Hey everyone! Whoo, majorly fast update!!! I was so excited about this story that I nearly fainted with glee. Anyways, I know I didn't leave much time to leave a review but I only have two! That makes me so sad...so I'm going to try to update slower unless I get at least five reviews from the second chapter. But who knows...I may just get way too excited again. And now, I give you the SECOND CHAPTER!
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Suddenly, out of nowhere, a voice pierced the silence.
"Hey, Stan, is that you? What did I tell you about making noise this late at night?"
I froze, afraid to even breathe.
"No, it's not me. God Jack, do you always have to blame me for everything? I was just drifting off to sleep. Thanks a lot!" came another voice from a cell further down.
I stayed where I was, debating whether to advance further. I was surprised that the criminals were having normal conversations. Weren't crazy people supposed to only moan or not talk at all? Damn, I was so naïve.
Taking a slow breath, a tried to creep forward without making any noise. I failed. The floor creaked.
"Someone's here," the one that must be Jack, said.
"Yeah, man, I heard it too," Stan said.
There was silence for one beat, then, "I swear to God, Smiley, if you're out of your cell again to play a trick on us, I will personally carve your face into holes," came Jack's voice.
It suddenly hit me. His name was Jack, like Jack-O-Lantern, and he had threatened to 'carve' someone's face. With a sudden roll of nausea, I realized what his victims must have looked like when they were found.
I tried to muster up some courage before Jack could get any more pissed off.
"U-um, hello. It's not…Smiley, my name is Before Break, and I'm here with my college class on a field trip," I called out into the dim light.
There was a choking noise of shock from several cells, and then faces appeared from behind the bars.
I gasped at their nearly soundless appearance, then regained my composure. I had to play it cool with this crowd.
"Well, whaddya know?!" boomed a new voice. "Someone's come to visit us, guys!"
Several more people came forward to the front of their cells.
"Hello, Before Break. I'm Smiley, it's a pleasure to meet you," the man said in his big voice.
I was surprised at how calm I felt. Looking at their faces, there was no hatred or malice. Just the same curiosity I was feeling. I smiled at him and the others and nodded. "It's nice to meet you all too."
The one that must be Stan laughed suddenly. "Guys, she just greeted us! She ain't scared of us, looks like!"
Jack smiled at me. "Well, I must admit, I'm quite pleased to have a visitor after endless time in this hell-hole. Can I call you Miss Break?"
I nodded, feeling an odd sense of community in this foul smelling 'hell hole'. It shocked me, to say the least.
"Well then Miss break, I have one question: do you know where you are?"
"I'm in the room of the most criminally insane masterminds in the whole institution," I replied quickly, trying to show that I was not afraid.
There was silence for several moments. "Wow, she's something else," came Smiley's voice.
Jack spoke up again, "So, you're really not freaked out by that? Got to say, I'm impressed by your guts. Not even some of the guards are brave enough to wander around here at night."
"Probably because they know I'm known to roam at night," Smiley put in with a grin.
I smiled back. "So, then you know how to pick very complex locks?" I asked with more curiosity than fear at the fact that he could get out of his cell right now if he wanted.
"Yup, my granddaddy taught me when I was a small tyke. Oh! Where are our manners? (I had to suppress a giggle) I haven't introduced everyone. I'm Smiley, cell number two is The Jack-O-Lantern (also called Jack), number four is Stan The Baker, number three is Old Lady Roberts, but she's asleep right now. Oh yeah, and the farthest cell is a guy named Beyond Birthday. But, don't bother trying to talk to him. He never talks, so there's really no point."
I looked over to the end cell, but didn't see anyone from where I was. I walked forward until I got to Beyond Birthday's cell and peered into the darkness. I saw a boy about my age with messy raven black hair wearing a baggy white shirt and baggy blue jeans looking back at me.
I flinched, but not because I was scared. It was because as I looked at his eyes, I had never seen eyes so devoid of life. Usually, the eyes are the 'window to the soul' as they say. Beyond Birthday's eyes were curiously dead, with nothing but nothing showing through them.
Nonetheless, I said, "Hello, Beyond Birthday, my name is—" He cut me off.
"I know."
I blinked, surprised that he had said something to me, unlike what Smiley had just said to me.
"Oh, I guess you must have been listening to our conversation before. Well, it's very nice to meet you…can I call you Beyond?" I waited for some kind of reply, but none came. He just stared at me with those emotionless eyes, cold and unfeeling. He was nothing like the others in this hall. That much I knew.
Jack spoke up then, "Hey, Beyond, why not gracing the lady with some words, eh? She came all the way up here just to visit us, so why not have a bit of courtesy?" Beyond didn't reply.
"Oh, it's okay, Jack. I don't want to be a nuisance to anyone, so I guess I'll be leaving now."
The men all frowned. "Already? But, you just came up. Can't you stay a little longer? They won't be looking for you will they? We could all get in trouble you know."
I smiled reassuringly. 'No, I don't think they'll look for me. I'm not very noticeable in a big group, so they probably won't even notice I'm gone. If they do, I'll hide somewhere or leave through the back exit."
Stan grinned. "You're a smart one, all right. Thanks for staying here with us." His smile faded and he looked sad. "No one ever visits this trashy place. I'm surprised your class chose this institution for research. Say, what class are you even taking that you would even be here?"
I blushed, self conscious about my future career choice now. I had always wanted to be a psychiatrist, but meeting the people I might be 'helping', I wondered if there was really anything wrong with them at all. Then again, you had to be pretty crazy to kill people right?
"Erm...I was going to be a therapist of some sort but…" I trailed off, shrugging.
"Hmm, well, if more therapists were like you, I'd consider going and talking to them," Smiley piped up. I stared at him, shocked.
"You mean, they don't talk to you here?!" I nearly shouted.
They all smiled sadly. "We're criminals, Miss Break. No one wants to ever talk to us or help us. You're sort of the first person besides the warden that's come up here in several years. We went to therapy once or twice, but they kept asking 'how do you feel?' God it was annoying. They never let us tell our story. They just put us on really crappy medicine."
I nearly cried when I heard that. Also, I was furious. How could people just let other people rot away with no help? It was just morally wrong! "I'm so sorry," I whispered. "I had no idea things were like this."
Jack snorted. "Well, not like any of us can change anything now, so it doesn't really matter."
I looked at the floor angrily. Maybe when I went back to school, I would admit to what I did, and tell them what I had seen. Maybe my teacher could do something…
No.
People didn't care about anyone else anymore, so that option was out of the question. No one but me would try to help, because only I knew what these people were going through. I tried to remind myself that maybe they deserved it for killing, but I couldn't bring myself to hate any of them. I didn't know what kind of pain they had been through, so who was I to judge?
"I think I need to go now. Then tour must be close to finished by now. But…" I quickly made my decision. "I'll come back sometime soon, okay? I'll try to visit at the next chance I get."
They all looked shocked, even Beyond, who's eyes only held a hint of surprise.
"Really?" Smiley asked, "You'll really come back?"
As I moved towards the door, I looked back at them. Smiling, I replied with simplicity.
"Yes."
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Well? What did everyone think? I hope you all liked it. Sorry If I fail at writing epically. SO read and review my readers and let me know what you thought. :)