Seth came into work around an hour later. He looked at Roman as he passed his door.
"You still here?" He asked.
"Paperwork," Roman replied.
Seth just nodded and walked on.
"Asshole," Roman whispered to himself.
Roman stayed in his office, waiting, constantly watching the clock on the wall. He needed it to be dark outside. It's always easier to hide in the darkness than in the daylight. He thought he would do it around 10 pm where everyone was about to turn in.
He walked into the big room a couple of minutes before 10 pm. Dean and Taya were sitting on the couch. Dean was holding her hand and talking to her. It was clear that he was sad. Seth walked past him in the hallway with the twins.
"Shouldn't you be going home soon?" Seth asked.
"I was just about to. Are you putting the twins to bed?" Roman asked.
"Yeah, bedtime for these two fuckers," Seth answered.
Roman cringed. That was not the way to talk about the patients. They might be sick but they were still people. He watched as Seth guided the twins to their rooms at the end of the hallway. Then he hurried to Dean and Taya.
"It's time," he said to Dean.
Dean nodded and kissed Taya's cheek.
"I love you, Taya. Don't you ever forget that," he said.
Then he stood up and walked out of the room. Roman grabbed Taya's arm and helped her to her feet.
"You gotta come with me, Taya. Don't say a word. Just come," he said.
She followed him. Roman stopped in the doorway, peeking down the hallway. He saw Dean run towards Seth, jumping on him. It went into a brawl and Seth somehow managed to push Dean into his room. Dean was smart. He kicked the door shut while fighting Seth on the inside of the room. Roman sent him a "thank you" in his mind, then started moving towards the door with Taya. He unlocked the door and ran past the reception with her. Luckily no one was there. They ran to his car. He started his car and drove away. He reached over and gave her hand a squeeze.
"It's gonna be okay, Taya," he said.
She just smiled at him.
He drove for hours until they reached a forest. He turned in on the dusty road leading through the forest. A sign saying "PRIVATE" was there. She pointed to it.
"Don't worry. It's my family's property," he said.
He reached the end of the road and parked the car.
"We gotta walk the rest of the way. The bridge is too narrow for a car to pass. We have a cabin up there. You can stay there. You'll be there safe there," he said.
They left the car and started walking. It didn't take long before they reached the bridge. They started walking over it. She stopped in the middle, looking down at the cold water running deep below the bridge. She turned around and looked at him.
"Last night I saw upon the stair
A little man who wasn't there
He wasn't there again today
Oh, how I wish he'd go away"
"He can't hurt you anymore," Roman said.
"He can always hurt me," Taya said.
Roman felt uneasy.
"What do you mean?" He asked.
"He's been around for many years. He's the reason I went to Black Hill in the first place," she said.
Roman thought about it for a second. It's true, Byron did tell him she talked about the invisible man when she first got on the ward.
"What do we do? What can I do to keep you safe?" He asked.
"You can't," she answered.
"Don't tell me I got you out of there for nothing. There's gotta be something I can do," he pleaded with her.
"It wasn't for nothing. In there I was helpless. Out here I'm not. I can't get rid off him but I can get rid off myself," she said.
Without warning she threw herself off the bridge. Roman's scream filled the dark forest as he ran to the railing. She was gone. He knew she was. There was no way anyone could survive that fall. He fell to his knees, crying and screaming. He cursed at himself for not thinking this plan through before going through with it. What was he suppose to do now? It would only be a matter of time before they noticed he had helped her escape and he would be a wanted man.
"Get yourself together," he sneered at himself.
He went to stand up. The night was cold and dark. He continued walking towards the cabin.
