FOUR
865 Words
Dr. Faulkner entered the room with a clipboard, a concerned frown, and tired eyes.
“She’s been acting… strange" the nurse whispered beside him.
“Strange how?”
The nurse glanced nervously toward Dawn, who was sitting cross-legged on the bed, muttering something under her breath while patting the chicken nugget box like it was a sacred relic.
“Well,” the nurse said slowly, “she asked if the box was enchanted. Then bowed to it.”
The doctor blinked.
“She also tried to cast a ‘blessing’ on the hospital water fountain,” another nurse whispered behind him.
Dawn looked up as they entered. “Ah, healers. Have you come to check if my body is still intact?”
Dr. Faulkner forced a professional smile. “Good morning, Dawn. How are you feeling?”
“I am imprisoned in a world I do not understand, surrounded by smiling witches and spirit boxes that scream strange songs. But other than that… I am quite well.”
Everyone in the room collectively froze.
Her mother gave a nervous chuckle. “She has a… wild imagination.”
Her father folded his arms. “Told you. Brain injury.”
Dr. Faulkner crouched to her eye level. “Dawn, we’d like to run a scan. Just to make sure your brain is okay after the fall.”
“A scan?”
He gestured to the hall. “It’s just a big machine. You lie down inside it, it takes pictures of your head.”
Dawn smiled tightly. “So… a box eats me, and sees my soul.”
“Not… quite.”
---
They wheeled her into the MRI room. The moment she saw the massive white cylinder, her heart dropped.
“NO,” she shrieked. “You will NOT feed me to the demon’s mouth!”
“It’s not a demon—” the nurse started.
“I knew this world was evil! You’re sacrificing me to your gods, aren’t you? I won’t go quietly!”
“Dawn, please,” her mother tried, her voice breaking. “It’s just a scan, baby.”
“Then you do it!” she snapped. “You lie in the monster’s belly and see if you live!”
She kicked, thrashed, grabbed the edge of the bed so hard her knuckles turned white.
“Alright,” Dr. Faulkner sighed. “We’ll sedate her lightly. Just enough for the scan. And restrain her hands in case she wakes up mid-procedure.”
“I’LL COME BACK TO HAUNT YOU ALL!” she screamed as the injection went in. “I SWEAR IT"
Darkness took her before she could fight more.
---
When she woke, the room was empty.
Quiet.
Too quiet.
She blinked against the light, then sat up slowly.
And it hit her.
The room. The restraint marks on her wrists. The memory of being dragged into the white beast.
She shivered.
“This world is more twisted than I thought,” she whispered.
She stood, pacing to the door.
Locked.
Windows?
Also locked.
“They’re trying to keep me in… forever.”
A horrible thought occurred to her: What if I never find my world again? What if this is my punishment for dying too early?
She crept out of the room when a nurse left the door ajar during shift change.She had no plan or direction in mind.
Then she saw it.
A rectangular glass box hanging on the wall.
Inside it, people smiled.
Some danced. Some laughed. Some stared directly at her.
They were… trapped.
Dawn’s eyes widened with horror. “Slaves. You still have slavery here…”
She rushed forward, placing her hand on the screen. “I’ll free you. I promise.”
But how?
She looked around frantically — until her eyes landed on a fire extinguisher.
Perfect.
She grabbed it with both hands, whispered a quick prayer, and hurled it at the screen with a loud CRASH.
The TV exploded in sparks and smoke.
People screamed.
Alarms blared.
Dawn stood proudly, waiting for the people to step out of the shattered box.
But nothing happened.
Smoke swirled.
The "slaves" remained gone.
Her heart sank. “Did I kill them?!”
Panicked nurses came running. One screamed. “She broke the main hallway TV!”
“She’s dangerous—call security!”
“Is she a psych patient?!”
Two nurses carefully but firmly grabbed her arms.
“No! Wait! I was rescuing them!” Dawn cried. “They were trapped in the box—don't you see?! They needed help!”
The nurses didn’t answer.
They just dragged her back to her room and gently shut the door behind her.
Click.
The lock turned.
Dawn froze.
Her eyes widened.
Click. Just like before.
Just like the other life.
Like when her master would throw her in the dark. No food. No light. Just the cold and her guilt for company.
“No,” she whispered, backing into the corner. “No, no, no…”
She dropped to the floor, crouched low.
Head on her knees.
Hands over her head.
Breathe. Breathe.
But the walls felt smaller.
The light felt harsher.
She didn't remember falling asleep.
- Writer
