by Crane, M. L.
Alice stood and began pacing around the room. Her heart was racing, small beads of sweat trickled down her face and ran down the center of her back. She was standing on the edge of panic.
“No, I don’t believe you. Dr. Pelletier said that I could trust him. And Nurse Allen would never hurt me.” But even as Alice uttered the words out loud, she wasn’t even sure if she meant them.
“Mmm. Interesting. Very, interesting. Your mouth says no, but your mind says YES.” Chelsea chuckled as though she found it amusing.
This enraged Alice. She’d had enough of people toying with her, telling her lies and keeping secrets. She marched to the table and slapped her hands down on the table hard enough that any normal person would have been startled. But Chelsea never flinched.
Alice leaned in so close that she almost rubbed noses with Chelsea. “If I can’t trust them, why the hell should I trust you?”
“Why the hell shouldn’t you? Has anyone been straight forward with you since you’ve been here? No, I think not.”
“No, and neither have you! You haven’t answered a single one of my questions. All you’ve done is play mind games with me.” Alice went back to pacing madly around the room.
Chelsea shrugged her shoulders and said, “Oh well, it doesn’t matter anyway. It won’t be much longer before She arrives.”
Alice stopped pacing and glared at Chelsea. “Who is She? Why does She want me?”
“No!”
Nurse Allen’s shout startled Alice.
It sounded as though Nurse Allen and Dr. Pelletier were having an argument. Alice momentarily forgot about Chelsea and crept to the door to eavesdrop. When Dr. Pelletier had left the room, he hadn’t latched the door, so there was a small crack that Alice could listen through.
“Lewis, I just can’t do this anymore! I won’t keep lying to her.”
“Lorina, I understand that you’re upset, but we are so close. I need your cooperation.”
“But you saw her! She can’t handle much more. You’re going to kill her!”
“Stop it! There is no reason for the dramatics, Lorina. I’m not going to kill her. Besides, if we stop now, it could cause more damage than good. We’ve gone too far to turn back now.”
“Yeah? Well, she is not your lab rat, she’s my sister, and I call the shots!”
“I know Alice is your sister, but I’m sorry Lorina, you no longer call the shots. If I have to terminate your services here and put a restraining order against you, I will. I have the authority to request that Alice is placed into protective custody under my care. I don’t want to, but I will if I must. I can’t have you ruining my work. The experiment is going far better that I had ever imagined.”
Alice backed away from the door. Chelsea was right.
Alice suddenly felt like she was gasping for air, as though the life had just been sucked out of her. She stumbled around as the floor began swaying beneath her feet. She turned around to look at Chelsea, but she was gone. She had vanished into thin air.
Alice dropped to her hands and knees and vomited across the floor.
“Alice!” Nurse Allen gasped. She ran to Alice’s side and knelt down beside her and began rubbing her back. “Are you okay?”
Alice could barely even look at Nurse Allen. She had never felt so betrayed in all her life. “You-you’re my sister?”
Nurse Allen stopped rubbing Alice’s back. “Oh, Alice. I…um…”
“Don’t lie to me! No more lies! I’m tired of people fucking lying to me!” Alice screamed.
Nurse Allen quickly shot Dr. Pelletier an angry look. She lifted Alice’s chin and looked her in the eye. “Yes, I am.”
Alice stared at Nurse Allen, feeling a mixture of confusion and hurt. “How? How the hell is that even possible?”
“Randall was my father too, Alice. He was married to my mom before he met yours. Your mother knew about me, but she wouldn’t let me be a part of your life. Dad used to visit me once in a while. I never really cared to see him because the bastard was always drunk. But he’d bring pictures and tell me all about you, so I tolerated him. I loved you so much, and you didn’t even know that I existed.
“I would beg dad to let me see you, but Sybil wouldn’t let him. She didn’t want me to ruin her picture perfect image. After your mom had died, dad started acting really weird, and eventually, he stopped visiting me. I’m so sorry, Alice. I should have told you sooner.”
