Stasis: The state of equilibrium or inactivity caused by opposing equal forces.
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File II: Wonder & Malice
Part I: Alice
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Location: Lockbridge Psychiatric Hospital, London, England (UK) . . .
Date: August, Day I . . .
Time: 3:45 p.m. . . .
Spread out before Mai Taniyama was the location of BSPR's newest case. Beyond the electric fenced in yard and gated security, there were flower gardens and a cobblestone pathway leading up to a building that was almost manor-like in appearance. Elegant in a way, but after so many years with ghosts, Mai knew appearances could be deceiving.
I have a strange feeling about this place… Also…
"This isn't quite what I expecting..."
"And what exactly were you expecting?" Yasu wondered with a knowing smirk, standing beside her and BSPR issued van. Was he the only one not a little disconcerted by being allowed entrance into a psychiatric hospital? Even Masako had a expression of prickling nerves upon arrival. Perhaps she'd felt the same strange energy she had?
Mai puffed out her cheeks in indignation. "Well, you just hear so much about old psychiatric hospitals that it's hard to shake the image, you know? Shock-therapy, abuse, screaming, shackles, experimentation, and the like…"
"Your modern history skills are severely lacking," Yasu deadpanned, sounding scarily like a certain someone she knew. "Everyone knows that laws were put in place to prevent and protect against adverse treatments decades ago."
"Don't act like Naru!" Mai hissed under her breath, hoping her partner hadn't heard their conversation. "I hardly need two people insulting me on a daily basis! I can barely handle one."
Yasu held up his hands in surrender, smiling sheepishly. "I'm just trying to lighten the mood, Chief. Everyone is already on edge and we haven't even gotten to Base yet. The last thing we need is you being scared."
She sighed, "I'm not scared, Yasu, but there's something about this place…"
"Considering there's been various sightings of 'Alice' from Alice in Wonderland, yeah, I'd say there's definitely something up."
Mai rolled her eyes. "That's not what I meant! It's in the air itself. Something is wrong with this picture…"
"I would at least expect the former head of the Japanese branch of SPR to enlist in carrying equipment instead of staring around doing nothing."
Mai and Yasu both froze at the edge in Naru's tone before jump-starting into action and helping their co-workers who merely watched on in mock satisfaction how reminiscent the scene was to the old days.
"Gomen, Naru!" they cried into the air.
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B.S.P.R. HQ, Cambridge University, England (UK)
August, I day before the investigation
2:28 p.m.
"I knew there was something else you wanted us here for, Naru."
"It's as if you think my multifarious reasons matter for another external purpose."
"If it wasn't for Jou-Chan, we wouldn't be here." Monk smiled smugly, leaning back in his chair, seeing dots connect and decipher the mystery behind Doctor Oliver Davis. Mai couldn't see the hidden meaning other than the obvious and pondered what Monk was insinuating. "You killed two birds with one stone."
"I'm glad you respect my genius intellect then," Naru said tonelessly.
Mai heard Gene snicker in the background at his brother's tactless comment, and she let out a breath of laughter herself at his notoriously arrogant attitude. What else would he have said?
"Never one for modesty, are you?" Ayako wondered blandly, lips pushed off to the side in annoyance.
"I see no point in downgrading my intelligence."
"Of course not," she drawled sarcastically, "because that'd be the end of your world."
Before Naru could retort, Masako cleared her throat and effectively stole the spotlight. "I believe we are all well informed on how your mind works better than ours, Dr. Davis, but I would prefer to know the details of the case, if you will."
"Yeah, partner," Mai agreed, almost nudging his shoulder, but decided against it. Knowing Naru, he'd glare at her, and being on his bad side wasn't on her planned agenda today. "Tell us the case file."
Naru's trademark black notebook was clasped in his hand, but he didn't open it. "The client will be arriving soon to fully explain the details of the case. A week ago he called claiming to be the owner of Lockbridge Psychiatric Hospital in London."
A collective jolt took the team's breath away. Only Mai was left standing there, curiosity peaked at their strange reaction.
"Lockbridge?" John whispered, voicing everyone's shock. "That's been on TV the past few days. Apparently someone was dragged across a hall without anyone around. There've also been reports of seeing Alice by both patients and doctors. It's erupted into a pretty intense scandal."
"'Alice'?" Mai echoed, blinking. "I'm afraid I don't follow. What exactly is going on, Naru? Who's 'Alice'? And what's this about a scandal?"
