Call Me Crazy

Lillith's fall was broken by the bits of about 40 bodies at the bottom of the well. A perfect vessel in which to deposit the living. Even the ones who impulsively screamed. But Lillith didn't scream, she was too deep in thought wondering why she was even in the horrible muddle of a situation. She opened her eyes, hoping the horror was over. Looking around she only saw a circle of moldy brick surrounding her. She felt the ground, wet, but not a watery wet, a sticky wet, and even if the blanket of night covered the sun, she knew what it was, blood. She jumped up almost faster then she had fallen down, as thought the sticky ground had burned her, and screamed.Hours later her punishment wasn't so bad. No one could pester her, and the atmosphere was lovely, although a bit dismal. She was getting to be a bit hungry, but not to the point of starvation, yet. She figured she would cross that bridge when she got there, until then she thought she would familiarize herself with her surroundings, as small as they were. All the bricks were the same size, square, equal, very manufactured looking, just like the rest of her home. The only thing that wasn't plated in metal or perfectly organized were the bodies, which she had become to befriend, treating every one of them like the person she had wished to be treated as when she was still above ground. "Come Crow, you've observed for almost four hours now, nothing else is going to happen. If you don't feel something in the first 15 minutes your not going to feel anything at all, it always works that way. I can tell you right now what will happen. She'll die within a few days from exhaustion or starvation, maybe both, before Friday. It's Wednesday now, so… she'll be dead in roughly 48 hours. That's what always happens, this girl is no different, she might even die before tonight is over, I've seen her type before." Flint informed his assistant Crow. Although Flint has one of the best jobs in the city, he sometimes wished he could be "manure harvester" just so that he wouldn't have to deal with him. This was one of those days. "But this girl, Lillith I believe is her name, seems different from the others. She only screamed once. It perplexes me so! Why won't she do something normal, like all the other invalids?" Crow squawked. His name had not only been passed down from almost 15 generations, it also described his voice perfectly, brittle, scratchy, like fingernails on a chalkboard. The other thing Flint couldn't stand about him. "I DON'T CARE!" Flint screamed, his tall, scrawny, body jumping up and down so high his feet were almost above Crow's head, for Crow was very short, and stocky. "I just want to go back to the city and report that this Lillith girl is dead. Then we can forget about her and find more invalids to execute. It that really such a hard task to accomplish?" "Fine we can leave, but I want to come back here, and soon. Crow agreed. "Little child, having temper tantrums like you were three. Want a bottle little Flinty? Smile for Mamma Crow, come on now, smile!" Crow mocked, letting out a horrible, scratching laugh. Lillith was hungry now, very hungry. Almost to the point of were she was going to starve. She had to get out of here soon, even if it was just for some food. The well wasn't that wide, if she put her feet on one wall, then put her hands on the opposing wall, maybe she could shimmy her way up. She tried it. After multiple failures she decided she was to short. She buried her head in the mush, not saying or thinking anything. She tried to jump, but of course that didn't work for there was nothing she could grab onto. Lillith was out of ideas and very hungry, but she was also beginning to get a little sleepy, so she rested her head on another's and slowly drifted to sleep.Crow watched the girl intently, listening to her brain with his magical gift. He knew she was different, that she might survive, but he didn't know how. The food Elya had unknowingly given her in weekly intervals was a problem, but also a solution, for he wanted to watch her, see how she was affected by the blackness of the well. It had been about 3 days now and she was still alive, almost a record. He stood there before about an hour before he heard a far off scream. He knew immediately that it was Flint, his obnoxious boss. He was always throwing a temper tantrum always wanting, and getting, his way, always complaining. Crow loved his job of studying dying people but sometimes he wished he didn't have a job at all and lived in a box just so he wouldn't have to deal with Flint. The scream persisted and Crow wandered unwillingly back to the palace.She awoke to the sound of uneven breathing, but no one else was in the well, only the bright morning light filled her new home. But up above was the silhouette of a short, stocky, cloaked figure. His breathing was heavy and uneven. Scary, almost like a masked figure in a sci-fi movie. But just as she raised her head, it was gone, and Lillith was hungry.Above ground Old Farmer Elya walked over to the carrying his bag of "unacceptable to sell" crops. He threw them in the wall every week. He did it to keep the stench down. No one knew what lay at the bottom of the well but it smelled awful, all the time. Elya had tried looking down there but all he could see was a mass of gray much, with just a ting of red around the edges. He also occasionally saw tow men in dark cloaks walking to the well, but Elya wasn't much of a detective, and never looked into it, he just turned from the foggy window of his ancient farm house and continued his dull lonely life, wishing he worked in the city. "OW!" Lillith yelped "What was that?" She surveyed the floor of mangled bodies, but in the light she now saw a large green watermelon, and the apple that she suspected had hit her head. "Food!" she squealed, so delighted she lunged for the apple, forgetting about the wall and bashed her head against it, although she barely noticed for she was to mesmerized by the lovely taste of the apple that entered her mouth when out of the corner of her eye she saw a face, a small face. She quickly finished her apple and crawled over to where the object to discover it was a baby. "Oh look at this, a real live baby, I've always wanted one of those. I'm going to name you Rosie, may not be suitable were I come from, but here were you and I live, everyone is accepted for who they are. OH ROSIE, I love you so much already, and I've only just met you. If only you could talk." And so began Lillith's love for Rosie. Lillith treated her as her own child, and as if she really was real. Lillith would manage to shove a much of fruits and vegetables thrown at her down Rosie's small throat, made her new clothes by ripping material off of the bodies around her. Every other body in the well she discovered was older then she and Rosie was the only baby. Rosie was also the only other one alive, to Lillith anyway. "It's not fair!" Lovella protested "just because people are happy, doesn't mean they should be thrown into a deep, dark pit! I'm not supporting happiness in our town; I just want to make it a bit more humane!" I'm sorry Ms. but we have been executing people this way for hundreds of years. There is no stopping Mr. Flint and Crow now. They have been doing it for far too long." The judge responded apologetically. "There is nothing I can do." "But we could just open up a jail! Bad people could go there and be released after they had learned not to skip and happily sing!" Lovella begged, "This practice is so inhumane. People die because they were happy. And only for a few minutes! Don't you see Mr. Judge? People die every day because of a moment in their lives were they felt a little Joy! You have to do something!" "No, I can't do anything. I'm sorry." "But it's just SO unfair! Please reconsider; just cut the killings in half! Or even a quarter. Don't you see? You’re being so cruel! "No, I'm doing my job. You are now being a pest. Leave. "As you wish."Lovella fumed as she fled the courtroom. She had prepared a convincing argument, everything went the way it should, but it didn't. The judge was just, just so, so misunderstanding. Cold and heartless. Was she the only one in this whole city that didn't enjoy watching people die? It wasn't that it was bad. It was enjoyable when the person deserved it, but the wells, that was too much. Lovella had to stop it, now. "Oh Darling, just say one word to me! I need it, so bad. I'm getting lonely, and you’re the only other one here. TALK TO ME!!" she screamed, shaking Rosie in a manner that would kill a normal baby, but not Rosie, for Rosie was dead already. Lillith couldn't take it anymore. She needed a word, a word from someone else. Someone who understood her, and would stay, not abandon her like Rosie did so often. And a “thud” echoed behind her. Slowly she turned around, suspecting it to be an ordinary raccoon that had been unfortunate enough to fall into this world. But it wasn't a raccoon; it was a girl, a pretty girl. "Don't be scared, I'm here to save you. You’re safe now."Lillith, utterly perplexed by all the sudden action, muttered under her breath, "What are you doing here? Leave me alone, I want to be alone. Only Rosie can stay. "No, I'm not going to leave; I'm going to save you. Who's Rosie, is she another person that lives her? Please, just listen to me. This place where you live is dangerous, it can kill you so easily, you don't even know. I'm here to stop this killing from ever happening again, and you’re going to help me." "I don't want to help you. I just want to be left alone. My friends and I don't need you. Rosie is my daughter, NEVER harm her. EVER!!”"Lillith, I just want you to be safe. Where is your daughter and your other friends? Can you show them to me?" "If you insist," Lillith responded meekly to Lovella's request, and went to go retrieve her. Upon bringing her back, Lovella's face showed a flash or horror, followed by a smile, weak but convincing enough not to offend Lillith, and responded to her object with the stereotypical statement of, "Oh! How beautiful. She clearly has your eyes." Lying thought her teeth. "REALLY! none of my other friends have ever said that about her, but you really think so? Oh that makes me so happy. Thank you so much! Would you like to meet my other friends?" Lillith exclaimed, so happy she stood up and jumps about three feet in the air. "Yes, can you show them to me? I really would like to meet them. Please??" "Yes, yes, my friends, of course. Here, well this is Emery, Kerli, Marilyn, and Kittie." She said, pointing to various bricks and other particles of air. When clearly there wasn't anyone there. This was when Lovella knew she had to get Lillith out of here. It was killing her, from the inside out.
