Elvira POV

“Should we go back to the lab?” Lamia whispered in a hush voice. Her demeanor seems unwilling, yet she proposed the idea. “My dear- I’m not much older than you. I can not look after you on my own.” I retorted.

Lamia frowned, her slim yellow fingers intertwined with my green, more chubbier ones. Her nails were colored purple naturally. She dug them into my knuckles. “Puh-lease? I want go know what happened.”

Considering we were both unconcsious while the breach happened, I was slightly curious too. I sighed, placing another hand on top of hers. “Fine. We’ll see.”

***

Lamia laughed uncontrollably. I applied skin tone foundation to her cheeks, tickling her oddly. The color merged well as I dabbed it with a beauty blender. “Hold still, please..”

After I had covered her face naturally enough, I held her hands, putting the foundation and continuing to blend it into her fingers.

“We look.. normal enough.” Lamia proclaimed. I stared at us through the cracked low mirror. She was on the toilet, observing her hands. The more she bent them, the more the foundation cracked, revealing her normal neon yellow skin.

“Quit that.” I swatted her hand, before my gaze returned to the mirror. My foundation was more dark. Subtle. It was similar to Millie’s skin tone. “Mixed.” She had said.

Lamia frowned. “Can we go now?” She whined. “You’re so impatient. You wail like a child.” I furrowed my brow, before the familiar clicking noise of the doorknob echoed in the bathroom.

We froze. Hesperia walked in. “What are you two doing?” She asked. “You’re not very quiet talkers. Specifically you, Lamia.” Lamia huffed and pouted, but Hesperia looked at me with a warm smile. “You look nice like that, Elvira.”

She seemed wholehearted, so I smiled back. Considering she was the half of us experiments with normal “human” skin, the only foundation she needed was the lab logo on her cheek.

“Do you wanna come with us back to the lab?!” Lamia shouted. “Shhh!” I hushed. But, Hesperia placed a hand on my shoulder. She took the foundation and beauty blender on the sink, and opened it. “Fine. I’ll go. Only because you two are not old.” She remarked.

“I’m sixteen..” I argued. Hesperia dashed the foundation onto her cheek, blending it with perfection. “Let’s go.” She gestured for us to walk out, so we did reluctantly.

***

We walked out of the shelters doors, the warm night air attacking us. Lamia clung to me, our arms interlocked. I couldn’t tell whether she was scared or cold- neither making sense in my mind.

Hesperia led us with a lantern, the street lights shot out. Broken trees stood in the way of the road, their branches torn off and leaves clung to their ends.

As we continued, I noted how it looked like an abandoned zombie infested world. But, if the zombies were us. The thought made me feel nauseous. Did humans believe we were zombies?

They are always portrayed as villains in media, similar to The Walking Dead. The show Milly told me about. It was her favorite.

“We’re here.” Hesperia pointed at the large white, hospital looking building. The letters, torn off with the remnant of paint behind it, read, “Ferdinand Labratory and Co”.

“This place gives me horrid memories. Who even decided it would be a good idea to come here?” Hesperia stomped inside- going through the door due to it being broken.

When you first walk in, it seemed like a regular hospital. A waiting room, a receptionist’s office window, but oddly, a big metal door with a keyhold.

The metal door usually was tightened and sealed. But, due to the actions of Ishtar, it was torn open in the middle, similar to a huge beast. The chairs had the stuffing foam ripped out of them, and the receptionist..

Her corpse lay in the same chair. Glass stabbed into her face. Her blood was dried by now, but it was not fun just seeing her there. During the night, she was a monitor. Other experiments hated her- but she never caused me trouble.

The roots on my feet dragged on the ground behind me. My hands reached beyond the broken glass, caressing her cold face. I planned she would snap her eyes open, and be confused, but she never did.

“Elvira.” Hesperia nudged me, forcing my arm back. “Come on.” Lamia was already fitting through the metal hole. We followed quickly after her, shocked at the sight.

Our cells looked as if a wild coyote had ravaged through them. I ran down quickly to mine, tripping over my roots occasionally. Cell number nine.

My door was busted open, and I walked inside quickly. The entire ecosystem of vines and plants I had created had been stripped away of ours former self. The once green and glowing fluorescent red flowers had been shriveled up and rotting.

My hand touched a rotten flower, the petals weak and fragile. But at my grasp, all of the colot inside had returned. The petals opened up, immediately turning a bright red.

I picked the flower off, twisting the stem in my fingers. “So odd.” Lamia groaned. “I wish I had some powers as cool as that!” Hesperia grabbed her shoulder. “You will when you’re older. Be patient.”