Chapter III:
-''Asylum Escape''-
-Saint Mary's Mental Hospital: Connorsville, Illinois-
-15 November 2002-
-0221 Hours-
"Alex!"
"Rapid!"
"Kill him! Kill this son of a bitch!"
"No..."
"I'll die anyways! If you don't kill him now, you might never get another chance!"
"RAPID!"
"NO!" Alex shot up, breathing heavily. Piermont briefly cried out in alarm as Alex's sudden awakening caused him to bite his tongue. Blood dripped in a dark red stream from the dragon's mouth and onto the eerily clean floor.
"Alex!" Piermont cried, "Jesus Christ! Alex! Are you okay? What's wrong! Are you hurt?"
Alex, breathing returning to normal, shook his head, "No Piermont...I'm okay..."
"What happened?"
Alex gave the sympathetic dragon a pained glance, and Piermont instantly knew what was troubling him.
"It's about Rapid...wasn't it?"
"Aye..."
"Alex..." Piermont rubbed the side of his head against the Commander's cheek. Alex enjoyed the hard warmth of the dragon's scales, and appreciated the contact. He began to stroke the dragon's scales, concentrating at the base of his horns, right above one of the dragon's stunning emerald eyes, and Piermont replied by purring contentedly.
"Sorry for hurting you...here..." Alex gently lifted the dragon's chin as his hand adopted a faint blue glow, and blue sparks jumped across the point of contact. Piermont let out a little noise, almost like a laugh, and Alex realized that healing was tickling the dragon. In an instant, the blood stopped and Piermont wiped his chin, cleaning his paw of the red liquid.
"It's okay," the forest dragon replied, "Thank you."
"Sorry.."
"Don't worry about it, Alex," the dragon smiled and rubbed his head against the Commander's chest. Alex countered by gently stroking the dragon's head between his cracked, ribbed, tan, slightly curved horns.
From within the dark, glassy chamber overlooking the private observation room of the Commander, a group of five scientists observed the view. Fox looked upon the boy, stroking the air in front of him as if a cat was in his lap, with a look of pity and sorrow, "Poor lad," he said to his comrade watching beside him, "He seems so lonely."
Behind Fox, the three remaining scientists sat around a glass table, sipping coffee and playing poker, "The boy deserves no pity" the team leader, also the oldest, said in a gruff voice, "The boy is certifiably insane."
Fox replied, "Still though...he just seems so lonely."
The man, seemingly irritated, tossed his cards onto the table and slammed his fist against the surface of the table, vibrating the glass and making the coffee mugs jump. The others sitting around it swore and protested, "Dammit Fox!" the older man exclaimed, spittle flying across the room, "The boy is a freaking vegetable! He is so lost within the depths of his mind and fantasies that he doesn't know a single iota of reality. He's a deranged psychopath, and no amount of sympathy will break him of his delirium. All we can hope for is that his appointment with Doctor Mendoza is kept, and that he improves after his operation."
"I still don't think this is right..."
"It doesn't matter what you think, Fox. Nobody gives a damn about your opinion, you're low man on the totem pole, you're the rookie, you're the newbie. My judgment goes, and after dedicating forty years of my life to this career, I'd be damned if it was otherwise."
"It isn't right..."
The man was breathing heavily, his nostrils flaring, as if trying to bite back his obvious hatred towards Fox. It was no secret, Fox and his superior were mortal enemies, and neither one liked the other. :Listen to me, Fox," the man said, enunciating his words very carefully, "That boy in there, is a delirious piece of crap, a reject of society, something that should have never been granted the privilege to tread the earth. His kind degrades society, and once you have spent as long as I have dealing with his type, then you will know exactly what I mean, and I pray that you will understand why we feel how we feel, and we do how we do. That boy has never known real friends, he has never known reality, and thus, I highly doubt he's lonely, his reality allows him as many friends as he wants, and he is blessed to truly believe they are real."
"Still..."
"If I were you, Fox, I'd shut up now, else you might end up on the other side of the blade," said the man beside Fox.
