Steady Breaths

N a m e F o r T h i s P l a c e

Cheryl's POV
We were all quickly ushered out of the room, I took one last look at Archie through the glass, only assuming that this would be the last time I would see him. I refused to make eye contact with Dr Mendax as I passed him, I tried to keep a confident front, but on the inside; I was screaming.
The young girl who had bought us in came to a stop as we exited the Reasoning wing. She looked up and down the hall before quietly talking to us.
"The Reasoning wing, I place I hope I never have to take you again. It's where they torture you for misbehaviour, you only saw a glimpse of what happened to your friend back there."
I hear Veronica gasp, I can't be sure whether it's shock or fear, or maybe both. I try to shake away the thought of my friend being brutally beaten, but it's a chilling thing, I can't imagine how much pain he must be in.
"They aren't going to kill him are they?" Veronica asked almost desperately, but in a whisper.
"No of course not, well...we can hope not. Listen I'm really not supposed to be talking to you but-"
"Wait who even are you?" Jughead interrupted her before she could finish, his impatience never fails to impress me.
"Oh, I'm Lila, Lila Everclear." She says with a small smile, a bit of pride in saying her name no doubt.
"Why is your uniform different to ours?" He then asked.
"Here at the institute you are separated into different categories depending on your status. You all start in pale green uniforms and I guess each year you move up a level. I've been here for 4 years so I'm in a blue uniform. After a while they don't know what to do with you so you're assigned a group of newbies. I'm basically your mentor"
I sigh in pity for her. 4 years trapped in this awful place with no escape.

"This is insane" Betty says to herself, rubbing her temple due to a headache she's probably getting thanks to all of the confusion.
"Well apparently so are you" Lila replied wittily.
"What do you mean?" Kevin asked.
"I mean that's why you're here isn't it? You're either insane or deeply traumatised, and if you aren't insane already then don't worry, they'll take care of that. It doesn't take long for them to make you loose your mind. Most people around here find a way to kill themselves..."
I watch as Veronica sinks her head a little.
"That's why you're here isn't it?" Lila practically reads her mind.
"Excuse me?" Veronica replies rather quietly.
"Suicide, you're the one who attempted suicide aren't you?" She asked, stepping slightly closer to us.
"Uh, yeah...how do you know?"

Before Lila could answer a young boy, probably around our age, ran up to us, he was wearing a blue shirt and pants.
"There you are!" He half whispered half yelled at Jughead and Kevin.
"Wait wheres the red head?" He asked after looking around at all of us. Huh, he must be the boys 'mentor'.
"He's in the Reasoning wing, with Mendax and the beaters." Lila explains, making the boys face drop slightly. I guess that was our confirmation that we won't be seeing Archie any time soon, or even ever.

"Oh everyone, this is my twin brother, August Everclear" Lila decides to change the topic of discussion.
"I had a twin brother!" I blurt out randomly, I'm not sure why it came to mind. Everyone is staring at me now. Great, I bet I look insane.
"You're lucky he's not in this hell hole" August says.
"Auggie! He's dead remember you can't just say that!" Lila whisper-yells. Wait how did she know about Jason's death?
"How do you know?" I ask. How does she know about all these things like Veronica's suicide attempt and Jason's death? Gossip doesn't spread that quickly does it.
"Well as I was explaining earlier before somebody interrupted me" Lila death glares August, "basically I was assigned as your mentor, so I had to basically spy on you guys. Of corse I had my limitations because I'm still I patient here, but I had my ways to basically watch your every move. It was haunting really, and then I reported back here to Dr Mendax, I know, you can basically blame me for the fact that you're all here, but I had too...or else he'd kill me."

Jesus motherfucking Christ. What the hell is this place.

"Wait but Jason died almost 2 years ago. So you mean to tell me that you've been spying on us for 2 years!" Jughead huffed.
"Well I've been the one spying on you boys technically" August added dorkishly.
"So you know everything about us?" Kevin asked.
"Basically, like I know that you two are dating" Lila pointed to Toni and I.
"Wait, you've been spying on us that much that you know who were dating!" Betty rubs her temple, confused once more.
"Well yes, but they're also holding each other's hand for dear life" Lila pointed at ours hands, which I honestly hadn't noticed had interlocked, only now was I realising that I was death gripping Toni's hand like there was no tomorrow.
"I wouldn't do that by the way. Dr Mendax is particularly disgusted by contact of any sorts, he basically treats us like robots. I know it's hard, but just try to not touch, kiss, or hug anyone. Or else you'll find yourself back in the Reasoning wing, this time in the red heads position." August says, making Toni and I instantly pull our hands apart.
"Archie." Veronica says, "the red heads name is Archie" she clarifies.