"Lillith, I want you to come home with me. You can bring your friends with you, but you might need to leave Rosie behind. She might get hurt up in the big world. Don't you want to come see my house? It's so pretty; I think you would really like it. Please?" "AND LEAVE ROSIE! NEVER! If I can take her, I might go, but I would never leave her alone. Ever, and I don't trust my friends that much, but don't tell them that." She whispered, as if her "friends" could actually hear her. "Fine, Rosie could come, and you could buy her some very pretty clothes. I would be really fun." "Fine, but can we wait a week so Rosie can rest up?" Lillith questioned, "I suppose." And Lovella stayed with Lillith for a week, wishing she hadn't. It started very slow, there wasn't much to do, Lillith would cuddle Rosie for hours, and made the moments with her baby so private, Lovella couldn't help but look away. The food was a blessing, but it made her a bit sick, and she tried to pull through, knowing it would be over, but then Lillith pulled the rope, saying, "This rope is bothering me, everything has to be perfect, and it's messing up everything. I'm going to move it and bury it." "WAIT! No, PLE..." but the deed was done, with Lovella stuck in the well, with only the shell of a body to accompany her. Lovella sat down and wept.Crow was back, watching Lillith more than ever. He sensed a new being below, but could never find her thoughts among the streams that floated around his smallish head. The way his brain worked was that he could hear others emotions. If someone felt a certain way, Crow felt exactly the same way. Every time he went to observe Lilith, he would get a feeling, one, simple, small feeling, love. It felt strange to Crow, for he had never loved before, but now he loved the baby, he loved her because Lilith loved her so much that the power took him over, and he needed something to love. Love had become his addiction, and his love was for Rosie. But now the love was mixed with anxiety, which worried him. What was wrong with Rosie? He finally decided that another person was in there and still living. But how had he or she gotten there?It finally got to Crow. After months of debating what to do, he finally convinced himself he should talk to Flint, even if it was just to get rid of his feelings. Flint was to die soon anyway. The office building were the "reapers" worked was very large. The gothic era columns spired up the sides of the building, supporting it in a way nothing else could. The large, marble steps led up to a colossal set of double doors, painted a silvery white to match the rest of the wall. Crow lifted his frail, old body up the stairs, every step becoming more and more of a labor. At last he reached top of the massive outdoor staircase, breathing heavily as he leaned against the column for support, painted a silvery white to match the rest of the wall. Crow lifted his frail, old body up the stairs, every step becoming more and more of a labor. At last he reached top of the massive outdoor staircase, breathing heavily as he leaned against the column for support, then realizing he had to continue on his journey, and tell Flint his idea. He opened the gigantic door and stepped into the entrance, allowing the door to slam behind him. Before him now lay a vast hallway, lined with silver-white marble, so clean it shone in the minute amount of light that was let in by the fogged windows. He took his first step into the cosmic room he had visited so many times before, and walked towards his relatively small office at the end of the hall. His office was a conjoined with Flint's. There was no door, just a blank doorway that connected the two very different people, and put them under the surname "co-workers". Although Crow hated Flint's office, he faced his fears and entered the small room, painted in white, pictured off all of Flint's dead family member's staring at him. "Flint? I want to talk to you." Crow said gruffly, trying to sound in control. "What?" Flint questioned, sighing, as though he was saying, I'm not paid enough for this. "I'm really busy, what do you need" "Well, it's that Lillith girl. You know, the one we put in there all those months ago? Well, you see, she's still alive, and has a baby in the well also. I think we need to free her. Her crime wasn't so horrible, she's served her time. She deserved to be set free." "Crow, you know that's absurd. You can't free a person you've thrown in a well, it's just unheard of. If you really want free her so badly, do it yourself." "That's the problem. I can't, I'm not strong enough. I need someone of your fine stature and strength. With those biceps of yours, were sure to be able to free her." Crow knew that Flint was a sucker for compliments, buttering him up was the best way to get something done. "Well, my biceps are extremely large, and I do need to work on my heavy lifting, but no, I'm to busy. "Flint, you don't understand, there's a baby down there and we need to save them." "BABY?? THERE'S A BABY DOWN THERE?" "Yes sir, there is a baby, and this girl, Lillith, she is, so I am lead to think, her mother, or his mother, I'm really not sure. The trouble is, we have to get those two out, it's just so… inhuman, to leave the there like that." "I don't care how inhuman he is, I'm more concerned with ratings than anything! We could be shut down for a thing like this! You have no an earthly idea how bad this is. When can we get those two out?" Flint screeched, pacing the floor and rubbing his hands together, very obviously worried about what could happen if word got out about this baby. Crow hadn't thought of this, and was now also very concerned with the problem at hand. "Perhaps tomorrow would be a good day? Everyone will be inside because of this dreadful cold. We can get away without fail, and no one will see us pull those two out of there." Crow sheepishly suggested, Flint was growing more and more tense every second, there was no telling when the bomb would explode, but it was going to be soon, Crow just knew. "Your right! And at night, so the darkness will cover us! Crow that's genius! We'll do it tomorrow night, I'll summon the guards this very second. Our ratings are saved!" and Flint strode over to Crow, giving the small man a hug, a very strange thing for Crow, for he had never been hugged before, not even by his mother. So now, to be hugged by a man who he disliked extremely was stunning. He stood, stock still, waiting for the horror to be over, and soon it was. Crow gave Flint a look of utter disgust, and then left the room, fuming with hatred, not saying a word. "Lillith, can I ask you a question?" Lovella asked, trying to coax her "cell mate" into talking, she was so scared; she needed something to take her mind off the fear. "I suppose, what?" "Why are you here? I mean, what did you to that made you deserve this?" She asked, gesturing to the walls around here. "Well, I don't really remember. I was happy, really happy; I think I had just aced a math test. I had studied so hard, and I really wanted an "A", and so when I got found out I just stood up and screamed, "YES! I DID IT! I ACED MY MATH TEST!", and I was told I had to go to the principal's office, and then I was here. But you see, I'm so happy here. Sure I don't get enough food, and it's really cold sometimes, but I'm glad I'm not mistreated here. I was bullied so much when I was at school. It was really unfair, and now I have Rosie, I feel so much better about everything. You probably don't understand." and Lillith started crying, and snuggling Rosie even more. Lovella sat there, not sure what else to do. She just sat and watched the girl weep.The next morning it snowed; the cold, sticky kind that coats everything. The roofs, roads, cats, newspapers, children. It was thus harder to make the trek to Well 124, but finally they arrived. Crow called down. "Hello, is there anyone down there?" "SHH!" a voice responded, coming from the depths of the deep well, "Rosie's sleeping! What do you want?" The voice was cracked and weak, yet forceful all the same. Crow tried to aim a light down into the pit, but it wasn't strong enough. They were still blind to what was in the black abyss. "We want to help you. We're here to rescue you. I'm going to throw you a rope. Please, we only want to help you and your baby find a proper home." After quite a while they heard a voice, a small voice, down below, "Rosie? Do you want to go up? Really? I would have thought for sure… considering this is your first home and all… really? Well, yes, I think I do want to go. It will be nice to walk around for a