Randall Fox shuddered uncontrollably, then, biting his tongue, he continued his observing and recording, feeling every bit as helpless as a newborn baby, and feeling as if the real human in front of him were nothing more than a guinea pig for experiments. What can I do? Fox thought to himself, Nothing...I can't do anything. I'm bound by orders, and as much as I don't want to believe it...he's right. Fox sighed beneath his breath, hiding it from the rest of the group.
Alex seemed to glance at him, as if he was visible. Then, much to the doctor's alarm, Fox felt an intruding presence infiltrate his mind. The presence was alien, and the feeling was like nothing he had ever felt before, and never wanted to again. He felt naked, as if all his thoughts and secrets were exposed. Then, like a heavy weight upon his mind, a small but powerful voice spoke to him...the voice of a boy...the voice of the boy.
Don't... it said, Please...we don't belong here...we don't. Please let us go, please return home to our friends and family.
We? was all Fox thought, and he felt, much to his relief, the alien presence withdraw from his mind.
However, the relief was short-lived, because a new presence stormed his mind, one much more powerful than the boy's, one much larger, much stronger, much deadlier.
Yes, we, it said.
The mental voice of this second presence boomed, and Fox couldn't help but stiffen. His skin crawled and broke out in goosebumps, and he began sweating in fear as his skin paled, his stomach turned, and he felt sick. His compatriots noticed, and began asking him questions. Their alarmed and worried voices were canceled out as the large voice continued, My name is Piermont, dragon to the boy in here...he speaks the truth. We are not mad, far from it, we are just grieving.
There was no doubt in Fox's mind they were grieving, both voices were heavy with sadness and mourning, they both had lost someone close just recently. As their minds were linked during this telepathic conversation, Fox could pick out small pieces of their thoughts and memories. The voices stood between him and the thoughts, like a rock blocking a view, and Fox, while struggling to construct mental barriers in defense against the alien voices, dared not to venture far into their minds to explore. Though his curiosity into the mind of a madman was obvious and understandable, a being with this power was dangerous, and Fox didn't know what they could do to him...even if he was safe in the room.
Piermont's voice continued, You do not need to build a mental wall to keep us out of your memories, we will not intrude.
Fox's blood ran cold as the voices noticed his intentions.
We mean you no harm, Piermont continued, We're just confused...lost...we need answers...what's going on?
"I should ask you the same question," Fox said out loud, beneath his breath.
The massive voice of the dragon withdrew, and Fox felt even more relieved...but also empty...as if the dragon's voice was a massive plug that had lain in his mind for an unknown length of time, only to be removed and have a empty space replace it. He felt as if the voice of the dragon caused a gaping hole in his mind, one that would never close.
The small voice of the boy returned, now seeming familiar and safer, kinder, less harmful, than that of the dragon, We have abilities like those of which you could never imagine.
"Who are you?"
Suddenly, a flood of thoughts, memories, all holding the identity of the boy before him, entered his mind, overwhelming his brain. It was as if a massive floodgate had been opened fully, allowing a wall of water to slam and obliterate the town beside it. The boy's flood of memories ceased, and Fox felt a brittle snap as a new...much larger wall of thoughts and memories slammed him. The new flood...all from the dragon, was nearly crippling, and Fox collapsed, fearing for his life as he seemed to be crushed by the assaulting flood. His comrades were instantly to his side, but he couldn't feel them, couldn't see them, all his senses were overwhelmed as the one (or is it two?) in the room before him shared their identities with him.
Eventually, the floods subsided, along with the intruding voices, and Fox returned to the physical world. He felt cold, naked, utterly exposed, and he found it difficult to control the onslaught he had just witnessed...however...he now knew the beings in the room before him...he knew them inside and out, their origins, their thoughts, their likes, their dislikes, their loves, their hates...everything. The amount of information about the boy was crippling. In his short life, the boy and his invisible dragon had witnessed much more than he could possibly imagine. They were soldiers, having seen the ravages of war, having seen torture, death, destruction...everything.
