Fear Asylum

New Thinking (Ch. 9)

I rubbed my temples as I thought harder. The window showed a dark world clouded by fog and non stop snowfall. I shivered just looking outside but somehow inside was perfectly warm. I let out a sigh of frustration and Graham raised his head. I heard his footsteps ringing louder in my ears as he neared me. He sat next to me on the bed and rested his hand on my knee.

"What's wrong, Ice?" He asked, sweetly.

"It just doesn't make sense." I mumbled. He looked at me in confusion.

"What do mean?" He tilted his head to get a better look at me. I stood up.

"A mental institution has a black out. There's still heat, so there's gotta be a generator. But the locks are down. So why don't they use the power for the locks? And why isn't anyone freaking out? She said there were Orderlies helping, but I haven't even seen any! And where are the guards? This just doesn't make sense, Gray." I said shaking my head. I placed my head in my hands and pushed the hair off my face.

"Hey," He said, wrapping his hand around my waist. "Don't worry about it. The lights'll come on, and everything'll go back to normal." He whispered in my ear. I rested my head on his shoulder.

"I know." I said softly. "But it doesn't add up. And I hate leaving things unsolved."

"Shh." He cooed. "Just don't think about it, hon." I sighed. Maybe Graham was used to these weird problems because he's stayed here so long, but I'm not. I know something's going on. My gaze drifted off into a far corner.

"Y'know what was weird though?" I questioned.

"What?" Graham asked, also looking fondly off into the distance.

"I saw a little girl here. Isn't that weird? I thought there was a different building for kids. But that's not even the weirdest part. She said she could see in the dark. And I swear, I didn't believe her, but in the darkness she walked straight into my arms for me to carry her. I mean, she didn't even bump into me. And then she said she could 'disappear'. And then she vanished and reappeared next to me." When I finished, Graham looked at me like I was crazy. Ironic, I know. But I had to admit, it did sound a little farfetched.

"I'm not crazy." Graham whispered. My eyes shot back to him. Shit! I totally forgot about the telepathy thing!

"I'm sorry, Gray. You know I didn't mean it like that! I just meant like, oh, I dunno, Gray. But you know I would never say anything like that about you." I hugged him. "This place is just creeping me out. I'm sorry." We stayed in each other's arms for a moment and then he pulled away.

"Well let's go looking." He said with a smile. I stared at him.

"What do you mean?" I asked. He stood up and grabbed the flashlight as I remained seated.

"You wanted to solve this mystery, so that's what we'll be doing." He smirked. I grinned.

"I never thought you'd be the one to lead me in a mystery." We laughed together as we walked out of the room. We exited the room and walked down the stairs. Graham lead the way, taking us to the wardens office. We agreed that if anyone had answers, it would be the guy who ran this place. Everything about him screamed mysterious. I never even met him. Graham told me he was an Ex-Marine, or something. We turned a corner and Graham turned to me with a finger pressed against his lips. This prompted me to attention and he turned around.

"You could have just told me." I thought staring at the back of his head. He continued to watch the people moving in front of him. After a few minutes he responded.

"Whatever." The way he thought told me something was wrong. Then it hit me.

"You have some kind of mental block in head to keep me from reading your mind!"

"SHH! I need to concentrate! I'll tell you about it later!" I grabbed his shoulder and turned him around.

"You'll tell me NOW." I demanded. He sighed.

"Icelynn, it's not to keep you out, it's to keep them out."

"What?" I thought.

"Just don't-" A large man with broad shoulders and piercing eyes grabbed Graham by the shoulders. Graham had a look of pure terror plastered on his face.

"What are you doing out of your cell?" He thundered.

"I-I. I w-was just. U-uh-" He stuttered. I ripped Graham away from the man's grip.

"We were just getting back to his room." I interjected. "And just who the he'll do you think you are?" I asked, arms crossed. He leaned in.

"I'm the warden. Now just who do you think you are, miss?"

"I'd have known you were the warden if you actually introduced yourself to me on my first day like a normal boss." I hissed using as much venom as I could. No one talks to Gray that way. He smiled. It wasn't a warm smile. it was an evil smile, the kind you'd expect a serpent to have.

"Cunning, aggressive. I like you. Nice to meet you, Donnermay. I'm Caulfield." He stuck his hand out and I shook it. I shook it with enough force to break his hand. I smiled through gritted teeth and that's when I heard it. The warden's sly, mischievous voice. Except it wasn't verbal.

"I'll be seeing you soon." His voiced echoed through my brain. I felt someone shaking me. Then a figure appeared in front of me with red hair and hazel eyes. He was the one shaking me. A voice that seemed distant suddenly rang closer. Soon the voice was directly infront of me. I saw the man's lips moving.

"Icelynn! Icelynn! Answer me! Please!" He was pleading. it was Graham. Graham Stockholm. Gray was shaking me. I stared at him and this time it was my turn to plaster a look of terror on my face.

"G-Graham!" I choked out. "H-He was in my head!" My eyes were wide in fear. How was he able to do that?

"What? Icelynn you must have imagined it. He can't telepathically communicate. Only we can. I checked." Graham said.

"But Justyne, the little girl I met, said she just got her power to teleport. What if Caulfield just got his powers, too?"

"Oh c'mon, Ice. You can't just trust some random kid. And we are in a mental institution." He said and I had to agree with him. I was going nuts. We continued walking and then. I stopped.

"Wait. Weren't we going to talk to Caulfield?" I asked. Graham stopped a few feet infront of me. I heard him curse under his breath. He was hiding something from me and I knew it.

"You were right when you said Caulfield had just gotten his telepathic abilities. This place isn't what you think it is. T-they conduct these t-tests. I woke up during one and I-" A hand gripped my shoulder and Graham's. We turned around and stared at the person. It was Caulfield.

"I said I'd see you soon." He said with an evil grin in his voice. As I swallowed hard, my surroundings changed. We were no longer in the hallway. We were in an office that I assumed was Caulfield's. He walked behind us and sat in the chair behind his desk.

"We need to talk."

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Sorry for the late update. (like anyone's actually reading this).