Chapter 5
In the sunlight, I was rescued from a brutal beating.
When I opened my eyes and saw who was standing in front of me, I realized this was the day I first met my parents at the orphanage.
I turned my head and saw Sophia.
She was beaming, chatting excitedly with my parents. She said, "Guys, look what I just found. She looks so much like Mom."
She added, "Wait, could she be the real daughter we've been searching for all these thirteen years?"
My parents laughed and pulled her into a hug. My dad said, "Come on, what are the odds?"
I was desperate to get away, gripping my tattered shirt and trying to sneak out unnoticed.
But Sophia caught me before I could slip away.
She hugged me tight and suggested that my parents get a DNA test. When my stomach rumbled, she didn't tease me; she just handed me a slice of strawberry cake.
She said, "This is my favorite dessert. Here, have some. Who knows, maybe we'll end up as family."
Laughing and joking, they bundled me into the car and drove me to the hospital.
After treasuring every bite of that cake, I found myself liking Sophia even more.
When we got to the hospital, I saw the doctors and nurses in their white coats, their faces twisted into something ugly, like a pack of nasty hyenas.
No matter how much I blinked, nothing helped; the image wouldn't go away.
My eyes were bloodshot, cold sweat broke out all over my back, and my face was deathly pale.
I told myself that I couldn't lose it here.
But no one understood what was happening to me. They just thought I looked a little off.
Sophia, holding onto my arm, was the first to notice I wasn't okay. She asked, "Hey, what's wrong? Don't be scared, they're not here to give you a shot."
Her words made everyone turn to look at me.
They crowded around, and Bradon even picked me up and set me down on a chair so I could sit.
But none of that changed the twisted faces I kept seeing. They were still there, no matter what.
With all those eyes on me, I just got even more agitated.
"I need to use the restroom," I muttered, fighting hard against the urge to wreck everything around me.
Sophia said, "Restroom? There's none on this floor. You'll have to go up to the next one. Just hang tight, we'll be out of here soon."
She ignored my protests, grabbed my hand, and firmly sat me back down.
I kept my head down, biting my lip, wrestling with myself over and over. In the end, I just couldn't bring myself to hurt them.
"I can go alone," I muttered, my voice barely above a whisper.
But before I could stand up, Sophia gripped my neck and gave me a little shake.
In a flash, I snapped. I bared my teeth and sank them into her, like a wild animal.
I smashed every chair and piece of equipment around me, wrecking the whole place.
Sophia backed away in shock, her eyes wide. She asked, "What's going on with you?"
My parents and Bradon were frozen for a few seconds, staring at the wrecked room, unable to process what had just happened.
I started foaming at the mouth and dropped to the floor, convulsing.
I wasn't afraid of being alone. What really terrified me was that the side of me no one knew about would be exposed under the harsh sunlight for everyone to see.
Not even sunlight could heal a wound once the rot had set in.