Birthday Girl

“Good morning, sunshine! Time to wake up!” I open my eyes and see Nurse Judy, ready to give me my morning injection. I sit on the bed and roll up my pajamas sleeve. I feel the needle under my skin and the medication flowing inside my veins. The nurse gives me a wide smile. “Good girl! You can go to the canteen now and have breakfast with your friends.”

Friends... I don't have friends here. My friends are almost 60 miles away from me. Enjoying life, learning new stuff, making out at parties. Certainly not spending their youth in a psychiatric ward. My parents put me there. I lost my mind, they said. I was dangerous for myself and for others.

I go to the canteen and sit at a table alone. I look at the other patients. Some are talking to themselves, some are staring into space. I feel a tap on my shoulder. It’s Nurse Judy again. “Happy birthday, sweetheart! I have a surprise for you.” She hands me a small box wrapped in colorful paper. I open it and find a beautiful necklace with a heart-shaped pendant. “It’s from your parents. They love you very much.”

I feel a lump in my throat. I miss them so much. I want to go home. I put the necklace on and look at my reflection in a spoon. I look pale and tired. My eyes are sunken. I look like a ghost.

Suddenly, I hear a loud noise. It’s coming from the hallway. I see a group of men in white suits running towards the exit. They look panicked. One of them trips and falls. I see blood on his suit.

Nurse Judy screams. She grabs my hand and pulls me towards the kitchen. “We have to hide! They’re here!”

“Who’s here?” I ask, trembling.

“The ones from the outside! The ones who want to take us back!”

I don't understand. I thought we were the ones who were sick. I thought this was a hospital.

Nurse Judy looks at me, her eyes wide with terror. “Don’t you get it? We’re not the patients. We’re the food.”

She opens the pendant on my necklace. Inside, there’s no picture of my parents. There’s a small GPS tracker.

“They found us,” she whispers. “The harvest has begun.”