by Amy Cross
"Just a moment longer," I say as I walk through the door. "Some food is -"
I stop dead in my tracks.
There's no-one here.
The sofa is empty.
Kieran's gone.
I head back out into the corridor. Where the hell is he? Above me, the pipes start groaning again. What the hell is wrong with the boiler tonight? No matter. Right now, the priority is to find Kieran before he can cause any more problems. I'd planned to take a subtle approach with him, but I guess I need to be more direct. I reach into my pocket to double-check that I've got a pair of scissors with me. There's no other option: I have to find him and kill him, fast. It's a little risky, and there's a danger that someone in the outside world might start asking questions if he disappears, but I'll deal with that problem if and when it arises. Right now, the biggest danger is that he might abscond from here and take some of our secrets with him. He needs to be found and eliminated immediately. Fortunately, I'm pretty sure I know exactly where he's gone.
Annie Radford
"Annie!" whispers a voice. I open my eyes. It's been so long since the voice came into my head, and I'd started to hope that maybe I was free, but now it's back, except it's a little different this time... I open my eyes, but I find that my room isn't dark. Someone has turned the light on. Sitting up in bed, I see that the door is open and there's a figure staring at me. It's the guy who came to see me earlier, the guy I recognize from... somewhere. It's like there's an itch deep in my brain, an itch I can't scratch. I've met this guy some other time, perhaps even before I ever came to Lakehurst. It feels as if he's part of my earlier life, the life I can't remember properly
"Annie, come on!" he hisses, reaching out a hand to me. "It's me. It's Kieran".
I stare, finding it hard to focus properly. The idea of getting out of bed and leaving my room seems strange. Looking over at the window, I see that it's night outside. I don't normally get up during the night. I might get into trouble, and I don't want to end up being taken downstairs for special treatment. Deciding I'd rather just stay where I am, I settle down in bed again and close my eyes. Perhaps if I go to sleep, it'll be morning soon. I can try to dream of nice things. Dreams are better than being awake...
"Annie!" the voice whispers, and I feel him trying to pull me out of bed. I open my eyes, confused about what's actually happening. All I want is to be left alone, so why is this man trying to cause trouble? If someone comes and finds him doing this, they'll throw him out and then they'll probably blame me. The only way I can make sure I have a chance of not being given special treatment is if Nurse Winter can see that I resisted the stranger. Perhaps I should scream? Perhaps I should fight him off? But I like him. I don't remember how I know him, but I feel like he's someone who's on my side. I open my mouth, getting ready to scream.
"Annie," he says, "I know you're tired and you don't feel well, but you have to come with me right now. There's no time to waste, do you understand? We've got to get out of here".
Feeling nauseous, I close my eyes and try to concentrate. Am I supposed to feel like this? It's as if I'm still half-asleep. The last thing I remember is being given my pills before bedtime, and then... I don't even remember coming through to my room. Lately, I've been having a lot of gaps in my memory. It's almost as if I'm not myself any more. And -
Suddenly I feel myself being picked up. I want to struggle, but I can't. The man carries me out of the room and along the corridor. "It's going to be okay," he whispers. It's like we're spies on a mission. I like that. It's like we're in the middle of a war and we're escaping from the enemy. I decide to go along with him for now. After all, Nurse Winter can't really blame me if I'm being carried, can she? Surely she knows I don't have the strength to fight this man? She'll understand... I know she will. Then again, she has such a temper, maybe she'll think I've co-operated. Maybe she'll think I've been trying to escape. I hope she can read my mind.
Hearing voices in the distance, I realize we've changed course. I try to work out where we are, focusing on the sights around me, and I eventually realize we're going upstairs.
"Wait..." I say, trying to get free.
"Hold on," he says, gripping me firmly. "There are people by the door. Annie, do you know if there are any other ways out of here?"
"What?" I ask.
"We need to find another exit. Do you know the building?"
"No exit," I say, although I'm not entirely sure what he's trying to do.