bit. Her? Oh, let’s leave her. I agree, she was a bit bothersome, and I think she was trying to steal you. Well then, lets go" The voice then raised and weakly said, "YES! THROW UP THE ROPE, WE WANT TO LEAVE!"Flint tied the rope to an iron rod, conveniently cemented into brick ring surrounding the abyss. Suddenly the rope became much heavier and Lillith began her ascent. Flint started to struggle, and a guard had to assist him so that he wouldn't fall. Soon a head appeared, worn and sad. Her eyes had dreadful bags outlining their bottom half, and in her weak, malnourished arms, was a bundle. It made no noise, never stirred, just lay there, silent. "SUN!" the girl screamed, thrusting the bundle into Flint's bony arms and began to prance around, her arms reaching into the air above her, trying to grab the unattainable prize. The dawn had begun to rise, blowing their cover. They had to get out of there soon "I haven't seen you in so long!" She ran around joyfully, doing things that did not seem possible for a girl as malnourished as she was. "Come Miss, we really should be going" Crow stuttered, but Lillith didn't hear him, she was to busy admiring the sun around her. Flint thrust the bundle into Crow's hands, and with a disgruntled, "Idiot", he ran after the girl. Crow watched as the chase scene commenced, Flint noticeably catching up to Lillith. "LET GO!" Lillith screamed, and struggled to escape his thin, but powerful clutches. "I'm sorry Miss; we have to go before someone sees you." Flint muttered, still afraid of the crazed girl before him. "I could care less! I'm just so happy!" "We'll take your bab…" "NO! ROSIE'S MINE!" She screamed, even louder than before. Without even letting him finish his sentence, Lillith suspected her baby was in danger. "I'll never let you touch her." She ran back to Crow and gave him a look of distain before snatching the bundle from his quivering hands. "Miss, lets return to the city, I'm sure you'll be happy there. We're going to take you to a lovely place were you can take care of you, uhh, lovely, well, baby." Crow said forcefully. "The city?" Lillith asked, her eyes wide with amazement, clearly she had been secluded for far too long. "We're going to the city? I love the city. Can we see my mother? I haven't seen her in such a long time." "Your mother doesn't want to see you." Crow stated bluntly, not caring how badly he had just hurt her feelings. He was to never see her again. "Of course she does, she's my mother." "No, she's forgotten you." They walked all the way back to the city, about 15 miles. Flint of one of the guards took turns carrying her while she slipped in and out of delirium. They finally arrived at the doorstep of a tall, intimidating building. A rectangular, brass sign read, St. Tristan's Home for the Mentally Disturbed "What a lovely name! Is this were you live Mr. Clint?" Lillith asked. Although she had learned both the men's names she seemed to always combine them, calling Flint "Flow", and Crow, "Clint". "FOR THE LAST TIME! IT'S FLINT!" he snapped, "And no, this is not were I live. It is where you are going to live. We have already set up a place for you to live with your lovely baby. Good bye Lillith, enjoy your eternal stay at St. Tristan's. Good bye" and they were gone, not even looking back. Their cloaked figures attacked by the sudden rain that had begun to fall minutes before. Lillith fidgeted, and began to get wet, so she opened the door.A week later a letter arrived at the office of the executioners. Flint answered the door, "What do you want, insolent mailman." "Nnnnnothing sir, I just … came to … give you this …letter. I'm sorry, here" He said, thrusting the letter into Flint's unforgiving hands, looking at the marble floor to avoid the evil gaze being given to him by the towering executioner. The mailman knew his power, and did not doubt that he would use it, so he scuttled away before the letter was opened, hating to be the barer of bad tidings. "Mail, I HATE mail. CROW! Come here and open this letter! "Fine, what does it say?" "I DON'T KNOW YOU BUMBLING IDIOT! THAT'S WHY I WANT YOU TO OPEN IT," he cried, then muttering "fool" under his breath. "Fine," Crow ripped open the letter and began to read, the letter was type set in fine, black print, contrasting severely from the page. "Dear Mr. Catcher," "It's addressed to you, Flint." "I DON'T CARE! DON'T YOU SEE? Uhh!, your so impossible." "Fine," He began to read again,"Dear Mr. Catcher, We are sorry to inform you that the patient you deposited here at "St. Tristan's Home for the Mentally Disturbed" has been requested by many staff members to leave the premises. Your patient Lillith Peetz will be deposited at your home address of 1527 N. Tahu St. at your earliest convenience. We are truly sorry but we feel that your patient is causing destruction to St. Tristan's well-being. Thank you for your understanding.Sincerely, Aidan Bucklynne" "WHAT!?!?" Flint screamed, "SHE'S COMING BACK"?" he asked, flabbergasted. "She, she, no! this is absurd, how can she, no, WHAT DID SHE DO?" "I don't know sir, I think we should phone the asylum." "WE? You, were the one who just had to save her, I am removing myself from this situation. I am not involved."The winter was particularly cold that year. Lovella curled up in a ball and buried herself in the mush and fell asleep. She dreamed that see was back in the city, and that everyone was free, except her, they left her all alone because she had been a non-conformist and had tried to end everything. She was cold with no warm clothing, and not enough food. She slowly drifted to sleep that night, never to wake up. Crow lived in a tiny apartment at the outskirts of the city. He barely had enough room for himself, much less another person, AND her child, but it would have to do. He cleared off the couch and draped a tattered blanket over it. He then walked out of his apartment and stood on the curb, his loose fitting jacket fluttering in the wind. A white van pulled up and stopped directly in front of Crow, and a nurse stepped out of the passenger door. She calmly walked to the back, passing by Crow with only a nod of acknowledgement, opened the double doors at the back of the ambulance-like van and pulled out a stretcher. The crumbled form that was covered by a sheet was immediately recognized by Crow as Lillith. "Is this your patient?" the nurses stressed, hurried tone was cracked and harsh, not the type of person who would want to work with your sick family member. "Yes, thank you, I can take her up to my room." "Good day, and good luck." The nurse said, snickering as she said it. Crow's fumbling woke Lillith. She immediately rose, "Nurse Greech? Where are you? Am I going to live here now? Nurse Greech, where's Rosie?" "Nurse Greech isn't here anymore, I'm going to take care of you now, remember me? I'm Crow. Rosie's, well, she's" Then it dawned on Crow, they had taken Rosie away, Lillith was never to see her again. "Rosie is taking a nap, upstairs. You can see her when she wakes up." He brought Lillith up to his room and put her next to the couch. He franticly paced, trying to figure out how to tell Lillith she would never see her beloved Rosie again. "What do you mean, you threw it away?" questioned Crow in a very stressed manner, fuming at the nurse on the other end of the telephone line. "Do you know how much that thing meant to her? You’re going to kill her!" "On the contrary, my good sir. It was the thing that was killing her." Nurse Greech responded, "And you were letting it happen. For shame!" "I don't know what to do! I'm not a parent! I never wanted to be a parent. How much money do I need to pay you so you'll take her away? I'll give you any amount you want, 10,000, 100,000, anything. Please, this girl is ruining my life. "No, we here at St. Tristan's have labeled her as an "untouchable", if you will. There is no hope of her ever getting better. If I were you, I would have returned her to where she came from a long time ago. It's not like anyone would miss her." "You are truly a cruel person." And that was all he said, the conversation was over, and he attached the phone back onto the receiver. He walked over to his dining room table and consumed his dinner of microwave chicken. After eating, reading the newspaper, and putting his pajamas on he stumbled to his room and fell asleep. Crow decided that it would be best if he just told Lillith the truth. Her child had been taken away and she was never going to see Rosie again, so when it came time for the two of them to have breakfast, he broke it to her. "Lillith, I, well, I need to tell you something." He winced, waiting for her to scream at him and go ballistic. But nothing happened, she only responded with a calm, "Yes Mister Crow?" "Well, you see, your daughter, Rosie, well, she's, she's not coming back." He hid his eyes, waiting for her to throw her bowl of cornflakes at him. She sat there, showing no change of emotion at first, but then she stood up, and politely asked, "May I please be excused Mister Crow?" "Yes, yes, of course." and she was gone. She slinked to her room and all that could be heard was the rustling of fabric as thought she had gone to bed. Crow heard no weeping, just rustling. A half an hour emerged Lillith returned from her room, carrying a small satchel. She searched the cabinets and took some of Crow's food, Saltine Crackers, the remaining cornflakes, three bottles of water, and the entire penny jar he had stashed behind the flour. Crow didn't protest, he just watched it all happen, unable to say anything. She took an assortment of other things, and then walked out the door, a sullen look on her face, her hands clenched in fists. Crow