by Amy Cross
As Dr. Cole crouches in the center of the yard and examines a spot on the ground, I step past Nurse Walker's body and head through the door. For the first time since I arrived at Tor Cliff, the whole place seems to have ground to a halt, and even the unflappable Dr. Cole is showing signs of concern. I wander over to join him, and it's clear that he's concerned about the stain on the concrete.
"What are you doing here?" he mutters, although he's clearly too distracted to argue with me.
"Is that blood?" I ask, staring down at the dark red patch on the concrete ground.
He nods.
Glancing across the yard, I suddenly realize that something else is missing. "Where's the garbage?" I ask after a moment.
"What?"
"Those nurses came to put the garbage out, right?" I continue, walking over to a large, empty wooden box that looks as if it's supposed to be used for storing garbage. "Is this where it's normally put?"
"I doubt they had time," Dr. Cole replies, getting to his feet and coming over to join me. "Then again," he continues, "you raise an interesting point. Whoever came and killed these two nurses seems to have also decided to steal our waste. It wasn't medical equipment, either; it was just scraps from the kitchen. Pieces of old food, that kind of thing."
"Could it be scavengers from the forest?" I ask.
"What scavengers?" he replies. "The forest is completely dead in all directions."
"But why would someone steal garbage?" I continue, before glancing over at the wall. "It was him, wasn't it?"
"You don't know what you're talking about," he replies. "You've only been here a day, Ms. Hart, so I'd prefer it if you didn't take it upon yourself to start lecturing us about the dangers we face." Staring at the wall for a moment, he seems lost in thought. "Dronigan would never attack us in such a brazen manner. He's careful and shy, almost scared; the idea of him coming to us in such a brutal manner is simply impossible to consider."
"What if something made him change?" I ask.
"Like what?"
I pause, realizing that maybe I shouldn't admit to the encounter I had during the night. "I'm just saying that people... and things... change," I continue. "Just because he's never attacked you in the past, you can't be certain that he'll leave you alone forever. Something might have happened to anger him." I pause for a moment as I realize that Dr. Cole is eying me suspiciously, almost as if he suspects that I know more than I'm letting on. "I'm just guessing," I add hastily, hoping to cover my tracks. "I mean, I don't even know who he is. Not really."
"Dronigan has always been at peace with the asylum," he replies firmly. "A delicate balance has been established over the years in order to ensure that we can live peacefully with him. Trust me, Abigail; he would never attack us like this and kill two of our number. It's just not in him to start a war."
"But if -"
"Get this patient back to her cell!" he calls out suddenly, his tone shifting and becoming more authoritarian. "It's an outrage that she was even allowed down here in the first place! Could one of you ladies please do your job and remove Ms. Hart from the scene!"
Sighing, I feel someone take hold of my arm from behind, and I realize that there's no point trying to fight. Turning, I allow one of the nurses to lead me away, although as we pass the body of Nurse Devonish, I can't help but notice that the dead woman's eyes have opened again.
"Come on," says the nurse who's leading me, with obvious fear in her voice. "You shouldn't be down here."
"Get this mess cleaned up!" Dr. Cole shouts. "I want the door to the yard kept sealed until further notice! No-one is to go out there until I tell you that it's safe!"
As he continues to bark orders, I'm led along a dark corridor and back toward the cells. It's hard to believe that Dronigan would have launched such a violent attack on the asylum, but at the same time it's not as if there are too many other creatures out there in the forest. I can't help but wonder whether, in some way, I accidentally awakened something in Dronigan and encouraged this change in his behavior, in which case I doubt this is going to be the last time he makes his presence felt.
Chapter Five
Felix
I sit alone for hours, listening to the distant sounds of the asylum. People walking and running; voices calling out for help; heavy metal doors creaking open and then being slammed shut again. Out of this cacophony of noise, however, I start to become aware of a set of footsteps getting closer and closer, and finally I realize that someone is standing outside my cell door.
I wait.
