Peter

I waited outside Alice's room in the dead of night, occasionally glancing around to make sure no security guard came around. Eventually, she slipped into the hall, silently shutting the door after her. I motioned for her to follow me and we crept down the hall and around the corner. We used the shadows for cover as we navigated our way along the halls. I'd specifically planned to do this on this night because I know the staff cycles by now and this late at night there are hardly any guards on duty. And even those lurking around were assigned to specific spots.

"You find a place to hide, and stay very quiet. I'll distract the guard and get him away from the door. You get inside the third floor, and I'll shake the guard and meet you there." I whispered to her as we headed toward the stairs.

"Are you sure this will work?" She asked doubtfully.

"It won't."

We were both startled by the unfamiliar voice and turned to see who'd snuck up on us. Alice gasped quietly and stumbled back while I stared in shock at the hunchback who was peering shyly up at us, his grotesque form illuminated by the moonlight leaking in through the window nearby.

"Who are you?" I demanded quietly.

"I'm Quasimodo... I live here." He replied, twiddling his fingers.

"Are you a patient?" Alice asked him, intrigued.

"I've never seen you before." I said in suspicion, narrowing my eyes at him.

Quasimodo shuffled nervously as though he regretted speaking to us. "I only come out at night... My Master doesn't allow me out until everyone else has gone to bed."

"Master?" Alice queried.

"Dr. Frollo. He raised me here. I stay in the guest house."

"This place has a guest house?" I asked now. Honestly, this guy's story was just getting more unbelievable.

Quasimodo nodded. "In the woods out back. Past the fence."

"Curiouser and curiouser..." Alice muttered, taking a step toward Quasimodo.

He flinched backward as if he were expecting her to hit him. He quickly said, "I only stopped you just now because your plan is a terrible idea. You'll both be caught and severely punished if you try to go through with it."

"What do you care?" I asked in irritation.

The hunchback looked taken aback by my mistrust. "I- I just don't want to see you get hurt."

"Well, that's quite kind of you, Quasimodo." Alice told him gently. "You're a very good friend."

Quasimodo gazed up at her in surprise, obviously touched by her words. "We're...friends?"

Alice smiled genuinely and nodded.

"I've...never had a friend before." Quasimodo looked down at his feet and blushed.

Alice obviously felt pity for him and pulled him into a hug. I was stunned by the whole strange moment. Then, an idea came to me. I couldn't help the grin that spread over my face. I walked over and said, "You know what friends do for each other, Quasimodo?"

Alice pulled away from the hug to glare at me while Quasimodo seemed interested.

"What?" He asked.

"They help each other, like you helped us just now. Feel like helping is again?"

"I- I guess so..."

"Good. Because we're just dying to go meet the patients on the third floor."

"Peter." Alice said to me in warning.

"What? He's in good with the staff, so he can get us in somehow. They trust him." I said.

"We can't ask him to-"

"Yes, I can get you in." Quasimodo cut in.

Alice turned to him in surprise. "Really?"

He nodded. "If you both insist on going in, I'd rather assist you than let you go on your own. Find a place to hide. I'll lead the guard away."

Alice nodded in appreciation. "Thank you, Quasimodo."

Alice and I slipped away into the shadows while Quasimodo headed up the stairs. We waited for a moment until the silence was broken by a conversation between Quasimodo and the guard, who sounded like Flynn.

"What are you doing up here, Quasimodo? You know Frollo wouldn't like it."

"I-I'm sorry, I just- I thought I saw one of the patients roaming the halls. It looked like Aurora."

"Oh, really?" Flynn sighed. "She's always getting into trouble..."

"You're the first guard I could find."

"I'm glad you found me, Quasi. Any of the other guards might not be so nice to Aurora. Let's go find her, hmm?"

I heard their footsteps approach and then disappear down a hall to our left. They were heading toward the wing of rooms opposite ours, so Flynn wouldn't stumble on our empty beds and go looking for us, as well. Once I was sure it was safe, I lead Alice up the stairs and we slipped in through the door to the third floor.

The corridor was long and thin, offering little space. We walked single-file down the endlessly stretching hall of white walls smudged by dirty fingerprints. There weren't many doors, and each handle we tried was locked. Peering into the darkened rooms by the small windows in the doors, we could see each patient clearly enough.

These people were certainly worse off than either of us. They were all unconscious, obviously not by choice; I wondered what kind of sleeping pills these people had to be on. I know that it would be impossible to sleep so heavily in this place unless the doctors drugged you. And not one of these patients looked healthy or properly cared for. It seemed that the less merciful doctors were in charge of this wing. Most of these patients wore straight jackets or were strapped to their beds as they slept, probably to keep them from scratching in their sleep.

"We can't learn anything about them if they're sleeping." Alice sighed after a few moments of simply studying the face of each patient through the little windows. "What are we to do?"

I thought it over for a minute, then grinned and started to lead her back to the door. "If we want to learn about our fellow patients, we have to look at their files. And there's only one place to get those."

We slipped out the door and down the stairs, once more taking refuge in the dark. Alice stared up at me in disbelief and hissed, "You don't mean we have to break into Ms. Hornsby's office?"

"Well, I guess we don't have to...if you've lost your nerve." I made sure my expression obviously stated the challenge I was offering her.

Alice's lips set in a firm line and she faced me evenly. "No, I haven't. I'm the one who wanted to know about them, right? And now, seeing how Helena forces them to live..." Alice shook her head. "We must find out their stories. Maybe we can tell them to the world some day and expose this horrible place."

I nodded in response, finding her motivation admirable. Then, a noise from the end of the hall alerted us and we ducked around a corner.

"We've looked all over the place, Quasi." Flynn was saying as they approached, obviously irritated. "And Aurora's in bed."

"I'm just sure I saw someone." Quasimodo insisted.

"Well, I have to return to my post now. If you see anything else, come get me. But I'm telling you, no one's out of bed besides the other security guards."

I listened as Flynn disappeared up the stairs. Quasimodo seemed ready to follow him until I peeked around the corner and waved at him. Quasimodo shuffled over to us.

"Did you find what you were looking for?" He asked us.

"Not quite..." Alice admitted.

"I'm afraid we have an even bigger favor to ask you, Quasi." I told him.

"What is it?" He asked warily.

"Tomorrow night, while everyone's asleep, we're going to break into Hornsby's office."