It was unbelievable, and Fox wondered if he had just had a vivid dream. Yet, the massive, gaping hole in his mind where the overwhelming presence of the dragon had been was noticeable, and Fox knew it wasn't a dream. What the hell? he thought in awe, What just happened?
Recess hour gripped the asylum, and Alex sat on a bench in the courtyard, ignoring the bitter wind as he talked to Piermont. Mental patients surrounded them, mouths agape, and Alex was unsettled to realize they could see Piermont as clear as Alex himself could. Meanwhile, irritated guards struggled to keep the crowd away, yet more often than not a patient ended up being brained by a billy club if they so much as made a noise of unhappiness.
Alex couldn't believe the brutality of the guards, the patients were abused, misused, women were raped by a lusty guard, and there was nothing that could be done. They were all crazies, animals, people who weren't people...who didn't deserve to be allowed to live. "Son of a bitch..." Alex mouthed, watching the mistreatment.
"Jesus..." Piermont said, "Those poor sons of bitches."
Suddenly, Fox approached from behind the reclining duo, "Unbelievable."
"What is?" Alex replied, tying a long blade of grass into knots.
"This abuse."
"There's nothing you can do to stop it?"
"I wish there was," a few minutes of silence, and then, "Is Piermont with you?"
Telepathically, the dragon told him, Of course! I'm always with him.
"Ah," Fox said, shuddering at the eerie contact, "I see."
We've been through hell and back together, I'm not about to lose him anytime soon.
"That's understandable."
You're damn right!
"Listen, perhaps you should know your fate...though we're not supposed to talk about it..." Fox then informed the duo on there fate.
"Son of a bitch!" Piermont physically said, alarming Fox at having heard the dragon's voice for the first time. Alex started patting the air, and Fox decided he was petting his dragon's head.
"At ease, Piermont, we have time..." Alex said.
"Hardly enough!"
"Our chance will come soon."
"To ensure me you aren't crazy, can Piermont reveal himself to me?"
Piermont's mental voice returned, seemingly sympathetic, I wish I could...but whatever they gassed us with when we first arrived made me entirely invisible with no current cure.
"Oh..." Fox said, "Those are strong tranquilizers, they'll wear off within two days."
Good!
Fox glanced at his watch, "Well...playtime's over, back into your cell."
"Alex..."
Alex suddenly awoke, glancing around quickly, searching for the source of the all-too-familiar voice who spoke to him.
"Alex..." came the angry, yet friendly, voice of Rapid.
At first, Alex couldn't believe it, his jaw dropped, and he was filled with an intense sense of joy and happiness, "It was all a dream...you are still alive!"
Then...the Commander saw on his friend's forehead, the exit wound. It hadn't healed, but the blood had welled up in it, giving the wound a thin, bubbling, red goo covering the injury. Dried blood ran down Rapid's forehead, curving around his now-aqua-formerly-emerald eyes, and resting on his left cheek.
At the Commander's sentence, the skunk's face took on an expression of complete disappointment, and sadness. Even Rapid was grief-stricken over his 'death'.
"No," he replied slowly, as if he wanted it to be true, "I'm dead...fallen on the cold stone of that hangar floor."
"But you're right in front of me."
"No, I'm not."
Alex noticed how everything held a dream-like quality, and he was overcome with despair at the dawning realization. Rapid, treading carefully, as if gripped by arthritis, sat beside his friend on the bed, and let out a heavy sigh. Though he was addressing Alex as he spoke, he stared at the space before him, a look of realization and acceptance writ on his face. "Do not mourn for me Ali, don't."
Alex felt tears begin to fill his eyes, only Rapid called him Ali, and not unkindly either. The bond they shared was a weaker one to that which Alex and Piermont shared, but Alex was still more bonded with the skunk than the others in his army.
"I will mourn for you, Rapid."
"There is no sense in it," he spoke slowly, carefully enunciating every word, "You are better than this. You know not to linger around a fallen friend, you told me yourself."
"You're different."
