Madhouse | Ethan Dolan

2

Ethan's eyes opened as a sharp pain went through his rib.

A loud yell immediately left his lips as he jerked awake, holding his side.

Two hands pushed his arms down quickly. Ethan opened his eyes, afraid of who he'd see.

Octavia's eyes were open wide, her finger going to her lips as he started to calm down.

"Y'know, there's stupid and then there's you." She rolls her eyes, pressing a warm wet cloth to his cheek.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Ethan asks, squinting his eyes. "I fought back."

The girl lets out an exasperated sigh. "Did I not warn you, you baboon? Do you know how much trouble you've gotten us into?" She asks grimacing.

"So why're you helping me?" Ethan barks, malice laced in his tone. "Go fuck yourself!"

Octavia holds a finger to his neck, staring at him threateningly. "I swear to god if you yell again, I will personally shove this down your throat." She rumbles, pointing to a sharp pair of scissors on a counter. "I don't want to help you."

Ethan mouths a confused "what?" Looking around the room as if Octavia was losing her mind. "So leave!" He yelled, closing his mouth after Octavia pointed at the scissors again.

"That guy." She says, nodding towards the door. "He'll hurt us both."

Ethan shakes his head, groaning a little as he feels his neck stiffen. "This is crazy."

"Can you shut up?" The girl asks, thumping her hands against her lap. "As much as I don't like you, I don't want you to die." She grumbles, moving her attention back to Ethan's cheek. "I don't want your cheek to get infected." She says subconsciously.

"Why're-"

"Shhh..." Octavia ushers, tapping her fingers against Ethan's chest. After a few moments, she leans back, returning her attention to Ethan again. "Yeah, what?" She asks, putting away the silver tools that were scattered on the counter.

"What's going on?" He asks, propping himself up on his forearms.

Octavia shakes her head, gently pushing him down. "Stay down." She mumbles, keeping her eyes on him. "I think we're kidnapped."

"Think?" Ethan asks, raising an eyebrow. "We are."

"Look, I ended up here a while ago okay?" She explains, looking around the room. "He works on us like we're dolls." She says, looking down at the ground. "It's like he doesn't know the difference between a person and a plastic toy...."

Ethan shakes his head. "Why're we still here?"

"No one knows we're here I guess." Octavia shrugs. "Either that, or they don't care."

Ethan weakly chortles. "I have a family. They care about me. They love me." He says, looking up at her.

"Then why am I still here?" She asks, picking at her nails before she gets up, walking to her curtains. Her hand pulls back the cloth, revealing an area with columns and rows stacked up side by side of tallies, marking the floor to the ceiling.

"321 days." Octavia says grimly.

Ethan nods, sighing to himself. Nothing could explain the thoughts going through his head.

It just seemed so unreal. Like a bad dream that he was just minutes from being woken up from. Maybe if he waiting a little longer, he'd wake up to see his brother shaking him awake with a huge smile on his face. Maybe-