chapter 5

"Can we do arts and crafts today?" Iris asks Marcus. He looks at Evelyn, waiting for a nod of approval or disapproval. Once she nods, he looks back at Iris.

"Yes, after everyone is done eating, we'll go to the arts and crafts room," Marcus tells Iris. Her face lights up with joy, her smile brighter than the stars.

"Thank you, Marcus and Evelyn!" she says excitedly. She races back to the table to inform the others and continues eating. It takes the group a few minutes, but they finish eating. They follow Marcus and Evelyn as they show them towards the arts and crafts room.

"Here we are," Evelyn says as she opens the door. The lights turn on as they enter the room. It's just like the Activity room, except there are stacks of paper, coloring supplies, paint, different types of pens, pencils, and markers. Everything an artist would need.

"It's a bit strange how there seems to be a room for everyone, don't you think?" Naomi questions.

"Wait we all have a room?" Lucas asks, confusion appearing on his face.

"It's just a thought, but the activity room was more centered around games, which would be for me. There's this art room, which is made for Iris. So that means you two should also have a room," Naomi concludes.

"I wonder when we'll get to see it," Azreal says as he grabs a few pieces of paper. He sits down at a table and starts making an origami crane.

"Maybe the next few days I'd guess, I mean, they are activity rooms," Marcus cuts in. "If you wanted, we could visit them later even."

"Yeah, let's do that. I can't wait to see how awesome my room will be!" Lucas says enthusiastically. Azreal finishes his origami crane. He shows the other patients his creation and gives it to Marcus and Evelyn as a gift. Naomi sits in the corner, watching Iris paint. Iris is painting a picture of a dark figure holding a man by the neck on the edge of a cliff. Naomi doesn't completely understand what is going on in Iris' head, but she enjoys watching her make things.

Out of nowhere, the assistant walks into the room. He looks around, scanning the room from left to right.

"Azreal, Lucas, please come with me," he finally says.

"Sure thing," Azreal and Lucas reply. They follow the assistant out of the room and into the testing rooms. Going through the same procedures as yesterday. During this, Iris is still hard at work on her painting. Naomi scoots closer to her, forgetting that Marcus and Evelyn are still in the room.

"You know, this is going a lot better than I imagined," Marcus whispers. He and Evelyn are looking in Iris and Naomi's direction.

"I'm glad we were able to get into a hospital like this. They take care of their patients instead of hurting or abusing them," Evelyn whispers back. They whisper back and forth with each other as Iris works on her painting.

"How are you two feeling?" Evelyn asks Lucas and Azreal. They were able to join them at dinner this time. The lights from the overhanging chandeliers shine in Azrael's eyes.

"I'm fantastic, I feel more than I did before. It's like I'm discovering deeper emotions, or they're just stronger," Lucas says joyfully.

"That's amazing to hear, what about you Azreal?" Evelyn says with a smile.

"I feel, okay, not as much as before I believe, but stronger," Azreal says. Evelyn notices that his blue eyes are grayer than they were before.

"Hey, your eyes aren't as bright as they were before," Evelyn points out. Marcus looks for himself and hands Azreal a mirror. Azreal stares into his eyes, the outside tinted grey while the inside is still blue.

"Oh well, doesn't matter to me," Azreal responds. Evelyn is slightly worried, but Marcus is amazed by this change.

"Are all of you going to change eye colors?" Marcus jokes. They all laugh, but Azreal's laugh is shorter than before the test. Marcus and Evelyn both decide to keep an eye on the two. They'd keep watch over Iris and Naomi, but they're in the testing rooms.

"Well, let's see what changes happen to Iris and Naomi," Lucas cuts in. His smile grows as he watches the others smile. It's like his joy reflects off theirs, like the reflection of the sun in a nice, calm lake.

The group of four finishes eating and walk to the recovery room once more. They sit in the chairs, waiting for Iris and Naomi's test to finish. Marcus takes out a little notepad in his pocket, noting down the time it took for the anesthesia to wear off for Lucas and Azreal compared to the last time it did. He predicts that it will only take 20 minutes for their anesthesia to wear off like it did with Azreal and Lucas.

The sun rises, and so do the patients. Evelyn and Marcus decided it would be best for everyone to go to bed when Iris and Naomi got out of the testing rooms.

"It's taking less time for the tests to take place and for the anesthesia to wear off," Evelyn informs Marcus. She didn't know, but he's been keeping track of the times for the tests and wearing off process.

"Yes, I presume it's because they're doing more tests which means they don't have to take as long. As well as giving them lighter dosages of anesthesia," Marcus adds. Evelyn looks surprised, but not shocked.

"It makes sense, they wouldn't just keep the dosage high if they had shorter tests," Evelyn says as she puts her shoes on. Marcus nods and unlocks their door. As he does, he moves his hand to open the door, but someone is already turning the handle. When the door fully opens, Marcus and Evelyn are met with Naomi. Marcus is confused as to how she knew the door was unlocked at that moment. She hadn't tried it before, and the locks were completely silent. Marcus opens his mouth to ask, but before he can say anything, Naomi answers his question.

"I just had a feeling you unlocked it," she answers. Marcus has a few questions racing in his mind, but he keeps them there.

"Alright, well, let's go get the others," Evelyn says. They walk to Lucas's room, then Azrael's, then Iris's.

"Why do you still have the blindfold on?" Evelyn asks Iris. She hesitates, thinking of an answer.

"I was just told to keep it on until we did activities today," she manages to come up with, Evelyn doesn't question it and the group goes to eat.

"Wow, you mean this is my room?" Lucas says. It is just a room a therapist would work in.

"Lucky you, guess I see my room last," Azreal says, his voice slightly monotone. As he looks around, Naomi gets Iris's permission to take her blindfold off. When she does, she notices that her eyes are more colorful than last time.

"Your eyes are pretty," Naomi says, trying to make Iris smile.

"Thanks," Iris says with a smile, her cheeks turning light pink. The group plays pretend therapist with Lucas being the therapist.