Normally, a visitor means one of two things: either I'm about to be hauled out and taken to Dr. Cole, or I'm going to be given some kind of basic medication right here. This time, however, it seems as if the person outside my door is loitering. I keep telling myself not to allow positive thoughts into my mind, but I can't deny that I'm desperately hoping for Nurse Silk's face to appear from the shadows.
"Who's there?" I ask eventually.
Seconds later, I hear a key in the lock, and the door swings open. A figure steps forward, and I recognize her immediately. I don't know why she's come to me, but as she steps over to my bed, I can see her eyes staring straight in my direction with an expression of compassion. I keep warning myself not to believe in her feelings too easily, but as a werewolf I have a certain ability to sense the emotions of others, and from Nurse Silk there are two very strong sensations: hope and fear.
"What's happening?" I ask, keen to break the silence. "It sounds like something's wrong."
"There's been an incident in the kitchen," she replies, her voice sounding a little flat.
Standing up, I take a step toward her and realize that she's trembling
"I don't know if it's safe out there," she continues as I put an arm on her shoulder. "There are so many stories at the moment. Some people say that there have been deaths; some even claim that Dronigan has attacked us. I don't know what to believe, but for now I think it might be better if you stay in your cell."
"I can defend myself," I tell her.
"Please," she whispers. "Just..." She pauses, and as she glances over her shoulder, I realize that she's terrified we might be interrupted. After a moment, she turns back to me. "Just stay in here for a little while longer," she continues, before stepping closer. "I had to see you," she adds. "I've been thinking about you all day, and I've come to realize that I can't watch you being tortured night after night. We've already received orders from Dr. Cole to take you up to his office tonight, but I don't think I can do it; I can't let you go through that misery again. There has to be a way to get you out of here."
"I'm not leaving without you," I reply.
"I'll come later," she continues. "It'd seem too suspicious if I left with you. You know what Dr. Cole's like. He'd realize what had happened, and then he'd never let me go. For now, we're going to have to be apart, but later we can find one another again. You just have to be patient."
"No," I say firmly. "I can't leave you here, not with these monsters. I'd rather wait until we can leave together."
"Quiet," she hisses, placing a finger against my lips for a moment as someone walks past the cell door. Fortunately, we're soon left alone again, and as she stares at me, I can see a look of longing in Nurse Silk's eyes. "You're a noble beast, Felix," she says eventually, keeping her voice down, "and it's not natural for you to be kept chained in this place, subjected to experiments that threaten to rip your body to pieces. They're playing with your mind, and if you stay for much longer, the damage might be permanent and you might not even be yourself anymore. Dr. Cole isn't going to stop until he's pushed you over the edge, and I can't watch that happen."
"Then come with me," I reply. "I don't care if I have to fight every vampire in this entire place and break down every wall. I'm going to get you out."
"I'm as much a prisoner here as you are," she whispers. "Do you think the nurses choose to work under Dr. Cole? Do you think we come here voluntarily? We're bound to Tor Cliff, and leaving this place i
sn't just a matter of handing in a month's notice and then walking out the door. We're expected to serve here until we die."
"Then I'll kill him," I say firmly. "I'll kill Dr. Cole."
She shakes her head.
"Why not?"
"Because it'll do no good. He's not the problem. The problem..." She looks down at the stone floor for a moment. "The beast is down there somewhere," she continues after a moment. "Getting away from Tor Cliff is one thing, and it might even be possible, but getting away from the beast... I don't think anyone could ever run far or fast enough to escape his influence. They say he can even reach into other worlds. There was a nurse here once who tried to get away, and the beast dragged her kicking and screaming back from deep within the Library."
"Then I'll kill the beast too," I tell her.
"No!" she hisses. "Don't even joke about such things! He'll hear you!"
"I don't care. I'm tired of living in fear. All you have to do is let me out of the cell and I can do the rest."
She shakes her head again.
"Don't you have faith in me?" I ask.
