Chapter 4:
Molly groaned as the bright lights above her forced her to wake up. She wasn't exactly sure where she was, but that was the least of her problems. Pain surged through her body like she had never felt before, and it was startling to her that she was even conscious. No one should be able to withstand this level of agony. However, much to her surprise, she was able to sit up in the bed she was laying on, and take in her surroundings.
The room she was in was a startling white, with a white tiled ceiling, white walls, and white marble floor. The bed she sat up in was white as well, with a simple white sheet covering her bottom half. It was cold, and a chill coursed through Molly's body. Wrapping her arms around herself, she threw her legs out over the side of the bed. The cool floor made her jump slightly, but her feet soon adjusted. Why in the world was she in a hospital gown, and what kind of hospital was this?
For a brief second she though, "Insane Asylum," but soon dismissed that notion. Molly Hooper was not crazy, and even if she were, she most certainly wouldn't be so calm. Uncertainty knocked on the door of her mind when she realized just how calm she was.
"Where am I," She mumbled to herself.
In her musings, she neglected to notice the door. There was nothing unique about it. It looked like any other door, with a small window for peering into the outside world. However, there was one key object missing from that door that made her eyes widen. There was no door knob.
There was no. door. Knob.
Her calm demeanor suddenly shift to panic mode, as she raced over to look out the window. To her surprise, what she saw was a complete contrast to the room she was in. The room beyond the white was very spacious, with large comfy looking chairs, and books stacked everywhere. Books upon piles of books. Two huge windows loomed over the room, revealing a beautiful scene outside. It reminded her of the library in Beauty and the Beast. Molly noticed that there were multiple doors along the walls of the room, possibly leading to even grander rooms than this one. Instinctively, she reached for the door knob that wasn't there and let out a small whimper when she realized her error. Placing her palm on the window, she knew she needed to do something.
"Okay, Molly, think. Look for clues. Deduce what is going on." She paused a moment. "Think like Sherlock would."
Sherlock. The sound of his name bounced off the walls of her white room, and filled her ears. His name triggered something in her memory that she couldn't quite bring to the surface of her mind. She could see Sherlock sitting next to her...somewhere. Where were they? Molly paced around the room, trying so very hard to deduce what happened. However, the more she tried to think about what was happening, the more flustered she became. Finally, she gave up and sat down on the edge of the bed.
"Where am I?" She asked again, hoping someone was out there to answer her question. To her surprise, a scene popped into the forefront of her mind. It was an image of Sherlock, laying on his couch, with his hands in a prayer position. The first time she saw him do that prayer position, she thought he was a Godly man. It surprised her, because of how cruel he could be. But then, he explained himself.
i"You don't have to stare, Molly. Didn't anyone ever tell you staring is rude."
She jumped, startled that he knew she was watching him. "Oh...I'm...I'm sorry. I was just wondering what you were doing."
He sighed and looked over at her. "Mind palace."
"Mind what?"
He rolled his eyes and sat up, looking straight at her. "Mind palace. I was looking through my mind palace. It is something I constructed in mind a long time ago. I keep all my important information there."
"Wait, so you're telling me you have a palace in your mind." Molly said with a slight laugh.
"No, I'm saying that my mind palace is my mind." And with that, he lay back down again and got back into his prayer position./i
Suddenly, the memories of moments before her arriving at this place came flooding back to her. She was in a cab, with Sherlock and they were going to get Chinese. Well, she was going to get Chinese; Sherlock was just riding along. They had stopped at a stoplight, and then...screeching. A bus was coming at them, and then...
"No!" Molly screamed aloud, remembering the impact of the bus hitting her side of the cab. Beads of sweat formed along her forehead and she jumped up, and began pacing around the room again. After the bus had hit the cab, she remembered the cab rolling, and then darkness. She must have blacked out.
"That means, I'm in a hospital. But then, where are all the people?" She asked, rushing over to the window.
After looking out for a few more moments, she realized something. If there were no people here, then this most certainly wasn't the hospital. Maybe she was dead. No, she wasn't dead. Her parents had brought her up a devote Christian, and while she didn't exactly practice it anymore, she still believed there was a God. As she continued to eliminate the possibilities, the only logical answer reminded. She must still be unconscious, and she was dreaming.
"No, this is too vivid to be a dream. Though I may very well be unconscious, this is something more."
As Molly turned away from the door, it took her only moments to realize where she was. It seemed that Sherlock Holmes wasn't the only one then.
"Oh my goodness...I have a mind palace!"