"Don't tell me you've never heard of 'Alice's Adventure's in Wonderland', Mai!" Yasu whined from across the room. "If anyone here would've read it, I thought it would've been you! The dreams, the strange characters, the recklessness, I mean come on, the shoe fits!"
"Is 'Alice' the reason why BSPR was called to handle this?" Masako asked Naru, cutting Mai off from responding to her friend. "It's not like she really exists, after all. Characters only live in books, and the author is long dead."
John put in, "Could this 'Alice' be the ghost of someone the original author knew then? Or is this simply fiction and folklore getting the better of people there?"
"My question is: why would a psychiatric hospital ask for BSPR's assistance?" Ayako mentioned, sparking a dozen more questions. "Most people who zealously believe in spirits and ghosts aren't exactly considered, well, 'sane' by most people. The circumstances are weird."
"It's probably the TV issue," Monk offered, and his fiancé nodded. "There's probably a demand for some form of action."
"If this is such a high-profile case that the media is covering will you be needing a stand-in again, Big Boss?" Yasu asked.
"And why didn't Jou-Chan know about anything before today?" Monk said with a slight edge. "I mean, you guys are actually considered 'partners' now, right?"
Yasu head whipped around. "Also, where is Madoka?"
Mai's head was officially spinning with this vault of new information and fast-pace line of brainstorming and questions aimed at Naru. She didn't even know who this 'Alice' character was for starters!
Luckily, Naru had the decency to direct the team into silence. "If you'd all give me the time to speak," he said quietly, deadly, chillingly, "then the majority your questions will be answered." Alright, perhaps the better way of phrasing it would be: Luckily, Naru had the ability to scare everyone into silence especially when interrupted before finishing his lecture. Gene snickered again.
Naru opened his mouth to speak.
Knock. Knock. "Oliver, Mai, the client has arrived," Luella called from outside.
The office fell into a hush.
"Send him in."
The door opened to reveal a young thirty-something young man with a pleasant smile and formal wear. On first impression, Mai thought me might be a businessman, but upon further inspection she found his aura to be something else entirely. Certainly an intellectual, but there was a desire to help people that burned deep. A doctor, perhaps, if he was the owner of Lockbridge.
"Ah, welcome to the Society of Psychical Research," Mai greeted quickly, forcing herself not to bow and instead take it upon herself to get up and shake his hand. The man took it with a surprised, but not unsettled expression. "I'm Mai Taniyama, and I suppose you can say that I'm the Co. Chief of the Fieldwork Unit alongside Dr. Oliver Davis." She gestured to an unmoving, stoic Naru who leaned on the edge of his desk. "You spoke with him on the phone?"
"Oh, yes, I did. I'm Dr. James Morgenstern, hospital director and new owner of Lockbridge Psychiatric. Thank you for taking the time to speak with me." He glanced around the room, taking in the team. "I take it this is the whole unit?"
Mai then presumed to explain everyone's names and area of expertise. "Also, please take a seat. I'm sorry that we don't have any tea at the moment. We're… Out." A bad excuse that basically meant Naru hadn't given the exact time of when their client would arrive, hence no fresh tea.
"It's quite alright," Dr. Morgenstern said with a polite wave of his hand as he sat across from Naru's desk, the one empty seat in the office. "If it's alright with you, I'd like to get started immediately. I'm afraid leaving London has proved to be an issue with the hospital. I only recently started as director and some components of my new job require my presence more than I would like."
At her side, Naru crossed one leg over the other. Years as his assistant told her that he wanted to get to the point. "On the phone you claimed that several staff members, patients, and yourself have seen an entity known as 'Alice'. Care to elaborate?"
Dr. Morgenstern sighed deeply. "Before that I'll have to tell you several things that don't pertain to the current issues at the hospital."
Current? Does that mean this isn't something new?
"Go on," Naru said impatiently. She nearly swatted him for his disrespect.
"First off, I was a student of your father's almost ten years ago, Dr. Davis." Like always, Naru was the one person not startled by this revelation. Even Lin paused in his note-typing to listen. Dr. Morgenstern scratched the back of his head. "I'm sure many of you were wondering why a psychiatric hospital director was asking for a team of ghost hunters to investigate. Well, that's why. I actually have a minor in parapsychology, but I took psychology as my major and doctorate due to being the heir of my father's legacy: Lockbridge. Until his death several months ago, he worked there for over forty years, but refused to listen to what everyone told him about the place.