raised his hand and attempted to say something, but none of the words surfaced, and he sat there, his mouth agape, hand in the air when his neighbor Louise came to his door, still open because Lillith had forgot to close it, and asked ever so obliviously, "Do you have any sugar?" The first place Lillith went was the forest that surrounded her home. She found what she thought was to be the biggest tree in the whole wood and climbed up into its enormous branches. The opened the box of saltines and began to munch on them quietly. She pondered everything that had happened the day, and although it was only 9:30 quite a lot had happened. She quickly decided she was going to find her daughter, no matter how long it took. She didn't care how hungry she got, how lonely it was going to be, she was going to find her daughter. As soon as all her crackers were gone she headed off through the forest, talking to any woodland creature that cared to listen. Her first stop was the well. She screamed down into its seemingly unending abyss until she couldn't feel her vocal chords any longer. There was never an answer, only the soft rustle of caterpillars she knew so well. She squinted and tried to see the faces of those still at the bottom but in the fog that surrounded her world that day it was hard to see much of anything, so she continued on her way, still in search of her beloved baby. Next she was at Elya's house, although knew not that it was him who provided her food for those long days in the well. His was the only house remotely close to the well, so she saught refuge there. She pounded on the door, hoping desperately that someone would answer. "What?" a tall, boney women asked. "I, I... well, I'm looking for my daughter, someone took her, and I need a place to stay for the night. If you please, do you think that I could, well, stay here for the night? "Where do you live?" "I told you, I'm looking for my daughter, I don't live anywhere." "Well, I suppose, but just for one night." "Thank you, thank you so much. You have no idea." "Whatever, you can sleep on the couch." The woman said, gesturing towards a tattered, laced couch. It was long enough for Lillith to stretch her legs to the end, but barely. They didn't serve her dinner. She just sat on the couch, waiting for the night to be over. She never met the man of the house, she assumed there wasn't one. Little did she know that he was sitting in the other room, to scared to move, he knew he had seen this girl, he had seen her dead, in the bottom of a well. Lillith left the next morning, fearing the evil eye of the housewife she knew she would have to leave before they woke up. She opened the door, having no idea what time it was, and not a clue were to go as she set off on another day. She walked into the inevitable mist that surrounded the world she lived, only to see, nothing. After walking through the mist for quite a while she saw a light, a small, wavering light, in the distance. She walked slowly towards the light, mesmerized by it, as it became the only thing she could see, darkness covering her. She couldn't tear her eyes from the light, its wavering beam like a stopwatch, hovering before her eyes. She walked, her feet dragging behind her, towards it, unaware of anything around her, only the light. After walking in this sullen state for hours she finally reached the light. It wasn't magical, as she had convinced herself it would be, but only a naked light bulb, illuminating a steel door with the words "Keep Out!" written in now faded paint. Lillith ignored the warning, putting all of her weight onto the door, determined to get inside. It swung open, knocking her to the floor with the abrupt movement it had caused. The noise of hundreds of hands repeating the same moment over and over again filled her ears. Snap, swish, thud, snap, swish, thud. Over and over again. She lifted her head from the concrete she had fallen onto to see hundreds of people, all clad in white coats and goggles standing next to conveyer belts, very focused on the task at hand. Lillith stood, waiting for one of them to notice her, none of them did. They all remained wrapped up in their own little worlds. She walked over to one of them, "Excuse me sir? What are you doing?" "Working, leave me alone." The man said briskly in a very annoyed tone. "You’re not supposed to be here." He added, never raising his head. "Well, I'm looking for my daughter and I thought she might be here. Have you seen any little babies around here?" "No." "Are you sure? Could you help me search? It's really important. I'll die with her." "I don't even know you, and I'm working. Bother someone else." "Fine." "Good" the man muttered, but Lillith didn't hear, she was already talking to the next person, trying to wrap them into helping her find her poor baby. After talking to 20 more people in the factory she decided that Rosie wasn't there, or at least not in that room, so she searched the other rooms only to find boxes and boxes of radios, something she had no need for. Everyone in the building had gone home by then, leaving the factory empty and silent. She fell asleep on a pile of boxes. The next morning her whole body hurt. "Those boxes are sharp!" she yelped, "What was that?" said a small, round man looking at a computer monitor. "OH! I didn't realize you were there! You scared me. Well I suppose you could help me. Could you please tell me, is there a baby anywhere in this building?" "Well, not that I know of, and I would know, I'm the storage manager, I make sure everything is stored properly all over the building. The name's Vern, Vern the Storage Manager. "Very nice to meet you Stern the Morage Vanager. I'm looking for my daughter, Rosie. Have you seen her?" "Vern, the names Vern, not Stern. And no, as I said before, I haven't seen any babies. Would you like me to help you look?" "Why that would be lovely Stern! Maybe she's somewhere else in this dreadful place." "Dreadful? This factory is owned by my father, whose father owned it before him. It's been in my family for seven generations. And it's VERN! I'm NOT going to help you if you cop that attitude, stupid girl." "What?? You’re not going to help? But I need you Stern," "VERN!" "Sorry, I need you, you’re the only one who can help me search this place, please Stern the Morage Vanager?" "No! That's the last straw! GET OUT OF HERE! NOW!" he screamed as he shoved her in a box. He grabbed some tape and taped her shut. The box jostled, throwing Lillith from one end of the small box to another. She had hit her head, or so she thought, she hadn't been awake for what seemed like hours. She didn't remember were she was and was in the middle of a panic attack when the box was dropped onto mushy, wet ground. She tried to forget about everything and go to sleep but she couldn't, she was too hungry, very hungry, again. She ripped away at the box, making a mad attempt to get out of the terrible box she was in, but she couldn't. She sat there, thinking about how she was finally going to die; after all she had been through in her short 14 years. No one could throw food down at her from the sky, because there wasn't any sky. She sat and sat, wondering how everything was going to end, when the ground became wet. The cardboard was getting mushy and damp, as well as her ragged, matted clothes. She scratched the bottom of the box, forming the smallest of holes. She made it bigger, and bigger, and bigger, until the whole bottom of the box was gone. She lifted it from her head and stepped onto the squishy ground. It was still dark, or rather was dark again, she had no idea how long she had been in the box. All she could see around her were mountains of junk. Silhouettes of broken chairs, TV's, boom boxes, and food containers surrounded her. She was at a dump, she had been thrown away. She got scared, very scared. Shaking uncontrollably she sat down, and let her rags be soaked by the wet ground. She got very tired, but couldn't sleep because of all the pipes and wood boards near her. She stumbled thought the darkness, tripping on chair parts and bed frames until she found a place to sleep. She hadn't slept on a real bed since she had left Crow's, she wasn't sure how long it had been, at least a week, and she had never felt so hungry. She found a ratty old pillow, still soft enough to rest your head on and an old checked picnic blanket. She figured they would be warm enough. She heard foot steps, and they scared her. Then there was growling, "Dogs!" she thought. She knew it was going to get her. She knew she was going to die. This evil dog was going to get her. She lay down, shaking like a leaf in the wind, a biting chill consuming her small body. She lay down, covering herself with the blanket. She was so hungry, and it was so cold. She was scared, very scared. She tried to go to sleep but couldn't. She heard the evil paws creeping towards her and she couldn't take it. She panicked, waiting for it to come eat her. She felt something on her leg, a leaf, but she didn't know that, she thought it was the dog. Her face turned pure white and as she breathed her last breath the dog she had been so afraid of surfaced. In its mouth he held a mutilated object, decaying and smelling something a dog would love to destroy. But this dog didn't, he sensed it was special, or had been special to someone. He raised his head and saw the now dead Lillith curled up under the picnic blanket. He brought the thing to her, and dropped it next to her head, pulling the blanket over the dead child with his mouth. He knew this child belonged to the newfound girl. He whimpered a last goodbye to his friend the mutilated baby, and left, never looking back at Lillith and