Ch.8- Going Through the Madhouse
"Why didn't you tell us you've been here before?" I asked the second youngest girl here.
July turned her head to the ground and muttered something.
"What?" I asked, not quite understanding what she said.
"I hate this place. Everyone kept staring at me when I was put in here. Besides, this place didn't look like this last time I came here. Everything was clean and smelled mediciney."
"Okay, so what are we going to do now?" I asked the group.
"We'll split up into two groups. One will stay and work the HAM Radio while the other will investigate the building for a way out." Catie decided.
I agreed with her decision. It was a good one and I even knew who I wanted to lead each group. "Since Mari's practically an expert with the HAM Radio, she'll stay. July, even though she hates this place, should lead the way through the hospital since she has been here before.
July tensed up, but nodded.
"I'll stay with Mari." Sherry announced.
"I'll stay, too." Liana said.
Hazel wrinkled her nose and walked up next to July, "I'm not staying in this smelly little room."
Catie walked up to July and placed a loving arm around the little girl. It was obvious that she was going along with July and Hazel.
Now it was my turn to make a decision. Should I go wandering with July, Hazel, and Catie? Or should I stay with Mari, Liana, and Sherry? The decision was hard to make, but I chose to go wandering. I wanted to know more about this place anyway. "I'll go, too. Mari, try getting a hold of the boys or my brother." I announced.
"Okay. I'll try." Mari answered.
I turned to July and forced a smile onto my face, "Okay. Lead the way, July."
July let out a horrified gulp as she turned around and began to leave the room.
There were more doors than I had noticed before. Of course before I wasn't even paying attention to my surroundings. I just wanted to find a way to leave. The doors were so filthy that they matched the walls. Honestly, I couldn't tell if what I thought was a door really was a door or not. I don't think that July knew either.
From behind me, I heard a light scream. In unison, Catie, July, and I turned around and looked at Hazel. "I think I saw a rat..." she squeaked.
I let out an annoyed sigh. Typical of Hazel, getting freaked out over something simple like a mouse or a rat. I forced myself to not say anything to her because I knew that there were two types of fears: normal and abnormal. Normal fears included heights, bugs, rodents, clowns, and scary movies. Abnormal fears were, well everything else. Besides, my old friend, Maria, was afraid of mice and rats, too.
July led Catie, Hazel, and me down the hallway. She didn't say anything nor did she stop to open any doors. At the end, I saw another staircase leading down. "Down there is the first floor." she explained.
"What's down there?" I asked.
"A medicine room, a playroom for the...sick kids, some of the kid's rooms, a few nurse's rooms, and a little pantry filled with treats for the sick kids if they were being good."
"Hey, I'm hungry. Show me where that pantry is." Hazel shouted.
Catie wrinkled her nose, "Hazel, it's been a year since she's been here. They could be expired by now."
"I don't care." Hazel said, "Show me. I'm starving."
I didn't admit it, but I was hungry, too. I was so hungry that I didn't mind eating expired food as long as it wasn't moldy. Plus, the word "treats" sounded good. July nodded and began to head down the stairs with us following her.
--------END LILIE'S POV-------
From a room on the third floor, Wesker was watching in boredom through TV screens that showed the seven girls and what they had been doing since they had been inserted with their drugs. Yet, none of them, save for Liana, Sherry, July, and Mari, had mutated, but not enough to mutate his satisfaction.
"Hey, Jen?" Wesker called.
In an instant, Miss Scarlet walked up behind Wesker and asked in a calm voice, "Yes?"
"How long will it be until the next girl mutates?" he asked.
Miss Scarlet looked at a nearby clipboard. "Well, most of them have already started, but Hazel Mackenzie should be next."
"What did you give her?"
"The pink liquid...Pinatoan. She should mutate within the next hour."
Wesker turned to the screens and smirked, "Good, good."
"Should we release the others?"
"Not yet. I want to see the girls get scared by a friend's mutation first."
-------LILIE'S POV-------
The children's pantry was halfway cleaned out. The only things that remained were canned vegetables, two month old mini candy bars, a few MREs, and some small bags of potato chips. I also saw a keg in the room, but Catie ordered em to stay away from it after taking a little sip. The keg was half full of vodka.
"It was used to calm down out-of-control kids if they got really bad." July explained. A fridge was there, too, but I stayed away from it after learning that old milk was in there.
The four of us pigged out on chips and some of the candy bars before leaving the room to go on our search. Before we got to the door, Hazel fell to the ground screaming.
I turned to her only to find her hunched over. I could see her spinal chord pushing against her skin as if trying to escape. Something else was moving in her body around her shoulders. When she tried to stand, the movement got worse and some went to her legs. "Help me!" she screamed, "It hurts!"
I turned to a freaked out July and shouted, "Is there any medicines and beds around?"
"In the playroom, there are futons and a medicine cabinet."
"Lead the way." I commanded as I slipped one of Hazel's arms over my shoulders. Catie did the same and followed a quick July out of the room half carrying a crying Hazel.
-------MARI-------
"Cloud Strife! Can you read me!" I screamed into the HAM Radio. Nobody was answering. Not Lucas, Marc, or even my own twin brother.
I kept messing with the knobs and dials and shouting into the radio that my fingers and throat began to hurt. My head also began to hurt because Liana and Sherry were screaming things at the same time and it was getting annoying.
"Why aren't they responding?"
"Push the blue button!"
"Turn the knob clockwise!"
"Call for the S.T.A.R.S. room!"
"You turned the knob too far! Turn it counter-clockwise!"
