I sighed, paid the cab driver, and slipped out of the car. Russell laid out across a bench in front of the hospital. Coffee in one hand. Helmet in the other. One foot up on the arm of the bench while the second tapped the pavement. I strode past him into the building.

Clusters of soft chairs and sofas dotted the room. The front desk wrapped around a corner of the lobby. Two women chatted quietly behind it, stopping when they noticed me. Both smiled, but the redhead spoke first.

“Hi. How can I help you today, sir?”

I slid my new badge across the counter to her.

“I’m here about the John Doe.”

Her smile evaporated, and she turned to her computer. After a moment of frantic typing, she turned back to me.

“What can I get for you, Mr. Hisuke?”

Her associate’s eyes bulged a bit, and she busied herself with something or other. I picked up my badge.

“I need to speak with him.”

The other woman snorted.

“Eliza! Sorry,” the lady helping me said, “he’s in psychiatric care now. Room 8035. Um, he’s… he’s not much of a talker.”

“No?”

“He hasn’t spoken to anyone since he arrived. He can’t read, write, or sign, either. They’ve tried, but they’ve had to stick to ‘yes’ and ‘no’ questions for now. It’s not a lot to work with.”

“You might be able to get something out of his little pet, though,” the other piped.

The first sighed and slumped in her seat. “Oh, gods, I’m ready for her to leave! Gives me the creeps.”

“Right? She just lingers and stares at people…”

“Mr. Hisuke?”

I looked over my shoulder. Russell glared at the women briefly before focusing on me again.

“Seth is on break, if you wanted to talk to him,” he said.

“That’s the ER nurse you mentioned?” I asked, and he nodded. “Perfect. We’ll see him first, then. Maybe he knows something about this elf girl.”

One side of his face twitched, but he nodded and turned around. I thanked the girls and followed him to a table in the corner.

“He’ll meet us here in a second,” he mumbled.

“Okay. You alright?” I asked.

“I just… I have a problem with human-elven relations in this place.”

I sighed and leaned on the table. “I know. I intentionally moved somewhere without elves so I wouldn’t have to deal with it.”

“Right, yeah. Easier to just… avoid that.”

After a moment, I heard footsteps. Russell looked up and waved.

“Over here!” he called.

I turned to follow his gaze. A young man in pale green scrubs approached rubbing his neck. Exhausted, not nervous. Stern face with smiling gray eyes. Short dirty-blonde hair and a well-kept goatee. He sat down next to us, and Russell pushed the cup into his hand.

“Thanks,” he said.

“So,” said Russell as Seth took a long drink, “Seth. Hisuke. He has questions.”

“Mmm. About edo riannan?” asked Seth.

“I’m sorry?” I asked.

“That’s what she calls him. What does it mean again, Russ?”

“Walking corpse.”

“By ‘she,’ I’m guessing you mean the elf?” I asked.

“Mm-hm. It was bad, man. Real bad.”

“Why is she here? Who let her stay?”

Seth sighed and rubbed his neck again. “That was me. I had to. He was a mess, Russ. He had the rot.”

Russell sat upright, suddenly alert.

“The rot?” I repeated. “What’s that?”

“It’s a condition we deal with sometimes,” Russell said gently. “It’s part of having a contract like ours with Soragi. You didn’t tell me he had the rot.”

“He’s contracted, then?” I asked.

Seth nodded. “I knew it the minute I saw him. They were planning to take off the necrotic tissue. It would have killed him.”

“And the elf is part of this how?”

“Sir. In all fairness,” Russell said with calculated hesitancy, “Tammy is also contracted by Soragi. Are you sure you want the answer to that?”

“Oh, shit, this is Tam’s dad?”

“Dude, really? They’ve got the same fucking eyes.”

“Actually, no,” I said. “I don’t want an answer. You said she could stay?”

“She is taking care of the rot for him. Yes.”

“And he doesn’t speak?” I asked.

“Not to me,” he replied. “But I also haven’t been around him too much lately. Once we stabilized him, he was moved to critical care, then psychiatric.”

“Ugh. He’s in the psych ward?” groaned Russell.

“Where do you want to put him, man? We’ve done all we can for him, physically. Now he needs to heal mentally.”

“He does,” I agreed. “I read his file. Everything’s treated?”

“We think so. It’s a thick file for a month here,” Seth said.

“No signs of infection or curse?”

“Not anymore,” he said. “Our contracts prevent curses like that.”

“Good to know. Did anyone identify the brands on him?”

