Pandemonium

Chapter 7

The vibrant flowers dancing with the wind accompanied by the birds chirping a beautiful melody, the garden was breathtaking. The lush green grass and the sweet fragrance wafting in the air, it was like a little heaven in this hell. The fresh air and the splashing of water in the fountain could make you forget all your problems for a while.

I removed my shoes and stepped on the grass. It felt cold underneath my feet. It was refreshing. Barefoot, I followed Raina to one of the benches and we sat there in silence.

After a few moments, she took off, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

It was quiet here, peaceful. With each deep breath, the chaos in my mind started to calm down. My previously racing thoughts slowed down and I could process them one at a time.

Kathy and Josh were in Solitary. Would they be alright?

I couldn't do anything about it. I just had to believe that they would be fine. Even if they weren't, I would have to deal with them after a week.

Where did Josh get the supplies from? And what was in Susan's journal?

I sighed. There was nothing I could do except be patient.

Patient.

I was a patient and had to be patient. Silently laughing I moved on to the next thought.

The list of medications.

It was very unlikely that any patient here knew what the medicines were for. Asking any nurse or doctor was out of the question.

A library? If this place has a library, I could check out if there's any information there. It's a long shot but worth trying. I could go there tomorrow. I made a mental note to ask Raina about it later.

Slightly drowsy, I lied on the bench sideways.

Anagrams? Really? Couldn't I have any other illness?

I plucked a leaf that my hand could reach and started playing with it.

I wasn't Arden like I thought. I was Renda.

Renda! What a boring name!

So Susan was actually Nussa.

My leaf snapped in two as soon as I thought about that woman.

Throwing it away, I moved onto the next person I knew.

Raina could be either Naira or Arina.

Axel was Alex.

I turned on the bench so that I could see the sky above me and folded my arms behind my head.

Katherine was... I don't know. Her name was too lengthy.

Joshua? Too difficult.

How about Michael? Michael was... I bolted upright. I had called him Michael. His reaction was not what I expected, but he hadn't corrected me.

'Michael's dead! Only Mike is alive.'

His words were clear as a day in my mind. It wasn't an anagram. Could it be? Had Susan lied?

I felt someone sit next to me.

Patient 273X. Emily, her name was Emily.

Could it be?

I looked at her. It was now or never. With slight hope in my voice, I whispered, "Emily?"

No answer.

"Emily?" I asked a bit louder.

"Yes?" She threw me a questioning glance.

I drew in a sharp breath.

Just for reassurance, I asked, "Could you please spell out your name?"

"That is a weird request," her eyebrows furrowed. "but sure."

I waited with bated breath.

"E"

I could feel my heart pounding in my chest.

"M"

With my palms sweating, each second felt like a minute.

"I"

Just two more letters, I told myself.

"L"

Filled with excitement and hope, I stood upon the bench.

"Y"

I threw my head back and laughed. Looking up at the sky with happy tears streaming down my face, I whispered, "Thank you! Thank you so much!"

"Gods! Emily, I could literally kiss you right now!" I said as I wiped my tears and sat down on the bench.

A bit startled by my outburst she replied, "No, I wouldn't like that very much. How about killing off everyone here?"

"Yeah, that would be good."

"Really?"

I looked at her. She was serious about it. I wouldn't mind it at all if Susan died. But she was the only one here who knew about my life before this. She had to stay alive, at least for now.

"How did you know I wasn't blind when you removed the bandage on my eyes?"

Changing the subject, I looked at her waiting for her answer.

"They bring in all patients like that. The patients are always blindfolded when they arrive here."

"Why?"

She just shrugged in reply. Huge memory loss, no cameras, and now blindfolded patients. It seemed like this place was crawling with secrets. I had to find out exactly what was Susan hiding.

I would think about that later. For now, I just wanted to rejoice the fact that I was Arden and not Renda.

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