"You see," Dr. Morgenstern said gravely, "Lockbridge has always been haunted. Ghosts have been walking around the place for years. Doors close on their own, furniture is found upturned, doors to our more aggressive patients will be unlocked, knocking sounds, unexpected shadows during the day, and the usual poltergeist activity and more. There've also been cases of both patients and staff being pushed down stairs or grabbed onto and dragged down the halls. We have some of these events on tape, but due to security purposes, I'm unable to show you until you're in building. Unless they're the leaked videos you've seen on the tele, I cannot show you yet. Hospital policy, I'm afraid."
The truth rang down to the marrow of Mai's bones.
Naru raised his chin, and Mai noted his apprehension, but also his interest. "Almost half of all poltergeists are of human origin. Are you sure none of your patients are the cause of this?"
"While that might've possible in the past, I don't have the knowledge to properly classify or even identify them," the Doctor admitted with a helpless shrug.
"You said that you've seen ghosts haunt Lockbridge for years, Dr. Morgenstern," Mai began tentatively. "I'm guessing you've also had a personal experience?"
"That's correct," he answered. "However, it's been exceptionally worse in the past several weeks due to Alice's presence. But even without out her, I would've come to BSPR eventually. I, personally, have seen her."
"You said on the phone that your staff and patients all have a similar description that matches the character 'Alice' from Lewis Carroll's novel 'Alice's Adventure's in Wonderland'. Would you agree with that description?" Naru questioned, eyes narrowed.
Dr. Morgenstern nodded. "Yes. Although I have only seen brief glimpses of her in the halls, the appearance is uncanny to the original artwork for the book. Some of the less high-profile patients would swear on their very lives they've seen her around, or heard a girl's giggle in the middle of the night. The staff's had similar experiences."
"I take it you've never seen a living person matching her description before?" Mai asked, to which the Doctor shook his head.
"I have no idea who she really is."
Naru tapped a single finger against his notebook. "If Alice is no more than a harmless apparition like other ghosts you claim haunt Lockbridge then why come to BSPR now? Was it the media scandal? Clearly, there something else you're worried about."
Dr. Morgenstern froze, swallowing thickly at Naru's icy observational skills.
"Naru!" she hissed quietly.
But her partner did not spare her a glance.
"It's quite alright, Miss Taniyama, "Dr. Morgenstern assured her, shifting in his seat. "Dr. Davis's suspicions are correct, and I suppose you'd figure it out eventually. I'm afraid one of our more… Problematic patients has gone missing. The police have been investigating his disappearance, but nothing has come up. Thankfully, the media has not found out about this development, and has been focused on the Alice situation. In truth, this whole scandal about Alice erupted after film-crew experienced some odd poltergeists while shooting a documentary in Lockbridge. While I did not want this type of footage leaking out, it had, and that portion of the scandal has been covered by the media. I'm sure you've all seen how one of the crew-members was dragged down a hall from out of nowhere. I think they connect it to the known rumors spreading around the hospital behind 'Alice', but I'm unsure if she was the actual cause or not."
"Yet you assume Alice has something to do with the missing patient," Naru redirected pointedly.
"Due to patient confidentiality, I cannot disclose his name yet. After the proper forms have been signed I can allow you to see some of his files, but not every. All I can say right now is that he was about to be released, but after Alice started to appear, he regressed to a level where he had to be restrained and put under heavy sedation. He talked about 'madness' and 'being late' and 'tick tock' and much, much more. I'm hardly about to throw away the connection when all he talked about were Wonderland references."
Mai cocked her head to the side. "You said that Alice appeared a few weeks ago? Did anything specific happen at that time? A sign or maybe a catalyst?"
"A staff member screamed, but after I spoke to her, she just said that Alice materialized before her and spoke to her. I never asked what about... She was the first to see her as far I know. Then she appeared more frequently. I don't know how or why she's haunting Lockbridge all of a sudden." Dr. Morgenstern took a breath. "What I've told you is all I know."
Naru nodded curtly, setting his notebook off to the side and crossed his arms. "We'll take the case. We'll need three rooms. One for our base, and two for residence. However," Naru halted, a chill slicing up Mai's spine, "due to the scandal we will not arrive until every reporter has decided to take their leave."
"Before I left today our security was already escorting any remaining reporters off the premises. They should be completely gone by tomorrow. I'll also take extra care in keeping BSPR out of any media coverage, and keep the guards wary of any suspicious activity outside Lockbridge regarding the media. You have my word."
Although Mai was practically leaping at the opportunity to accept and leave whenever necessary, she knew Naru. Keeping to his anonymity was key. They could hardly risk it.
