Normally there were a at least a few votive candles lit in front of the altar of Briarcliff's small chapel, but now it looked like all of them were, filling up every designated space and spilling out onto the floor, lining the entire outer wall. The light flickered, casting a convulsive, seizing shadow behind the enormous crucifix. Heedless of the odd glow, Dr. Arden stormed to the front of the chapel, where Monsignor Howard was poring over a Bible. Behind him, the former Sister Jude was decked out in her old habit, saying a Hail Mary.
"Well, isn't this a pretty picture?" Arden said, snapping both Jude and Monsignor Howard to attention. "I hope you haven't asked me here to help. I can assure you I'll be useless."
Opting to completely ignore Arden, Jude went back to her prayers.
"No one is ever useless," the Monsignor replied. "There is, in fact, something only you can help me with."
"Oh? And what's that?" Arden peered at Monsignor Howard over his glasses.
The Monsignor gestured grandly at the space surrounding them. "This chapel is the spiritual heart of Briarcliff. It is where God is strongest." He turned back to Arden. "And it is where the devil will be at his weakest. We need to perform the ceremony here, but Sister Mary Eunice won't simply come if we call her."
With a short laugh, Arden shook his head. "So you expect me to somehow lure Mary Eunice here?"
Unperturbed by Arden's doubts, Monsignor Howard's direct stare refused to falter. "I know you'll find a way." He smiled. "I have faith."
Arden turned to leave, but was stopped by Jude's voice. "Dr. Arden," she called, and quickly approached him.
"What is it now?"
"The demon will probably be too strong for us."
"Then why are you even trying?"
"To save Mary Eunice." Jude stopped, steeling herself. "You won't want to hear this, but there may be only one way to save her soul. We may need to send her to the safety of the Lord's arms."
"You mean kill her," Arden stated. He scowled and turned, ready to abandon the chapel and the insane plan.
"If we don't do this now," Jude called after him, "there won't be anything left of Mary Eunice, not in Heaven or on Earth."
Hard soles clicked against the floor, echoing down the hallway, getting louder with each step. Thredson's ears perked. These weren't the heavy steps of an orderly bringing his next meal. These were a woman's shoes.
Wondering if he could possibly have a visitor, Thredson made out the jangle of keys. He stood and walked to the door, peering through the small window.
"Bloody face," Sister Mary Eunice hissed, nearing the door to the small cell. "I can't tell you what a disappointment you've been."
"So sorry to have inconvenienced you," Thredson replied.
"No matter," Mary Eunice said, ignoring his sarcasm. "I have a way you can make it up to me."
Thredson laughed. "Why would I have any interest in helping you?"
"Because we have both the same problem." Through the thick steel door, Thredson heard the lock click as a key was inserted. "There's a tunnel that leads out of Briarcliff. Just go down the stairs at the end of the hall," Mary Eunice pointed to her right, "and they'll be on your left."
With a squeal, the door opened a crack and Mary Eunice set off in the opposite direction she'd told Thredson to go. Confused, Thredson stepped out into the hallway.
"You didn't tell me what you wanted me to do," he called after the departing nun.
"I don't have to," Mary Eunice called back.
For a moment Thredson considered catching up and strangling her, but reconsidered. With the door to his cell closed, his disappearance might go unnoticed until breakfast the next morning. Mary Eunice's disappearance, however, would be quickly noticed. His mind made up, Thredson headed in the opposite direction. If he hurried, he thought, he might be able to kill Lana and be out of the state before the inevitable manhunt started.
The tunnel door was stiff, and for a moment refused to open. Giving it a shove that took all her strength, Lana opened it just enough to sidle through, into the asylum's basement.
If she was going to get Kit out of Briarcliff, she needed to shine a light into every dark corner of the place. For that, she needed Jude's testimony.
Lana rapidly trotted down the dark hall, wanting to find Jude's cell, get her statement, and get out of the asylum as soon as possible. She hadn't planned to do this tonight, so no one knew she was back inside Briarcliff, a fact she was regretting.
