Inside the Asylum (Book 1)

Chapter 20 - Too Close to Home

Andrew walks down the hall through the crowd that parted as he walked towards them.

"Why are you here? Nick, why are you here?" Nick doesn't answer, he just stares at me, horrified. Eventually Nick speaks up.

"Mum sent me. She thinks I'm insane. She says I belong here, with these people." Andrew looks at his brother in disbelief.

"How could she do this? She knows how dangerous it is here!" He was furious. I had never seen him this angry. Ever. Honestly it scared me more than anything that had happened over the last 14 years. Andrew was terrifying. Poor Nick stood in front of him shaking. Nick looks at me and I smile. Trying to tell him that everything would be okay. I see his eyes fill with confusion.

Nick pushes past Andrew to get to me. I could barely lift my head. He drops to his knees as he gets to me.

"Why are you here? I thought you had moved away! Is this where you have been all of this time?" He takes a deep breath. "You just stopped coming over. I actually thought you were dead!" He stops, spinning around to look at his brother. Now it was Nicks turn to be angry.

"You didn't this... didn't you?! You weren't sad when she stopped coming around. You were happy! Why were you happy? This is your best friend and you put her in here! How could you?" Nick's whole body shook with anger. He looked at me and then looked back at his brother. "You knew that she was like a big sister to me! You knew she helped me out when I needed. How could you do this? She was and is family! What did she ever do to you?" Nick stared at Andrew with pure hatred. Andrew looked both angry and sad. Angry because his brother had outed him in front of everyone but also sad that he had caused his little brother so much pain.

I realised then that Andrew was just like me.

Nick moves to untie the knots and locks that tie my hands. I felt the binds slowly loosen as Nick managed to untie them. Suddenly I feel them tighten again. I look up and see more guards around us, a few of them tightening my binds, while another held Nick back. Nick was fighting back, trying to get to me, but the guards were stronger than he was. Andrew looks me dead in the eye as he says;

"Put him in the chamber." My heart sunk.

"No!!" The word left me before I could even think. Andrew turns towards me.

"What did you just say?" He stands over me waiting.

"I said no. You can't send him in there! He doesn't know how this place works. Take me instead. Please! You can't send him in there. He's your brother! Have you no heart? Take me. Take me." I plead with him hoping to save Nick from the torture chamber. Andrew smiles a sick and twisted smile and it reminds me of the night I was brought here. I had given me that same smile just before I ran out onto the streets, just a few hours before they found me.

For a moment he is silent, thinking. He then turns to the guard holding Nick and waves his hand. Nick is let go. He scrambles to me.

"Don't do this! Just leave it. I will be fine. Please." He begs as the guards pull him away from me. I see another guard walking towards me, so I raise my hands above my head.

"No need for you to try grab me. I will go quietly. I was the one who decided to go, and I will." I stand up but get pulled back down by the chains on my wrists. I fall to the floor and hit the stone floor. Cold.

The chains release, the weight lightening. I mumble a small thank you. Andrew stands beside me and waves the key at me. I walk towards the guard who is standing a few feet in front of me. Before I walk out of the room, I search for Max. When I find him, he nods indicating that I had done the right thing. He and I both knew I would be fine. After all I had been through all of this before. I had survived. I knew that no matter what Andrew threw at me I could get through it, whatever it was.

Andrew pushes me forward and I start walking with a guard on either side of me. To the worst room in the whole asylum.

The torture chamber.