Alice didn’t want to believe her. “No. You can’t be my sister. If Randall was your father too, then why don’t you have his last name?”
“Allen is my married name. My maiden name is Lorina Dodgson.” Nurse Allen placed a hand on Alice’s shoulder to comfort her.
“Leave me alone!” Alice shouted, slapping Nurse Allen’s hand away.
Alice pushed herself up off the floor and faced Dr. Pelletier, who had remained silent during this bizarre family reunion.
“And what about you, Dr. Pelletier? What exactly is this experiment that you’re doing on me? Huh? How are you doing it? Are you drugging me? Am I under some sort of hypnosis? Please, enlighten me with your fucking bullshit. I CAN’T BELIEVE I TRUSTED YOU!”
Alice slapped the papers out of Dr. Pelletier’s hands and watched them scatter across the floor. She looked down and was horrified to see that the name on the patient file folder was Alice Lily Dodgson.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Alice pushed Dr. Pelletier out of her way and tried to make a run for it. Dr. Pelletier shouted to a couple of orderlies to stop her. She hadn’t gotten more than five feet down the hallway before the two orderlies came barreling towards her, and grabbed her arms. Alice bucked and kicked wildly, trying desperately to escape their grasps, but to no avail. They had her firmly locked in their clutches and weren’t going to let go.
Dr. Pelletier stooped down to pick up the papers that had scattered across the floor, and then he stepped out into the hallway and faced Alice. There was a look of dismay in his eyes.
“I am so very sorry, Alice. I hate to have to see it come to this,” Dr. Pelletier said to Alice. The coolness in his voice angered Alice.
Through gritted teeth, Alice growled at Dr. Pelletier. “You’ll never get away with this. You bastard!”
Alice’s face prickled with heat. She was more angry with herself than she was with Dr. Pelletier or Nurse Allen. How could she have been so stupid? How could she have put so much blind faith in someone after everything she’d been through?
“Alice, please understand that I am not trying to hurt you. I’m only doing this for your own good.”
Alice spat in Dr. Pelletier’s face. “Go to Hell, you son of a bitch!”
Dr. Pelletier seemed unperturbed. He wiped away the spittle on his face, using the same handkerchief he had used only moments ago to dab away Alice’s tears.
“I’m truly disappointed, Alice. Not at you, of course. No, no. I’m disappointed in myself. Everything was going so well. But, it appears that I may have failed you.” Dr. Pelletier then looked at one of the orderlies and said, “Put her in restraints and see to it that she is well sedated. Perhaps after a full days rest, we can resume the experiment tomorrow.” He turned and walked away without a second glance at Alice.
Alice couldn’t believe what was happening. Her eyes grew wide with terror, and she became hysterical, screaming at the top of her lungs and fighting against the orderlies with every ounce of strength she had left. “WHAT?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! NO! YOU CAN’T DO THIS TO ME! YOU CAN’T KEEP ME HERE! LET ME GO! NOOO!” She continued to kick and scream while the orderlies dragged her down the hallway to an unknown fate.
The orderlies brought Alice to a patient’s room. In the room, there was a metal framed bed with a flimsy mattress and a heavy white blanket. The floors were bright white tiles neatly polished to a mirrored shine. Alice became nauseated when she remembered the dream she’d had of being trapped in one of these rooms.
Alice began pleading with the orderlies. “Please, I am begging you, don’t do thi
s to me. You don’t understand. I’m not crazy. I overheard Dr. Pelletier talking about some sort of experiment that he’s been conducting on me. I don’t know what he’s done to me, or how he’s doing it, but he needs to be stopped! He’s the one that’s crazy, not me! Nurse Allen is my sister, just ask her! Lorina! Her name is Lorina! Please, let me go!”
“Sorry, Alice. Doctor’s orders,” said one of the orderlies with pity in his voice.
Alice’s head and shoulders drooped with defeat. She knew that there was no point in fighting. And she also knew telling them that her boss was conducting an experiment on her, the nurse was her sister, and swearing that she wasn’t crazy, wasn’t going to convince them that she was sane.
