Reality is a terrible thing to one who is unused to it. I entered the
foyer of Rutledge's quietly, glad for that feline quality left to me. The
place smelled of stale sickness; the rug on the floor was frayed and rent
in a few places and the paper on the walls was water stained and peeling.
It had been a few years since anyone had been here, but this looked far
more aged and decrepit than I would have imagined a building could garner
in just three years. No, this asylum had been worn and broken long before
its gates closed. People had actually lived here, like this. The idea made
me shudder.
I exited the foyer through a door straight ahead of me, and entered a large, open room that hosted a wide desk at the far end and a set of double doors to my left. There were papers scattered both on the desk and on the floor around it, and there was a chair tipped onto its side near the desk as well. This made little sense to me- Rutledge's was closed down, not abandoned. Why would there be paperwork left? Curiously, I tucked the scalpel into my belt and moved to lift a few sheaves of paper from the desk, perusing them.
YOU, the first paper said. I blinked. 'You'. That was all. I dropped the paper and peered at the one under it.
MUST. I swallowed. There was a slight gnawing in the pit of my stomach. I dropped the second sheet and eyed the third.
LEARN. The paper fell from my fingers.
NOT, said the next.
TO, the next. My hands were shaking, and the papers were falling like snow drifts, downward in flurries.
BE
SO
EASILY
DISTRACTED.
That was the last. I stiffened, turned, and saw a gaunt figure in a dingy uniform that must have, at some point, been white. His eyes were steely; in his hands was a straightjacket. When he spoke, it was raspy, as though there was no saliva in his mouth whatsoever. It made his words dry, but thick. "Come on back to yer cell now, Charles. Come on. Ye don' want us t'have t'force ye now, do ye?"
I backed up, slowly, staring at the orderly. It wasn't possible that there were actually people here any longer. Was it? I could've mulled over the answer for hours, but there was no time in the present for such musings. The orderly began to advance and, suddenly, he withdrew a hypodermic from his pocket. I stiffened and leapt to the right as he hurled it at me. That was NOT proper procedure. What was going on? Was this the sort of place my Alice had been a prisoner to for so long?
The orderly dived at me and, almost instinctively, I snatched out the rusted scalpel from my belt and jabbed it upward against him. He groaned, softly, and crumpled to the ground, stomach bleeding profusely. I was shaking, badly, and realized for the first time how it must have felt to've been Alice, traveling Wonderland and murdering every step of the way. Stepping back, I watched as the orderly's body seemed to melt away. As it did, a faint orb of softly glowing azure replaced the corpse. I stared at it. Meta-essence? It couldn't possibly be. Not here in reality.
"What is it?" I murmured.
"Disbelief," came the answer. I spun about, to see.Alice. My Alice, but clothed in a straightjacket and a dirty gown from the asylum. She looked younger and harrowed, thin, her eyes large and dulled, hair lank and limp. "Or sensibility. Whatever you'd like to call it."
"Alice." I said, distraught at seeing her so. There were small, red burn marks on either temple. What had they been doing to her? "My God, Alice, get out of here."
"If they hurt you, you can use the Sensibility to heal. They're not really hurting you, after all, and the Sensibility reminds you of that, and your wounds go away." She kept speaking as though she had not heard me. "Unfortunately, it has side effects."
"Side effects? Such as?" I inquired.
"You're not a very sensible creature," was her answer, spoken with a sigh. She turned and walked through the double doors, vanishing from my sight. I turned back to the orb of Sensibility and tried to touch it. My fingers passed through- since I was unhurt, it did nothing for me. Hurriedly, I chased after Alice. My hands knocked open the double doors, and I found myself in a long corridor lined with doors. The chandeliers above me flickered dimly, their light ambient. The hall was empty only for a moment. 'Round the corner at the opposite end stalked three orderlies, and two distinguished looking gentlemen in house jackets. Doctors. I readied my scalpel, but was unprepared for the onslaught that was thrust at me.
The doctors were carrying instruments that looked rather like box cameras. Aiming them at me, the implements shot forth a burst of electroshock. It hit my chest and the pain sent me staggering back. The orderlies withdrew hypodermics and flung them. The first round, I managed to dodge. The second struck me in the thigh and in the shoulder. I felt the liquid being pushed into my veins and I groaned, softly.
"Take him back to his cell," said one of the doctors, voice clipped and precise. My sight began to blur a little. Desperately, I hurled my scalpel at one of the doctors. It buried itself in his sternum and he choked, dropping to his knees. I did the same when a wave of drowsy dizziness came over me. My sight was unfocused and I felt weak. When the orderlies took hold of my arms, I had no strength to protest. I watched, blurrily, the doctor's body disintegrate and form an orb of Sensibility. As I was dragged away, I tried to reach the pulsing light, but it was impossible. "Alice." I murmured, and then lost consciousness.
