(This is Joss's world. I came to play.)

Brook was a strong presence, wherever River went, whatever needles and tests happened.

She warned River when someone approached. And River slept with an angel to guard her.

“Will you leave me?” River was terrified of being alone again.

Brook smiled. “As long as you need me, I will be here.”

With passing hours and possibly days, River’s dreams intensified. She would talk instead of sleep.

“Why are they doing this to me?”

As River audibly explored the possible uses her brain could provide the white coats, she sensed Brook’s silence as having a point. She soon stopped, having come a little closer to a hypothesis, and turned to Brook, who sat cross-legged on the edge of a nearby bed.

“Any suggestions?”

Brook’s eyes widened. It was clear Brook hadn’t listened to River. Her blonde head jerked a fraction and her eyes bored into River and filled the hole with horror.

River had never experienced that kind of horror—yes, the white and needles terrified her and hurt her, but they were normal to her. No more physical pain than that, after 3 years of it.

“They’re coming. Oh, I’m so sorry, River.” Brook whimpered in fear. “I can’t keep you safe.”

Then Brook lay on the floor and crawled under the bed. River had sensed a great evil, and it startled her. She jumped when the door opened.

She expected Teacher No. 24 and when it was only that teacher who entered, River looked at Brook with raised brows.

“I’m sorry,” her friend whispered.

951. She was uneasy. She was taken a longer way to a different room than usual. Since she was a genius, the teachers tried to keep her from a normal schedule—River knew some students had escaped to the outer hallways but hadn’t realized they were in a space station until they came face-to-face with the Black. Panicked screams and shock at the crumbling resistance. Mommy and Daddy will never find them.

River snapped out of the reverie. She didn’t have any contact with students other than Brook. It’s impossible to know these