The orderlies held Alice down on the bed and placed restraints on her wrists, and then placed restraints on her ankles. Alice just lay there and let them strap her down. She had given up her fight. She looked away from the orderlies and wondered what was going to happen to her. Then, she thought of Rose. She thought of Rose so sick, possibly even dying, and waiting. Waiting for Alice to come home and take care of her. Tears rolled down her cheeks.
A few moments later, Alice heard someone else enter the room.
“Is she strapped down good?” the woman’s voice asked the orderlies.
“Yep. She’s not going anywhere, Nurse Noble,” one of the orderlies replied.
Nurse Noble? Alice remembered Dr. Pelletier mentioning her once, but she had never met her. Alice turned her head to look at the nurse. She was a tall, lanky woman. Her white hair was pulled back in a tight bun. She had severe features and beady little eyes that lacked any glimmer of light. The woman appeared to be old enough to have been around to see the very first asylum erected in the early 1800’s.
Alice’s eyes flashed with recognition. It was the same nurse from one of her nightmares.
“You!” Alice exclaimed.
“Yes, it’s me. And don’t you even think about fighting me again, you here? I ain’t in no mood for your shenanigans. You behave and just stay still.”
Alice was too shocked to respond. All she could do was stare at Nurse Noble. Wasn’t it just a dream? It had to have been a dream. There was no way it could have been real. Alice had never been in the Institute as a patient. Perhaps she had seen Nurse Noble in passing without realizing and, subconsciously, she dreamt about her.
Nurse Noble lifted Alice’s sleeve. “Hm. It looks like we need to give this arm a little break.”
“What?” Alice furrowed her brow, confused by Nurse Noble’s remark. She looked down at her shoulder and saw the large red welt. Within the welt, there were several small spots about the size of bee stings. They appeared to be needle punctures.
“What the fu…!” Alice exclaimed in panic. She tried to sit up and fought against the restraints.
“Ah, ah! What did I just say to you? Don’t you fight me! You lay back down and quit your damn fussing. I’m old as dirt and my hand ain’t as steady as it used to be. You keep wiggling around like that, and I’m liable to break the damn needle inside your arm. Good Lord Almighty. Always making such a damn fuss. I’ll just use the other arm.”
Alice stopped fighting, but her head was spinning wildly out of control. How could they have been giving her shots without her knowledge? What sort of experiment was Dr. Pelletier doing to her?
Nurse Noble lifted Alice’s other sleeve and swabbed the area clean. Then she stuck Alice with the needle, making Alice yelp.
It didn’t take long for the effects of the sedative to begin working. Within seconds, Alice began to feel very relaxed. The questions that had been buzzing around inside her head for days began to drift away and no longer seemed important. Her eyes became heavy, and the lights slowly went out.
CHAPTER
TWENTY-ONE
Alice was sitting on an examination table. She was naked and cold, covered only by an ugly green hospital gown that was open in the back.
The examination room was small and filthy. It looked as though it had been abandoned for decades. The floors were wet and muddy. Black mold was growing up the walls from years of water damage. The hideous floral wallpaper was torn and curled, turning brown with rot. There was a metal cart holding an array of scalpels and other medieval looking medical instruments. They were covered in what appeared to be dried blood and rust. Alice’s stomach lurched at the sight of them.
There was a light knock at the door, and a nurse walked in. She was a tall, curvaceous blonde. Her breasts were practically spilling out over the top of her nurses uniform. She was dressed in a cliche slutty nurses costume that you could buy in any department store during Halloween. Her white high heels were something you would see worn by strippers and hookers. She looked as though she had just walked off of the set of a porn film.
The porn nurse walked over to Alice, swinging her hips and adjusting her large breasts. “Would you like me to make you more comfortable? I can help you relax.”
Alice ignored the nurse’s sexual advances and asked, “Where am I? What am I doing here?”
The nurse pouted and ran her finger down the side of Alice’s face. “Don’t you like me? I can make you feel real good.”
Alice slapped her hand away. “I want to know what is going on! What is this place? What the hell am I doing here?” she demanded.
