<span style="color: #BF00BF">It was an odd thing, to be so far out of your element that you begin to wish you were back in whatever situation you once found yourself.<br/><br/>As it stood, Lily was turned all around, heart beating frantically in her chest as she tried to make sense of which way was home.<br/><br/>Home...That was a funny word for her to think of in this situation. Was that really home? A place where she didn't have a name, but instead a number; Where she sat, day in and day out in a room, only occasionally able to wander outside in a controlled environment. A place where she wasn't a person, but an experiment, a genetic anomaly that needed to be rectified.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">No, you don't have a home,</span> she berated herself angrily, despite the position in which she found herself. It was within her mind that she'd always found solace, found the comfort that the stark white walls of her compound lacked. Yet, there was no comfort to be had here. It was her mind that had betrayed her, convinced her to take this chance, go outside the walls, beyond the water's edge.<br/><br/>To try and find the happiness she'd read about in books.<br/><br/>Back pressed against the wall, her chest heaved up and down as she tried to drag in enough air to fill her lungs. Derelict of the heavy linens and clothing she found herself bundled up in, Lily felt a sheen of sweat clinging to her skin, causing the cloth to stick and pull awkwardly at her as she shifted with each sound, no matter how quiet. While she couldn't be certain if the sweat glistening in her peripherals was due to the heat or the fear coursing through her veins, one thing she was certain of loomed over her head.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">...What now?</span><br/><br/>Almost as if in answer to her silent question, or perhaps hurry her decision making along, the sound of truck brakes resounded through the alley way. Her heart, the once rampant sound in her chest, had suddenly ceased. Frozen in her chest, her eyes blinked in shock, tightening her scarf around her instinctively at the thought of human interaction. Though the scarf made it harder to breathe, the thick material keeping fresh air from reaching her lungs properly.<br/><br/>Next came the singing, and steps alerting her to someone coming. Her heart started up once more, erratic and frantic with each step closer to her. Although the voice didn't sound threatening, a melody loosing she was unfamiliar with, she couldn't chance it. After what'd happened on the beach, she was almost certain someone would come looking for her...And that someone would want to touch her, check for injury...<br/><br/>Lifting the trash bags away, the man seemed preoccupied so she tried to slip away unnoticed, only to crunch on some glass. A wince crossed her face as his humming cut short and his attention turned to her. Freezing, her back to him, she slowly turned toward him.<br/><br/>Gray eyes the only thing visible against the bright alabaster skin of her face, the rest of her was shrouded in woolen attire. Hands digging into her pockets, her eyes searched his face for the intent of his conversation, not noticing much else but a friendly demeanor.<br/><br/>"We have nothing here," she commented under her breath, before her head cocked to the left, voice rising a bit more in volume this time. As he seemed friendly, she figured he may be able to point her in some form of a direction. <br/><br/>"Could...um..." <span style="font-style: italic">Pull yourself together, Lily. He's going to think you're mentally deficient.</span> "Could you possibly tell me...where I am? I seem to be a bit lost..." <br/><br/>It was the best she could come up with under the circumstances. Her voice was muffled, her body jittery, and all she wanted...<br/><br/>...For the first time in her life...<br/><br/>...Was to be back in that room...<br/><br/>...Where there was at least a guaranteed roof over her head.</span>