"Fine," Naru relented. "We will arrive tomorrow at four in the evening. Will that suffice for enough preparation time?"
Dr. Morgenstern let out an audible sigh of relief. "Thank you very much, Dr. Davis, and to you, too, Miss Taniyama. That will be perfect. I will see you all then."
With that, Mai had begun her first ghost hunt with BSPR.
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Lockbridge Psychiatric Hospital, London, England (UK)
4:02 p.m.
The BSPR team was led to what Mai assumed might've been a recreational room for the patients. With a variety of windows overlooking the back courtyard of Lockbridge, it mostly consisted of a few flower gardens, trees, a walking path, and an electric fence cutting them off from the outside world some hundred meters away. There were also tables with plush chairs positioned around randomly with several mobile white boards and a makeshift kitchen off to the side. Wryly she wondered if Naru would unthinkingly order her to make tea out of habit. The thought made her smile a bit.
"I hope the accommodations suit to your requests, Dr. Davis," Dr. Morgenstern said. "The other rooms you asked for will be just across the hall. The kitchenette is stocked with snacks and some tea as well if you desire it. Ah, and here's the keys and floor-plan you asked for." He handed them to Naru. "It probably goes without saying, but be sure to lock the rooms at night. As secure as the building can be there have been instances where patients have escaped their quarters. Also your team has free reign to walk the building and grounds as they like given the circumstances. Only patient rooms are prohibited. If anyone has a problem with that, send them to me. I will be in my office most of the time. Was there anything else you needed?"
Mai glanced at Naru for confirmation, but he shook his head. "That will be all. You may take your leave."
"And thank you very much, Dr. Morgenstern!" Mai added in hastily, hoping to patch up Naru's lack of tact with some of her own. Dr. Morgenstern gave her a smile before leaving the team to their ventures.
"Alright," Naru declared after a pause, and the team was instantly prepared to meet their boss's demands. For what it was worth, Mai could feel the excitement in the air as well as a foreboding sense of dread in the pit of her stomach. Despite the sunshine outside streaking into Base, a cloud of fear tumbled within the light. Already, Mai knew Lockbridge was far from any normal psychiatric hospital. "We'll start by setting up equipment while Mai and Miss Hara take a walk of the grounds. Everyone else, back to the van. In one hour I expect everything to be set up and everyone back to base for further instructions. Disperse."
Mai was momentarily confused by Naru's decision, and as if sensing it, he stopped in the doorway as everyone filed out. Masako kept a respectable distance in the hall, eying a painting as she waited for Mai. Gene however, winked at her before disappearing from sight. He'd pop up later.
"You want an explanation," Naru surmised.
"Well, yes," she said, speaking hotly. "Yes, I do. Shouldn't I go with you? And shouldn't we both be issuing orders?" She realized that it was perhaps a little early to be jumping to conclusions, but the very last thing she wanted was to regress back into being Oliver Davis's assistant. Given the contract she'd signed yesterday, her and Naru were considered equals. Not only that, but her instincts flared. Something was up with this situation.
"I acknowledge your strength and leadership capabilities, Mai," he admitted flatly, and her cheeks flamed at such an admission coming from Naru. "It's why you were able to pick up where I left off at JSPR. However, your abilities lie in a different realm of my own. Being my partner does not mean we share the same job, although if it came down to it, if I was somehow incapacitated you would be my replacement. Until that happens, you will be having lessons with Miss Hara and Gene about being an active medium. I spoke with Miss Hara about this yesterday evening. You also neglected to inform me that you were training with her before your PK manifested." His gaze went cold as his voice chilled, "Care to tell me how being a perfect medium happened to be missing from your file before you arrived in England?"
It took Mai a moment to collect her bearings. Flushed with embarrassment and a twinge of guilt, she muttered testily, "Y-you're the one who never asked me how I learned English so well, Baka…"
Usually as a perfect medium, one was able to speak the language of the ghost who possessed them, whether it be the medium's regular tongue or not. Rarer even was the ability to learn any language she heard over a short period of time. That was what Mai could do. It was another one of the little oddities that appeared a few months before her PK. When it'd first started though, half the time she wasn't able to tell which language she'd actually been speaking. It had taken awhile to switch and fall into a certain tongue depending on the situation, but now she was fully fluent in both English and Japanese.
"You're the one who neglected to tell me of its relevance," Naru countered.
"You should have asked about my English in the first place."
"... You guys should seriously kiss already..."
