Asylum - The Case of Sophia Rourke

Chapter Twelve

Sophia left soon after. I walked out into the hall, a mixture of emotions swirling in my head.

As I passed Daryl and Reiko's room, I heard soft crying. I knew right away it wasn't Luke, and it couldn't be Reiko. Without thinking, I put my ear up to the door and listened closely. It was Daryl.

"Daryl," Reiko said, her voice almost silent.

"I can't... I can't do it anymore..." he sobbed, his hands audibly covering his face. I heard a shuffle, as if Reiko was moving on the bed.

"Can't do what?"

I heard him stand up. "I'll be back...."

"Where are you going?!" Reiko stood up right after him, her voice frantic.

"Stay here."

"Tell me where you're going."

"Reiko, I'll be right back," he stuttered, then I heard his footsteps come closer to the door. I darted over to hide.

"Daryl," Reiko whimpered. "Tell me where you're going."

He opened the door and walked outside. I watched him as he went up the stairs silently, then disappeared from my view. Reiko quickly walked out her bedroom, Luke asleep in her arms. She looked scared. I peeked out from the corner and narrowed my eyes. Great, Daryl, you're stealing my spot. Why?

Reiko walked in the opposite direction Daryl went, clearly looking for him. I snuck up to the roof. The first thing I heard was heavy breathing, then, silence. Pure, dead silence.

"Daryl?" I called out, my voice echoing across the roof.

"R-Reiko, I told you- wait. Addie?" Daryl whimpered. I got closer, and finally, I could see his face. His expression was fear mixed with sadness. After seconds of watching him with a puzzled face, I saw what he was looking at and it made my expression look the same as his.

Red vines of ivy were growing across the roof.

"Daryl, go back to sleep," I demanded, not able to take my eyes off of the plant.

"No. I can't sleep...."

"I'm getting Reiko," I told him, then went back inside. I could hear her calling for Daryl from the other side of the building.

"Reiko," I shouted out, quiet enough to not disturb the patients.

"Where is my husband?" Reiko cried back.

"Come here. He's on the roof... something's up." She's by my side within two seconds. I brought her up onto the roof. Daryl, thank God, was still there. He flinched as he heard the slightest sound of the floorboards.

"I'm seeing things. Hallucinating. God, don't make me crazy again," he stuttered, his voice breaking helplessly. Reiko ran over to him, hugging him tightly. Luke was awake now, confused as ever, smushed in the middle. Daryl's body was shaking- I could see it- vigorously, like he was freezing cold. Reiko didn't even notice, though. She was now crying into his shoulder.

I reached down and brushed my fingertips against the crimson ivy, and I immediately felt burning, which was scorching my skin.

"Don't touch that," a voice whispered into my ear. I pulled my hand away and stood up. My skin was already blistering, which I knew wasn't normal. It wasn't like any other burn I'd seen in all my years of being an asylum patient and doctor.

Luke was clinged to his father. "Dada."

It was odd to me to see a grown man crying. I recalled that I actually hadn't seen a grown man cry before, that's why it was so strange.