"Speak louder into the radio!"
"Come on! Hurry up!"
I finally snapped, whirled around, and stamped my right foot onto the floor. As I stamped, the room shook a bit. I screamed at Liana and Sherry, "WILL YOU GUYS SHUT UP? I'M DOING ALL I CAN AND YOU AREN'T HELPING WITH ALL YOUR SCREAMING!"
Sherry looked shocked and honestly, so was I. I couldn't ever remember screaming like that in my life. Even though my brothers and sister fought often with me, I never raised my voice like that. If Dad ever heard me scream like that, he'd likely beat my ass. Maybe that's why I never screamed like that. Or maybe it was because as tomboyish as I am, I spend too much time making people laugh and feel good. My cousin, Cara, told me that a few times. "Sorry." I said before turning back to the radio to continue my work of trying to fix the HAM Radio.
-------LUCAS-------
After shoving Marc out of the way, I proceeded to try and get back in touch with the girls. As I turned the knobs, I asked Sky to find May and June and let them know that we got in touch with July.
He must not have had much trouble finding them because less than a minute later, the sisters came rushing in asking if it was true and we found July. I told them the truth, that we only heard her and that she was experimented on. The sisters started to softly cry, but they calmed down after Marc told them that I would try and get the radio working.
Silently, I thanked him. I'd known the sisters practically all my life and knew how emotional they got, especially after one is gone. It had been that way since July's trip to the "special hospital." I wanted all the girls back: July, Lilie, Sherry, Catie, Liana, Hazel, and especially Mari. I wanted her back the most.
Sure I was sort of a ladies man, but I had a special spot for the auburn haired tomboy. Wait, what the hell am I thinking? She's my best friend's sister—his twin sister. There's no way Casey would allow me to go after his little sister. Oh well. I could worry about that later when the girls were found.
-------LILIE'S POV-------
The playroom was at the end of the hallway and I have to admit that it was a pretty pathetic looking playroom. The futons were little, the room was filthy, the shelves were almost bare except for an occasional rag doll or little children's book. There was an open trunk half-filled with building blocks, a small plastic table, and a cabinet.
I placed Hazel upon the futon with the help of Catie while July ran to nearby medicine cabinet. When she came back, she was holding an unopened water bottle and a bottle of aspirin.
"I don't think aspirin is going to help." Catie told her.
"Well, it's the only thing they had in the cabinet." July explained.
I grabbed the water and aspirin from July and put two pills into my hand. I turned to the screaming Hazel and commanded, "Open your mouth, Hazel."
Hazel whimpered and opened her mouth. I popped the pills inside and opened the water bottle. I poured some into her mouth. She swallowed everything. She was no longer screaming, but I could tell by painful look in her eyes that she was still going through a lot of pain and the aspirin didn't help.
I felt so sorry for Hazel. Sure she was a mean, friendless, bitch who though about nobody but herself, but even I wouldn't wish this type of pain upon her.
Hazel closed her eyes and entered a dream-like state. I turned around and looked around the room and noticed that there were windows all over the place overlooking a way over weeded garden. The windows, that's how we could escape.
I could have sworn that I was able to break through the window. Billy taught me how to break open doors and windows by using my own body weight. After he taught me, I was forced to promise that I would not use what I learned to steal from places or sneak into his room.
I rammed into the windows and, like a rubber ball, bounced right of without making even a small crack. I tried again and the same thing happened. I even tried three more times and got no success. "What's wrong with these windows?" I screamed.
"Those windows are made of three sheets of extra-thick glass." July explained.
"You're kidding."
"Nope. They did that so that none of the sick people, both kids and adults, could escape. It's never been broken before."
Great, so I wouldn't be able to break the windows. I wasn't strong enough, but I knew somebody that was. Mari had extra strength and she was only on the floor above us. "Okay, I can't, but I know Mari can. She's the strongest of us all. All we need to do is get her and bring her back." Well, it sounded like a good plan. If July ran to get Mari, it probably wouldn't' take more than forty-five seconds for both to get here.
"Hey Hazel? Are you awake?" I asked the girl laying on the little futon. She didn't answer. I turned to her and almost felt sick. She mutated even more in her dream-like state. Her skin was a yellow-ish color and covered in scabs as if her skin was being ripped apart. Tentacles were coming out of her shoulders. Her eyes opened and were still yellow. I had a feeling that she was no longer with us.
She stood up and I noticed that she was already much taller than me, about 6ft. tall. Now I was sure that she was not ever going to be the same.
"H-Hazel?" I asked nervously.
Hazel turned to Catie, July, and me. Without hesitation, she headed for the girl closest to her, Catie. Her arms swung and the spike at her elbow managed to impale Catie in the side.
The eldest girl screamed and clutched her side as soon as the spike was removed.
"Catie!" July screamed.
"I'm okay! Let's get out of here! I don't think we can save her any more!" She screamed.
"We'll hide in my old room!" July shouted, "It's only a few rooms down!"
In unison with me, July put one of Catie's arms over her shoulders.
"Come on, girls! Let's run!" I shouted at Catie and July. July nodded and ran along with Catie and me.
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Well, that's chapter 8. Sorry it took so long, but my computer's hard drive broke and I had to wait about three weeks before I had to use my grandma's old computer. I had this chapter done the day before the hard drive broke, but I lost everything on my hard drive and my sister's computer didn't have Microsoft Word, so I had to wait...that and I've been in a huge Eureka 7 craze and have been watching all fifty episodes.
Oh, and the medicines that were announced were made up by me. I know the names suck, but oh well.