After a few days, Midnight was now able to move around normally again, thanks to the girl's help. She had identified herself as Abby.
Midnight had long wanted to leave, but she had been bed-bound after the first attempt, quite literally too. The first day, she had tried to leave through the window, but just as her body was halfway through, she was grabbed by the legs and pulled back to bed. Since then, Abby would strap Midnight to the bed to prevent her escape when she wasn't around.
The daily medicine was the same too. Every session left her feeling dazed, and she could have sworn Abby was doing this on purpose to see her miserable state right after. At least the medicine was working, and she could feel the injuries in her body healing.
Unfortunately, she still hadn't figured out how or why she was in safe mode. The only thing she could surmise was that she had been cut off from the network by the institute. As a consequence, she could only see in greyscale, and could not use any abilities, as they were all granted by the network.
The only thing she could use was stealth. But she didn't know how she could use it, only that she could. Not that it mattered, Abby could always see through it whenever she tried to use it.
The door to the room opened, and Abby walked in, holding a picnic basket.
"Wanna go for a walk?"
Midnight's eyes widened. She had considered herself to be a prisoner, and resigned herself to her fate. She nodded hurriedly.
"You have to behave yourself, otherwise I'll bring you back here and you'll never go out again." That being said, she snapped her fingers, and the restraints fell off. Midnight climbed out of the bed, dressed in just the large tshirt Abby had put on her before.
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"Oh yeah, you need clothes. Luckily, I thought of this in advance." Abby rumaged through her closet, and found the clothes she had bought for Midnight before. "Here, wear this."
Midnight took the clothes and stared at Abby. No matter how much Abby urged, she didn't budge. Helpless, she left the room, and heard the sound of the door locking behind her. aA few minutes later, the door opened, and Midnight walked out in the new clothes.
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"Very nice. I'm good at picking out clothes." Giving herself a mental pat on the back, Abby took the basket with one hand, and held Midnight's hand with the other, then left the house. Behind them, the door swung shut.
Looking at Midnight from the corner of her eye, she smiled. Without the connection to that wicked network, she really was no more than a child. There was still the lingering command to return back and reconnect, but she would be able to fix that with time.
As they walked into the town, people greeted Abby while seemingly ignoring Midnight. Abby could see that she had gone into stealth again, maybe out of fear, but she didn't stop her this time. There was no need to.
As they passed by the village school, Midnight's eyes lingered on it, catching Abby's attention. Unfortunately, it's not safe to let her go freely now, Abby sighed. As it was, Midnight was a danger to both herself and the other kids, so it would not be wise to release her.
After a small hike, they reached the tallest hill in the village. Abby spread out the food, and they began to eat. While Abby ate in an elegant manner, Midnight was rather messy when eating, practically stuffing her mouth with food.
In no time, there was nothing left except scraps. Midnight was lying on the grass, sleeping. Abby smiled at the sight, feeling a bit happy. Sleeping so freely next to her, she seemed to have earned some trust. Maybe it'll be fine to wait for a few hours before going back.
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Sunset approached, and Midnight woke up, feeling the sunlight disappear. The first thing she saw was Abby's face, looking at the stars. She mumbled softly to herself, then looked at Midnight.
"Let's go back. We have to prepare for supper." They stood up and began the walk back home.