"Just stay quiet," he says as we get to the top of the stairs and hurry along a corridor. I've never been up here before. Ever since I arrived at Lakehurst, I've spent all my time either down on the ward or in the basement. But there was that time I was taken outside by Nurse Perry, and I remember looking up at the building and realizing that Lakehurst is huge. I couldn't help wondering at the time what the rest of the building was used for. Maybe now I'll get a chance to see. Still being carried, I try to sit up, but it's awkward. I end up clinging onto the man, to make sure I don't fall. I'm feeling really strange right now. Something's wrong.
"Annie," says a different voice. A girl's voice. I look over and see that we're passing the morgue.
"Wait!" I say. I point at the morgue door. "In there".
"Are you sure?" the guy asks.
I don't reply, and moments later he carries me through the door. The morgue itself is a large, very clean and very white room, with lots of equipment all over the place. There's a table off to one side, with a sheet covering what appears to be a dead body. As I stare, I see a patch of dark red beginning to appear on the sheet.
"Why are we in here?" the guy asks.
Suddenly I remember something. Kieran! His name is Kieran! He told me that earlier. I have to try to remember when people tell me things.
"Look at me," says the girl's voice. I look around, but I can't tell where she is, unless she's under the sheet.
"Her," I say, pointing at the dead body.
"I think she's dead," Kieran says. "We don't have time for this, we have to get out of here".
"No," I say, still pointing. "Look at her".
Kieran carries me over and reaches down, pulling the sheet away to reveal the girl's face.
"It's her," I say, staring at the body. "She used to be downstairs. Her name's Amanda".
Kieran reaches out and touches her bare arm. "She's cold," he says. "She must have been dead for hours, but..." He pauses for a moment. "I saw her outside. She was walking away down the road. She said she'd been released". He steps back, but he trips on a trailing wire and we both fall to the floor.
"Annie!" he says as he gets up, "are you okay?"
I get to my feet. Although I feel pretty strange, I can walk without help. "I'm fine," I say, reaching out and pulling the sheet away to expose Amanda's bare chest. There's a huge wound over her heart, a cavity that seems to have been gouged out. "She's dead," I say. I turn to Kieran. "Have you ever seen a dead body before?"
He shakes his head, and all the color has gone from his face. "Come on," he says, grabbing my hand and leading me back over to the door. After checking that there's no-one around, he takes me into the corridor. "Annie," he says, turning to me. "I need you to think about any other exits from this building, okay? Any way out that you remember".
"The front door," I say.
"That's no good," he continues, sounding worried. "We don't have long, Annie. I don't think Nurse Winter's going to be very happy when she finds out what we're doing".
"What are we doing?" I ask.
"We're getting you out of this mad-house," he replies, "and then we're going to make sure no-one else ever gets hurt at Lakehurst again".
As he says those words, the door to the morgue starts to open. We both turn and stare as a pale white, bare arm pushes the door all the way open. Finally, we see Amanda standing there. She's naked, the hole in her chest clearly showing that her heart is missing, with broken ribs jutting out. She stares at us, a hint of a smile on her face. She's obviously still de
ad, but her expression is one of amusement rather than sadness.
"Run!" Kieran hisses at me, grabbing my arm and forcing me to follow him along the corridor. I glance back and see that Amanda is just standing there, watching us. Finally, Kieran and I head up another set of stairs and emerge onto yet another corridor. "What the hell is this place?" Kieran asks, turning to me. "That girl is dead!"
I nod, finding it hard to understand how Amanda could have just stood up and opened the door. Kieran's clearly freaking out, and I'm sure I'd be doing the same if I wasn't so... I don't know how to explain it, but everything feels so vague and difficult to grasp. It's as if I'm living in a kind of cloud, floating through life and never really able to connect with anything or anyone. It's so sad about Amanda. I wish she wasn't dead.
"This place is wrong," Kieran says eventually. "Whatever's going on here, it's deeply, deeply wrong. I thought..." He pauses. "I thought I could help, but this is clearly way beyond anything I can fix. We have to get out of Lakehurst and get help". He takes a deep breath. "Annie, are you listening to me?"
I nod slowly.