"No, I am not."
For the first time since his arrival, Rapid looked directly into Alex's eyes. Alex was unsettled by the pain and suffering that was displayed in them...and the fear...what was he enduring in the afterlife?
"What happened to you, Rapid?"
"More than you can possibly imagine...to explain to you what I see..." Rapid shook his head slowly, carefully, as if wary of some kind of injury, "It would surely drive you mad."
"According to some, I'm already mad."
"But you aren't, you know that, I know that, Piermont knows that, the others know that, and Fox knows that."
"Look where I am!"
"I wish I could...I only know you see the asylum, what I see..."
"It's Hell...isn't it?"
"It's not Hell, but it's not Heaven either."
"What is it then?"
"I do not know. All I know, is that if I didn't know any better, you seem to be in the same place as I am at the moment, whereas you see the asylum, I'm seeing the place I've seen since the moment I passed on."
"Come back to us...I know you can."
Rapid smiled, a sad smile, "I wish I could Alex...I owe you that much. Sadly, it can never be. I can't even relax until I have paid for my sins."
"I thought Christ did that for us?"
"For mortals maybe...not for mutants."
"What have I done?"
"Nothing you could have prevented. Everything that has happened...that is happening...that will happen...is destined, there is no changing. None at all."
"What can I do to ease your pain?"
"Nothing...I will carry on and pass through what I deserve, then I will finally relax when the time comes."
For the first time, Alex noticed how thin and sickly Rapid was...corpse-like...and how his matted fur was charred.
"I have a message for you, Alex."
"What?"
Rapid turned to face his friend, even as he slowly began to fade away, "Carry through, break out, and remember that you should follow the dreams."
"What are you talking about?"
"Take care, and No-Tongue warns: Beware the Dark Man."
"Who is the Dark Man?"
"Farewell..." Rapid's voice was slowly becoming more distant, as if carried by the wind. "Awaken...awaken...for the time is here...the time is here..."
"Rapid, wait! DON'T GO!"
"Awaken, Alex..."
"Rapid!"
"Wake..."
"...up! Wake up goddammit!"
Alex was suddenly aware that Piermont was shaking him. Doctors surrounded them, mistakenly believing that Alex was trapped in the grip of convulsions. The Commander abruptly shoved his dragon away, and the doctor's paused as silence permeated the room. Obviously, they were confounded.
Piermont moved to help Alex up, but the Commander just shrugged him off, saying, "For the love of...leave me alone, Piermont! I'm fine! I'm fine! I don't need help!"
The massive crowd of doctors spread apart as an older man...the head doctor, approached the Commander. He walked up to Alex, toying with a knife as he said, "Now Mister Vaughn, Piermont is not real."
"He is, too. He just is backing off for now," Alex casted his still-invisible dragon an angry glance.
"See?" the man began, turning to his compatriots, Alex could see Fox towards the heart of the crowd, "This is why we need to give them lobotomies. In fact, this young man is scheduled for one later today."
Alex's heart sank as he realized what was in store for him.
Damn... Piermont thought. The doctor shoved his way through the crowd and out of the room. Angry, Piermont broke his silence for the second time since their arrival. "BACK AWAY FROM HIM YOU GODDAMN ASSHOLES!" Piermont hissed out loud.
Stunned by the dragon's angry, booming voice from nowhere, the doctors jumped back as Piermont blew a great stream of fire. In the eyes of the doctors, the fire seemed to materialize from nowhere. In an instant, the charred skeletons of the doctors collapsed into ash, coating the the sterilized tile floor.
"We need to get the hell outta here!" Piermont exclaimed.
Suddenly, a swarm of uniformed soldiers entered. They moved in, as Alex struggled to fend for himself. "Piermont! Can you materialize yet?"
"Yeah...I've been able to since yesterday morning..."
"What?"
"Well...yeah."
Infuriated, Alex hissed, "Materialize, goddammit, before I freaking castrate you!"
"Alright! Alright! Jesus...no need to be such an ass."