The nurse stomped her foot and crossed her arms like a child being told that they had to wait until after dinner to have a cookie. “Fine! Have it your way. It’s your loss. The doctors will be in to see you shortly,” she said, and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her.
“What doctors?” Alice shouted after her but received no answer.
Alice let out an exasperated groan. She was sick and tired of all these unanswered questions and mind games. She refused to stick around any longer. But when Alice tried to get off of the examination table, she found herself strangely stuck in place. While Alice struggled to free herself from her invisible bonds, the door opened, and two doctors walked in. Alice could feel hot vomit rise into her throat at the sight of them.
Both of the men were naked, revealing their putrid bodies. They were short and massively obese. Their hairy stomachs looked like bloated pig bellies. Their heads had been replaced with severed pigs heads, crudely stitched around their necks. Fresh blood from the pigs throats ran down their repulsive bodies. They approached Alice, squealing and grunting.
The porn nurse came skipping back into the room, grinning like she had a secret. Before Alice could even react, the nurse grabbed her by one of her wrists and forced her to lay down. She pulled Alice’s arms above her head and secured them to the table. Then the nurse skipped to the other end of the table and pulled out the foot stirrups and placed Alice’s feet in them. The nurse took a pair of scissors from the metal cart and cut the gown off of Alice, exposing her naked body.
The porn nurse leaned in close to Alice, brushing her plump sensual lips against her ear, and whispered, “Kick back, relax, and enjoy the ride.” She giggled and ran her tongue up Alice’s cheek.
Alice’s heart was racing so fast that she was afraid that it would burst. She watched in horror as one of the pig doctors got up onto a footstool at the end of the examination table, with his penis fully erect. He ran his hands down the inside of Alice’s thighs, slowly making his way to her womanhood.
Panic seized Alice, and she began screaming. “OH, MY GOD! NO! DON’T TOUCH ME! LET ME GO! STOP! NO! NO! NOOO!”
The nurse was jumping up and down, her oversized breasts threatening to bounce out of her top, clapping her hands and laughing joyfully, as though it were some sort of game.
"Do it, do it, do it!" the porn nurse chanted, egging on the pig doctor.
Just then, out of the corner of her eye, Alice could see the shadowy figure standing in the doorway. No one else seemed to notice it but her.
The figure floated into the room and engulfed the pig doctor that was about to have its way with Alice. When the shadowy figure backed away, the pig doctor just s
tood there, shaking as blood gushed from his throat, the crude stitches slashed open. His body convulsed for only a few seconds, and then he crumpled to the floor.
The porn nurse gasped and stopped chanting. Then she pointed and began laughing at the dead pig doctor, unaware that the shadowy figure was upon her. The figure engulfed the nurse in the same way that it had engulfed the pig doctor, and backed away revealing the same results. The nurse grabbed at the gaping slit in her throat, her eyes wide with shock as she gurgled and choked on her own blood. Within seconds, the porn nurse went silent and dropped to the floor.
The second pig doctor decided he wasn’t going to stick around to be the next victim, so he ran out of the room, squealing.
The shadowy figure then turned its attention to Alice and began to approach her.
Alice squeezed her eyes shut and began to tremble, waiting for the figure to finally take her.
“Alice…Alice…You can’t hide from me, Alice…”
~~~~~
"Alice…Alice…Can you hear me, Alice?"
Dr. Pelletier’s voice sounded so distant and muffled. Alice felt as though her ears were stuffed with cotton. She opened her eyes, blinking as she tried to adjust to the light. Everything was blurry and foggy. She shook her head, trying desperately to focus. Slowly, Dr. Pelletier’s voice became clearer, and his face came into view.
Alice tried to move and realized that she couldn’t. She looked down and saw that she was sitting in a wheelchair and her hands had been put in restraints. She looked around and saw that she was in the meeting room facing the door, with the table at her back. Dr. Pelletier was standing in front of her, snapping his fingers and calling her name.
“Well, it’s nice to see that you’re finally awake,” Dr. Pelletier said.