The illuminating light of the moon shone through the small window to contrast the darkness of the room. Eve laid sprawled out on the repurposed hospital bed, gazing up at the ceiling as her thoughts wandered.

“Oh, no, I’m fine. It’s not my blood.”

So then, whose blood was it?

She turned her head to glance at the crystal heart on her desk. Slowly, she reached out to take it in her hand, holding it above her head as it glistened in the moonlight.

That creature from before... the other one... he seemed interested in it. But, he never saw it. It was in my pocket the whole time.

Her eyes widened ever so slightly while she watched the light dance along the crystal enchantingly.

Could he... sense it...?

Bringing the crystal closer, she held it against her chest idly. She closed her eyes, relaxing and drifting to sleep.

-

Darkness... Laughter... Voices... What are they saying...?

...Blood.

-

Evangeline’s eyes blinked open as she awoke. She sat up on her bed, taking a look at the clock on the wall.

7:53.

With a yawn, she stretched her limbs before climbing off her bed to set her feet on the chilly floor. She listened to the muffled voices outside her room, pulling her red sweater over her torso. Upon hearing a soft clink, she peered at the ground. There beside her feet was the crystal heart.

I must have knocked it on the floor.

Finally, after staring at it in silence for a minute, she picked it up and tucked it into her pocket. Only when it was safely in her sweater did a clear thought enter her mind.

The other man is still here. Why don’t you talk to him?

She froze at the familiar voice in the back of her mind. Her grip on the crystal tightened as she stood perfectly still.

I could try...- Wait, how do I know he’s still here?

Would they really get rid of him? That woman Emily seemed fairly interested in him. Go and see.

The voice went on for a while, tempting Eve until eventually she gave in.

Alright.

The hall around the corner leading to lab was nothing to look at. It could easily be described with one word: White. White walls rose up from the white tiled floor to reach the white ceiling. As she reached the end of the white corridor, Eve cautiously knocked before opening the unlocked white door to the [as expected] white lab, where Emily stood wearing her white coat and writing on a white pad with her favourite white pen. Her vibrant orange hair stood out like a sore thumb in contrast to the colourless room surrounding her.

Hearing someone enter, Emily peered over her shoulder, her emerald eyes cutting through the bright light to connect with Eve’s deep ocean blue ones.

“Oh. Hey, Eve! What’s up?” She beamed enthusiastically as if talking to an old friend.

“Hey, Emily.” Eve replied with an awkward wave. “I... wanted to ask you something. Um... can I see the...”

“The Inzomniac?”

“Yeah.”

“Sure! Actually I was just gonna do some tests! I’d love some help!” She gushed.

“Oh. Okay... What kind of tests?” Eve inquired, almost falling over as she tried to catch the white lab coat Emily threw into her face.