A/N: Welome back, everyone! Here is the anticipated sequel to The Only Word! I love your reviews and encouragements! Fun fact: The Only Word was meant as a one shot. Crazy, right? But anyway, here is the SHORT first chapter of Perdition of Adam. Enjoy.
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My patient stares at me, his dark eyebrows knitting together in concentration.
"Do you have any tens?" he asks.
"Go Fish," I tell him. He tosses down his cards in frustration.
"That's it, I've had it," he says, "Can we play something else now, Alexis? This game is boooooring." He giggles a little at his own voice and I bite my lip to suppress the emotion. Two weeks ago this person was a writhing, screaming animal constantly being hit up with tranquilizers and a week before that he was Adam Faulkner, recovering survivor of a Jigsaw trap. I know what drove him over the edge and it was not paranoia like the doctors have written in his records. Jigsaw had come back for him, just like he had been trying to tell them. Jigsaw had come back to kill him or worse, put him into another trap. With the help of Dr. Lawrence Gordon, another victim of Jigsaw's, I was able to protect Adam from a second abduction. But neither of us could have prevented the subsequent breakdown that reduced him to this. That last encounter with pure panic destroyed his sanity and his memories. The person I am caring for today does not remember his life before the hospital, his experience in the bathroom, and worst of all he does not remember his dearest friend Lawrence. His personality changed too. Now he is exciteable, optimistic, and very childlike. He doesn't know why he is afraid of bathrooms or metal but he trusts what I tell him.
"Something terrible happened to you a long time ago. That's why you're afraid and why you can't remember anything."
"Is that where I got the scar on my shoulder?"
"Yes."
"Why can't I remember, Alexis?"
"Sometimes when something really bad happens you make yourself forget so you don't have to be afraid anymore."
"Was I scared all the time?"
"Yes. And then you got so scared you made yourself forget everything."
"Sometimes I have scary dreams about saws. Is this from a saw?" He would point to his shoulder at that point.
"No. But there were saws when the bad thing happened." I always try to make things vague for two reasons: so I don't scare him and in case he remembers something on his own. He's so fragile in this state. I couldn't bear to see him break again. I know at least half of this outcome was my fault...I should have believed him in the first place. I guess the reality was...I didn't want to believe him. I wanted to think he was just suffering hallucinations, that the fear wasn't real. Lawrence was right to be angry with me. But he can't be that upset that he can't come around to try to bring back some of Adam's memories, right? I don't know, right now I don't know anything. I just need to babysit the toddler who has taken up residence in Adam's body.
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He's rather unstable, this child doppelganger of Adam's. I have to be careful not to let him out of my sight for more than a half a second to make sure he doesn't hurt himself or panic and hurt someone else. It's only been a month and a half since they transferred him to the fourth floor but the terminal feeling has already set in pretty heavily. I doubt he'll ever come back. Before you tell me not to lose hope listen to this.
Two days ago, someone finally contacted Adam's mother. She came almost right away, arriving yesterday. Seeing her terrified face rushing into the ward was what deepened the crack in my heart and the confused "Who are you?" from Adam was what broke it completely. Mrs. Stanheight is a very kind person but it seems she too is feeling guilt and remorse for her son's condition. She mentioned how she doesn't get to see him much and this is better than if he died so she's content for the time being and blah blah blah. Seeing the two of them interact is like watching a person desperately trying to teach a hamster how to speak. Mrs. Stanheight is always dropping hints, leaving little clues to see if Adam remembers anything but he always looks back at her with that ignorant innocence you can't even find in movies anymore. She leaves for the night and it's a good thing too. One thing that never left from the first day Adam entered the hospital: nightmares. He's been getting less and less sleep as the nightmares progress. I'm so afraid he might remember something too detailed and break again. And all the while I wonder...Where the hell is Lawrence?