at that statement.

“What?” I asked. I turned and saw Dr. Stonem himself walking into the emergency room. He looked down at my body.

“Fill me in on what happened here,” he said.

“We have a twenty-eight-year-old female hit-and-run victim,” the nurse told him.

“Got it,” the doctor said. “Let’s get her on the table.” I looked at the bastard before me.

“You’re treating me?” I asked.

“Of course,” he replied. “I am a doctor after all.”

“But why?” I asked. “And don’t pull the “because I’m doctor card”. We know that that’s just a bunch of crap!”

“Cassie!” Dr. Stonem said. “I’m surprised at you. How could you doubt me like this?” I kept my eyes narrowed at him. The doctor shrugged at me.

“If you insist,” he said. “I refuse to let you die.” I folded my arms across my chest.

“And why is that?” I asked.

“You want to kill me, don’t you?”

“That’s right.”

“You want to kill me for your brother, right?”

“Why do you care?”

“Well then, you need to be alive to kill me, right?”

“What are you getting at?” I asked. Dr. Stonem gave me a quick smirk before returning his face to that stoic look of his.

“You are my toy and I have to keep you alive for my amusement,” was the only answer that he gave me. He turned and entered back to his mind. I wanted to scream out to him so much. It took all of my mind to recompose myself. I can’t really deal with him at the moment. I looked and watched the doctors go to work on my body. The whole operation, I could feel Dr. Stonem smirking in his head at me. He’s enjoying this. He wants to be the one in control over me. My helpless condition just makes it all the more perfect for him. All of this just fuels my desire to kill him even more.

I paused in my thoughts when I heard bells ringing in the distance. I slowly turned around.

*Outside*

Sunrise back at Big Mama’s house. Big Mama had just turned on the radio for the morning and started to make breakfast. Hanako ran her finger in small circles on the table’s surface. She looked up at the front door.

“Cassie-san’s lately coming home, isn’t she?” the little girl asked.

“She’ll be fine,” her mistress said as she cut up the meat on the cutting board. The little girl groaned aloud as she dropped her chin to the table.

“I can never understand her,” she whimpered.

“Just leave that woman be,” Big Mama replied. “She’s searching.”

“I wish that I could help her,” Hanako complained. Her mistress shook her head to herself.

“You can’t help her with this one,” she said.

“Why not?” the child asked.

“She has to find what she’s looking for on her own,” Big Mama said. Hanako sat there, pouting.

“I just wish that I could be of more use for her,” she mumbled to herself.

“Well, when she comes in for lunch, you can help me make it. How does that sound?” her mistress asked. Hanako quickly perked up.

“Yay!” she cheered. Suddenly, the news began on the TV.

“Top story today: victim of hit-and-run accident was brought to Casper Hospital early this morning,” the anchorman announced. “The victim has been identified as twenty-eight-year-old Cassie Campbell. There are no further details about how she got involved in the accident and police are still looking for the culprit.” Hanako turned to Big Mama with worry in her eyes.

“Mama?” she asked. The big lady’s knife fell to the floor with a clang. She rushed straight out of the kitchen. The little girl turned her head, lost.

“Mama?” she asked. “Mama, wait!” The little girl leapt up from the stool and raced after her mistress.

*Cassie*

A black rabbit stood just inches from me. I gave the little creature an odd look. What is this bunny doing in a place like this?, I thought. Suddenly, the rabbit turned and hopped away.

“Wait!” I yelled to it. “Come back here!” Like a little child, I raced after that stupid little rabbit. I ran all through the hospital until I came out into the garden.

“Now where did you go?” I asked. I paused when I heard bells ringing again. I looked up and saw a child with long black hair. Her bangs hid her face as she before me all in white. Her empty tan eyes under her hair looked like they cut down the strongest warrior in all of Japan. I looked at her and blinked.

“Are you… Megan?” I asked.