Cast (#wattys2016)

Prologue

Where am I? What's going on? I'm sitting in a dark room with only a single bare bulb hanging above my head, but I am in a rather comfy chair; it has arm rests and the seat is cushioned. I try and remember how and why I've gotten into the situation I'm in, and find that there isn't much I can remember at all. I remember my name, it's Paige Montgomery; But I can't remember things like my mothers name, it's Linda, right? Or Lisa. Does it even start with an L? I can't describe what my brother looks like either, do I even have a brother?
"Ah, you're awake I see." The strange voice is calm but exuberant, he sounds like someone trying to perform a magic show in a library.
"I guess I am." I responded, though I knew I was most likely in a dream.
"I assume you have the regular questions, 'where am I?', 'how did I get here', and so forth."
"Actually those are the exact questions I have."
"Well, all the answers will come in due time. For now, let me introduce myself." The man still had yet to reveal himself, so he stepped out of the shadows at this point. The skinny man was dressed in an unusually coloured lab coat, the mainly red coat with cold accents reminded me of that of a Ring Leader's and he wore a black top hat on his head. "My name is Pierce Manchester III, but you can just call me the Puppet Master, everyone else does; oh look at that, the answers are already being revealed to you, I told they would be."
"I still don't know where we are." I said, again looking around the dimly lit room. 
"Of course, we're in The Pierce Manchester Institution for Psychiatric Help, or the Sanctuary for short."
"We're in a mental hospital?!" I questioned, eyes wide.
"No! We're in an Institution for Psychiatric Help, a Sanctuary."
"Ok, so I know who you are and I know where I am but, why am I here?"
"It's quite simple, really, the patients here need some more... Mentally stable companionship; someone who will just talk to them and be their friend. I'd ask the doctors and nurses to do but, they're always too busy being doctors and nurses, the patients don't usually really like them anyways."
"Why don't you be their friend?" I asked the question in an genuinely inquisitive way as opposed to a rude way.
"The patients don't seem to trust me, not at all. In fact there's a saying going around, you'll probably hear it at some point, 'don't trust the Puppet Master'." He laughs. "Isn't that silly?"
"Well maybe they say that because you call yourself 'the Puppet Master', don't you think that sounds a little... controlling?"
"Not at all. In any case, your official title will be 'Advisor' and you start immediately; take your time walking around, meeting some of the patients, you'll find it can be rather fun if you give it the chance." I know I should've questioned him more, I know I should've been more curious, but I felt inclined to explore and discover things on my own.

"Follow me, Paige." The man, the Puppet Master, said. Only now do I notice that I wasn't tied to the chair.
"How do you know my name?" I questioned.
"I'm just that good." That remark was just a little too mysterious and almost menacing for my liking, but still I followed him. He lead me down a hallway and it looked like a cross between a hospital and a hotel, the walls were covered in elegant dark red wallpaper and the doors we passed were made of dark oak. "We like to keep the living situations here comfortable, homelike." The Puppet Master explained as we continued walking and for a second I really did believe I was in a sanctuary. "Here we are." He said, reaching the front of a long hallway. "This is the patient wing, this hallway branches off into two others and you'll find all our patients around here. I must warn you, some of them may surprise you; just be prepared for anything, anything." The tone of his voice made me wonder what 'anything' really meant. "I'll leave you to it then." In a heartbeat he's gone.

I could see why the patients don't trust the Puppet Master, he's pretty shady. I wanted to ask him so many more questions but I know the answers he would've given me wouldn't have been satisfactory, if he would've even given me any answers. I decided that my best bet was to talk to the patients to collect all the information I need. I want to know why the Puppet Master picked me- a random 13 year old girl- to be an Advisor, I want to know what he's is really up to, I want to know what kind of facility he's really running and of course, I want to know how to get home, if I can ever remember what home is. Maybe that's the answer, maybe this place is home. I honestly don't know. My mind is going crazy with questions and confusion, but I'm actually interested in my new job as an 'Advisor', I could get used to it.

Suddenly my eyes start to wander to the first door on my left, so I move towards it. I'm not sure what kind of oddities await inside, but I'm ready and willing to find out.