"I have faith in you to be strong and brave," she replies, with tears in her eyes, "and I have faith in you to give your all, maybe even your life, and to prove these fools wrong when they say that you're not worthy of respect. But I also have faith in the beast to turn around and crush us both. Brute force won't work here, Felix. You need to have faith in me and accept that I'm right."
"Then how do we get away?" I ask.
"The beast must be persuaded to let us walk free."
"Is such a thing even possible?"
"I don't know," she replies, placing a hand on the side of my neck. "Maybe. I can try." With that, she leans closer and kisses me gently; after a few seconds, the kiss becomes stronger and more passionate, and I reach around to pull her closer. Now that she's in my arms, I can't imagine ever letting her go, not even for a moment, and despite everything she's just said, I'm certain that I have to find a way to get us away from Tor Cliff as quickly as possible.
"Very touching," says a voice from the other side of the room.
As Nurse Silk pulls away from me, we both turn to see Nurse Fletcher standing by the door.
"I was just -" Nurse Silk starts to say.
"I know what you were 'just' doing," Nurse Fletcher replies with a dark grin. "I can also guess what you'd have been 'just' doing if I'd come along a few minutes later. How long has this been going on?"
"Please," Nurse Silk replies, hurrying over to her, "you must -"
Before she can finish, however, Nurse Fletcher steps back and slams the door shut.
"No!" I shout, running over and slamming my body against the door in a desperate attempt to force it open. "Let her out of here!"
"You two want to be together," she replies, fixing me with a cruel smile, "so why don't you take this opportunity? Things are pretty chaotic around here right now, so I'm sure it'll be a few hours before Dr. Cole has time to decide what he's going to do with you." She turns to Nurse Silk. "You should know better," she continues. "Fraternizing with the patients? Have you got no shame? Even if you had to make such a huge mistake, why did you choose a werewolf? Aren't you worried you'll get fleas?"
"You have to let us out of here," Nurse Silk replies, tugging on the door. "Please! Dr. Cole will kill us if he finds out!"
"No," she says firmly. "He'll kill you, my dear." She turns back toward me. "The werewolf will probably be allowed to live, at least until the experiments are over. Who knows? Dr. Cole might even conclude that this little tryst is an interesting side-effect of the treatment he's received so far. Maybe, against all the odds, something has begun to stir in the creature's heart?"
With that, she turns and walks away, leaving me standing with Nurse Silk in the dark cell. Turning to her, I see the look of absolute terror in her eyes, and I instinctively put my arms around her. She doesn't resist, but her whole body seems stiff, as if she's frozen in place by the thought of whatever cruelties Dr. Cole might visit upon her.
"It's okay," I tell her, feeling for the first time in my life that I need to be strong for someone else. "I'll find a way to get us out of this mess."
"No," she whispers, her voice filled with fear. "There's nothing you can do. He's going to kill us both."
Chapter Six
Abby Hart
The stone floor of my cell rumbles in the darkness, and once again I feel as if there's something deep down beneath the asylum. Getting down onto my hands and knees, I try to listen to the distant roar, but it has already started to subside. Whatever's down there, it stirs only occasionally before returning to its slumber. This has happened half a dozen times over the past few hours, and I'm convinced that it's getting a little louder each time.
"Hey!" a voice calls out. "You! Girl"
Looking over at the door, I realize that someone is trying to get my attention from one of the other cells.
"I know you're in there!" the female voice continues, sounding old and tired. "Do you know what's happening? Something's wrong, isn't it? This place is chaos most days, but it sounds different right now. What's wrong? Is the beast finally tired of Dr. Cole's cruelty? I wouldn't be surprised. This place can only go so far in one direction before someone steps in and puts things right."
Figuring that an exchange of information might not be a bad thing, I get to my feet and head over to the door; peering out through the small window, I can only see the dark corridor, but someone's moving around nearby and I think I can even hear the sound of heavy, rasping breath.
"What's your name?" I ask.
No reply.