The dragon materialized in a flash of light and filled the room with fire.
"Help me!" Alex demanded, as Piermont cut the heavy leather belts strapping him in place.
The Commander stood, grabbing two of the Uzis, "Let's high-tail it out of here!"
He charged through the halls, now-visible Piermont causing the various doctors to freeze in place, backing away.
More of the uniformed men rushed in, opening fire towards the Commander and his dragon. The sprinkler system activated as Piermont's flames burned across the tile floors. The hallway, slick with water, immediately began to grow red as staff and inmates were gunned down by the clouds of bullets. Alex fired back, killing his attackers with pinpoint accuracy, honed after years of military experience.
"Follow me!" he commanded, reaching down to grab ammunition from the piles of corpses.
Piermont followed him as Alex ran through the maze of hallways, gunning down anyone who got in their way. As Alex saw it, any casualties were but collateral damage, and so he gunned down everyone, staff, security, and patients alike. Eventually, he found his way to the office floor, and after stealing back his uniform from what he presumed to be the older man's office, he ran into Fox as he ran back into the bloody hallway. Reflexes kicking in, Alex immediately aimed and cocked his weapons as Fox shot up his arms and exclaimed, "Don't shoot! Take me with you!"
Refusing to lower his weapon, Alex asked in a dark voice, "And why shouldn't I? You're in this, too."
"I'm innocent! I swear! Take me with you, please!"
"Your job?"
"I don't want it! It's too immoral! I can't take it anymore."
"Your superiors?"
"They can die for all I care."
Alex finally lowered his weapon, reloading it and cocking it, "And so..." he began, "They shall."
Turning to his dragon, which Fox couldn't help but gawk at, Alex said, "C'mon Pierre, we have work to do. Let's kill that bastard."
"Sir, yes sir," Piermont replied, smiling in sadistic pleasure. With a deafening roar and a pillar of flame spewed into his mouth, Alex and his dragon continued through the halls, Fox stumbling behind in tail as he reached down and picked up an Uzi from a fallen guard.
Distant police and fire sirens blared, sounding through the eerily empty halls as they searched room after room for the head doctor. Eventually, they happened upon an operating room where the head, surrounded by two or three other doctors, was beginning a lobotomy on one of their patients.
"Oi!" Piermont crooned, roaring and shooting fire into the air, "Time to pay you worthless piece of crap!"
The doctors around the older man dropped their scalpels and ran out of the room. The older man, terrified, stood frozen in place, trembling as a dark spot grew on the slacks between his legs, and a steady stream of urine poured down his pants and shoes, gathering in a puddle around him. Alex fired two short bursts, and a cloud of shot from the other side of the man's knees as he collapsed in a cry of pain that only the elderly could manage. Then, Alex tossed aside his Uzis, reaching into his military slacks and withdrawing a single P2K. He approached the kneeling man, a fixed look of indifference and eerie tranquility on the Commander's face as the older man cried and pleaded for his life.
"Please, sir! Spare me! I didn't know!"
Alex whacked the man in the temple with the butt of the pistol and said in an eerily calm voice, "It doesn't matter whether you knew or not, the acts you've committed in this damned place are too horrific to imagine, and it is time you meet your judgment."
"Don't! Please! I'll do anything! Anything!"
"The time for mercy has long since passed, see you in hell."
Alex lowered his pistol, placing the cold, water-covered barrel hard against the man's forehead, and the crying man squeezed his eyes shut as Alex depressed the trigger, indifferent to the deafening crack as the bullet fired, or the splatter of blood and gray matter on him as the man went down.
His act of vengeance accomplished, Alex broke from his eerily calm trance and gracefully scaled Piermont's tail, settling himself between the dragon's neck spines as he helped Fox clumsily scramble onto the dragon's back. "Hold tight," the Commander said as Piermont hopped into the air, crashing through the ceiling and spreading his wings as his swift ascent slowed. With a final roar, Piermont shot forward, as he shimmered into invisibility again, and the army of police, fire trucks, and ambulances surrounded the burning building.