Swallowing hard, Lana tried to shake her misgivings, forcing herself further into the asylum. Suddenly, heavy male footsteps boomed from down the hall, coming towards her. She froze. She couldn't afford to be found by a guard, they'd never let her legally speak with Jude after that. And guards were, by far, not the worst thing that could be approaching her.
Quickly, Lana ducked into a storage closet nearby. Keeping the door open a sliver, she watched the hallway through the slit. The footsteps grew louder as Lana's heartbeat also pounded in her ears, until both thundered. Lana bit her lip, trying to control her ragged breathing.
She flinched away from the door as the shadow down the hall grew, slowly filling up her view of the hall. He was only feet away when he strode under a light, illuminating his Briarcliff uniform.
With a sigh of relief, Lana shrank back, waiting for the guard's footsteps to recede.
The faintest hint of a smile traced Sister Mary Eunice's face as she neared her office. Thredson was still a black mark on her administrative record, but no one would hold it against her. After all, she wasn't the only one fooled by Thredson. He was an intelligent man, if an evil one. His astonishing escape would only stand testament to that.
"Sister," Dr. Arden's voice called from behind her and her smile faltered.
"What is it now?" she demanded, turning around.
"I just wanted to let you know," Arden started slowly, "That the next stage of my experiments has begun."
Sister Mary Eunice smirked. "And what is that supposed to mean?"
"I wanted to see how they'd function in a more… " Arden searched for right phrase. "Social setting."
Mary Eunice's jaw dropped. "You don't mean-"
"It's quite clear that you have no more use for me," he interjected, cutting her off. "Besides that, it appears that Briarcliff is about to be put under a magnifying glass, and I don't plan on being around for that."
"So, what?" Mary Eunice demanded. "You figured that as long as your plans weren't working out, you might as well destroy mine?"
"Something like that." With a small smile, Arden turned and walked briskly towards the chapel. He didn't need to check behind him to know Mary Eunice was following.
After the wide, well-lit hallways upstairs, the dim corridors of the basement were a relief to Thredson. He checked both ways, about to head straight for where the nun had told him the tunnel was, when he heard footsteps on the cold tile, and darted back through the door into the stairwell to crouch in the shadows underneath the stairs.
The footsteps resonated in the hall, getting louder as they approached. Thredson waited, breathing evenly. No one had any reason to suspect he was out of his cell, and he was well hidden.
The tread of whoever was passing was slow, casual. Whistling began to accompany the pace, Peter and the Wolf. They were used to the asylum, and in no hurry. Most likely a guard. They'd be a problem if they spotted Thredson, but one that was easily solved in the unlikely event they did.
The sound reached a crescendo and continued down the hall, fading as the guard went around a corner. Thredson stepped out from his hiding place to resume his escape. He walked out of the stairwell and turned right, before halting, stunned, his face inches from Lana's.
"Well, well, well," Thredson said casually, recovering from his temporary surprise. "Fancy meeting you here."
The whistling broke off as a crash came from further down the hallway. The guard jogged towards the sound of smashing glass.
"Whoever's down there," he bellowed in warning, pulling his gun from its holster, "Stop what you're doing and come out with your hands up."
More crashes sounded through the open door. The guard pointed his gun at the blackness within the small room.
"This is your last chance," he shouted. "Come out now!"
There was a pause, and he was certain whichever patient had somehow gotten out of their cell would hear reason. He was proven wrong when the sound of rummaging around recommenced seconds later.
"Alright, that's it," he said, less for the benefit of the prowler than to steel himself to continue, "I'm coming in."
Keeping the gun steady in front of him, the guard burst into the room. He stepped forward, his soles crunching on the debris scattered throughout the tiny room. At the sound, the intruder bolted to its feet, whipping around to face the guard.
"What the –" the guard began to ask, but couldn't even continue the thought.
The thing standing in front of him has the rough size and shape of a human being, but the lumps and pustules distorting its face dispelled any illusions of humanity. Its heaving breaths gave it the sound of a bull, angry and about to charge, and its eyes stared with a dull but feral madness.