Page 30 of Lethal
“It would be such a breach of power and trust. Tsk, tsk.” He nods his head, but I see the gleam in his eyes; he’s enjoyingthis. A thought squirms at the back of my head, one that I can’t quite grasp, with all the drugs racing through my system. “Don’t worry, Miss Vaughan, all your misdeeds will never see the light of day, I’ll ensure it. In fact, no one will ever know you were here. It will be as if you never existed.”
He releases his hold on me and takes a cautious step back, and I force my gaze to hold his. In his eyes, I witness a type of unbridled madness that more than frightens me, it all but confirms that I’m going to die at his hands. “I think our Miss Vaughan will require a little more enticement, perhaps another dosage of the scorpion venom, and then we’ll hit her with the hose again, and increase the velocity by another point. It seems Cecelia here is hesitant to give me the information I seek, so we must pry it out of her, awakening her from her reality.”
What a fucking sick joke that he keeps using my beautiful cousin’s name, as if he wasn’t the reason that she’s dead.Bash! Wren! Where are you? Please, he’s going to kill me!
We work our way forward, fighting off Halstead’s lackeys, as we make it into the deep levels of Wellard Asylum. The section of the old, decrepit building that’s been forgotten by time, and closely resembles levels of Dante’s Inferno. This is the part of the asylum that you can’t find on any of the blueprints, the one that Halstead doesn’t want anyone to know exists, so that he can continue his experiments, without worry of someone stumbling upon it.
“Wren, we need to get through that door, see if any of them have a key!” I demand, as I smash my aching, and bloody, fist into another miscreant’s face. A roar behind me has me risking looking backward, only to witness my brother biting at one of our attackers’ faces with his teeth, over and over again. The lower half of his face is now coated like a savage beast with blood, and the madness that he has always had a precarious hold on has been completely unleashed. I grasp onto the fucker’s shirt before me, as his eyes roll into the back of his skull, and search him for a key, but come up empty. Frustration and fear mix within me, two emotions that I despise, as I realize that this is taking too long. Halstead has had our girl in his clutches for hours, and she might not even be still alive. The thought of her not still breathing causes me to lose all sense of control. I kick, punch, and stab, at the remaining guards attempting to stop our progress. “Kill them all, brother!” I roar, and Wren’s answering cackle reassures me that at least a part of him is still here with me.
“Painted face and crimson smile, follow me just one more mile. Lights go out, and deadly screams begin, guess who’s dancing on your spleen?” Wren’s voice bounces off the walls as he sings unhingedly, shanking another guard. “You stole my dolly, she’s mine to break, not yours, not that demon’s. I want her back, and you’ll all bleed and die for taking her!”
I scramble over the prone bodies of the men we have dispatched back to hell, where they belong, searching for an access key to get us through the thick, steel door that impedes us from reaching my little toy.She’s strong; she’s one of us. She’ll still be alive when we get to her. She can’t leave us, not now, not ever.I try desperately to reassure myself, but dread is mounting inside of me that it won’t be the case. If she’s dead, I will burn this place to the ground with everyone in it. The next body I turn over is familiar to me. It’s one of Halstead’s loyal dogs, a mannamed Jonathan. His dead, unseeing eyes stare up at me, as I search through his bloody clothing for an access card. I’m almost ready to admit defeat when I tear through his pants, and my fingers wrap around the plastic, square card.Bingo.
“Wren! Wren, let’s go, brother, I have the key!” I yell as I surge forward, the card in my tight grasp, and my heart beating rapidly in my ears.
“Coming, Bash. I just have to give this one a new smile!” Wren sings, as he slices one of the guards’ mouths wide open, and leaves him with a demonic-looking grin. “Perfect, now you can go meet the devil in style, make sure you tell my father I fucking hate him!”
