Pandemonium

Chapter 6

Sitting around and doing nothing was hard. But sitting around and doing nothing for almost an hour was exhausting.

Another hour passed with me continuously drumming my fingers on the table. Where were they? I had been waiting for almost two hours and still, Kathy and Josh were nowhere to be seen.

Groaning, I rested my forehead on the slightly cold surface of the table and closed my eyes. I was about to doze off when I heard scrapping of the chair in front of me.

I looked up, expecting to see Josh or Kathy.

"Where have you-" My words faded away as soon as I saw a man in his late forties sitting across the table.

He had brown eyes, greyish white hair, and his name tag read Michael. Thick grey strands of hair grew along the sides of his face and an unkempt mustache fell around his mouth.

I drew in a deep breath. A bit wary of the stranger in front of me, I glanced at him hesitantly. He remained silent and just kept looking at me.

Uncomfortable with his staring, I decided to leave.

I was almost up when he said, "Waiting for your two friends, aren't you little miss?"

How did he know I was waiting for them? Did he know where they were? Hesitantly, still not believing him, I sat back down.

"Yes," I asked leaning forward in my seat. "Do you know where they are Michael?"

"MIKE!" He slammed his hand on the table. I moved back as far as I could.

"Michael's dead! Only Mike is alive." He started sniffing and soon tears rolled down his cheeks.

Gulping, I handed him a few tissues from the box kept on the table.

He took them gratefully, "Thank you, little miss. Mike appreciates this."

Great! I shouldn't have sat back down. Anything I say could offend him. I was thinking of ways to leave without causing another outburst from him when he leaned across the table.

Not wanting to offend him, I stayed still.

"Mike knows what happened. Mike knows everything. Nobody likes Mike. Everyone runs away from Mike." He shook his head in denial. "But not you little miss. You are kind to Mike."

A huge grin spread across his face. "Mike will tell you what Mike saw."

Instead of saying anything, I nodded at him.

"Mike saw guards taking people to solitary. Mike saw your friends too."

If what Mike said was true then Kathy and Josh were in solitary confinement. That would explain why I hadn't seen them since morning. Were they caught? Did Susan know it was Josh who set fire to her office?

Mike must've sensed the worry on my face. He flashed me a toothy smile and said, "Don't worry little miss. Mike will be your friend until your friends come back. Mike will stay with you for a week. Mike won't let you feel lonely."

"Thank you." I gave him a small smile and waited.

As soon as he left, I hurried back to my room. I needed to sit down. The interaction with Mike was overwhelming for me.

Solitary. Kathy and Josh were in Solitary.

Mike said he would be my friend until they come back. He also said he would stay for a week.

That meant Kathy and Josh weren't going to come back for at least a week. They would stay in solitary confinement for a week. Did Susan know? Would she go as far as killing Josh?

I bit my lip and started pacing the room. My mind was racing with thoughts.

"I always find you holed up in your room. It is not healthy for you. Come on, take your tablets and then I'll take you to the garden."

My mind didn't register a single word that Raina said.

"Are my friends in solitary?" I asked looking directly at her.

Her silence was my answer.

"Did you know?"

"I didn't want you to get hurt," she mumbled.

I sighed, "Will you at least tell me why?"

"Susan suspects that one of the patients suffering from pyromania was responsible for the fire," Raina said as she put the tablets in my hand and passed me the water.

I put them in my mouth and took a sip of water.

"Susan couldn't find out who did it so she sent all the 8 pyromaniac patients to solitary."

I just nodded at her and went to the bathroom.

There was no way I was taking tablets prescribed by Susan. I spit out the medicines hidden under my tongue and thoroughly rinsed my mouth.

After I was done, I went out to find Raina waiting for me. She had the right to not tell me something since I hid things from her too.

I couldn't see the sad expression on her face anymore so I questioned, "Are we still going to the garden?"

"Do you want to?" She asked with a hopeful smile on her face.

"Lead the way." I gave her a smile in return and followed her.