"HEH?!" Mai jumped and accidentally lept toward Naru in her fear, latching onto his shirt for dear life. "G-Gene… Wh-When did you get here? I-I thought you disappeared…"
"Ah, never think I'm gone, angel," Gene tisked playfully, waggling a finger in mock discipline. "I'm always somewhere around. Usually somewhere between you and Noll."
"The useless medium made an appearance, did he?" Naru voiced distastefully at her abrupt outburst, not being able to see, nor hear his deceased twin.
"Umm, yes, he's here," Mai answered Naru.
With the two brothers literally standing side by side it was easy to count the differences in their overall appearance. Taking a step back from Naru, and forcing her heart to calm its frantic beats, a spike of melancholy replaced her fear.
Naru was taller. At least ten full centimeters taller than his twin, in fact. It was perhaps the first time she noticed how much older he was from the boy she'd met two years ago. He was also broader, and stronger if the slight curve of biceps underneath his layered black attire was any indication. His hair was also a little longer and his face a little leaner. Never mind the constant frown, firm set of his lips, and the sharp wit in his eyes.
Gene, by contrast, was a different story entirely. All but being a carbon copy of his younger twin from two years ago, Eugene Davis was still at the peak of his teenage years, but there was an ever-present brightness to his eyes and a softness in his expression that told of every kind tale and smile ever given to humanity. It contrasted the twins by a universe and a half. But really, that was something she already knew.
But to see them together should've been unfathomable. And yet here she was, witnessing a scene that should've been impossible.
It was heartbreaking.
Miraculous.
Will I get to see this for the rest of my life?
The single thought halted everything in her mind. I shouldn't think like that. I can't look that far ahead. Not when Gene...
"Considering the vast temperature drop, I'd assume he's standing right next to me," Naru collected.
"Yeah. Yeah, he is."
Naru's lips thinned, and changed the topic. "You're to work with Miss Hara and my brother to learn more about being a medium, Mai. Your position stands as my partner, but my job is still Chief."
"So basically you're his 'Second in Command'," Gene summed up from the side. "It was the same with me, you know. Noll is… Noll. Together you'll work the two sides of ghost hunting, but for now you're my student in training. It'll help more once you start classes at Cambridge, too, but you'll learn the more hands-on aspects from me."
"I see," Mai said, nodding. "I understand. I just want you to do one more thing for me, Naru."
"Which is."
"I want you to trust me."
"Hmph." Naru turned away slightly. "To what end?"
Hearing their signature words, she smiled up at him with stars in her eyes. "To whatever end."
Naru nodded as he walked away, but for the briefest of seconds, she knew she saw something reminiscent of a smile on his face. "Already done."
"Are you done with your romantic getaway, Mai?" Masako asked tersely, trapping her in the present. "I would prefer to get going and learn more about the ghosts here. Unless I heard Dr. Davis incorrectly, he did say to 'take a walk of the grounds', did he not?"
Mai spun on her heel, sheepishly rubbing the back of her head. "I guess he did say to do that didn't he? Sorry, Masako. Shall we get going then?"
"Indeed, we shall," the petite medium agreed, allowing Mai to fall into step at her side. "Will your Davis companion be joining us?"
"You mean Gene? Yeah, he'll be helping us with cases from now on."
"It's going to be aggravating not being able to see him when he'll be more knowledgeable than myself on the topic of perfect mediums. I can sense him, but no more."
Mai laughed slightly, "I guess I'll just have to be your telephone, won't I?"
"A rather incompetent one, I suppose."
Gene chuckled into his hand as if to stifle the sound. Mai deflated, annoyed. "And is that funny to you, Mr. Nice Guy? She just insulted me."
"She's similar to Noll in her way of showing people affection, isn't she?" Gene suspected, and Mai was caught off guard at how easy it was for him to understand people. "Elegant, but waspish."
"More than once they've been accused of being brother and sister," Mai admitted, sweatdropping.
"I can see why."
The trio fell into silence as they continued to walk the halls of Lockbridge, concentrating on their surroundings and listening for any signs of possible activity. As Mai settled into her skin, she felt the same prickling sensation as when they'd arrived, but being out of practice with her ESP skills as a medium, she focused all her attention onto seeing behind the physical realm of the living. It took a certain bout of stasis to keep her attention undivided and trained on things outside the living realm.
Taking a breath to maintain her focus, she closed her eyes before slowly letting them ascend. What she saw took her breath away.
