Mute Bats and Mice- Chapter 1

     Nick sighed as he stared down the hallway. White walls. Baren, empty walls, the pristine paneling only interrupted by white doors every twenty feet or so. The fluorescent lights seemed to bounce off the musk, yellowing carpet. It made the air feel stale. It reeked of smoke and the smell of a fresh box of latex gloves. Everything was silent except for Nick's deep breaths. He was a man of standard stature with short brown hair that matched his eyes. His expression was sad as his gaze wandered for a moment, then landed again on the file in his hand. 

    “VERITY”

    The bold black letters stamped on the front of the folder were almost ominous. He opened it slowly, revealing only a small packet of paper stapled together neatly. It didn't have much information on it either. Name: Verity. Creature: Batomous. Age: Unknown. Gender: Female. That was all he really cared about that it had to offer. The rest was all filing nonsense and notes from previous doctors that amounted to “silent and unwilling to cooperate.” 

    “She might respond to you, Dr.Born. Nothing else we've tried has worked.” 

    He could hear the warden's words ringing through his head over and over again as his gaze stuck on one detail printed on the page: Room 13. He sighed as he closed the folder and started down the hall, ambling to make sure he caught each room number. Nine, ten, eleven, twelve… there it was, the door at the end of the ward that only the worst of patients got sent to. His first day, and this was what he was assigned? If anything, this felt more like a punishment than an “honor” (the warden's words, not his). Sure, he was the best student, but if he'd known it'd lead to this, he would've cut himself a little more slack in college. 

    With another deep breath, he reached up his hand and scanned his thumb on the pad, listening to it click open as his stomach jolted into his throat. The lock clicked open with several mechanic ticks. It creaked as he pushed it just enough to slip in and close it behind him. But what he was seeing…

    A little girl with white hair, skin, and eyes sat in front of him. Her bat-like wings lay across the floor behind her crossed legs and hunched back. Instead of having normal ears, spines connected with webs surrounded a small hole jutting out of either side of her face. She had a small pile of blocks in front of her, and she was very focused on getting them to stack just right. She didn't react when Nick came in, too focused on her task at hand. He could almost laugh in relief, an albino Batomous. She was probably mostly blind and maybe even partially deaf. He took another deep breath before sitting down in front of her pile. She still didn't react, instead looking around frantically, her movements distressed. He frowned as he looked around with her, and then he saw it. A lone white brick blended into the floor next to her. He gently picked it up and cleared his throat. She finally looked up at him, squinting slightly in between frantic blinks.

    “Looking for this?” He held out the brick with a smile. She nodded and gently took it from him, carefully placing it on top of her perfect brick tower. It was wholly symmetrical and structurally sound, not a stone out of place. 

    “Verity, is it?” He asked kindly, letting a small smile creep onto his face. She looked up at him again, squinting as she nodded slowly. He hummed in response, setting his folder to the side and leaning forward slightly to examine what she had built. 

    “What did you build here?” He gestures to the tower, but she doesn't reply, staring at him with an expression empty of emotion. Her straight hair fell around her face as she tilted her head, her mostly white eyes almost piercing. Nick looked back for a moment, thinking hard. He slowly reached a hand towards her creation, feigning as if he was about to knock it over. She didn't hesitate to slap away his hand, however. But as he hissed in pain from the small scratch her nail had left, he saw what he had been aiming for; emotion. 

    “So sorry about that, won't touch it.” He paused for a moment. “Can you speak?” She does not reply to this. “Can you understand me?” She nods slowly, her eyes narrowing more. 

    “Alright then, let's play a little game. I am going to try to guess what you've built with your bricks, and you can nod yes or no to tell me if I'm right. Understood?” She nods again, faster this time.

    Shift log 8/25/017

    Patient Assignment: VERITY, Room 13

    Notes- Refused verbal communication. She was engaged in building with her blocks. The style of play is particularly neat and symmetrical. She would not allow me to touch the tower. I guessed what it was. Willing to answer with nods. She identified the tower as a fortress. She denied it being a house, a castle, a prison, or a fort. Refused food until left alone.

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