I woke up to sunlight shining through the curtains, illuminating my surroundings. Man, I just wanted to go back to bed. Why did every morning always feel too early?

I looked up at the ceiling. The panel was a classic white, not a single lump of paint in sight. Every stroke looked smooth and mechanical. There was nothing out of place, nothing except the small speaker positioned high up in the corner of the room. Maybe the owner of this room before me liked listening to music?

There was no use just sitting in bed all day. I had limited time left to live, and you bet I was going to spend it having the time of my life before I expired.

I pulled back the covers and tried to stand, but my whole body ached. I guess that's what I deserved for staying up so late. 

I didn't really remember all that happened yesterday, but I knew I would never be the same. It was terrifying, being so isolated from everything I had ever known. I wasn't in my world now, I was a hostage in Elia's. 

I got out of bed and onto the tiled floor, the morning sun blinding me for mere seconds as I slipped out.  

It was cold, too cold. My toes were freezing, turning red in the harsh light. Damn, I wish I could just dive back under the duvet and sleep as the rest of the world passed me by. 

I swear, this bed and I were magnetic. It was almost a physical need, going back under the covers and falling asleep. There was nothing in my way except my sheer will. 

I needed to focus on something else. 

The house was quiet, a stifling silence that left me with my suffocating thoughts. Would anyone hear me if I screamed?

I ambled across the room to the bathroom, rubbing my bleary eyes as I opened up the door. The bathroom was basic yet clean, counters sparkling from a recent cleaning. While the soap and shampoo all looked like the kinds of supplies you'd find at a WellCorp Lodge, everything was stocked and nothing was out of place. It was almost too perfect, too sterile. But it was more than enough for me. 

I pulled back the shower curtain, turned on the shower head, and just spaced out, watching the water dripping out of the metal nozzle.

Damn it. I was losing my mind again. 

I abruptly turned away from the shower and marched back into the room Elia had lent me, trying to find some alternative to the grimy clothes I had been wearing for more than a day. 

Of course, the dresser was perfectly stocked, the first drawer filled with almost identical white blouses and black slacks, each piece of clothing lint-free and ironed to a crisp. The second was equally as sterile and stocked just like the one above it, yet this one was filled with soft, plush towels and bed linens. 

It was like Elia had known I was coming.

It was like this was her plan all along. 

Had Elia really planned for everything?

I was startled out of my stupor by the sound of running water. Oh right, the shower. 

I grabbed a shirt, a pair of slacks, and a fresh towel from the dresser and headed back into the bathroom, the warm water vapor hitting my face as I opened the door. 

No matter how much I missed my harvest-sisters, leaving Xylia had a couple of upsides. Mother would have ripped me a new one had she found out how much water I was wasting with this shower. 

Look at me, so ungrateful after all she'd done for me, encased in filthy, day-old clothes and layers of sweat and grime. I was pathetic.

Within seconds, I was squirming. It was too much. I needed to be clean again. I needed to get these filthy clothes off. 

I took off the filthy garb and jumped into the searing-hot shower. 

Shit. 

The water blazed my skin, turning it cherry red in seconds. I let out a string of profanities, hopping around like a hyperactive leafjumper. I rushed over to the shower valve, turning it to a colder temperature as fast as I could. 

Well if I wasn't awake before, I sure was now. 

After a bit of finagling of the shower valve, the water temperature returned to normal. I let out a sigh of relief. 

See? I could handle myself. Heck, I could even handle the outside world and myself. I was doing great.

If only Elia would notice. 

I grabbed the shampoo bottle from the counter and squeezed a little bit into my palm, rubbing the substance in my grimy hair until it began to foam up. It smelled both familiar and not, a scent just foreign enough that I was unable to place it yet so familiar that it couldn't help but nag at my memory.

I watched the shower drain as the remnants of my past day and a half disappeared in a whirl of dirt and grime, the stress and tension that I had been holding on to ever since Elia first handcuffed me to that stupid train chair lifting from my shoulders. 

For the first time in quite a while, I felt clean. I felt renewed.

It was almost too perfect. 

The speaker above my bed crackled to life.

"Alert: Intruder detected inside the house. Alert."