I’m quickly losing patience with my brother’s antics. We need to find her, and ensure that she’s still alive. I have no doubt in my mind that Halstead is currently using his unsavory methods of torture on her. If he breaks what’s mine, I’ll rip his heart out and make him choke on it. I press the card to the reader, and the green light flashing brings me a meager sense of relief, as I slam the heavy door wide open, charging forward, and hoping that my brother has my back.
The darkness, in the corridor leading lower into the asylum, is only broken up by the occasional bare light bulbs, hanging from dated sconces secured to the stone walls. The air in this area is cooler and damp, and the smell of murkiness and mold reaches my nostrils. I keep moving forward, but my eyes carefully watch the shadows for the possibility of another ambush. I won’t put anything past Halstead, the fucker is not only dangerous and devious, he’s intelligent, and he must realize that he has a lot to lose. “Bash, I don’t like this... It’s too quiet, brother,” Wren’s hushed voice utters behind me, and I agree with his assessment. Something doesn’t feel right. It’s almost too easy. It’s as if he wants us to find them.
I stop suddenly and grab Wren by the shirt, pulling him close to me so I can whisper in his ear. “We are not alone down here, this is a fucking trap. We need to get to our girl at all costs, Wren. If somehow I’m incapacitated, brother, you need to make sure she gets out, do you hear me, brother, no matter what, she gets out, and you kill as many of them as you can.” My brother’s dark gray-blue eyes meet mine, and even though his features are partially obscured, I see determination settle on his face, a mirror image of my own. In this moment, he’s lucid from the madness that overtakes him, and he’s in control of the voices. I don’t know how long that will last, but I hope he can get our girl out before one of the stronger entities inside of him takes control.
“I’ll get her out, Bash, I promise, but I’ll come back and help you fight the wolves. They can never end the Carnevil Twins. We are the bigger monsters, and we will survive forever in this world.” His arm wraps around my aching and bruised ribs and squeezes.
I press my forehead against the side of his head, taking in his scent and energy. I’ve never lived a single day without my brother, and I don’t want to even imagine what that would be like. He is my other half, always has been, there is no Bash without Wren, two sides of the same coin, and it will always be that way. “I love you, I always will, brother. I’m so sorry for what happened. I should have chosen you. You’re right, let’s show them how we eat.”
I push away from my brother and move forward, the sharp blade that has served me well, grasped tightly in my fingers. A shadow lunges out around the next corner. I strike forward, stabbing it over and over, as I hear the sounds of a struggle behind me, as Wren deals with an attacker of his own.“You’re... going to die forever this time. Halstead... will never let her... go.You’re... too... late,” the man gurgles, as I slice his throat open and push him against the wall, until his body stops twitching.
“LITTLE TOY, WE’RE COMING FOR YOU!” I roar, my voice echoing off the stone walls. Forget stealth, I want Halstead to know we’re still alive, and his time is rapidly running out. Soon, the Carnevil brothers will feast.
“Wakey, wakey, Miss Vaughan. You’ve slept long enough, and time is precious and fleeting.” Halstead’s voice awakens me from the darkness in which I’m lying. I startle with a gasp, as I realize I can’t see anything as I force my eyes open. I sharply move my limbs, only to discover that my arms are strapped tightly in front of me, and some contraption is wrapped around me.Straitjacket,my mind supplies, and my next breath wheezes out of me. My bare legs push to the sides, pressing and kicking against something firm. When I lift my knees and shoveupward, I realize that I’m trapped in some sort of box, devoid of light. Scratching, and low screeches, reach my ears, growing louder by the second, and mix with my panting breath. I feel something furry brush against my feet, and its claws dig into the skin of my arch, and a scream leaves my lips. “Ah, you’re finally awake! That’s great news, we can continue! I wouldn’t scream too much, it will only entice them. They’re hungry, the poor little creatures, starved really, and I’m sure they would love a nibble or two.”
A hitched, squeaky sound is heard, and more claws are scrambling around me, as I manage to kick at what’s touching me, and to my horror, I realize that Halstead has trapped me in a box with rats. “Tell me about Caterina, do you remember her well?”
“WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? HAVE YOU LOST YOUR FUCKING MIND!” I scream, as one of the rats bites down on my toe. I try to reassure myself that Halstead won’t allow me to be eaten by rats, that he needs me, but my heart is ready to rip out of my chest. “I’M CATERINA! RELEASE ME! OH MY GOD! FUCK!”
“It’s time to stop with this delusion, Cecelia. I’ve given you long enough to play your games, and they’ve been highly entertaining, but I need answers. I need to understand how your mind works.”
Something slams hard above me, sending the rats into a further panic. I can feel multiple around my legs now, and they are steadily making their way up my torso. “PLEASE! PLEASE, GET ME OUT OF HERE! I’M CATERINA, I’M HER, PLEASE!!” I plead in horror, as I feel movement along my stomach.
“No, Caterina was a doctor here, long before you arrived. She completed her medical residency immediately after graduating from medical school. You have never been to medical school,Cecelia, in fact, you’re too young to have even completed college.”
No! What the hell is this lunatic saying? He’s trying to convince me that I am not who I believe I am. Every word that leaves his lips is filled with deceit. I’m Caterina Vaughan, and he’s trying to manipulate me. “LIES! GET ME OUT OF HERE!” I kick frantically, causing the rodents to panic and scramble, some of them digging their claws all over my exposed flesh. “This is not real. This is not real, it can’t be real,” I whimper, as one of the rats bites down on my calf.
“You were brought here to Wellard Asylum, Cecelia, after you were convicted of brutally murdering your brother, Thomas, in cold blood, and attempting to kill both your parents, for having ignored what he did to you. The courts found you mentally unstable, and decided that you should serve out your life sentence within these walls.”
No, Cecelia never killed anyone, she was thevictim. Thomas killed himself, I watched him do it, me, Caterina, not Cecelia. “LIAR!Thomas killed himself!“ I scream as more weight lands on my chest.
“Doctor Caterina Vaughan was the one to petition the courts that you be remanded to Wellard’s custody, and in her care. She wanted to help you, and she even requested to be your primary physician, despite the potential conflict of interest. I allowed it, because I wanted to study your psyche, and how it could be impacted by the betrayal of someone you loved, incarcerating you here.”
A flash of something pulls at my mind, a petite blonde woman, wearing an orange prison jumpsuit being dragged from a courtroom, tears running down her face as she was forced into handcuffs.Cecelia.I watch in my mind’s eye as I, Caterina, approach her, attempting to soothe the fury, and tantrumoccurring.“Please, Cecelia, all will be well, trust me, cousin. I will keep you safe, you’ll get the help you need now.”
No, that never happened. Cecelia was never charged with a crime. She was never forced by anyone, except my aunt and uncle, to enter Wellard. I... I didn’t work here when she was here... it’s not possible, he’s lying. Somehow, he’s manipulating my memories. Sharp pain radiates through my mind, and another bite steals my attention, as I thrash wildly against my confinement.
“She had sessions with you almost daily when you first arrived, attempting to soothe your fears, and prevent you from falling deeper into your depression, and paranoia. She used to tell you stories of two of our most infamous patients, theCarnevil Twins. Bash and Wren Norwood.“ No, that’s not true. I had never heard of the twins before I decided to come to Wellard, to find out what had happened to Cecelia.More lies.He’s spewing so many of them, trying to trick me into believing them. He’s attempting to break my mind.
“Cece, they were so handsome, look at these pictures I found of them. Can you believe they lived here, in this place? They were serial killer clowns, isn’t that wild? It sounds like something out of a Hollywood blockbuster, right?” My eyes glance forward, and there, held in Caterina’s hands, are two booking photos of the twins. They stare at the camera without a hint of remorse across their handsome features. Just by the laughing grin in one of the photos, I can tell that one is clearly Wren.No, it’s not true; this never happened. Somehow, Halstead is making me see these things.
