Springwater Asylum ✓

17. KUMBAYA, MY LORD

It was the trio's first day on sea being led by Terrell, who was the only one with any boating experience, despite it being a little rusty. Celeste chose to stay indoors, due to her irrational fear of the waves becoming stronger and capsizing the boat.

Celeste and Eva sat in the kitchen, eating the 'Heinz' beans straight from its container, as none of them knew how to cook. Eva suggested baking bread but none of the ingredients were available. The woman had grown tired by eating beans, craving other foods which seemed more like a luxury than a human right.

"You can have mine," Celeste offered her can to the woman, adding a faint grin. "You need to eat for two anyway."

Although the gesture was nice, Eva replied to her kindness with a groggy expression, not having been able to sleep for the entire night due to her cramps escalating.

"You really think I want to eat beans, Celeste?" She bitterly inquired, narrowing her eyes at her. "I'm pretty sure 150 grams is enough for the both of us." Eva scoffed, going back to finishing the can.

An idea popped into her twisted head, discreetly looking over at the woman next to her. Eva got up, opening up the drawer which was marked 'MEDICATION' in label maker print. She searched through the mess of packaged pills, finally stumbling upon the sleeping pills. She took some out, placing almost half of them in her hand, before shoving them into her coat pocket.

"We should try making something." Eva called out, closing the drawer and pretending to look around for something she could crumble up the pills in and feed them to Celeste.

"I don't know, if there's anything that's in here that isn't canned, I don't trust it. What if it's spoiled, or rotten?"

Eva shut her eyes, clearly annoyed at how paranoid the girl seemed to be – especially about something they needed right now. However, she was mildly glad Celeste trusted her, though she had no choice due to Terrell's persistence.

"What else do you want to eat then?" She opened other cabinets and drawer, furrowing her brows, making sure to have a concerned look on her face so Celeste wouldn't suspect anything.

"Do they have canned soup?" Celeste inquired, curiously leaning over the counter as she pushed the now empty can of beans aside.

Eva's face turned sour at the mention of eating yet another canned edible, but nonetheless, if she wanted her idea to work, she needed to go along. Fortunately, she was able to find the canned soup, although there was only one can left. The woman pondered, whether taking the risk of consuming that many sleeping pills with Celeste wouldn't hurt her. I'll think of something. She thought to herself.

The woman grabbed the tomato soup, hearing Celeste's footsteps distance themselves away into the bedroom. She hurriedly opened up the can, taking a few spoons of it before crushing the pills in her coat pocket. She sprinkled them into the half eaten soup, mixing it around so there would be no white streaks or powder residue. Eva sauntered into the bedroom, opening the door with a spoon already in the can.

"Here," She offered, a smile plastered onto her face. Eva handed over the soup to Celeste, watching her hungrily devour the chunky, red liquid. "I'm going to the bathroom for a second." She spoke, eyeing the can before getting up to leave.

***

Terrell had taken a break from driving the boat, putting it on auto-pilot. He went into the kitchen and looked through countless cabinets and drawers for something to eat. He only managed to find canned goods, as well as freshly preserved bread – but that's not what he wanted. Although there were other produce, he didn't know how to cook. The man went into the bedroom, his gaze landing upon his girlfriend who laid asleep.

A soft smiled appeared on his face, causing him to walk over to her. He sat down next to her, placing a gentle hand on her upper arm, stroking it.

"Is my sleeping beauty going to make me something to eat?" Terrell jokingly inquired, taking a minute to admire how beautiful she was.

After finding out how Eva had been manipulating him for her own gain, he was lucky to have found Celeste. The two met each other during one of their bakery shifts, bonding over their shared hatred for Ross. Terrell chose to love and look after an evidently emotionally damaged Celeste who'd been rendered paranoid due to the harsh circumstances of Ross' experimentation.

"Babe?" He whispered, shaking her lightly while his hand still laid on her upper arm. The man furrowed his brows, knowing she wasn't a light sleeper due to her usual jerks and night terrors – from her words.

Terrell repeated her name, hoping not to go too far in case he gave her a night terror which would take a lot of effort to subdue. After a while, he decided it would be worth it, shaking the woman vigorously but she still wouldn't wake up. He didn't want to believe the worst, but he checked on the right side of her lower chin, hoping to find a pulse – but his heart sank when he couldn't.

Eva came out of the bathroom, a little stunned to find Terrell sitting next to what she hoped was Celeste's dead body. She tried to act casual, walking over to the two of them.

"What's wrong?" She questioned, leaning forward to see what was happening.

"She's dead..." Terrell trailed off, gulping at the thought of her being gone. He didn't want to be emotional about it. The man tried his best to compose himself, getting up and walking away from her.

On the other hand, Eva stood there – watching Celeste. God, he's always rubbing his nose into everything. She thought to herself. Eva picked up Celeste after taking off the blanket and dragged her body in the bathroom, locking the door behind herself.