If These Walls Could Talk (American Horror Story Asylum FanFic)

Chapter 8

That night I fell asleep faster than usual and dreamed that I was running down the tunnel to the woods but Sister Jude kept popping up behind every corner so I kept turning back around where she was each time.

An alarm went off and I jolted up out of bed, my hair sticking to my sweaty face. A bright red light shone from the window on my door and I got up to go look at it, slipping my feet into my shoes to avoid the freezing floor. I walked up to it and watched as it started to shake, like someone with the strength of a god was pounding their fists against the steel. Then, something even more peculiar happened.

It creaked open.

I stepped out of my room to see that the red light was coming from the ceiling lights which normally emitted a white light. Every other door in the hallway began to open and one by one the patients slowly stepped out of their rooms.

Emma walked out of her room a couple doors down from me and I walked over to her.

"What's happening?" Her voice wobbled like her chin and her hands clasped one another in a tight embrace.

"I'm not sure. Maybe a power failure?"

"This doesn't feel right." She said.

A commotion started at the other end of the hallway as some of the patients began to whoop and holler with their new found freedom.

Nobody will even notice we're gone! Not for a long time.

"Come on! Now's our chance!"

I grabbed her hand and we began to run down the hallway, past all of the other patients who more or less stayed where they were. I went by memory and almost cried whenever I recognized a familiar doorway.

"That's it!" I pulled harder on the girl's hand, willing her to quicken her pace.

"Emma!" A male voice called out from behind us.

She turned and I reluctantly did the same.

"Kit!" Her face lit up and she let go of my hand, running over to him. "Come on, Freya knows how to escape from here!"

"Emma, I told you he can't come. Now get away from him."

"No! He's not who anybody says he is. He's good." She responded.

He spoke up, his hardened eyes looking into mine. "I don't belong here. Same as you."

I shook my head. "You're a liar. You've manipulated this girl and mutilated countless others."

"None of that is true!"

He took a step towards me and I backed up, yelling out. "Stay away from me!"

I watched as Emma grabbed his hand and pulled him to the door I had pointed out earlier. My heart pounded in time with the shrill alarm and I did the only thing I could think of to prevent Emma from being with him.

"Help!!! He's escaping!! Bloody Face is escaping!!"

They slowed down and Emma turned to look at me with pure betrayal on her face.

Two orderlies emerged from side hallways and grabbed Kit and Emma, dragging them away.

***

The next morning I was summoned to Sister Jude's office.

An orderly brought me to the room and left me there to sit in the chair across from her desk and told me that Sister Jude would be with me shortly.

Who does she think she is, the president?

I leaned back and smoked on my cigarette while I looked around the room. It was bare but didn't all nuns swear against want of material things? Hell if I knew.

The door opened behind me but I didn't bother turning around to face her.

She walked towards me and pulled the cigarette out of my mouth, dropping into a glass of water that was sitting on her desk.

"I wasn't done with that."

"Would you care to be disciplined? I wasn't planning on it today but I can easily clear my schedule."

"Get it over with then if you really want to."

She sighed and sat down at her seat behind the desk. "It was a long night for everyone. I didn't bring you to my office to punish you. I brought you here to reward you."

"Is this some kind of sick joke?"

"I know you called the orderlies on the two escaping patients, Kit Walker and Emma Fairhill. For doing that I wanted to reward you. So go open the door."

I hesitated before getting up and walking over to the door to her office. I wiped my sweaty palm on my dress before turning the doorknob and opening it up.

Two orderlies walked in the room, one for each patient they held.

It was Kit and Emma, who avoided looking at me.

I turned to Sister Jude. "What's the meaning of this?"

"These two acted foolishly and therefore will be punished. You, however, will not be."

"I don't understand. Why bring me in here just to tell me that and parade these two like circus animals?"

"As I said before you are going to be rewarded. Your reward is that you get to choose."

She walked over to a closet she had in the corner and swung its doors outwards, revealing an assortment of canes in all shapes and sizes. "Which one of these will you like to see be used on these sinners?"

I shook my head. "You're twisted."

"Either you choose a cane or you get fifty strikes with the biggest cane in here."

I reluctantly walked over to the closet and chose the smallest cane I could see.

"Aren't writers supposed to have lively imaginations? Pick another, Freya."

I put it back and pulled out a medium sized one, which she took from my hands. She walked over and opened up the gown of both patients, exposing their bare bottoms.

"I'm so sorry Emma." I said.

"You're a liar."

Sister Jude held the cane to Emma and pulled it back, getting ready to strike her.

Kit spoke. "Stand up, Emma."

Both of them straightened themselves and turned to face the nun, who looked less than pleased.

"I'm the guilty one. It was my idea to escape and I made Emma follow me. She doesn't deserve to get caned."

Sister Jude leaned towards Emma. "He seems to have taken a liking to you. Maybe it's your pretty little face. Go stand over there."

Emma walked to the other side of the room and Sister Jude turned back to Kit. "Since you so desperately wish to be her knight in shining armor you will be taking her lashes as well. So that's forty for you."

Emma let out a sob and tried to reach for Kit but was held back by the two orderlies.

I winced with every sob that she let out and every strike of the cane against Kit's bottom.

What have I done?