Lies #5: Sanders

Chapter 2

Virgil:

None of them said a single word for a minute or two. Finally, Logan cleared his throat. "Well, I suppose we should begin by introducing ourselves and stating what trauma we may be suffering from. It will be comparable to a group therapy session. I am Dr. Logan Sanders, a neurosurgeon from San Francisco, and when I was four, I went through a surgery that removed the Limbic System in my brain because I was suffering from a tumor in that region. Ever since, I have not been able to feel any emotions or fear. This caused bullying in my childhood and unfair treatment of me by adults who simply labeled me as naughty and cruel." He looked over at the new guy expectantly.

Looking at him a bit more closely, Virgil realized the two of them were probably the same age. The young man didn't say anything for a moment and then startled. "Oh, am I next? Sorry! I'm Patton Sanders. I- I don't really have anything wrong with me, I just get a little scared when I'm alone. Monsters in the dark, y'know? Um, I only came here because the killer took two teenagers- my cousin, Thomas, and his best friend, Joan Stokes." With that, he went quiet and stared at the ground. Nobody said anything. Logan eventually sighed. "Alright, if you don't want to share what your trauma is, then you don't have to. Now, which one of you is Virgil?" Virgil bared his teeth at him, and he raised an eyebrow. "Alright, it's you then. Virgil, I know you suffer from Anthropophobia- it was in the report on the case in the news. Although we must accompany each other through this mental hospital, if you ever need time to yourself, just ask for it and we move on ahead to the next station to wait for you."

Calming down a little, Virgil let his angry face drop. I... guess he isn't too bad. At least he had the decency to consider Virgil's Anthropophobia. Giving a small nod, he looked at Roman. "So, Roman, got anything you're scared of? Let me guess, bad fashion?" He grinned cruelly, and Roman gave him a glare. "I'm not scared of anything. I just disapprove of bad fashion. How do you even know that's something I care about?"

Looking him up and down, Virgil shrugged. "I don't know, maybe the fact that you're wearing white pants and knee-high boots? Not a look I see all that much. Of course, I don't get out that much, so my perspective might be skewed. Either way, you need to get a whole new look. You look like a fancy cowboy, and I think that look went out of season, eh, centuries ago." Of course, Virgil was just saying all this to get Roman to hate him. If he hates me, he won't try to get close to me, and I can defend myself if he gets really mad. Logan pushed his glasses up his nose with his ring finger. "Can we focus?"

They all murmured their agreement, but Virgil knew that this group was not going to be a well-functioning one. Logan was apparently emotionless, Patton was extremely quiet, and Roman seemed to be a blank slate. I'll ditch them the first time I get the chance.

"Alright," Logan made his way over to the front counter. "First, we'll need the map. Second, we should look around for any signs of who the person who set this all up is. Third, we need to decide which station to go to first." He went around to the other side of the island and opened a few drawers, sifting through them until he pulled out a sheet of paper. Then he laid it out on the table, "It would be helpful if you all came over here to look at it." Patton zipped over on light feet, while Virgil and Roman shuffled slowly to them. Looking down at the map, Virgil felt his stomach drop. Seriously? This place is huge!

Out of all three floors of the building, all of them were going to be used for the test. Logan's was on the first floor, Patton's and Roman's on the second, and Virgil's- thank goodness- on the third. I'll definitely be able to ditch them and find Dante before then. If this 'Mind Palace' really did work, then Virgil didn't want to be a part of it. I'm not going to let three strangers see my darkest secrets! Nobody should! It was too personal. Virgil's whole life for the past 8 years had been preventing anyone from seeing into who he was, and he wasn't going to throw that away now.