The first thing I remember was a soft hum; but the hum was present in all my senses, not just audio. My eyes saw gray, wiggly lines on the back of my eyelids. My nose and tongue were numb and tingly. My body simply shivered all over. Iiii knooow thiiis. I'm...cooold. Tooo...cooold… Then there was a sensation like a wet blanket being pulled out of my body through my mouth; or perhaps I expelled it on my own. Anyway, air rushed in in its place, and I began to breathe again. The hum was different now; and I could see, barely. A dark figure hovered over me, shaking me. The muffled hum came from him now, as if he was trying to speak to me. Another figure came over and wrapped something soft around me, and I fell asleep. Mmm...warm again...

Gradually, a song rose in my ears, and I opened my eyes. I looked around, humming along with the tune. White curtains...high ceiling...a hospital?
“Well, look who's finally awake," a voice came from my feet.
"Who's that?" I whispered, looking down at the foot of my bed. A nurse stood there next to a cart.
"Good afternoon, young lady," a man said. A doctor had appeared beside me, "How are you feeling?" Doing a quick mental check of my body, I realized I was in pain.
"Ow. Why do I hurt all over?"
The doctor proceeded to tell me how some fishermen had found me floating in a river, naked, beaten, and halfway wrapped in a sheet with my hands and feet tied behind my back.
"Who did this to you?" Nothing came to mind. I should know this! Why don't I remember this happening? I...me? I can't even remember...myself! "I know it's difficult; take your time," the doctor spoke reassuringly. I explained to him my lack of memories. He left after saying I had amnesia, then returned later to do some tests on me.

As he took my blood pressure, I noticed a strange creature had perched on his shoulder. It had the body of a black cat, but the wings and head of a crow. When I winced at the pressure on my arm, the small griffin expanded its wings and hissed at the doctor. A few tests later, the doctor took a syringe from a nurse and began to prep my arm.
"Time for your medication."
The griffin hissed louder, digging its claws into his shoulder. When he finally stuck me with the needle, the griffin climbed onto his face, clawing, screeching, and pecking violently, though the doctor didn't even seem to mind. When the doctor was done, the griffin flew off, leaving my tormentor scratched up and missing an eye.
"Didn't that hurt?" I asked, slightly disgusted at his appearance.
"No, you were the one who got stuck with the needle, not me," he smiled with blood seeping from his tattered cheeks. What a sick-o. I was too distracted to feel the needle, anyway. I explained what I saw, but he didn't seem to care. "Uh-huh," he muttered, writing something down on his clipboard.

During the rest of my time at the hospital, I saw, heard, and did things that, though they disturbed others, seemed normal to me, and people began to call me Loopy. The things I saw (the ones that talked, anyway) called me Loopy, too, so that's the name I adopted. One day, I was taking a casual roll along a hallway wall, when some men grabbed me and strapped me to a bed. Though several little griffins assailed my abductors, they paid them no heed. A man in a long, white coat stuck a needle in my neck, and my world went black again. I awoke in a padded room, strapped tightly in a straightjacket. What have they done to me? They're the crazy ones, not feeling pain when a beast is ripping at their face! I screamed my grievances toward the tiny window in the door in front of me. I tried to stand and fell on my face. As I cried, I felt something furry rub against my cheek. Opening my eyes, I saw a rather large squirrel.
"Are you alright?" it asked in a child's voice, smiling at me with a stitched-over mouth and staring without any eyes in its furry little head.
"I'll be fine," I smiled back as it carefully caressed my sore cheek with its paw.

Once more I tried to rebel against the men in white coats when they came to feed me, but I realized that was getting me nowhere. So, I decided to play their little games. I wouldn't tell them when a griffin plucked their eyes from their skulls or a squirrel extended its three-inch claws and slashed their guts open. Why should I care if they're all masochists, anyway? I still acted normal, though, but they didn't care about that, as long as I didn't hurt myself or anyone else. They moved me to a room with a bed and let me wander around with the rest of the hostages, all people just as normal as me. I don't remember society being this backwards; but then again, I don't remember much of anything at all. Then he came: James, my guardian angel. Though his wings were black, I knew he was sent to save me from that twisted asylum. At first, he watched me from afar, then started to personally bring me my dinner.
He always smiled and said, "Good evening, Loopy. How was your day?" I would tell him of the more interesting things I saw and did that day, and he would always listen and seemed to believe me, unlike the others. He even told me that he liked me and held my hand and even stole a kiss when none of the other white-coats were watching. Of course, I liked him back, and told him how I wished that we could somehow get away from that place and be together, even if was only for a short while.

One night, just as I had fallen asleep, James crept into my room and woke me up with a kiss.
“I have a surprise for you.” He held my hand as he led me down the hall toward a fire exit he had propped open. A ghostly blue lynx sat near the doorway.
“Death awaits you beyond this door. Death and unlife.” After delivering his cryptic message, Boo, my personal grim prophet faded away, as he always did.
“Boo,” I shook my head in disbelief and followed James outside. James is my guardian angel; he would never just let me die. The night air was cool and calm, and the moon was hiding behind a large tuft of clouds. We walked over to a secluded spot where some ample bushes blocked the view of the sanitarium. After a few minutes of heavy kissing and fondling, we stopped to catch our breath.
“Would you take your clothes off for me?” he asked, gazing deep into my eyes. I nodded and he kissed me again, then went over to the bushes. James took a duffel bag from under a bush and opened it up. He came back over, watched me finish taking off my scrubs, and handed me what looked like a red net, “Put this on.” I untangled it and discovered that it was a maroon fishnet body stocking. I took off my skivvies and slipped into the lingerie. “I don’t care what anyone else thinks,” he kissed me again after taking a good look, “You may be insane, but you’re crazy/beautiful.” He also gave me shiny black boots, a black dress, and matching gauntlets, all laced up with burgundy ribbon almost the same color as my hair.
“I wish you had a mirror so you could see just how perfect you are,” James stood back, admiring me when I was all dressed.
“She certainly is,” a voice came from behind James at the same time I saw a baseball bat strike the side of his head. As James collapsed to the ground, a cloaked figure appeared holding the bloody bat. I tried to back away, but tripped on the large heels of my new boots. The dark man dropped the bat and pushed back his hood as he descended on me. Before I could roll over or back away anymore, I saw a flash of long, white teeth and felt a bite on my neck. I gasped and shrieked and struggled as much as I could, trying to break off his embrace. He’s just biting me, but why does it hurt so much? I’m so scared. I hope James isn’t injured too badly. My hands and feet went numb, then my arms and legs, and a familiar hum began to fill my senses, though my eyes could still see. The dark man, even darker now, released me and started to stand up, when he was struck on the back of the head. Blood spurted from the dark man’s mouth, landing on my face and inside my own gaping mouth. The bat had splintered as James struck the head of the stranger who had struck him down only minutes before. He really is my guardian angel! My throat began to burn, and it spread to the rest of my body. Weary, I climbed to my feet at the same time the dark man fell to the ground. James had jabbed the remaining portion of the wooden bat into the man’s chest. I heard a sigh and turned to see James drop to his knees and fall over dead.

Page 2 Page 3 Page 4