I exited the foyer through a door straight ahead of me, and entered a large, open room that hosted a wide desk at the far end and a set of double doors to my left. There were papers scattered both on the desk and on the floor around it, and there was a chair tipped onto its side near the desk as well. This made little sense to me- Rutledge's was closed down, not abandoned. Why would there be paperwork left? Curiously, I tucked the scalpel into my belt and moved to lift a few sheaves of paper from the desk, perusing them.
YOU, the first paper said. I blinked. 'You'. That was all. I dropped the paper and peered at the one under it.
MUST. I swallowed. There was a slight gnawing in the pit of my stomach. I dropped the second sheet and eyed the third.
LEARN. The paper fell from my fingers.
NOT, said the next.
TO, the next. My hands were shaking, and the papers were falling like snow drifts, downward in flurries.
BE
SO
EASILY
DISTRACTED.
That was the last. I stiffened, turned, and saw a gaunt figure in a dingy uniform that must have, at some point, been white. His eyes were steely; in his hands was a straightjacket. When he spoke, it was raspy, as though there was no saliva in his mouth whatsoever. It made his words dry, but thick. "Come on back to yer cell now, Charles. Come on. Ye don' want us t'have t'force ye now, do ye?"
I backed up, slowly, staring at the orderly. It wasn't possible that there were actually people here any longer. Was it? I could've mulled over the answer for hours, but there was no time in the present for such musings. The orderly began to advance and, suddenly, he withdrew a hypodermic from his pocket. I stiffened and leapt to the right as he hurled it at me. That was NOT proper procedure. What was going on? Was this the sort of place my Alice had been a prisoner to for so long?
The orderly dived at me and, almost instinctively, I snatched out the rusted scalpel from my belt and jabbed it upward against him. He groaned, softly, and crumpled to the ground, stomach bleeding profusely. I was shaking, badly, and realized for the first time how it must have felt to've been Alice, traveling Wonderland and murdering every step of the way. Stepping back, I watched as the orderly's body seemed to melt away. As it did, a faint orb of softly glowing azure replaced the corpse. I stared at it. Meta-essence? It couldn't possibly be. Not here in reality.
"What is it?" I murmured.
"Disbelief," came the answer. I spun about, to see.Alice. My Alice, but clothed in a straightjacket and a dirty gown from the asylum. She looked younger and harrowed, thin, her eyes large and dulled, hair lank and limp. "Or sensibility. Whatever you'd like to call it."
"Alice." I said, distraught at seeing her so. There were small, red burn marks on either temple. What had they been doing to her? "My God, Alice, get out of here."
"If they hurt you, you can use the Sensibility to heal. They're not really hurting you, after all, and the Sensibility reminds you of that, and your wounds go away." She kept speaking as though she had not heard me. "Unfortunately, it has side effects."
"Side effects? Such as?" I inquired.
"You're not a very sensible creature," was her answer, spoken with a sigh. She turned and walked through the double doors, vanishing from my sight. I turned back to the orb of Sensibility and tried to touch it. My fingers passed through- since I was unhurt, it did nothing for me. Hurriedly, I chased after Alice. My hands knocked open the double doors, and I found myself in a long corridor lined with doors. The chandeliers above me flickered dimly, their light ambient. The hall was empty only for a moment. 'Round the corner at the opposite end stalked three orderlies, and two distinguished looking gentlemen in house jackets. Doctors. I readied my scalpel, but was unprepared for the onslaught that was thrust at me.
The doctors were carrying instruments that looked rather like box cameras. Aiming them at me, the implements shot forth a burst of electroshock. It hit my chest and the pain sent me staggering back. The orderlies withdrew hypodermics and flung them. The first round, I managed to dodge. The second struck me in the thigh and in the shoulder. I felt the liquid being pushed into my veins and I groaned, softly.
"Take him back to his cell," said one of the doctors, voice clipped and precise. My sight began to blur a little. Desperately, I hurled my scalpel at one of the doctors. It buried itself in his sternum and he choked, dropping to his knees. I did the same when a wave of drowsy dizziness came over me. My sight was unfocused and I felt weak. When the orderlies took hold of my arms, I had no strength to protest. I watched, blurrily, the doctor's body disintegrate and form an orb of Sensibility. As I was dragged away, I tried to reach the pulsing light, but it was impossible. "Alice." I murmured, and then lost consciousness.