Rosie.Lillith's fall was broken by the bits of about 40 bodies at the bottom of the well. A perfect vessel in which to deposit the living. Even the ones who impulsively screamed. But Lillith didn't scream, she was too deep in thought wondering why she was even in the horrible muddle of a situation. She opened her eyes, hoping the horror was over. Looking around she only saw a circle of moldy brick surrounding her. She felt the ground, wet, but not a watery wet, a sticky wet, and even if the blanket of night covered the sun, she knew what it was, blood. She jumped up almost faster then she had fallen down, as thought the sticky ground had burned her, and screamed.Hours later her punishment wasn't so bad. No one could pester her, and the atmosphere was lovely, although a bit dismal. She was getting to be a bit hungry, but not to the point of starvation, yet. She figured she would cross that bridge when she got there, until then she thought she would familiarize herself with her surroundings, as small as they were. All the bricks were the same size, square, equal, very manufactured looking, just like the rest of her home. The only thing that wasn't plated in metal or perfectly organized were the bodies, which she had become to befriend, treating every one of them like the person she had wished to be treated as when she was still above ground. "Come Crow, you've observed for almost four hours now, nothing else is going to happen. If you don't feel something in the first 15 minutes your not going to feel anything at all, it always works that way. I can tell you right now what will happen. She'll die within a few days from exhaustion or starvation, maybe both, before Friday. It's Wednesday now, so… she'll be dead in roughly 48 hours. That's what always happens, this girl is no different, she might even die before tonight is over, I've seen her type before." Flint informed his assistant Crow. Although Flint has one of the best jobs in the city, he sometimes wished he could be "manure harvester" just so that he wouldn't have to deal with him. This was one of those days. "But this girl, Lillith I believe is her name, seems different from the others. She only screamed once. It perplexes me so! Why won't she do something normal, like all the other invalids?" Crow squawked. His name had not only been passed down from almost 15 generations, it also described his voice perfectly, brittle, scratchy, like fingernails on a chalkboard. The other thing Flint couldn't stand about him. "I DON'T CARE!" Flint screamed, his tall, scrawny, body jumping up and down so high his feet were almost above Crow's head, for Crow was very short, and stocky. "I just want to go back to the city and report that this Lillith girl is dead. Then we can forget about her and find more invalids to execute. It that really such a hard task to accomplish?" "Fine we can leave, but I want to come back here, and soon. Crow agreed. "Little child, having temper tantrums like you were three. Want a bottle little Flinty? Smile for Mamma Crow, come on now, smile!" Crow mocked, letting out a horrible, scratching laugh. Lillith was hungry now, very hungry. Almost to the point of were she was going to starve. She had to get out of here soon, even if it was just for some food. The well wasn't that wide, if she put her feet on one wall, then put her hands on the opposing wall, maybe she could shimmy her way up. She tried it. After multiple failures she decided she was to short. She buried her head in the mush, not saying or thinking anything. She tried to jump, but of course that didn't work for there was nothing she could grab onto. Lillith was out of ideas and very hungry, but she was also beginning to get a little sleepy, so she rested her head on another's and slowly drifted to sleep.Crow watched the girl intently, listening to her brain with his magical gift. He knew she was different, that she might survive, but he didn't know how. The food Elya had unknowingly given her in weekly intervals was a problem, but also a solution, for he wanted to watch her, see how she was affected by the blackness of the well. It had been about 3 days now and she was still alive, almost a record. He stood there before about an hour before he heard a far off scream. He knew immediately that it was Flint, his obnoxious boss. He was always throwing a temper tantrum always wanting, and getting, his way, always complaining. Crow loved his job of studying dying people but sometimes he wished he didn't have a job at all and lived in a box just so he wouldn't have to deal with Flint. The scream persisted and Crow wandered unwillingly back to the palace.She awoke to the sound of uneven breathing, but no one else was in the well, only the bright morning light filled her new home. But up above was the silhouette of a short, stocky, cloaked figure. His breathing was heavy and uneven. Scary, almost like a masked figure in a sci-fi movie. But just as she raised her head, it was gone, and Lillith was hungry.Above ground Old Farmer Elya walked over to the carrying his bag of "unacceptable to sell" crops. He threw them in the wall every week. He did it to keep the stench down. No one knew what lay at the bottom of the well but it smelled awful, all the time. Elya had tried looking down there but all he could see was a mass of gray much, with just a ting of red around the edges. He also occasionally saw tow men in dark cloaks walking to the well, but Elya wasn't much of a detective, and never looked into it, he just turned from the foggy window of his ancient farm house and continued his dull lonely life, wishing he worked in the city. "OW!" Lillith yelped "What was that?" She surveyed the floor of mangled bodies, but in the light she now saw a large green watermelon, and the apple that she suspected had hit her head. "Food!" she squealed, so delighted she lunged for the apple, forgetting about the wall and bashed her head against it, although she barely noticed for she was to mesmerized by the lovely taste of the apple that entered her mouth when out of the corner of her eye she saw a face, a small face. She quickly finished her apple and crawled over to where the object to discover it was a baby. "Oh look at this, a real live baby, I've always wanted one of those. I'm going to name you Rosie, may not be suitable were I come from, but here were you and I live, everyone is accepted for who they are. OH ROSIE, I love you so much already, and I've only just met you. If only you could talk." And so began Lillith's love for Rosie. Lillith treated her as her own child, and as if she really was real. Lillith would manage to shove a much of fruits and vegetables thrown at her down Rosie's small throat, made her new clothes by ripping material off of the bodies around her. Every other body in the well she discovered was older then she and Rosie was the only baby. Rosie was also the only other one alive, to Lillith anyway. "It's not fair!" Lovella protested "just because people are happy, doesn't mean they should be thrown into a deep, dark pit! I'm not supporting happiness in our town; I just want to make it a bit more humane!" I'm sorry Ms. but we have been executing people this way for hundreds of years. There is no stopping Mr. Flint and Crow now. They have been doing it for far too long." The judge responded apologetically. "There is nothing I can do." "But we could just open up a jail! Bad people could go there and be released after they had learned not to skip and happily sing!" Lovella begged, "This practice is so inhumane. People die because they were happy. And only for a few minutes! Don't you see Mr. Judge? People die every day because of a moment in their lives were they felt a little Joy! You have to do something!" "No, I can't do anything. I'm sorry." "But it's just SO unfair! Please reconsider; just cut the killings in half! Or even a quarter. Don't you see? You’re being so cruel! "No, I'm doing my job. You are now being a pest. Leave. "As you wish."Lovella fumed as she fled the courtroom. She had prepared a convincing argument, everything went the way it should, but it didn't. The judge was just, just so, so misunderstanding. Cold and heartless. Was she the only one in this whole city that didn't enjoy watching people die? It wasn't that it was bad. It was enjoyable when the person deserved it, but the wells, that was too much. Lovella had to stop it, now. "Oh Darling, just say one word to me! I need it, so bad. I'm getting lonely, and you’re the only other one here. TALK TO ME!!" she screamed, shaking Rosie in a manner that would kill a normal baby, but not Rosie, for Rosie was dead already. Lillith couldn't take it anymore. She needed a word, a word from someone else. Someone who understood her, and would stay, not abandon her like Rosie did so often. And a “thud” echoed behind her. Slowly she turned around, suspecting it to be an ordinary raccoon that had been unfortunate enough to fall into this world. But it wasn't a raccoon; it was a girl, a pretty girl. "Don't be scared, I'm here to save you. You’re safe now."Lillith, utterly perplexed by all the sudden action, muttered under her breath, "What are you doing here? Leave me alone, I want to be alone. Only Rosie can stay. "No, I'm not going to leave; I'm going to save you. Who's Rosie, is she another person that lives her? Please, just listen to me. This place where you live is dangerous, it can kill you so easily, you don't even know. I'm here to stop this killing from ever happening again, and you’re going to help me." "I don't want to help you. I just want to be left alone. My friends and I don't need you. Rosie is my daughter, NEVER harm her. EVER!!”"Lillith, I just want you to be safe. Where is your daughter and your other friends? Can you show them to me?" "If you insist," Lillith responded meekly to Lovella's request, and went to go retrieve her. Upon bringing her back, Lovella's face showed a flash or horror, followed by a smile, weak but convincing enough not to offend Lillith, and responded to her object with the stereotypical statement of, "Oh! How beautiful. She clearly has your eyes." Lying thought her teeth. "REALLY! none of my other friends have ever said that about her, but you really think so? Oh that makes me so happy. Thank you so much! Would you like to meet my other friends?" Lillith exclaimed, so happy she stood up and jumps about three feet in the air. "Yes, can you show them to me? I really would like to meet them. Please??" "Yes, yes, my friends, of course. Here, well this is Emery, Kerli, Marilyn, and Kittie." She said, pointing to various bricks and other particles of air. When clearly there wasn't anyone there. This was when Lovella knew she had to get Lillith out of here. It was killing her, from the inside out.
