The Psychiatrist: Trilogy to The Doll Collector

Chapter 23: Kristopher

The alarm was penetrating my skull, making it hard to think. Not to mention the red alarm light that would certainly activate my epilepsy, if I had any. The security guards were chasing me down the hallways. I'd snuck out of this place so many times that I knew exactly where to go. However, once I got outside, I had no idea where to go.

I skidded to a halt, measuring the distance from where I was standing to the exit. It looked easy enough to traverse, but something felt off. With stealth, I stepped slowly towards the exit. My back was almost flush against the wall.

"Over here!" someone cried.

I quickly hurried to the supply closet and slipped in, shutting the door just as feet pounded past it. There were shelves of cleaning liquids and bleach. My foot was adjacent to a mop bucket with the soap bottle inside.

I grabbed the soap and popped the top. There was a space underneath the door just wide enough for me to dump the contents out. It oozed from the bottle with ease. With my foot I continued to pump it out while I grabbed the cleaning liquids and bleach. Oh bleach, nice to see you old friend.

As I undid the cap, the intoxicating scent curled up into my nose. It took me through my various killings. How sweet the smell. I could get lost in all of my memories just by smelling that amazing smell.

Later, Kris. You can do this later.

I dumped the bleach bottle underneath the door then pushed it open. My foot almost slipped on the goop of the soap that was now mixing with the bleach.

The guards had just made it down the hall. I sidestepped the mess and sprinted to the exit. They heard my feet slapping the linoleum floor and called out to each other to follow me. I made it to the exit and pushed it open, taking a look back. The guards were falling over themselves, slipping on the soap and bleach.

Bleach, my old friend.

The night air was incredibly cold. Being a California thoroughbred, this was too much for my west coast upbringing. I began to shiver immediately as I dashed up to the pathway. But where was I going? There was no way I could just roll into the doctor frat house and grab Maria. The moon was glistening on the lake's surface. I could jump in there, although that might accelerate my hypothermia.

Suddenly a low psst caught my attention. I strained to hear the direction it had come from when it came again. I turned to my left, spotting a thicket of trees. A figure emerged into the moonlight.

Maria.

I dashed over, falling into her grip. She hugged me tightly to her body, looking me over to make sure that I wasn't hurt.

"It's Charley." I said.

"I know, I know. I found her journal. Kris, you're next on her list. It's not safe here anymore."

I looked up finding Zach crouched beside her. He and I had had a long talk just before all this had happened. There was something Maria needed to tell me, or so he said. At first, I didn't understand why he had come to my room to give me this proposition, but he said that all would make sense once I spoke to Maria.

Our breaths were visible in the frosty air. Maria was shivering under my hands despite wearing a coat. Tears were brimming in her eyes, revealing fear in her pupils. The alarm was still blaring in the hospital.

"We can't stay here. We have to keep moving." I said.

"I-I need to tell you something first." Maria replied, her tone so small and fearful.

"Okay, but not here, the guards are coming."

I clasped her hand and pulled her deeper into the thicket of trees. Zach was closely behind us, as we made it far enough to be away from the moonlight. The guards had exited the hospital and were beginning their search of the grounds.

"You have to be quick." I whispered.

"I-I" she stuttered, letting out a quiet sob.

I squeezed her hand, trying to assure her that everything was okay. I glanced at Zach who nodded at me to continue prodding Maria.

"I," she sucked in a deep breath, "I'm pregnant."

Suddenly I couldn't hear the alarm anymore. I couldn't feel the cold. I wasn't aware of anything other than Maria being in front of me. My eyes dropped to her stomach. It was still flat and showed no signs of growing. I got her pregnant? Me? That was my baby? I didn't know how to feel. She looked at me expectantly, but still I had no words. She was pregnant with my baby. A serial killer's baby. I got her pregnant. How the fuck did that happen?

My mind's small slideshow of our tryst on the lakeside answered that very quickly. Why the hell hadn't we been careful? My god, she was pregnant. How the hell was she going to explain that?

"I can have an abor"

"No." I cut her off, finally being able to speak. "No, no,"

I understood what Zach meant now. At first, I hadn't accepted his proposition, but he said I would once Maria and I spoke. So, it was clear now, and I had to accept.

"No, Maria. That's your-our baby. You have to keep it. It's not going to be like us-me. It has a chance to be pure, everything we're... everything that I'm not."

Maria was much purer than I was, it wasn't her fault I completely screwed up her world. I had to take responsibility and stop dragging her into this.

"I'm scared." she admitted.

I pulled her into my chest, holding the back of her head.

"Don't be scared, everything is going to be okay." I said.

"What are we going to do?"

"I'll come back for you."

She pushed me away, her eyes widened.

"No, I'm going with you." she protested, grabbing onto my arms.

"And have a manhunt out for you too? You can't leave here a disgraced doctor. No, I will come back for you. Just wait for me. I don't know how long it'll take, but you wait for me."

For the first time since I'd actually kidnapped her, I spotted distrust in her eyes. Did she really think I was going to leave her now that I knew she was carrying my child? I leaned down and kissed her lips, hoping that that would assure her.

"I will be back. I promise. Serial killer's honor."

Maria rolled her eyes, releasing my arms. I clasped her hands together and kissed them lightly. With one last look at her, I continued on deeper into the woods, but not without Zach handing me a piece of paper first and a wad of cash.

I palmed it just as Maria called back out to me. She slipped off her coat and handed it to me.

"You won't survive the night without it." she said.

I put on the too-small coat and hurried into the darkness.

Did Kris just escape??

How was this chapter?

So my computer threw the BIGGEST tantrum. I was THIS close to taking it in for repair because it won't turn on and I reset a whole bunch of stuff. I even made an appointment and talked to tech support and then it decided to just turn on and pretend like nothing happened.

Would you all like to see the various covers for The Psychiatrist before I decided on this one??