MADNESS

10. Johnatan

SYDNEY WILSON

He told his lawyer to do absolutely everything in his power to not have him killed. So what if the lawyer lied about his mental illness? I've been thinking about this for the past few days since me and Noah had that painfully long conversation about crime and our opinions on it.

He acts so normally, he has no problem similar to the others, he doesn't say things that are out of common, he is coherent, doesn't talk about gruesome things that he would think are normal, he has a filter and knows what to say and when to say it, he's shown signs of emotion and deep feelings, he's judging crime in a healthy way, he reacts well to physical touch, loud noises and pressure and his social skills are by far the best in this asylum. At least I think so.

If he's not mentally insane... then he's a lot more dangerous than everyone in the asylum thinks he is.

It means he's killed with his conscience, knowing exactly what he was doing.

Which also means that nothing would stop him from doing it again tomorrow. Or the next week. Or the next month.

But again. He doesn't seem like a psychopath to me. Not a sociopath either, and if he isn't crazy, than something doesn't add up. Am I missing something?

How can a person that seems so mentally sane, that's aware of the surroundings, has good morals and a evolved emotional intelligence, do what he did?

I just don't understa-

"Syd? Are you okay?" Emma snaps me out of my thoughts back to where I am. I'm in the infirmary to get a pill for a strong headache.

"Yeah, I was just thinking." I shake my head and regret it immediately. It made me dizzy.

"What about?" She opens the drawer to get me the pills.

"Doesn't Noah seem... I don't know, sane?" I speak my mind.

"Sane?" She turns around. "He might seem sane, but I'm sure he isn't." She takes out a small plastic cup and brings it to the sink to fill it with water.

"How sure can we be, though?"

"Pretty sure he's been through some tests to get here, you know? He has to have something, it doesn't matter how sane he seems. Normal people don't kill for fun and normal people don't just get locked up in mental asylums." She argues. I have to give it to her, she's right.

"Makes sense." I agree.

She gives me the plastic cup and the pill. I swallow it easily and drink the whole cup of water. I should drink more liquids, my health isn't such a priority to me like how it used to be and that's so wrong considering how much I need it.

"Thanks." I nod with a soft smile.

"You're welcome, Syd." She smiles back.

We talk for about 10 more minutes, the time the pills need in order to hit, and I already feel my headache fading away. Which means I have to go back to my job, my shift started 30 minutes ago. I thank Emma again for her help and I leave the infirmary. I don't use the elevator this time, I walk down the stairs to the 2nd floor where I stop in my tracks at the sight of Jonathan in the hallway. He isn't allowed here, how did he even get here?

"Jonathan?"

He turns around at the sound of my voice.

He looks absolutely vexed. His lips got smaller from the anger, his eyes aren't fully open because of the intense frowning, his fits are clenched along with his jawline and the look on his face is threatening. Threatening me. His stiffness alarms me, the way he takes my presence in makes me want the ground to absorb me. Did I do something?

"How could you?" He shouts at me, getting closer to me. Should I run? This doesn't look safe and I have nothing to defend myself with. The stairs are on the other side of the floor, it would take me a little bit to get there, but I can't trust the elevator doors to open in time.

"What happened? What's wrong?" I show genuine concern.

"I saw you laughing with him. How can you laugh with him?" His voice makes me freeze in place by it's high volume. He's screaming right in front of me, I feel paralyzed.

I have to run soon.

I don't know what to do.

"With whom?" I ask, covering my fear with a confused look- maybe it would calm him down.

Shit. He is far from fine.

"Pierce." He takes a deep breath. "That serial killing monster. He killed 8 people God damn it!" He yells in my face like I am the one who killed them.

How does he know? Him and Tyler, who knows and could've told him, aren't even allowed in the main salon at the same time. Joseph decided in the end to change Tyler's recreation program to 10:00AM. They couldn't have talked over past week or the past few days. He must know from someone else, but who? What is going on?

"Jonathan, that is not true, whoever told you that was lying. Noah didn't do any of that." I lie to him. "Let's talk about what you've heard so I can make things clear. Let's go to the main room, okay?" I struggle to put on a convincing smile.

I'm scared.

"No. I know w-what I know? Okay? Don't tell me all of that." He starts shuttering. "But you. You had a good time w-with him. That makes you a criminal too!"

I wonder if he realizes this asylum is for patients with criminal insanity rather than patients with simple mentally insanity. The people in here have committed murder. I talk to almost all of the patients and if that would make me a criminal, I would be the world's biggest serial killer.

"Jonathan, I am not a criminal and neither is Noah." I say, but he steps closer. "Please come with me so we can talk about it." I plead again.

He suddenly nods in agreement.

"Okay." He gives in.

"Thank you." I let go of the breath that I was holding. "Let's go."

I am not well. I am terrified, my hands are shaking and my palms are sweating. He still looks like he's furious. I only need to bring him down to the first floor, where the guards are supposed to see me with him, realize he wasn't supposed to be on the second floor and take him away to his cell so he can calm down. Hopefully without violence.

I start walking towards the other hallway that connects to this one, at the end of it are the stairs.

"Come on." I put a small smile on.

He hesitantly starts walking along.

Good.

My legs are trembling. We reach the top of the stairs, he does everything I tell him to do, but I find it odd. We're now in the hallway that will soon connect to the cells' one and after that, we'll step into the main salon where everyone else is supposed to be.

Why is it so noisy is here? Are the doors of the salon open? What is going on?