"I'm Abby," I tell her. "Abby Hart. I'm -"
"I know who you are," she replies. "Everyone knows who you are. Or rather, everyone knows who your father was." She pauses. "I don't have a name. Never needed one, never will. I barely even see the light of day anymore, so a name would only torment me. At least this way, I can sit in silence for long periods and not have to worry about existing. Sometimes, I spend whole days just listening to the sound of time going by."
"What do you know about this place?" I ask, as there's more shouting in the distance.
"It's hell," she replies, "and there's no way out."
"But what else?" I ask. "Come on, just tell me everything you know about Tor Cliff!"
"What's in it for me?"
"If I get out of here," I tell her, "I'll take you with me."
"Who says I want to get out of here?" she replies. "There's nothing left for me in the world. All I'm good for now is rotting away in this cell."
"Please," I continue, desperate for any scrap of information that might help. "I can't spend the rest of my life here. There has to be a way out!"
"I've heard rumors," the old woman continues. "They say Madeleine LeCompte is missing from her cell. You know what happened to her?"
"Not exactly," I reply, which is kind of true; sure, I know that she got out of Tor Cliff with me last night, but I don't know where she is now. I guess she's still out there in the forest with Dronigan, unless she managed to crawl away from him. If he killed her, I hope it was a quick death.
"There was a scream just now," the woman adds. "Was that Madeleine?"
"No," I reply. "That was..." I pause for a moment, not knowing whether I should tell her everything I know. "That was one of the nurses," I continue. "There was some kind of attack down in the kitchen -"
"Dronigan?" she asks, interrupting me.
I pause again. "Maybe. Something came from outside the asylum, but whatever it was, it ran away again into the forest. I don't think there's any danger that it might still be here." I wait for her to reply, but all I can hear is the sound of her labored breathing. "What do you know about Dronigan?" I ask eventually. "Everyone talks about him, but no-one seems to know where he really came from."
"They say he haunts the forest," she continues. "If you go out there and try to escape, he comes for you. No-one knows for certain what he does with his victims, becaus
e no-one has ever survived and no-one's ever even found the remains of those who've got past the walls, but I've heard cries and screams occasionally, sometimes lasting for days. Whatever he does out there, he takes his time. Some people even say that he can reach inside Tor Cliff at night and take hold of your dreams." She pauses. "I think I've felt him occasionally. At night, when I have particularly vivid nightmares, it's as if there's someone standing to one side, pulling at my mind. It's almost like the threads of my thoughts are being gently tugged."
"Has he ever attacked the asylum before?" I ask.
"Don't be stupid," she replies, with venom in her voice. "Why would he do that?"
"That's what I was wondering," I mutter.
"Is she dead?"
"Who?" I ask.
"The nurse he attacked."
"I think so," I reply. "Two of them, actually. They were taking the garbage out into the yard, and apparently he just..." I pause again as I realize that it's difficult to believe that Dronigan would ever do something like that. He seemed so calm, and frankly a little confused, when I met him; the image of him suddenly becoming some kind of violent psychopath is impossible to accept. Unless I changed him...
In the distance, there's the sound of two voices arguing.
"If Dronigan has turned against the asylum," the old woman continues, her voice suddenly sounding extremely sad, "there's no point in even taking another breath. No-one, not even Dr. Cole, has any idea how to deal with Dronigan. They tolerate one another, but I wouldn't count on Dr. Cole being able to keep us safe if Dronigan has been angered. It'd take the power of the beast to hold him back, and even then, I'm not sure whether much could be done." She pauses. "It's a pity, really. I was getting used to the idea that I'd just stay here in my cell forever."
"Maybe it'd help to shake things up around here," I reply, figuring that perhaps an attack by Dronigan might be an opportunity for me to get the hell out of Tor Cliff. "Are you still there?" I ask after a moment, but there's no reply and I start to realize that the old woman has retired from our conversation. "What else can you tell me?" I add. "I need to know who's really in charge here!"