Dawn could feel herself wasting away as the days progressed. Her mind never hallucinated John again to her dismay. She could no longer move on her own and was hardly ever removed from her cell anymore. She was left alone to rot.

The days blended, she wasn’t able to tell if she woke up on the same day or if she had slept several days at a time. The groans and sobs from the other cells all turned into a dull roar to her. Today she heard an angry man shouting orders as they passed by cells.

Her heart raced as she was finally deemed worthy enough to be let out of her room. She was picked up and slung over someone’s shoulder, her blindfold finally beginning to slip off her head. She bounced along, not having the strength to do anything else. The dim light in the cell block was enough to make her eyes water.

She pressed her eyes closed, concentrating on her breathing which had become shallow over the last few days. The heat from the man's arm holding her was a welcome relief against her naked body compared to the chill of the cell.

A door opened into a dark room, darker than where she had come from. A putrid odor seeped into the hallway. Dawn was tossed into the room, landing in a crumpled heap on top of a lumpy pile. She cried out in pain, her joints creaking, the blindfold finally falling the rest of the way off. She lifted her head to see the door closing behind her. “Wait,” she attempted to say, but all that came out of her dry throat was a dusty croak.

She fell further onto the pile, exhaustion sweeping over her. Where was she? Why was she left in here with a pile of garbage? She coughed as she attempted to breath in the putrid smelling room. Her head turned to the side, falling as she didn’t have enough energy to keep looking at the door.

She gasped when she saw a skeletal face staring blankly at her. Her eyes scanned over what was covering that body to see another body and another. She realized she was laying on a pile of bodies, all starved to death. “No,” she mouthed as tears attempted to form in her eyes. She had been left here to die.

Dawn gasped for fresh air. Only getting momentary relief when the door was opened for another naked body to be thrown in. Some had already passed away before they made it to the room. Some were taking their final breaths, too weak to move.

“John.” His image flashed before Dawn’s eyes, she wanted to scream in pain as her heart broke. He said they would see each other again! She finally closed her eyes, her last breath leaving her broken body.

-OR-

“John,” Dawn saw his figure appear in front of her. He beckoned for her to follow him. “I can’t,” Dawn gasped out, her chest heaving. It was getting harder to breathe.

“Don’t leave me,” she cried, his figure becoming hazy. 

“I’ll never leave you,” he whispered, grabbing her hand and pulling her close to him. He stroked her hair, as she cried into his chest.

She started to look behind herself only for John to take her chin in his hand forcing her to look towards him. “Let’s leave these memories behind,” he kissed her on the forehead, frowning as he saw her body lose its color, to be forgotten.

Dawn nodded her head, noticing the white dress she wore that flowed with no wind. John took her hand and they left the building, never to be spoken of again.