"You have to help me," he says. "We need to find an exit. If we don't get out soon, they'll be looking for us and we'll have no chance. Do you know any way out that might help us?"
I take a deep breath. "Where are we now?" I ask. I'm finding it so hard to think, but I feel as if some distant memory is trying to break through. I remember being with Kieran before, outside by a lake. Is that even possible? Have I ever been outside?
"We're up on the third or fourth floor," he says. "We must be almost in the attic by now".
"The attic?" I say, suddenly filled with panic. "We can't go to the attic. We can't ever go to the attic". I turn to run, but Kieran grabs my arm and pulls me back.
"What's in the attic?" he asks.
I swallow hard. I have no idea what's up here, but I know that we're always told the attic is completely out of bounds. I've heard people talk about there being someone up here, someone we mustn't ever meet. "Let's just go," I say. "We'll find a way out. Did we..." I pause for a moment. "We were at the lake together," I continue. "I followed you to the lake".
"You remember?" he says. "What else, Annie? Do you remember anything else from before?"
I shake my head. Maybe I could remember more if I tried, but I just want to get away from here. I'm starting to get a headache. Whoever's up here in the attic, it's as if they're trying to hurt me, to make me stay away. I can feel a powerful mind reaching out and trying to push me back downstairs.
"Annie!" calls out a female voice. I turn back to look the way we came. I can't see anyone, but I know I heard Amanda. She's somewhere down there, lost and dead.
"Did you hear?" I ask Kieran.
"What?" he replies. "Forget it, we'll find another way out. Don't panic yet". He pulls me along the corridor. "We'll climb out the fucking window if we have to," he adds.
"Don't come in here," says a voice in my head as we approach a door at the end of the corridor. It's a familiar voice, a voice I haven't heard since I was back in the forest. It takes me a moment to remember everything, but finally it all becomes clear. This is the voice that told me to kill my brother, and... I did kill my brother. I remember it now. I was in the forest, holding a gun to his head, and the voice was telling me to end his life.
I remember squeezing the trigger and seeing the impact of the bullet.
I remember the blood as his body fell.
I remember my parents reaching us.
My mother screaming...
My father leading me away...
The police were called. My brother's body was taken away...
The world crashed down around me, leaving nothing but darkness until slowly it was rebuilt within the walls of Lakehurst.
It was all my fault.
"What's in here?" Kieran asks, reaching out to open the door.
"No!" I shout, pulling him away. I'm filled with blind terror at the thought that he might open that door. Even if it means we both have to die, we can't go in there. Not now, not ever.
"Annie!" he says, shocked as I keep him away from the door. "We have to keep moving. Do you want them to -"
"You can't go in there!" I say, interrupting them as I panic. I remember spending the night with Kieran in the forest. He was sweet and kind, but I'd rather let us both die than face the voice in that room.
"Why not?" he asks.
"You just can't!" I shout at him. "We have to go back downstairs".
He sighs. "If we go downstairs, they'll catch up to us".
"That's fine," I say. "I don't mind. Let's just go downstairs. Let's go back to my room. We can go to sleep. We don't have to be up here".
He stares at me for a moment. "What's in the room, Annie?"
I shake my head, tears flooding into my eyes. "You can't open that door," I say. "You can't ever open that door".
"I don't think we have much of a choice," he replies. "Annie, whatever's going on here, we have to get away so we can warn other people". He pauses for a moment. "Think about it. What will they do to us if they catch us? That Nurse Winter woman doesn't look like the forgiving type. What'll happen?" I wait for her to reply. "We have to get out of here," he says finally.
"Anything you say," I reply as the tears roll down my cheeks. I can hear my heart beating. "We'll do anything. We'll go anywhere. I remember everything now, I want to go with you. Let's get out of here, just... not this way. Please".
He stares at me. "Okay," he says. "We'll go back the way we came".
I grab his hand, starting to lead him away. "It'll be okay," I mumble. "We'll find Nurse Winter and -"
"Sorry, Annie," Kieran says, pulling away. Before I can stop him, he pushes the door open and steps through.