"Lillith, I want you to come home with me. You can bring your friends with you, but you might need to leave Rosie behind. She might get hurt up in the big world. Don't you want to come see my house? It's so pretty; I think you would really like it. Please?" "AND LEAVE ROSIE! NEVER! If I can take her, I might go, but I would never leave her alone. Ever, and I don't trust my friends that much, but don't tell them that." She whispered, as if her "friends" could actually hear her. "Fine, Rosie could come, and you could buy her some very pretty clothes. I would be really fun." "Fine, but can we wait a week so Rosie can rest up?" Lillith questioned, "I suppose." And Lovella stayed with Lillith for a week, wishing she hadn't. It started very slow, there wasn't much to do, Lillith would cuddle Rosie for hours, and made the moments with her baby so private, Lovella couldn't help but look away. The food was a blessing, but it made her a bit sick, and she tried to pull through, knowing it would be over, but then Lillith pulled the rope, saying, "This rope is bothering me, everything has to be perfect, and it's messing up everything. I'm going to move it and bury it." "WAIT! No, PLE..." but the deed was done, with Lovella stuck in the well, with only the shell of a body to accompany her. Lovella sat down and wept.Crow was back, watching Lillith more than ever. He sensed a new being below, but could never find her thoughts among the streams that floated around his smallish head. The way his brain worked was that he could hear others emotions. If someone felt a certain way, Crow felt exactly the same way. Every time he went to observe Lilith, he would get a feeling, one, simple, small feeling, love. It felt strange to Crow, for he had never loved before, but now he loved the baby, he loved her because Lilith loved her so much that the power took him over, and he needed something to love. Love had become his addiction, and his love was for Rosie. But now the love was mixed with anxiety, which worried him. What was wrong with Rosie? He finally decided that another person was in there and still living. But how had he or she gotten there?It finally got to Crow. After months of debating what to do, he finally convinced himself he should talk to Flint, even if it was just to get rid of his feelings. Flint was to die soon anyway. The office building were the "reapers" worked was very large. The gothic era columns spired up the sides of the building, supporting it in a way nothing else could. The large, marble steps led up to a colossal set of double doors, painted a silvery white to match the rest of the wall. Crow lifted his frail, old body up the stairs, every step becoming more and more of a labor. At last he reached top of the massive outdoor staircase, breathing heavily as he leaned against the column for support, painted a silvery white to match the rest of the wall. Crow lifted his frail, old body up the stairs, every step becoming more and more of a labor. At last he reached top of the massive outdoor staircase, breathing heavily as he leaned against the column for support, then realizing he had to continue on his journey, and tell Flint his idea. He opened the gigantic door and stepped into the entrance, allowing the door to slam behind him. Before him now lay a vast hallway, lined with silver-white marble, so clean it shone in the minute amount of light that was let in by the fogged windows. He took his first step into the cosmic room he had visited so many times before, and walked towards his relatively small office at the end of the hall. His office was a conjoined with Flint's. There was no door, just a blank doorway that connected the two very different people, and put them under the surname "co-workers". Although Crow hated Flint's office, he faced his fears and entered the small room, painted in white, pictured off all of Flint's dead family member's staring at him. "Flint? I want to talk to you." Crow said gruffly, trying to sound in control. "What?" Flint questioned, sighing, as though he was saying, I'm not paid enough for this. "I'm really busy, what do you need" "Well, it's that Lillith girl. You know, the one we put in there all those months ago? Well, you see, she's still alive, and has a baby in the well also. I think we need to free her. Her crime wasn't so horrible, she's served her time. She deserved to be set free." "Crow, you know that's absurd. You can't free a person you've thrown in a well, it's just unheard of. If you really want free her so badly, do it yourself." "That's the problem. I can't, I'm not strong enough. I need someone of your fine stature and strength. With those biceps of yours, were sure to be able to free her." Crow knew that Flint was a sucker for compliments, buttering him up was the best way to get something done. "Well, my biceps are extremely large, and I do need to work on my heavy lifting, but no, I'm to busy. "Flint, you don't understand, there's a baby down there and we need to save them." "BABY?? THERE'S A BABY DOWN THERE?" "Yes sir, there is a baby, and this girl, Lillith, she is, so I am lead to think, her mother, or his mother, I'm really not sure. The trouble is, we have to get those two out, it's just so… inhuman, to leave the there like that." "I don't care how inhuman he is, I'm more concerned with ratings than anything! We could be shut down for a thing like this! You have no an earthly idea how bad this is. When can we get those two out?" Flint screeched, pacing the floor and rubbing his hands together, very obviously worried about what could happen if word got out about this baby. Crow hadn't thought of this, and was now also very concerned with the problem at hand. "Perhaps tomorrow would be a good day? Everyone will be inside because of this dreadful cold. We can get away without fail, and no one will see us pull those two out of there." Crow sheepishly suggested, Flint was growing more and more tense every second, there was no telling when the bomb would explode, but it was going to be soon, Crow just knew. "Your right! And at night, so the darkness will cover us! Crow that's genius! We'll do it tomorrow night, I'll summon the guards this very second. Our ratings are saved!" and Flint strode over to Crow, giving the small man a hug, a very strange thing for Crow, for he had never been hugged before, not even by his mother. So now, to be hugged by a man who he disliked extremely was stunning. He stood, stock still, waiting for the horror to be over, and soon it was. Crow gave Flint a look of utter disgust, and then left the room, fuming with hatred, not saying a word. "Lillith, can I ask you a question?" Lovella asked, trying to coax her "cell mate" into talking, she was so scared; she needed something to take her mind off the fear. "I suppose, what?" "Why are you here? I mean, what did you to that made you deserve this?" She asked, gesturing to the walls around here. "Well, I don't really remember. I was happy, really happy; I think I had just aced a math test. I had studied so hard, and I really wanted an "A", and so when I got found out I just stood up and screamed, "YES! I DID IT! I ACED MY MATH TEST!", and I was told I had to go to the principal's office, and then I was here. But you see, I'm so happy here. Sure I don't get enough food, and it's really cold sometimes, but I'm glad I'm not mistreated here. I was bullied so much when I was at school. It was really unfair, and now I have Rosie, I feel so much better about everything. You probably don't understand." and Lillith started crying, and snuggling Rosie even more. Lovella sat there, not sure what else to do. She just sat and watched the girl weep.The next morning it snowed; the cold, sticky kind that coats everything. The roofs, roads, cats, newspapers, children. It was thus harder to make the trek to Well 124, but finally they arrived. Crow called down. "Hello, is there anyone down there?" "SHH!" a voice responded, coming from the depths of the deep well, "Rosie's sleeping! What do you want?" The voice was cracked and weak, yet forceful all the same. Crow tried to aim a light down into the pit, but it wasn't strong enough. They were still blind to what was in the black abyss. "We want to help you. We're here to rescue you. I'm going to throw you a rope. Please, we only want to help you and your baby find a proper home." After quite a while they heard a voice, a small voice, down below, "Rosie? Do you want to go up? Really? I would have thought for sure… considering this is your first home and all… really? Well, yes, I think I do want to go. It will be nice to walk around for a bit. Her? Oh, let’s