Neither a friend nor a foe

The little girl looked up at Penny, her thumb pressed against the syringe.

"You—what are you—" Penny instinctively slapped the little girl's hand, yanking the needle from her skin. Her eyes widened as her pulse quickened.

Slowly, she gazed down at the little girl again, but before she could ask what was inside the syringe, her vision wavered. A sudden weakness drained her body, spreading rapidly all over her. Before she knew it, she collapsed to the ground with a dull thud.

Even as her vision blurred and spun, she could still make out the little girl standing over her, staring emotionlessly.

"Good job."

A woman's voice caressed Penny's ears before a figure appeared beside the child.

"Who..." Penny struggled to maintain control, forcing her spinning vision to focus on the woman. Her eyelids grew heavy, but she fought to keep them open. She couldn't lose consciousness. She repeated that to herself a hundred times.

She had to stay awake.