As part of the Police investigation into Cassie, one of the forensics technicians had been given the pieces of the hood cut away from Cassie’s eyes to test.
Luckily, there was a tiny amount of the adhesive used to seal it on her head still on it. The tech managed to identify it. Quickly, he looked it up and found there was a solvent for it available. Only thing was, it would have to be done in stages, and used very sparingly; the glue gave off a gas when being dissolved that you were not supposed to breathe in…
Seeing as Cassie’s mouth was sealed shut anyway, one of the nurses at the hospital had the idea of fitting oxygen tubes down Cassie’s nose when the solvent was applied. This was all done while she was sedated, to avoid her panicking and ripping the tubes out, or doing even more damage.
The removal took ages. Cassie almost woke up during it, so she had to be sedated again. Eventually, though, the hood was off at last…
Keeping the remains of the hood for the police, the doctors started working on Cassie’s mouth…
A tiny amount of the solvent was used to unglue her lips, and the stitches were cut, and carefully removed. Cassie was then allowed to wake up again naturally…
As soon as Cassie woke up, she could tell something was different. She gasped as she was able to open her mouth. Words wouldn’t come, though. She hadn’t spoken for so long she could only croak and slur noises, but she gratefully drank the glass of water that the nurse gave her. Then she realised she wasn’t wearing the hood…
Instant panic set in.
She frantically looked round the room, trying to find it. She signalled to the nurse, tapping at her face.
“Yes, it’s gone”, the nurse said. “We were able to remove it.”
Cassie just howled, and buried her face in the pillow…
No-one was able to get through to her.
People tried to talk to her, and she ignored them, hiding herself. People tried to get her to show herself and she slapped them away, as well as her weakened limbs allowed.
Finally, one of the nurses had an idea…
“She’s so used to wearing a mask, it’s like a safety blanket for her”, she said. “Either that, or she’s been conditioned to be dependent on one.”
“How about we fit her with one of the facial burn masks we’ve got in stock?”, she said. “It can give her a ‘face covering’; one that’s easily removable when she’s ready.”
One was brought and shown to Cassie. She snatched it out of the nurses hands and put it on, letting the nurse fasten it. She then instantly calmed down and appeared to fall back to sleep.
Later that evening, she woke up again. “Thirsty”, she croaked. “Also, my lips hurt…”
Cassie was given a drink, and some painkillers.
“Are you up to talking?”, the nurse asked. “A WPC has been hovering; she’d like to talk to you.”
“I’ll try”, said Cassie. “Send her in.”
Cassie spoke to the WPC for quite some time, breaking off every now and again for a drink. She then apologised, said she was feeling hungry and tired; could they take this up again later? The WPC smiled and left.
Cassie then ate a small meal; she winced a little, as her lips were still hurting, and had to get someone to cut it up for her as she couldn’t keep her hands steady enough. She then flew into a panic again because she had spilt something on her mask and damaged it…
The nurse came in and soon fitted her with a replacement, calming her down.
Cassie then caused another panic, trying to get out of bed to go to the toilet, instead of calling for a bedpan…
Her legs wouldn’t support her weight, and she crumbled into a heap on the floor, promptly wetting herself in shock.
The nurse rushed in to find her on the floor, crying…