Cast (#wattys2016)

Chapter Twelve

Now I'm constantly waiting for a sound, a visit, something, again. Hopefully something better than last time.

It looks like that something is another click of the door. Please not the Puppet Master again, I don't want to hear about the status of his note sending. No, thankfully it's Doctor Periwinkle. But maybe he's not really any better. "Who has he gotten to so far?" I ask, choosing not to face the Doctor.
"No one, I'm trying to convince him to save them." He waits for me to say something but I don't. "Um, Emily's talked to me about her plans."
"That probably wasn't the best idea on her part."
"Because I don't want to betray my brother."
"That, and because you'll easily betray us."
"I'm not the one who put you here!"
"You didn't exactly try to stop it either."
"I don't have the power to."
"You didn't even try!"
"I like the plan!"
"You! Y-You like the plan? Emily's plan?"
"Mhm, I helped her revise it a bit but I like it for the most part."
"What kind of revising did you do?" I'm growing slightly suspicious.
"For starters, we're not going to kill my brother. Second, you'll lead the operation."
"How will I be leader? We have no plans. I have no plans."
"That's why I'm here, lets talk." He settles himself on my desk chair.
"How can I trust you?"
"You're just going to have to take the chance, or you could tell me to leave right now and I will never return." He sticks his hand out and I hesitate, I really hesitate. I had trusted Doctor Periwinkle so easily before, why did I doubt him now? "I guess that's your answer then." He starts to get up but I stop him by grabbing his hand tightly.
"I'll trust you, for now." He sits back down.
"All right then, let's talk business."
"So, I think I could sneak into his office and look for a key, to an exit door or something; at the same time someone else, I'm thinking Henry, can look for said exit door or something. Once we have this we can one by one filter out of the hospital though the door so no one doesn't notices the disappearances until it's too late."
"How will we just walk out the door though?"
"We'll escape during the day, when there's less security roaming the halls."
"I'm afraid after my brother found out what was happening with you he increased security 24-7."
"Oh. So we set up distractions, like on the night Ari escaped."
"What about distractions when Ari escaped?" Oops, he didn't know that. I thought the Puppet Master would've told him when he found out, unless even the Puppet Master didn't know that; wow, he really didn't do as much digging as he thought he did, and the that's the thing he said to me!
"Um... Never mind."
"Paige, if you know something about Ari's escape, please tell me."
"Huh... Doc... I helped Ari escape. She was my friend and she deserved to be free, and since I didn't know the reasons why she was still here and no one would tell me, how could I deny her chance of freedom? Rain, the blanket girl, was able to pull off a distraction so the guards wouldn't notice her sneaking down the hall, so there you go."
"That sounds like something you would do, helping someone in dire need. Thank you, for being so kind to my daughter."
"You're not mad?" I'm surprised.
"No. You didn't know, how were you supposed to? You were just doing the right thing."
"I'm glad you understand."
"I'm glad you're you, Paige." There's a comfortable moment of silence before we both know we should get back to planning.
"So, distractions?"
"It's a good idea, but what about the last person?"
"I'll be the last person, so if anything goes wrong at least I'll be the one to get caught."
"That's very brave of you, Paige. But I should be the last person to leave, I've spent 15 years here and I might as well spend 15 more."
"Doc-"
"There's no room for argument, I'm afraid. I'm as stubborn as a child when I want to be. I will also be the one to search my brother's office."
"No, don't do this to yourself."
"I have more reason to be in there then you, a more legitimate reason that won't get me killed." He has a point.
"Fine, you can do that part but I'll be the last one leaving."
"I told you we're going to argue about this."
"Well I'm just as stubborn as you, if not more so."
"Paige, I only do this because I care about you. I know what he will do if he catches you."
"Yeah, I become Calvin's problem."
"If you want to make a joke out of it, yes."
"It's not a joke. The Puppet Master was even the one who gave Calvin the red piece of paper that told him to kill Louise."
"What are you talking about?"
"Whenever Calvin gets a red slip of paper with a name on it he knows he has to kill that person, so whether it's actually just by a touch or by another method, Calvin kills whoever the Puppet Master tells him without realizing it."
"Even if Calvin was the one that took Louise's life, it wasn't my brother who told him to do that, he has to consult with me first before we make such drastic decisions."
"Well he made that decision. Yesterday he even showed me the pieces of paper he had for my friends."
"Uh, I think I need some time to think about what you've just told me. I'll search his office and tell you when we're ready to initiate step 2." I don't protest anymore, because I'm not going to win and because I know I've just revealed a lot of heavy handed stuff.