We'll find strength in pain.
Chapter 10
Scene 1
-'' What in the world are they doing?'' Violet asked, throwing her arms up in confusion. For the past twenty minutes or so, they had been waiting …patiently at first…for Angelique to calm down and try giving them a clue about the story behind the Asylum's freakiness. Violet had questions; a ton of them actually. First and foremost, she wanted to know how the facility had ended up being ran by an unstable nun and a lovestruck, mad scientist. Okay… according to the papers, the last director, Judy Martin, had died during the tuberculosis epidemic, but what had qualified a young nun in the training to be her successor? A nun who still seemed eerily young by the way. It was almost as if she and the Asylum would be here forever. Like everything around them could crush and burn and wither with time, but they would withstand everything.
Angelique could answer those questions; Violet was sure. At least those concerning Mary Eunice. She had noticed that Mary and the group had some sort of vendetta…so they must know something. But all Angelique was doing now, instead of giving answers, was staring silently into Kai's eyes. Seriously… Kai had sat her against the bark of a tree and all they had been doing till then was look at each other. Sometimes, Kai would wipe a tear running down her cheek or he would press their foreheads together and nod understandingly, but that was all.
-''I think…they are communicating.'' Tate replied, not with the same confusion that had taken over Violet but with some kind of awe.
-'' You can't be serious right now…''
-'' Violet, I think it's high time we accepted that there are things happening around here that we… can't explain. They just…found a way.''
Violet through him a look of bewilderment. Yes… there were things going on in Briarcliff that were unnatural but right now Tate was suggesting that the supernatural was playing some part in all these and that was just…ridiculous. Wasn't it?
-''Angelique…eehm… I know this might not be the best of times…and I really hate to interrupt your…whatever you're doing over there…but if there's a chance we could have a conversation…''
-''Violet, now?'' Tate said as if she was being unreasonable.
-'' Well…it will be ''lights out'' time in a couple of hours and you guys will have to go…''
-''We don't have to do anything.'' Angelique finally said. She grabbed Kai's shoulders and she let him pull her up. ''Those rules don't apply to us.''
-''Because Mary Eunice says so?'' Violet asked, obviously hinting at the special status the company seemed to have around the Asylum.
Angelique gave her the faintest of smiles.
-''No…Because she can say nothing about it. It's just how it is….how it's been for some time.''
Tate turned to look at Violet waiting for her to ask the question…''How much time exactly?''
It was the next logical question. The question he would ask. And yet Violet seemed hesitant to do so. Maybe she didn't want to hear the answer…not now. But she should understand…she should sense what's going on.
-''Was it you that brought my father and I here at Briarcliff?'' She asked instead.
Kai and Angelique nodded a silent yes.
-'' Thredson and the others were a team. They knew each others' secrets and they were protecting each other… When he got arrested it was a big inconvenience for Mary Eunice. The Monsignor had sent some applications along with his suggestions, but Arden thought they should hire a colleague of his….from the old years. Mary of course agreed and they prepared a letter for the church. When Frank was about to leave for the town to send the letter, Kai faked a crisis and was able to replace it with our letter.''
-''You forged Mary Eunice's signature?''
-''Elva did…She had seen it enough times to remember and it was thankfully quite simple.''
-''But why my father? Did you just pick one in random?''
-''No…. He was at the bottom of the Monsignor's list.''
-''Yes…and?''
-''We don't trust the Monsignor.'' Angelique stated as if this was something definite and not to be questioned.
-''So you needed someone you could trust…in here…'' Violet concluded.
-''We needed someone with clarity of mind that wasn't constrained by the limitations that bind us.''
-''You mean…the limitations of being an inmate?''
-''Yes. That among others.''
Violet let out an exasperated sigh. She thought the time for being mysterious had long passed.
-''Okay...What now? I am here. What is it that you need me to do?''
-''Do you want to help?'' Angelique asked and then bit her lower lip worryingly.
-''Oh, of course not. I want innocent people to keep getting hurt. I want the person I… the people I care about to be at the mercy of a bunch of psychos. Angelique…yes. Yes! I want to help.''
Angelique breathed deeply in relief.
-'' You…you need to see something.''
-''Show me.''
-''It's not that simple. She'll see…she'll know.''
-''How? I mean…let's try and be realistic here. If we're very careful…''
-''Violet, have you ever gone in the forest? Have you, Tate?'' Angelique asked as if she was trying to prove a point.
-''No…I guess…I never felt like it.'' Violet replied, not getting what Angelique was trying to say. But when she looked at Tate next to her, he seemed to be coming to a realization.
-''I…I have gone in the forest.'' He said. '' But…just till the clearing where the black roses grow. I could never go further…It just felt…''
-''Dangerous?'' Angelique offered.
-''Wrong.'' Tate said instead.
-''It's because of her. It wasn't like that in the beginning…but now she and the Asylum are one. They're feeding each other's darkness, becoming stronger year after year. Our thoughts are no longer our own… I keep trying to keep her out…but it's getting harder. It's getting…it's getting…''
Angelique made a chocked sound and covered her mouth with both her hands. Her eyes widened and she started breathing hard. When she uncovered her mouth to grab hold of Kai for support, there was black blood streaming down the corner of her mouth.