“Just the one on his right arm. It’s a kind of glamor that stunts melanin production. It’s why he’s so pale. The one on his back has elements of an anchor, but we don’t know what it’s attached to. It’s not a location, though. The left arm, no clue. It’s not one we’ve ever seen before and might be something they invented. We want to start mending them, but we don’t have enough yorinovu salve for how deep they’re burned in.”

“Expensive?”

“Hard to get,” said Seth. “The people who make it won’t share the recipe, so there’s just not much of it.”

“Any idea how old he is?”

“We can only estimate, but at least sixteen. He had impacted wisdom teeth he needed removed. He wasn’t eating, so we sedated him and did x-rays.”

“Is he doing better now?”

“He was still drinking his meals when he left our care.”

“Liz- The mayor told me he screams,” I said. “Is that just with the elf, or are there other triggers?”

Seth sighed and finished his coffee.

“Don’t touch him. And don’t ask about the vampire. He’ll do more than scream,” he said. “I don’t know… what it did to him, but… I have a guess. Look, I- I gotta get back to work. I’m saving up for leave next month.”

“Woah, leave? Are you getting your surgery?” Russell asked brightly.

Seth grinned back as he got up. “Yep! Got my approval, and the grafts are ready to go.”

“About time! Congrats, man.”

Russell held out a fist. Seth bumped it back and left. Russell’s smirk vanished.

“I guess I’ve served my purpose here?” he asked.

“What’s your diagnosis?”

He flinched and sputtered, “I don’t- I’m fine.”

“You had a bad experience with a psychiatrist-.”

“Psychologist.”

“-and if you’re going to work for me, I have to know what accommodations you need,” I explained.

He grit his teeth.

“I’m medicated,” he said, cadence stilted and defensive. “I have… moments. You will know if I get… out of hand.”

“I want you to go back, if you can stomach it. I-.”

“No. I check in with my shrink every few months to make sure my meds are working. I talk to my friends. I have coping skills. I don’t. Need. Therapy.”

“Will you be okay visiting the psychiatric ward?” I asked.

He sighed heavily. “Ask for Nora. She’ll take care of you.”

“Another friend of yours?”

He laughed and said, “No. No, but I promised she wouldn’t see me there again.”

“Okay. Well, I’ll pull together a contract tonight,” I told him, “and you can stop by Rosewood tomorrow to sign it.”

“You’re sure you want to hire me?”

“No. But I think I need to.” I stood up and clapped his shoulder. “See you in the morning. Try to dress better.”

“Y-yeah. Sure thing.”

The nurse stationed outside the psychiatric ward was much older than the ladies downstairs. He smiled the same way, though, and scratched his stubbled chin.

“Are you visitin’?” he asked.

“Room 8035. Your John Doe,” I said, flashing my badge again.

He held out a hand expectantly. I handed it to him.

“Is Nora in today?” I asked as he entered the information on his computer.

“I think she’s on schedule today… Yeah, she’s probably with Little John now. He does good in her class.”

“Oh, she’s a teacher?”

“Art therapy,” he said. “It’s about the only way he can talk.”

He unlocked the doors to let me in. Take the first left. Right at the next intersection. Find the common room. Not too difficult. A few tables were occupied by small groups discussing various things. A few yellow-clad nurses carting pills and papers around. I stopped one.

“I’m looking for John Doe,” I told her.

“Little John? Just finished his session,” the nurse said. “He’s still in the room, though. Third door on the right.”

“Are you Nora? I’d like to see his drawings.”

“These are private. You’d need his permission.”

“I understand. Oh, and Russell is keeping his promise.”

She smiled. “I know. I’m proud of him. I need to put these away.”

I nodded and turned away towards the room she’d indicated. The door was open. A blue, mostly empty room laid beyond. Save for two small people.

The girl sat on the floor, her back to a chair, a book in her hands. Short chestnut curls framed her narrow face. White freckles dotted brown skin, and long brown ears swiveled towards me long before her eyes did. She closed her book loudly.

In the chair behind her, the boy shot upright and spun around in his seat. Wide eyes of icey blue locked onto me. A pale hand shot up to a bandaged neck, a hand the girl grabbed without looking. He twisted his fingers into hers with a few deep breaths. He dropped his face again, letting fluffy white hair fall over his piercing eyes. Not as long as it was in the pictures. Clean, platinum locks, short in the back to keep the gauze visible.

“It is okay, edo riannan,” the elf whispered. “This place is safe.”

He nodded and released her hand. He picked up another crayon to draw, and she sat down next to him. I slowly walked up to join them. The boy froze again as I sat down.

