Nocturne of Nightmares: A Retelling

Chapter Eleven

BEFORE LONG, WE GATHERED back in the lobby to discuss our findings. I set down a photocopied page of the book I had gotten after seeing Thoma. He and Ray leaned in as I explained, and for that second, I couldn't help but recall what he'd said earlier about his qualms, and how they seemed to intensify around Ray.

"It says here that the construction of Bluebells Orphanage began almost twenty years ago." The picture was of an unfinished building with an address in the caption.

Ray smiled, "We finally have an address. Good job."

"Oh, that's right outside the city," noted Thoma.

"So, now we know the orphanage didn't really last long," chimed Subaru. "Seven years, give or take."

"I think I know why," added Thoma, eyes wide with revelation. He gestured for us to come closer and looked over his shoulder to see if anyone was nearby. "Okay, listen. I got this detail from Geddit. It's one of the websites blocked by the city, but I managed to dig into it somehow."

"So, what did you find?" asked Ray curiously.

"There's a whole thread of conspiracy theories about Bluebells. The user who started it claims that the orphanage was actually a front for conducting human experiments." The rest of us were speechless. I held my breath. "That's sick, right?" Thoma's whisper squeaked at a higher tone, as if he couldn't believe it either. "And this is creepy, but some people claimed that they can hear eerie moaning within the grounds."

Thoma sat back and exhaled slowly as we all looked at each other.

"Human experiments?" I murmured.

"It sounds like something out of a movie," said Subaru. First games, now movies. It's like he doesn't take this life or death stuff too seriously. "It sounds unrealistic, but it could be possible if you assume we all lost our memories around the same time."

"You actually think that?" asked Thoma.

Next to him, Subaru folded his arms. "At this point, anything's possible."

Ray inhaled sharply. "If it's true, then we might've been part of those experiments."

"That's..." I crossed my arms, hugging myself. The thought was sickening.

"In our case, it would seem our minds have been manipulated," scowled Ray. "There are a lot of studies about transferring, deleting, or creating fake memories. The safest method is theoretically hypnosis, but there are also cases with rather gruesome techniques, and most of those were unsuccessful. Some people ended up dying," he said sorrowfully.

Covering my mouth with both hands, I glanced at Thoma, who clearly couldn't believe what he was hearing either.

"That's inhumane. Who would even think of doing that?"

"We'll have to investigate on site to get further into this," said Ray. Determined as ever, he suggested we go visit the orphanage immediately, and we nodded in agreement.

The four of us took Thoma's car for a trip to the neighbouring town. The further we drove, the less encouraged I felt to be revisiting the orphanage, but I knew that I had to keep it together for everyone's sake.

After a while, I caught Thoma glimpsing at the horizon through the rear-view mirror. "The sun's already setting. We should stay somewhere safe for the night."

I agreed, "Yeah, we can't afford to be out here when the clock strikes ten." We drove past a sign that caught my eye. "Look, there's a motel ahead."

We continued down that road until we arrived at the rather unremarkable building. At least the signage confirmed that we were in the right place. We climbed out of the car and made our way to the front desk, to then discover that there were only two rooms available. Ray tried to organise something better, but there was nothing the clerk could do.