''WHAT HAPPENED HERE!?'' the unknown man from before shouted.
''A-Aceberg got angry and entered the cell. OC ran in after him to stop him from beating his patient to death! That's what!'' I heard a voice I recognized as Rick's stutter, audibly shaken.
''OC? Oh! One of the students? This will not go unpunished Aceberg…''
I heard a hissing sound like that of a walkie-talkie ''Miss Cutler call medics to 4B36 this instant! Who is the prisoner?''
''165...Jeffrey Woods'' Aceberg replied devoid of any emotion.
. . .
After a short silence the unknown man spoke once more.
''OC…place him down on the ground and move away…slowly.''
The warning tone in his voice reminded me that I was currently clutching onto an A class murderer.
I tried calming myself and raised my head to examine the situation.
In the confusion I had pretty much leaped to grab him in time.
Our legs were entangled and one of my hands was wrapped around his back holding him up in a seating position while the other was draped around his shoulder supporting the back of his neck.
From the corner of my eye I could see that his head was lying on top of my left shoulder which was now completely drenched with blood.
He must have fainted...
I could feel droplets of warm blood dribbling down my chest nonstop.
He was still bleeding.
''I…I think his j-jaw or n-nose may be broken'' I stuttered.
''Don't worry about that right now, just get away from him'' the unknown man ordered.
He was right.
Ever so slowly I relaxed my grip and tried moving my hand away from Jeff's neck, but froze mid-movement when I felt a strange wet sensation on my own.
Confused I tried to turn my head, but the sensation got stronger.
''Jeff don't…you know what's going to happen to you if you harm another member of the faculty.''
The sensation stopped.
''She's not a member of the faculty though is she...''
He's conscious!
Suddenly I realized, that the weird sensation I'd felt…was him biting the carotid artery of my neck.
My mouth went completely dry, I couldn't swallow.
I felt his lips touch my neck once again. In this position he could easily rip my throat open with his teeth.
Instead, he slowly licked a hot wet trail from my neck up to my jaw.
I didn't move a hair even though my heart began thundering like crazy.
''...Oh?'' Jeff's body vibrated a little from what I assumed was a silent laugh ''don't worry…I have other plans for you…'' he whispered in my ear.
I shivered.
The sound of rushed footsteps filled the air and soon enough nurses in white were surrounding us.
They carefully lifted him out of my grasp.
I was hit by a sudden wave of coldness and dizziness as soon as our bodies separated.
The last thing I remember seeing before passing out were his wide, crazed eyes looking at me…
I awoke in a soft hospital bed, still in the asylum.
Fortunately, other than having slept for almost an entire day, lost a couple of hairs and gained a light bruise on my back, I had no other injuries.
I was visited by the owner of the unknown voice that had stopped Mr Aceberg and called the medics. He turned out to be the ''boss'' [for a lack of better word] of this asylum - Mr Owen...although he was nothing at all like what I had expected. His eyes were a warm shade of brown and he was constantly smiling and appeared very concerned about my well-being.
Weirdly enough…I didn't feel any aftershock. In fact, I felt better than ever!
Mr Owen told me that Mr Aceberg will definitely be punished for his actions however, it may take time due to various different circumstances such as confidentiality issues and so on.
I didn't really mind.
''Is there anything you'd like to ask? Or perhaps a drink?'' Mr Owen offered with a kind smile.
''Well…I was wondering...what happened t-to Jeff?'' I finally asked.
Our encounter was still raw in my memory and this question had been bugging me from the moment I opened my eyes.
''Right now he is being treated by the nurses however, he awoke before you did and I personally confirmed that he is making a fast recovery although…'' he trailed off.
''What is it?'' something was clearly bothering him.
''Jeff suggested something that really peeked our interest. You see…he is not known for being talkative during the discussion sessions. In fact, he hardly ever responds and when he does it's a swearword of some sorts. However, when I visited him he told me that he would be willing to start talking. Willing to tell us about his past…''
''Would be willing? Does that mean there's a condition?''
''Indeed. He said that he would only participate in discussions with you.''
''…W-what? With me? B-but I- why would he want to do that!? I have nothing to do with him!''
Mr Owen shook his shoulders with a defeated look.
''I don't know, but what I do know is that he has never made offers such as this before and to put it plainly…if this were to work out it may give us crucial insight into his mind. We have very little information on him so far, but you are under no obligation to do anything and are free to leave the asylum at any time, you only need to let me know and I'll prepare a ride f-''
''-did he really say that?'' I cut him off even to my surprise.
''He did indeed. I don't know if it's because of what you did yesterday or maybe he thinks he can try to manipulate you in some way, but this is a great opportunity none the less. Of course you'd be allowed to stop at any time!''
Unconsciously, my hand traveled to the left side of my neck.
This could be dangerous.
But…isn't this what I wanted? To meet people like Jeff?
To try and hold a down to earth conversation with them and understand the thoughts behind their actions?
''You make a convincing argument...'' I whispered.
Mr Owen's face lit up.
''So you're willing to consider it? Having one-on-one sessions with him?''
''No. I'm willing to give it a try'' I smiled.
2 days later.
2 days had passed since the incident and I had made a full recovery.
During that time Mr Owen taught me the fundamental knowledge I may need to know when engaging in discussions with Jeff.
So far the only information they've gathered is that Jeff is a murderer with no feelings of guilt, he does not sympathize with others and does not conform to social norms.
His behaviour is extremely unpredictable and is characterized by sudden mood swings that are mainly violent.
They also identified that there may be some sort of a connection between him and another patient I had previously seen – Jane Arkensaw. However, that is only a speculation drawn from her words.
Finally, Jeff is known to physically attack psychotherapists and will use any opening given to elicit anger or manipulate the conversation.
Any unsupervised physical contact with him is extremely discouraged.
Before arriving, his method of killing used to be the use of a knife to stab people to death with and his body count is 53 as far as the police are aware.
There have only been three known survivors of his attacks however, none of them have had much information to provide apart from Jeff's attire during the attacks: white hoodie and black pants.
''That's pretty much everything we know about him so far…'' Mr Owen finished.
''You haven't told me how you managed to capture him yet'' I pointed out.
''You're right! I forgot the most important detail as always! He was arrested on October 23. I wish I could say that it was due to the teamwork and bravery of our police officers however, it was nothing of the sort. Truth be told…we aren't even fully sure about the circumstances surrounding the arrest, but from what I've heard, it's almost as if he surrendered himself.''
''I don't understand.''
''There were no clues, no forensic evidence, no solid leads other than half-baked witness testimony. He just appeared out of nowhere one day! It's possible that he would've even gotten a not guilty verdict if he hadn't pleaded guilty and well...his face. He pretty much convicted himself…it was the most disturbing hearing I've ever attended.''
I stayed silent.
There was so much mystery around him.
Thinking back, I did remember seeing news reports about a mysterious murderer who strikes people in their own homes however, I never paid much attention to it, I was too busy with schoolwork.
I wish I had though.
I took a deep breath and gave a little laugh.
''Well, I suppose that makes me very fortunate considering what happened'' I said attempting to lighten the atmosphere a little.
''About that…you have no idea how surprised the staff are. They can't believe he just let you go, especially those who've had the pleasure to work with him before. Anyhow, are you sure you want to do this OC? If you're sure we can begin the first session tomorrow.''
''Yeah. Like I said, I'm willing to give it a try'' I replied with a smile.
For some reason I felt really comfortable around Mr Owen.
He truly is a respectable psychotherapist and I don't want to disappoint him. I will do my best to get some information out of Jeff.
Plus, what's the worst that could happen?
. . . . .
