Stacy was just filling in as a substitute for another doctor, who had died recently of pneumonia. It was hard, these times, to find good doctors. Stacy couldn't brag, but he had graduated from a medical college. He hadn't touched traditional doctor's equipment in years.

Stacy looked up into the overcast sky obscuring the rays of sunlight the moon reflected. It was cold, the ground was all pure, white snow.

Stacy stepped into the hospital and met with the nurse. The antiseptic smell wafted over him. At first, she (the nurse) was panicking because Stacy looked like he needed medical attention. It took a while for her to recognize him as the substitute doctor, since Stacy always looked informal and rather easily agitated. Netherless, the nurse took him on a tour as Stacy familiarized himself with the environment...

Getting into the hospital was easy, all Valarie had to do was morph into one of her many animal forms. Her most common one, a field mouse, was very useful for sneaking into places unseen. Her dusty brown body fit easily into a crack in the wall and she was soon scampering down the hallways, stopping and hiding in a dark corner when someone walked past.

She made it quietly to her destination, a room that held patients infected with the 'outbreak'. She smiled blandly before morphing back into her human body and stepping into the room. She counted herself lucky that no doctors were in here, only a few patients. Two were sleeping but one was still up but hadn't noticed her yet.

She glided easily over to her. A young woman, perhaps no more than 25, and Valarie's next target. "Why hello there," she whispered in her ear.

The woman turned slowly, almost absentmindedly. As soon as she laid eyes on the intruder, however, her face burst into a smile so large it seemed to consume all her other features. There were several noticeable dark splotches covering her face, even in the dim light of the patient room.

"Hello, Not-Light," the woman said in a voice barely above a whisper. "Are you here to darken this building tonight? I think it's dark enough, but none of the people here care what I think. Do you care what I think, Not-Light, or are you here to tell me things I will learn?" Her voice was reminiscent of a child's rhyme, moving from one tone to another rapidly. Madeline's rhyme, however, had no reason or tempo to it.

She opened her mouth again as if to say something else, but stopped and tilted her head to one side like a dog staring at something it doesn't understand. She held this posture, peering at the girl before her with the same wide, bright eyes of a child looking at a store display.

Valarie was unfazed by the woman's strange behavior and sat down nest to her on the bed. "Pretty one, you are here for an important purpose." She touched the dark splotches on the woman's face as if touching a newborn lamb. "These are a gift, one just for you, so wear them proudly."

She smiled softy as she let her eyes mist over and raise her right hand until it was eye-level. Dark smoke poured out from her upturned palm and swirled around the woman's head. It took the shape of three small birds and continued to circle her head.

Valarie's eyes cleared up and she watched the woman's reaction carefully. "The Shadow Goddess has chosen you, you and many others. You can say, she has chosen all of us." She touched the woman's arm.

"Lions are known for their pride, Not-Light," Madeline responded with a wide grin. "...or is it, prides are known for their lions? I can never keep that straight." As the birds began to circle her she giggled quietly and began following them with her eyes. It was difficult to tell if she was listening to anything the shadow was saying to her, but when she stopped speaking Madeline replied promptly.

"If She has chosen you, Not-Light, why aren't you in here with me? It hardly seems fair for you to miss out on all the fun we have in here. Should I talk to Her for you?" As the shadow reached out to touch her arm, Madeline winced before gently - not unkindly - removing it.

"In this ward, we have a patient infected with the epidemic." The nurse said as she pointed at a room on the map. They were in the staff room, which was adjacent to the locker room.


Stacy walked up the stairs. After meeting every one of the patients, he was starting to feel tired. "Lets see..." said Stacy as he walked up the stairs. "...the room should be right around... here." Stacy turned right and saw a normal hospital door with a lock on it. He checked his pockets. "Now, where is that key?"

"I have already done my fair share of suffering for the Goddess. Her way of showing love is different to all her children. With me, she took my memories, my dreams, my emotions. I am nothing but an empty shell whose sole purpose is to carry out her mission."

Valarie stood up and summoned the shadow birds to her palm. They gathered into a small ball which she placed on the bed in front of the woman. "This is a present from me to you. If you ever want someone to talk to just hold that close and wish for me to come. Keep it hidden so that no one else will find it."

Madeline listened with rapt attention to every word the woman said, then took the small sphere and smiled again.

"When I find myself overflowing with dreams and emotions I shall pour them into your shell, Not-Light." With that, she tucked the small orb underneath her pillow and smiled. Then she cocked her head towards the door, her brow furrowed in concentration. After a few moments of that her face settled back into its blankness and she turned back toward her visitor.

"The doctor's back~" she sung in her curious voice. "Hide or fly, Not-Light, or he will have questions about questions for us." She set back down on her bed and went about looking like she was doing nothing, completely ignoring the presence of the shadow.

((Sorry for the delay. I had brain-death. x_x))

((Lol, It's alright Dark. So long as you don't abandon.))

"Ah, here it is!" He exclaimed, holding up the key. "Nasty little bugger." He then put the key inside the lock only to find out it wasn't the right one.
"Goddamn it." He cursed under his breath. He reached inside his pockets again. It wasn't that he had many keys; he only had 4. The problem was remembering where he put them. There were many objects in his pockets: a pocket knife, a lighter, a small plastic ruler, and a small electronic device, to name a few.

Suddenly, he felt a chill and for a moment the lights flickered off. Was it just him? He looked up at the ceiling, but the lights were completely fine. He looked back at the lock.

It was unlocked.

He walked in the room carefully and tentatively; judging by the recent events he was pretty certain that something abnormal was going on. The patient was on her bed, idly staring into the wall. He looked at his clipboard.

"Hello, Madeline."

Valarie shifted into her mouse form when she heard a voice outside the room. As the door opened she was already a dusty brown rodent ready to escape. When the doctor spoke to the young woman she saw her chance and darted quietly between his legs and down the silent hallway.

She morphed back as soon as she got around a corner. She grabbed her head in pain as the Goddess spoke her dissatisfaction of not finishing the job assigned to her. "I'm sorry My Lady but there was an interference." She flinched when her body seized up as the Goddess pushed her control onto her puppet.

Valarie's eyes glazed over and her body relaxed as the Goddess finished her message. "Yes My Lady."