Page 17 of Lolli-Gag
“Open your mouth,” I tell him, and his eyes widen.
“W-What?”
“I said, open your mouth. You hard of hearing?” I ask, giggling. He shakes his head, and I press the button once more, then let go.
“Okay. Okay,” he cries out, opening his mouth slowly. My smile stretches as I lift the prod, bringing it to his lips.
“How’s your gag reflex?” I ask, and his eyes widen, then I shove the prod down his throat roughly and press the button. Smoke flows from his throat and out of his mouth. Burning flesh hits my senses and I gag. Skin being melted from the inside out smells like rot and bacteria mixed in with sour milk. He screams and gags around the prod while his entire body shakes then falls to his knees, and I slam the bottom of the rod further down. He goes still, falling towards me, so I step out of the way, letting his face hit the tile floor with a slap.
“Very good. Honeycomb. You’re almost done. Now save our friend,”Jethro encourages, and before I step towards Axel, I look around the room for something sharp. I need blood. I need to paint this room red and pink.
“Something is coming. We need to move fast,”he warns, and I grab a scalpel and a hook. Then I twirl towards Axel, spinning behind one of the orderly’s currently sucking his cock. I tilt my head and clear my throat as I take the hook, slipping it around his throat. He freezes, and I pull back hard enough to remove his mouth from Axel’s dick.
“You’re not doing it right. Here, let me help you.” I giggle as I yank the hook and twist, pulling it through his throat and ripping his esophagus right from his neck. Blood pours all overAxel's lap and legs as the orderly’s body drops. I laugh, bringing the body part to my lips and sucking the dripping blood. The other man stills then backs away from Axel. “I’d run if I were you,” I warn, and he does just that. My hands work quickly and I attack the straps, unbuckling them. “Hey,” I whisper again. “You're safe, my friend,” I tell him as his body shakes, his eyes are wild but he sees me. “You’re okay,” I tell him again as Jethro hums softly. “I just can’t take you with me. You have to be strong enough to get up on your own,” I say, and his eyes shutter, then he takes a deep breath.
“Now leave,”Jethro says, and I nod, but Axel grabs my wrist, stopping me. My eyes shoot to his and a small smile curls his top lip.
“Thank you,” he whispers, and I smile, giving him a little curtsy. He releases me and I walk to the door. My hand wraps around the handle and I pause, just for a second, as a smile spreads across my face. “Ready,” I whisper, not knowing for sure if I’m talking to myself or asking Jethro, but I open the door and everything stops.
They’re here. Jagger at the front breathing heavily with his eyes locked on me like he’s waiting to break the world open to get to me. Killian is behind him, still and focused. Lucifer is smiling as always. Does he ever not smile? But there’s a fourth. Who is he? No one speaks and, for a moment, no one moves. Then my smile widens and I twirl around them, making their eyes follow my movement.
“Miss me?” I giggle.
Ghost Girl
Vinny Salotto
I’ve been here longer than they think. Months. Long enough to learn the rhythm of this place. When the guards switch. Which doors don’t latch right. Which patients scream because they want to and which ones scream because something is being done to them.
Don’t stand out. Don’t get noticed. That’s always the point, right? Not to give anyone a reason to look too close because when they do, they start asking questions and questions get people hurt.
Back home, silence was currency. You didn’t talk or explain. You did what needed to be done and made sure no one could trace it back to you. That's what my family taught me. Not love or loyalty. Just… results. If someone became a problem, they stopped being one. Gone. Never seen again.
The first time I did it—I didn't feel anything. That’s when they knew I was useful. That’s when I knew I wasn’t like the rest of them. Here though? They think I’m contained—stable, because I don’t react. I don’t yell or break things. But that’sthe mistake, I don’t explode, I eliminate the problem. And when they finally noticed the pattern—when too many problems stopped being problems, they sent me here. Hillsboro. A place for people who don’t fit anywhere else or people who fit too well in the wrong places. That’s what Master D told me. Killian, Lucifer, and Jagger don’t know that he hand picked them to be here. They were put in this place for a reason and it’s not the reason they think.
I’ve kept my head down, stayed in my lane while watching and waiting—until now. She—Lolli changed the pattern. Everything about her is different. She’s not loud like the others. Her chaos doesn’t burn out. She’s intentional even when she looks like she isn’t. Her smile though. It’s not random. It’s a fucking warning. I’ve seen people like her before. Not many, but the kind that don’t survive long unless someone stands next to them… or they become something no one can touch. She’s already here. Which means this place—this system. It’s about to fail. And for the first time since I got here, I’m no longer interested in staying invisible. Because something like her? You don’t watch from a distance. You get close before someone else does and that’s exactly what my friends are doing—burrowing themselves into her skin with no chance of escape.
Jagger surprised me though. He hasn’t changed at all. Still loud and reckless. We were never the same but we understood each other. That’s what I loved about him. Words were never needed with us. It was easy. It’s funny that he still looks at me like he’s deciding whether to hit me or trust me. I get it. We haven’t been in the same place in a long time, and I disappeared from him. One day, when he’s ready, I’ll tell him the truth, but right now, I just stare at Lolli.
I take in her features and notice her face isn’t weighed down by the make-up she puts on to hide her beautiful scars. She stands in the middle of the hallway with her hands on her hips,waiting for our next move. Her hair is wild, but her eyes... Her eyes are the problem. They’re not empty or broken. They’re awake, like really awake. There she is, something in my head notes—not a voice. I’m not like the others. It’s recognition. She looks at them first. Jaggers locked in on her. Of course he is. Killian is next, always measured. Taking her apart without even touching her. I just shake my head as I look at Lucifer. Always smiling, and it makes me sick. He's a pathetic waste of space. So fucking full of himself without actually being anything special. Then—her gaze shifts, finding me and stops. Most people don’t notice me right away but she does. Her head tilts slowly, looking at me with curiosity.
“New face,” she says, her voice lighter than it should be, with a slight rasp. Probably from the screaming given the situation and the smell in the air. I don’t answer right away, instead, I step forward, close enough for her to see me clearly.
“You’re late,” I say as Jagger glances at me. Her smile widens, and she shrugs.
“I was busy,” she states, and I look behind me and into the room she just came out of. I don’t need to go in. I already know, but I don’t think she realizes that she is naked, so I peel off my shirt and throw it at her. She catches it and then her eyes widen. Realization of why I did that hits her hard and fast. She shoves the shirt over her head and nods at me.
“You took your time,” I say, and she giggles.
“They didn’t stop me,” she answers with no hesitation, no apology.Good.
The alarms overhead start to blare and Killian immediately covers his ears. The lights flicker then a scratching noise so debilitating hits the loud speakers that we all cringe covering our ears.
“LOCKDOWN IN EFFECT.”
Lucifer laughs under his breath. “Well, that didn’t take long,” he says as Killian steps closer to her.
“Can you walk?” he asks, and she tilts her head again.