leave her. I agree, she was a bit bothersome, and I think she was trying to steal you. Well then, lets go" The voice then raised and weakly said, "YES! THROW UP THE ROPE, WE WANT TO LEAVE!"Flint tied the rope to an iron rod, conveniently cemented into brick ring surrounding the abyss. Suddenly the rope became much heavier and Lillith began her ascent. Flint started to struggle, and a guard had to assist him so that he wouldn't fall. Soon a head appeared, worn and sad. Her eyes had dreadful bags outlining their bottom half, and in her weak, malnourished arms, was a bundle. It made no noise, never stirred, just lay there, silent. "SUN!" the girl screamed, thrusting the bundle into Flint's bony arms and began to prance around, her arms reaching into the air above her, trying to grab the unattainable prize. The dawn had begun to rise, blowing their cover. They had to get out of there soon "I haven't seen you in so long!" She ran around joyfully, doing things that did not seem possible for a girl as malnourished as she was. "Come Miss, we really should be going" Crow stuttered, but Lillith didn't hear him, she was to busy admiring the sun around her. Flint thrust the bundle into Crow's hands, and with a disgruntled, "Idiot", he ran after the girl. Crow watched as the chase scene commenced, Flint noticeably catching up to Lillith. "LET GO!" Lillith screamed, and struggled to escape his thin, but powerful clutches. "I'm sorry Miss; we have to go before someone sees you." Flint muttered, still afraid of the crazed girl before him. "I could care less! I'm just so happy!" "We'll take your bab…" "NO! ROSIE'S MINE!" She screamed, even louder than before. Without even letting him finish his sentence, Lillith suspected her baby was in danger. "I'll never let you touch her." She ran back to Crow and gave him a look of distain before snatching the bundle from his quivering hands. "Miss, lets return to the city, I'm sure you'll be happy there. We're going to take you to a lovely place were you can take care of you, uhh, lovely, well, baby." Crow said forcefully. "The city?" Lillith asked, her eyes wide with amazement, clearly she had been secluded for far too long. "We're going to the city? I love the city. Can we see my mother? I haven't seen her in such a long time." "Your mother doesn't want to see you." Crow stated bluntly, not caring how badly he had just hurt her feelings. He was to never see her again. "Of course she does, she's my mother." "No, she's forgotten you." They walked all the way back to the city, about 15 miles. Flint of one of the guards took turns carrying her while she slipped in and out of delirium. They finally arrived at the doorstep of a tall, intimidating building. A rectangular, brass sign read, St. Tristan's Home for the Mentally Disturbed "What a lovely name! Is this were you live Mr. Clint?" Lillith asked. Although she had learned both the men's names she seemed to always combine them, calling Flint "Flow", and Crow, "Clint". "FOR THE LAST TIME! IT'S FLINT!" he snapped, "And no, this is not were I live. It is where you are going to live. We have already set up a place for you to live with your lovely baby. Good bye Lillith, enjoy your eternal stay at St. Tristan's. Good bye" and they were gone, not even looking back. Their cloaked figures attacked by the sudden rain that had begun to fall minutes before. Lillith fidgeted, and began to get wet, so she opened the door.A week later a letter arrived at the office of the executioners. Flint answered the door, "What do you want, insolent mailman." "Nnnnnothing sir, I just … came to … give you this …letter. I'm sorry, here" He said, thrusting the letter into Flint's unforgiving hands, looking at the marble floor to avoid the evil gaze being given to him by the towering executioner. The mailman knew his power, and did not doubt that he would use it, so he scuttled away before the letter was opened, hating to be the barer of bad tidings. "Mail, I HATE mail. CROW! Come here and open this letter! "Fine, what does it say?" "I DON'T KNOW YOU BUMBLING IDIOT! THAT'S WHY I WANT YOU TO OPEN IT," he cried, then muttering "fool" under his breath. "Fine," Crow ripped open the letter and began to read, the letter was type set in fine, black print, contrasting severely from the page. "Dear Mr. Catcher," "It's addressed to you, Flint." "I DON'T CARE! DON'T YOU SEE? Uhh!, your so impossible." "Fine," He began to read again,"Dear Mr. Catcher, We are sorry to inform you that the patient you deposited here at "St. Tristan's Home for the Mentally Disturbed" has been requested by many staff members to leave the premises. Your patient Lillith Peetz will be deposited at your home address of 1527 N. Tahu St. at your earliest convenience. We are truly sorry but we feel that your patient is causing destruction to St. Tristan's well-being. Thank you for your understanding.Sincerely, Aidan Bucklynne" "WHAT!?!?" Flint screamed, "SHE'S COMING BACK"?" he asked, flabbergasted. "She, she, no! this is absurd, how can she, no, WHAT DID SHE DO?" "I don't know sir, I think we should phone the asylum." "WE? You, were the one who just had to save her, I am removing myself from this situation. I am not involved."The winter was particularly cold that year. Lovella curled up in a ball and buried herself in the mush and fell asleep. She dreamed that see was back in the city, and that everyone was free, except her, they left her all alone because she had been a non-conformist and had tried to end everything. She was cold with no warm clothing, and not enough food. She slowly drifted to sleep that night, never to wake up. Crow lived in a tiny apartment at the outskirts of the city. He barely had enough room for himself, much less another person, AND her child, but it would have to do. He cleared off the couch and draped a tattered blanket over it. He then walked out of his apartment and stood on the curb, his loose fitting jacket fluttering in the wind. A white van pulled up and stopped directly in front of Crow, and a nurse stepped out of the passenger door. She calmly walked to the back, passing by Crow with only a nod of acknowledgement, opened the double doors at the back of the ambulance-like van and pulled out a stretcher. The crumbled form that was covered by a sheet was immediately recognized by Crow as Lillith. "Is this your patient?" the nurses stressed, hurried tone was cracked and harsh, not the type of person who would want to work with your sick family member. "Yes, thank you, I can take her up to my room." "Good day, and good luck." The nurse said, snickering as she said it. Crow's fumbling woke Lillith. She immediately rose, "Nurse Greech? Where are you? Am I going to live here now? Nurse Greech, where's Rosie?" "Nurse Greech isn't here anymore, I'm going to take care of you now, remember me? I'm Crow. Rosie's, well, she's" Then it dawned on Crow, they had taken Rosie away, Lillith was never to see her again. "Rosie is taking a nap, upstairs. You can see her when she wakes up." He brought Lillith up to his room and put her next to the couch. He franticly paced, trying to figure out how to tell Lillith she would never see her beloved Rosie again. "What do you mean, you threw it away?" questioned Crow in a very stressed manner, fuming at the nurse on the other end of the telephone line. "Do you know how much that thing meant to her? You’re going to kill her!" "On the contrary, my good sir. It was the thing that was killing her." Nurse Greech responded, "And you were letting it happen. For shame!" "I don't know what to do! I'm not a parent! I never wanted to be a parent. How much money do I need to pay you so you'll take her away? I'll give you any amount you want, 10,000, 100,000, anything. Please, this girl is ruining my life. "No, we here at St. Tristan's have labeled her as an "untouchable", if you will. There is no hope of her ever getting better. If I were you, I would have returned her to where she came from a long time ago. It's not like anyone would miss her." "You are truly a cruel person." And that was all he said, the conversation was over, and he attached the phone back onto the receiver. He walked over to his dining room table and consumed his dinner of microwave chicken. After eating, reading the newspaper, and putting his pajamas on he stumbled to his room and fell asleep. Crow decided that it would be best if he just told Lillith the truth. Her child had been taken away and she was never going to see Rosie again, so when it came time for the two of them to have breakfast, he broke it to her. "Lillith, I, well, I need to tell you something." He winced, waiting for her to scream at him and go ballistic. But nothing happened, she only responded with a calm, "Yes Mister Crow?" "Well, you see, your daughter, Rosie, well, she's, she's not coming back." He hid his eyes, waiting for her to throw her bowl of cornflakes at him. She sat there, showing no change of emotion at first, but then she stood up, and politely asked, "May I please be excused Mister Crow?" "Yes, yes, of course." and she was gone. She slinked to her room and all that could be heard was the rustling of fabric as thought she had gone to bed. Crow heard no weeping, just rustling. A half an hour emerged Lillith returned from her room, carrying a small satchel. She searched the cabinets and took some of Crow's food, Saltine Crackers, the remaining cornflakes, three bottles of water, and the entire penny jar he had stashed behind the flour. Crow didn't protest, he just watched it all happen, unable to say anything. She took an assortment of other things, and then walked out the door, a sullen look on her face, her hands clenched in fists. Crow raised his