“Hi,” I said softly. “I’m Gekkou. When you’re feeling… better, I’ll be, uh, taking care of you.”

He glanced at the elf, who said, “We cannot stay forever. I am sure this man is safe. They let him in to see you.”

He scratched lightly at the pock marks on his shoulder and neck. The elf shook her head.

“That will never happen again,” she assured him. “We are not like them.”

“She’s right. I’m going to take care of you. Keep you safe,” I agreed.

He snorted.

“No, really. I know what they’re like. They… I know what they can do.”

He pushed the paper towards me. Hatched gray lines in front of a black void. I nodded sadly.

“They put me in there, too,” I whispered. “When I fought back. Did you try to fight them back?”

He also nodded. Picked up a blue crayon and scribbled frantically over the top. A flood. I reached to pat his hand but stopped myself.

“I’m so sorry,” I said, lowering my arm again. “They treated you… far worse than me. Do you… Do you think I can ask you some questions?”

He shrugged and pushed the paper to the side for a fresh one.

“How did you end up there? Do you have family in the Red Hand?”

He paused mid-line. Then he traded his crayon for a yellow one.

“Stella,” I breathed, earning a stern nod from the boy. “I’m familiar.”

“This is your mother?” the girl asked.

“She joined their ranks around the time I was exiled,” I told her. “I was engaged to her sister. My daughter would be his cousin. How old are you?”

His face contorted strangely. Like he’d been punched in the stomach. One hand shot towards his spine again, and the elf caught it once more. The boy quickly fell into her, shutting his eyes and panting.

“No,” she said softly. “No. It is okay. He does not know. He did not mean anything by it.”

“Okay. Bad question,” I said calmly. “Wasn’t really expecting an answer anyway. The doctors are guessing seventeen.”

“He looks ten.”

I nodded and said, “Abuse like that can stunt your growth in many ways. I’d never touched a fork before leaving. I learned fine motor skills at eighteen. It’s not fun.”

The boy’s eyes opened again and fixed on me. The elf ran her dark fingers through his hair. I smiled as softly as I could at them.

“You’ll be okay. A lot of people want to help you. It won’t be easy; it never is. But you already have the support. What you need now is time,” I explained.

A knock at the door made the boy flinch and dig deeper into the elf’s chest. In the open frame, Nora tucked a loose strand of red hair behind an ear and clutched a folder to her chest.

“Is it okay if I join you, Meldacyn?”

The boy sighed, and the elf nodded. Nora lightly stepped to another chair and set her folder on the table. She waited patiently for the boy to pull away from the elf again and sit back up.

“Little John,” she said softly, “I see you’ve been drawing for this man. Would it be okay to show him your older work?”

He shrugged. I leaned forward.

“It would help me understand,” I told him. “I grew up there, too. I might know what you’re trying to say.”

He shut his eyes with a sigh. His pale hand reached towards the folder, which Nora quickly relinquished to him. He glanced at me again, flicked through some of the pages inside, and pulled one out for me.

Not what I was expecting. The lines were tender, careful. Not like the rushed, angry marks he’d drawn in front of me. The subject surprised me, too. I set it down softly.

“Is this a boy,” I asked, picking up a blue crayon, then a pink one, “or a girl?”

He pointed to the pink one.

“She’s very pretty. Is her mother with the cult, too?”

He reached for his neck a third time, and, a third time, the elf snatched his wrist to stop him. Nora leaned towards him.

“Now, John, you know how we feel about the scratching,” she said softly, more concerned than reprimanding in her tone. “Hurting yourself doesn’t make anything go away. If you want your daughter back, you need to let us know what you know.”

“Edo,” the elf whispered, “is her mother still in that place?”

Trembling, the boy shook his head.

“Sorry,” I said. “They kept the baby, though?”

Another nod.

“We’ll get her back to you,” I promised. “If that’s what you want. Or we could find her a good home, if-.”

A sudden shriek made me flinch. Instantly, the elf started rubbing his arms and shushing him gently. Nora raised her own hands in surrender. The boy fell into his elf’s chest, panting and squirming at first before calming slowly in her arms.

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” Nora soothed. “It was just an option. No one is going to force you to give her up. It’s your choice, remember? You get to make choices here.”

“You don’t even have to stay with me if you don’t want,” I added. “Just let us know, and we’ll find different accommodations. I am the best equipped to help you, but it’s still your choice. Give a nod, and I’ll do my best. Shake your head, and we’ll find someone else.”

For a long time, he didn’t move. Just breathing as the elf stroked his shoulder. She looked exhausted as he sat up again and looked me in the eye.

And nodded.