"W-why didn't you say anything before, Masako?" Mai demanded shakily. "There are-"
"Spirits everywhere. Yes, I am aware of that. But they don't seem to be harmful, merely present. Lost more than likely."
"This hospital must be pretty old if there's so many of them…" Most of the spirits appeared as floating orbs of pure light, but a few manifested into a semi-corporeal form, walking in and out of walls and ceilings. Others were formless shadow. There were so many...
"That's probably the case, but there's something else here as well," Masako said, gazing into the distant hall of locked patient rooms and white walls. "Surely you felt it when we first arrived. Something profoundly foul lurks these halls."
Mai was grim. "It's similar to Urado."
"We'll definitely have our work cut out for us. I wonder if this 'Alice' girl is to blame for it."
For once her instincts did not give her an answer, as if confused. Mai bit her lip. "I guess we'll find out as the investigation progresses."
Continuing on in their trek, they never spotted 'Alice'. Instead they passed some skeptic doctors in the halls who gave them snide glances of varying kinds. About fifty minutes in, they were on their way back to Base.
"The presence here doesn't seem to be coming from a particular place in the hospital," Mai said quietly, perplexed. "It's as if the air itself has been completely tainted."
"It is strange." Masako tapped her lips. "Does Eugene sense anything that we cannot? As a spirit he should be able to see a bit more than we can."
But her spirit guide only shook his head. "Nothing more than you've already seen. I can probably find more on the Astral Plane, if you'd like. I'll meet you there after you fall asleep."
With that, Eugene Davis disappeared. She relayed the information to Masako.
"You two must be apart of that bogus ghost chasing group Morgenstern hired!"
Mai and Masako both stopped in their tracks to face an elder man with a clear case of balding and obvious distaste towards the supernatural. She really hated it when they faced clientele like this.
"And here we go…" Mai grumbled. Masako merely sighed in an type of urbane vexation.
"I cannot believe that fool actually called you idiots here to hunt some stupid fantasy about Alice in Wonderland!" the doctor bristled. "The press only made that story up to get a good scoop! As if ghosts really haunt this place. Rubbish."
Mai's eyes narrowed. "Was there something you wanted, doctor? Preferably other than your rants? If not, we need to get back to work. Your boss hired us for a job. If you have a problem, go talk to him."
The two mediums turned to walk away.
"Damn teenagers and their wild beliefs. If it wasn't for Morgenstern, they'd all be having a psych eval." Mai forced herself not to pop a blood vessel, resorting to aggressive speed walking to calm her frustration. The last thing she needed was to cause a poltergeist.
"Hehe."
Mai's blood ran cold in her veins.
"Hehe."
"Hehe."
"Hahahahahahahahahahaha~!"
The girly high pitched laughing went hysterical along the hallowed halls of Lockbridge, echoing with an earsplitting volume. Grimacing, Mai and Masako covered their ears in vain, but the laugher was just as loud in her head.
"Where would you like to go?" the voice whispered in a cheerful glee, as if disclosing a wonderful secret. "How about a little trip? They all seem to enjoy it. Why wouldn't you?"
A hand latched at her ankle. Cold. Tight. Small. A child's hand.
"Come with me! Follow me down the rabbit hole!"
"Alice," she whispered before she was roughly dragged down the halls of Lockbridge Psychiatric Hospital.
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"I found myself in Wonderland,
Get back on my feet again,
Is this real?
Is it pretend?
I'll take a stand until the end."
-Avril Lavigne, Alice
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Stasis
Author's Note:
TAKE NOTE: 'Lockbridge' is not an actual place. I merely made it up after going through the old histories of psychiatric hospitals and known serial killers. No mentioned names were real people except for Lewis Carroll who wrote 'Alice's Adventure's in Wonderland'.
Oh my gosh finally we begin this case! I've been dying to write something a little bit horrific, so now I finally can get there~! Yes~! By the way, most of the cases (like this one) I have planned will be pretty in depth and very high-profile like the Urado case, but again, mostly. I do have some others that are a little more calm, but I wanted to start this Mai's first real case as something good. Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Also, I'm sorry that this chapter was rather dull, but don't worry, the mystery will be pretty in depth and we'll get a bit more scary as the case goes on. Don't worry! Alice is only the beginning of a much more dangerous ride.
I may not be able to update another chapter for quite awhile. It could be anywhere between two weeks to two months before the next chapter is out due to school, volleyball, and AP classes. Sorry everyone!
Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I read all of them, I assure you, but I will mainly respond to questions if you have them. Please review! They're what drive a writer, you know! Have a lovely day!
-Cassandra