hand and attempted to say something, but none of the words surfaced, and he sat there, his mouth agape, hand in the air when his neighbor Louise came to his door, still open because Lillith had forgot to close it, and asked ever so obliviously, "Do you have any sugar?" The first place Lillith went was the forest that surrounded her home. She found what she thought was to be the biggest tree in the whole wood and climbed up into its enormous branches. The opened the box of saltines and began to munch on them quietly. She pondered everything that had happened the day, and although it was only 9:30 quite a lot had happened. She quickly decided she was going to find her daughter, no matter how long it took. She didn't care how hungry she got, how lonely it was going to be, she was going to find her daughter. As soon as all her crackers were gone she headed off through the forest, talking to any woodland creature that cared to listen. Her first stop was the well. She screamed down into its seemingly unending abyss until she couldn't feel her vocal chords any longer. There was never an answer, only the soft rustle of caterpillars she knew so well. She squinted and tried to see the faces of those still at the bottom but in the fog that surrounded her world that day it was hard to see much of anything, so she continued on her way, still in search of her beloved baby. Next she was at Elya's house, although knew not that it was him who provided her food for those long days in the well. His was the only house remotely close to the well, so she saught refuge there. She pounded on the door, hoping desperately that someone would answer. "What?" a tall, boney women asked. "I, I... well, I'm looking for my daughter, someone took her, and I need a place to stay for the night. If you please, do you think that I could, well, stay here for the night? "Where do you live?" "I told you, I'm looking for my daughter, I don't live anywhere." "Well, I suppose, but just for one night." "Thank you, thank you so much. You have no idea." "Whatever, you can sleep on the couch." The woman said, gesturing towards a tattered, laced couch. It was long enough for Lillith to stretch her legs to the end, but barely. They didn't serve her dinner. She just sat on the couch, waiting for the night to be over. She never met the man of the house, she assumed there wasn't one. Little did she know that he was sitting in the other room, to scared to move, he knew he had seen this girl, he had seen her dead, in the bottom of a well. Lillith left the next morning, fearing the evil eye of the housewife she knew she would have to leave before they woke up. She opened the door, having no idea what time it was, and not a clue were to go as she set off on another day. She walked into the inevitable mist that surrounded the world she lived, only to see, nothing. After walking through the mist for quite a while she saw a light, a small, wavering light, in the distance. She walked slowly towards the light, mesmerized by it, as it became the only thing she could see, darkness covering her. She couldn't tear her eyes from the light, its wavering beam like a stopwatch, hovering before her eyes. She walked, her feet dragging behind her, towards it, unaware of anything around her, only the light. After walking in this sullen state for hours she finally reached the light. It wasn't magical, as she had convinced herself it would be, but only a naked light bulb, illuminating a steel door with the words "Keep Out!" written in now faded paint. Lillith ignored the warning, putting all of her weight onto the door, determined to get inside. It swung open, knocking her to the floor with the abrupt movement it had caused. The noise of hundreds of hands repeating the same moment over and over again filled her ears. Snap, swish, thud, snap, swish, thud. Over and over again. She lifted her head from the concrete she had fallen onto to see hundreds of people, all clad in white coats and goggles standing next to conveyer belts, very focused on the task at hand. Lillith stood, waiting for one of them to notice her, none of them did. They all remained wrapped up in their own little worlds. She walked over to one of them, "Excuse me sir? What are you doing?" "Working, leave me alone." The man said briskly in a very annoyed tone. "You’re not supposed to be here." He added, never raising his head. "Well, I'm looking for my daughter and I thought she might be here. Have you seen any little babies around here?" "No." "Are you sure? Could you help me search? It's really important. I'll die with her." "I don't even know you, and I'm working. Bother someone else." "Fine." "Good" the man muttered, but Lillith didn't hear, she was already talking to the next person, trying to wrap them into helping her find her poor baby. After talking to 20 more people in the factory she decided that Rosie wasn't there, or at least not in that room, so she searched the other rooms only to find boxes and boxes of radios, something she had no need for. Everyone in the building had gone home by then, leaving the factory empty and silent. She fell asleep on a pile of boxes. The next morning her whole body hurt. "Those boxes are sharp!" she yelped, "What was that?" said a small, round man looking at a computer monitor. "OH! I didn't realize you were there! You scared me. Well I suppose you could help me. Could you please tell me, is there a baby anywhere in this building?" "Well, not that I know of, and I would know, I'm the storage manager, I make sure everything is stored properly all over the building. The name's Vern, Vern the Storage Manager. "Very nice to meet you Stern the Morage Vanager. I'm looking for my daughter, Rosie. Have you seen her?" "Vern, the names Vern, not Stern. And no, as I said before, I haven't seen any babies. Would you like me to help you look?" "Why that would be lovely Stern! Maybe she's somewhere else in this dreadful place." "Dreadful? This factory is owned by my father, whose father owned it before him. It's been in my family for seven generations. And it's VERN! I'm NOT going to help you if you cop that attitude, stupid girl." "What?? You’re not going to help? But I need you Stern," "VERN!" "Sorry, I need you, you’re the only one who can help me search this place, please Stern the Morage Vanager?" "No! That's the last straw! GET OUT OF HERE! NOW!" he screamed as he shoved her in a box. He grabbed some tape and taped her shut. The box jostled, throwing Lillith from one end of the small box to another. She had hit her head, or so she thought, she hadn't been awake for what seemed like hours. She didn't remember were she was and was in the middle of a panic attack when the box was dropped onto mushy, wet ground. She tried to forget about everything and go to sleep but she couldn't, she was too hungry, very hungry, again. She ripped away at the box, making a mad attempt to get out of the terrible box she was in, but she couldn't. She sat there, thinking about how she was finally going to die; after all she had been through in her short 14 years. No one could throw food down at her from the sky, because there wasn't any sky. She sat and sat, wondering how everything was going to end, when the ground became wet. The cardboard was getting mushy and damp, as well as her ragged, matted clothes. She scratched the bottom of the box, forming the smallest of holes. She made it bigger, and bigger, and bigger, until the whole bottom of the box was gone. She lifted it from her head and stepped onto the squishy ground. It was still dark, or rather was dark again, she had no idea how long she had been in the box. All she could see around her were mountains of junk. Silhouettes of broken chairs, TV's, boom boxes, and food containers surrounded her. She was at a dump, she had been thrown away. She got scared, very scared. Shaking uncontrollably she sat down, and let her rags be soaked by the wet ground. She got very tired, but couldn't sleep because of all the pipes and wood boards near her. She stumbled thought the darkness, tripping on chair parts and bed frames until she found a place to sleep. She hadn't slept on a real bed since she had left Crow's, she wasn't sure how long it had been, at least a week, and she had never felt so hungry. She found a ratty old pillow, still soft enough to rest your head on and an old checked picnic blanket. She figured they would be warm enough. She heard foot steps, and they scared her. Then there was growling, "Dogs!" she thought. She knew it was going to get her. She knew she was going to die. This evil dog was going to get her. She lay down, shaking like a leaf in the wind, a biting chill consuming her small body. She lay down, covering herself with the blanket. She was so hungry, and it was so cold. She was scared, very scared. She tried to go to sleep but couldn't. She heard the evil paws creeping towards her and she couldn't take it. She panicked, waiting for it to come eat her. She felt something on her leg, a leaf, but she didn't know that, she thought it was the dog. Her face turned pure white and as she breathed her last breath the dog she had been so afraid of surfaced. In its mouth he held a mutilated object, decaying and smelling something a dog would love to destroy. But this dog didn't, he sensed it was special, or had been special to someone. He raised his head and saw the now dead Lillith curled up under the picnic blanket. He brought the thing to her, and dropped it next to her head, pulling the blanket over the dead child with his mouth. He knew this child belonged to the newfound girl. He whimpered a last goodbye to his friend the mutilated baby, and left, never looking back at Lillith and Rosie.