Your Mind // 001 // ST4 SPOILERS

014 - Windows

(A/N: Music highly recommended for later scene, you'll see why.)

!!!IMPORTANT!!!: the cast list has been heavily updated, so I recommend you checking it out to get a proper vision of some of the characters (plus a small lil jamie surprise)

Warnings: extremely cute fluff and (maybe) smut ;)

Hawkins National Laboratory

Footsteps haunted the hallway, casting shadows against the foot of the door. Four watched in silence from her bed as she always did, closing her eyes when a guard checked her window. It wasn't anything that she wasn't used to. In fact, it was somewhat comforting, that every day and night followed an ordered routine, the same as always. All she had to do was follow it, like an actor with a script. Like a play, almost. At least that's how she imagined it.

She ran her hand across her buzzed hair, feeling the soft spikes tickle her fingertips. She'd had no hair nearly all her life, and yet it felt so... empty. She'd dreamed of having long, rough hair. Of waking up with a messy nest like described in the books she had read. Dreamed of brushing through the impossible twists and curls, yanking out strands. She knew she'd had hair before, sometime before... here. 

She remembered nearly nothing of her life as a child, as if it had been all wiped away. She didn't know her name. Her home. Her parents. Her memories were plagued with white walls and hospital gowns, but she knew this hadn't been her whole life. She was a person before. There was a time she could laugh freely at nearly nothing, a time where being around others her age was a blessing, not a chore. 

Had she ever been loved? Had she ever been treated as more than just a subject, more than just a mean to an end? 

Curiosity flooded her mind with questions, hoarding the space like a closet until there was no room. Her head was going to burst. She couldn't sleep. 

She rose from her bed, sitting in the darkness. She felt the sudden need to go to the bathroom.

Her feet came in contact with the tiles, sending chills up her spine. Her hand hesitated to grasp the doorknob. She shut her eyes tightly as her fingers gripped the metal. A small click echoed in the room, unlocking the door. She let out a sigh of relief before pushing open the door. 

An endless void of turquoise darkness met her eyes as she squinted through the hallway. She looked from left to right, scanning the corridor for any signs of life before trotting down the hall. She looked for a familiar door where the bathrooms would be, but she knew it was further down.

As she quietly strolled, she passed by an open door leading to a dimly lit room. Through the slim doorframe, she could see rows of file cabinets lining the wall, a variety of stickers labeling them. Curiously, she slipped inside, venturing through the rows of drawers. A single box caught her eye. "002 - 018," it read. She gripped the handle, pulling it open. Luckily it had been left unlocked. 

Her fingers flipped through the numbers until she saw her own. 004. She carefully laced her fingers around the frame of the folder, lifting it gently like it was her most prized possession. It felt like gold in her thin hands.

Suddenly she heard footsteps coming down the hall, getting closer as the sound of metal jingled. She hurriedly stashed the folder beneath her gown against her stomach before rushing out the door. Her bare feet against the cold tiles created a soft padded rhythm as she ran as quietly as she could, scanning the halls as she did.