-''You…Tate you…have to find a way…to…to…take her eyes off us…but I must not know how…I must not…''
Tate nodded in understanding, but Violet was just watching in shock.
-''What's happening to you?'' She managed to ask.
-''She…is trying to see…'' Angelique replied. She kept wiping off the blood and it just kept on running. '' But I'm not letting her in. I'm not…''
Scene 2
There had been multiple occasions where Tate wished he could simply disappear from the face of this earth, even if only to prove that no one would really notice or care. Right now though, he kind of wished for the rest of the world to disappear instead. If he had a say, him and Violet would be the only two people in existence… That way, Violet would be always safe…protected. That way, she wouldn't have to face someone with a nature so cold and inhuman that her very presence could make another physically sick.
Well…those were just fantasies. The reality was that they had awoken a sleeping monster and hiding was not an option; fighting was. Now that Violet had taken a glimpse of a part of the truth, she would take this to the end. The only thing Tate could do was make sure this end would include Violet making it out of the Asylum once and for all. He would tear Briarcliff down with him in it if needed, but Violet was to survive this.
He had left Violet with Angelique a couple of hours ago. Angelique would know when it would be safe to proceed further in the forest. Until then…until Tate had found a way… he supposed Violet would use the time to comprehend the nature of the facts that were taking place in the facility. Tate could see that she was trying to deny that the things that were going on were maybe…probably not a part of their world, but in the end he knew she would understand.
If he had more time he might have come up with a better plan. If he had more time he would have made sure that everything was perfect to the very last detail. But unfortunately time was not his ally…and not anything else actually. So he did the first thing that came to mind. Kenny Riddle was an inmate with a schizoid personality disorder that was notorious for never taking his medication. His meds were always ending up in different hiding places and the few times the personnel had actually managed to find them had only made Kenny more determined to upgrade his game. Tate thought it was very lucky that Kenny never missed a chance to show his disregard for Mary Eunice's authority. By making him a partner to his crime, he convinced him to share a good quantity of his antipsychotics without Tate having to promise him his firstborn. Tate would have if it came to that matter.
He entered the kitchen with the excuse that he wanted to drop off some fresh green onions. He started to make small talk with the cooks until he noticed they had started preparing the director's dinner. She always ate alone in her office. When Maria and Elena had to chop the salad and the bread, Tate offered to watch the pot. It was only after he had disposed the meds into the hot liquid that he started breathing again with ease.
He really didn't have a clue what effect this quantity of antipsychotics would have on Mary Eunice. But he hoped it would at least be enough to distract her. Enough to turn her sight away from the forest.
Scene 3
-''Did you call for me?'' Dr. Arden asked, still standing behind the half open door of the director's office.
-''Come in, Arthur.'' Mary Eunice said and the tone of her voice rang alarms in the doctor's head. It was almost like a whisper…fighting to come out. The sister's eyes were unfocused, red and she was grasping the edge of her desk as if desperate to hold on to something.
-''Mary, what's wrong?'' The doctor entered the office and ran to the sister's side. She looked up at him and then clutched his shirt with a tight grip. She then buried her face into the cool silk and let out a muffled whine. ''Mary, talk to me. Are you in pain? Did your sores open up again?''
-'' No…it's…it's different. The pain is different. My head, my muscles… everything hurts. And I think…I think I'm going to throw up… That's never happened to me…not in this body.''
-''Come…come. I'm taking you to the infirmary. It's fine…it'll be fine.'' He slowly lifted her up and ran his hand soothingly through her wet from the cold sweat hair. Her legs were shaking…her whole body actually… and she leaned into him in order to stay on her feet.
-''Poison…It must be…'' She said breathlessly.
-''Poison? How? Mary I don't think…'' Before the doctor was able to finish his sentence, the sister collapsed into his arms. Arthur picked up her lithe, little body and forced himself to calm down. Mary would pull through this just as always…she had gone through much worse. But if what she said is true…if someone did this to her… they wouldn't be as lucky.
Scene 3 (FLASHBACK)-(Soundtrack: Candyman-Theme Song)
7 years ago
Angelique was determined to at least try and ignore the situation in Briarcliff. She just had a feeling that not acknowledging what was going on would be the much safer option…and it's not like she could do anything to actually help.
So the plan was… Stick to your own business.
At least that's what the plan was until she woke up one day and Ruth and Laura were nowhere to be found. Her girls…her sisters…were gone.
She and Kai looked everywhere, but Angelique knew that would be futile. She reached out for them with her mind, but all she got was dead, cold silence.
She kept trying. It wasn't easy for her. That's not how her power worked, but this silence was… unacceptable.
It was almost dawn, while she was lying awake on her bed, that her mind was filled with their voices. No…not their voices…Their screams.
To be continued
-Oh thank God, I managed to upload before I left for Finland. I'm gonna be there for a month so I'll try to write in order to upload as soon as I return to Greece.
-Hope you enjoyed the chapter. I'll totally understand if you want to wait until it's complete to read the whole thing. The gaps between the chapters might make it hard for you to follow the plot so…you know…whatever works for you. When I'm about to complete the story I promise to post a warning.
Disclaimer: I do not own American Horror Story or any of its characters.