Instinctively, I turn to run. Whatever's in that room, I can't face it.
"Stay," says the voice in my head. His voice; the voice of the man who made me kill Taylor. "Now that you're here," he continues, "you might as well see me". I stand in the corridor, frozen with fear. I should never, ever have let Kieran take me out of my room. I could be in my bed right now, rather than standing here with the voice behind me. I want to believe that I'm imagining it all, that the drugs have made me hallucinate all of this, but I can feel my mind becoming clearer by the second. The old madness is receding, and a new madness is taking its place.
"Turn and face me," the voice says.
"Annie," Kieran says. "Who the hell is this?"
I take a deep breath. Slowly, I turn and look through the door. I see Kieran standing there, and on the other side of the attic room there's an old man in a wheelchair. He looks ancient, and I feel as if I've seen him somewhere before. "It's good to see you, Annie," the voice says. The old man's lips don't move, but his eyes stare at me. "It's only fair that we should finally meet, after everything we've been through together. There isn't much time left for any of us. The end is coming".
Nurse Winter
"Eddie!" I call out as I step out of the elevator. I don't know what's happening, but it's as if all my best workers are all vanishing. First Nurse Perry did a disappearing act, and now Eddie's stopped responding to his radio. Now that Kieran Evans is apparently on the loose with Annie somewhere in the building, I need my security team more than ever, but it's as if they -
I stop dead in my tracks as I look through into the laboratory and see a dead body on the floor. I recognize the victim instantly, even if I don't want to believe that it's true. Stepping through the doorway, I see that the back of Jerry's head is a mangled mess of blood and bone, with pieces of brain spread across the floor. Nearby, there's a bloody hammer. Jerry's eyes, wide open and terrified, stare over at the wall. It looks as if he's been dead for a few hours now.
Kneeling next to the body, I look into his eyes. All those times Jerry and I worked together, all those times I teased him, and yet somehow I never really looked closely at him. I remember when I first arrived at Lakehurst and he was just a child, the offspring of one of
the female patients. When his mother died, it was decided that Jerry should stay and be taught by the doctors. He grew up to become a fine technician, but I know he was always haunted by the fact that he couldn't remember his mother properly. Years later, I discovered that his father was Dr. Campbell, the result of the good doctor's relentless desire to fuck his female patients. Jerry never knew this, of course, and I don't think he cared too much. He was always too busy thinking about his mother.
Reaching out, I gently close his eyes. I shouldn't care about Jerry's death, but I do. I can't explain it, but I feel as if it was so... unnecessary. There's also the problem of how I'll replace him. Jerry was the technical genius of Lakehurst, a guy who could make any machine do anything. He was extremely smart, and he was capable of learning new tasks very quickly. I came to rely on him a great deal, and I simply don't know how I'll find someone new. It's not as if I can advertise for someone to come and help with the kind of work we perform here.
"Goodbye," I whisper quietly. I always felt a kind of connection with Jerry, and I'll miss him now he's gone. His death must have been painful and brutal. No-one deserves to die like that.
Standing up, I take a deep breath and head back toward the door. There's no point letting sentiment get the better of me; besides, I can't help feeling that too many coincidences are piling up. First this Kieran Evans man shows up, then Nurse Perry disappears, then Amanda Myrtle commits suicide, then Jerry is killed by... who? Who would do this, and why? There's also the matter of the janitor, Morris, who seems to have been behaving very strangely today. Off in the distance, I hear the boiler rumble ominously. Whatever's wrong with that thing, it'll have to wait. I need to find Kieran and Annie Radford before it's too late. Things are getting out of control and it's time for me to reassert my authority.
As I'm about to go to the elevator, I hear a noise in a nearby room. It sounds like something scraping against wood. I head over to one of the other doors and realize that the noise is coming from the secondary laboratory. As I get closer, it becomes clear that there's someone in there. At first, I assume it must be Eddie, but as I step through the door I see that there's a naked woman on the examination table. She's hooked up to various machines, and the top of her skull has been cut open to expose her brain. It takes me a moment to recognize, with mounting shock, that this is Nurse Perry.