Our Minds

Chapter Seven

On the third floor Miyo and Gwin search for boxes, files, anything that will help them in any way. "This place needs a serious cleaning," Miyo says out of the blue while moving around appliances in one of the cells. Dust flies every time she moves something. Gwin is in the same cell as her, and she can smell the Japanese cherry blossom Miyo is wearing. Even over the noisome smell of rust and death, she can smell her friend's fragrance. She pushes her blue hair out of her eyes as she picks up an aged book. "Miyo, I found something." Gwin steps over the debris in the room and over to her friend. "What's it say?" Miyo dusts off herself and awaits an answer. Gwin blows off the dust, "Oh, Hauntings. That's all it says." Miyo takes it from the pallid girl's hands. The blue eyes skim the outside of the book, "It looks like a journal someone kept in here." Gwin's shoulder touches Miyo's when she steps beside her. The book flips open and more dust escapes. "Yuck," Miyo says and the two quietly chuckle. Miyo clears her throat and begins to read, "The hauntings of the Brenhurst Mental Hospital, by Me." Miyo reads "me" in a weird voice. Gwin, however, overreacts, "What? By you?!" Miyo fixes it quickly, "No, the person who wrote it just wrote down "me"." Gwin sighs in relief.

A switch flips in Miyo at the wrong time. She scoffs and laughs, "You thought I wrote this? That'd be impossible." The tone of Miyo comes off as sarcastic at first, but Gwin quickly catches it. "Miyo, why are you being-" the lips on the shorter girl stop. It's apart of Miyo's disorder. Gwin regrets saying anything, because Miyo's cap flies off, "Why am I being what, Gwin? Hm?" Her tone is so harsh. "Nothing." The answer is so small compared to the strong voice of the taller girl. "That's what I thought!" Gwin only ignores Miyo and continues searching. "We should keep the book Miyo. All of us can check it out then." Thankfully the old Miyo is back, "Yeah. Good idea."

Down on the main floor, Lillie and Jake are still in the same position. The only difference is Lille holding Jake's hand. She's never felt close to someone so fast.

"Lillie?" Her name is barely audible. She nearly gets whiplash from turning and looking at Jake. His brown eyes stare up at her. She smiles and it lights a fire inside of Jake. He smiles back at her. The weak smile worries Lillie. "How are you feeling?"

"Crazy," he says and laughs. She frowns, "What's the last thing you remember?" Jake looks over at the broken chandelier and thinks. He does remember the nurse. The horror flows through him again, "I...I remember the nurse."

"The nurse? As in the ghost that nearly killed Miyo?"

"Yes." Jake's answer scares the shit out of Lillie.

"Wh-what'd the nurse do to you, Jake?" Lillie's terrified for her friend. Jake swallows audibly, "She like," he pauses and tries to describe what happened, "she like entered me. Like how a ghost possesses things." Jake waits while Lillie absorbs the details.

"So, is this ghost inside of you?" The light brown eyes search the dark brown ones. She squeezes Jake's hand. Her dark skin caressing his pallid hands. Jake finally answers, "I don't know. I haven't heard anything..." Jake trails off, a different thought floats into his mind. He looks down at his fingers intertwined with Lillie's. The dark colored eyes linger up the woman sitting in front of them. They move from her black flats to her short pencil skirt, finally to her light blouse. Once again, brown meets brown. Lillie's suddenly flustered from all the staring and goo-goo eye making. Jake wants to lean in and kiss his newly made friend, but a darker feeling comes over him. Jake makes an uncomfortable noise as his mind wanders.

Flashes of blood running down dark skin make his heart beat faster and faster. It's like a fast slideshow playing in his mind. A slideshow of pictures. The camera taking the pictures seems to move up. Exposing more of the victim. The victim being Lillie with a knife shoved into her throat. Her brown eyes empty, no light or knowledge in them. The blood drips from her nearly purple lips. Her blood is on the hands of the one and only Jake. He wouldn't do a thing like this ever. This isn't Jake himself; it's the voices inside his head. This one seeming to be the nurse who entered his body only an hour or so ago. Jake would never hurt Lillie. No one could ever make him. Anyone. Except for the people in his head.