"My name is Jason Ryan and I am a survivor of what is called a 'List'. One of four people in this room who have survived a List." The man with green eyes, Jason Ryan, stood against a wall in one of the administrative staff-meeting rooms, where the only furniture was one large table and a series of chairs. "I have brought you all here to explain what this means for you and your futures. I am going to be as honest as I can be but I also must remind you that some of you are patients of Hearthome. For this reason, I have brought along one of my most trusted doctors, a psychiatrist in his own right, and a man who has personally investigated the List and what it means both mentally and physically. I thank you for your presence, Professor Schneider, and for making the journey."
Noah had already noticed the presence of the professor as soon as he had entered the room with Robyn as he was sitting next to the quivering form of Ollie – or rather, of Oscar, the persona who cried often – and occasionally comforting the boy. Robyn had seemed surprised at Oscar's presence but Jason had asked for quiet before any questions could be asked.
"Thank you, Mr Ryan. My name is Johann Schneider. Despite my knowledge I am primarily here for those of you who are residents of Hearthome. You are about to hear some particularly harrowing news and I will be here to help you acclimate and understand what is happening. After Mr Ryan's meeting, I will be hosting mandatory one-on-one sessions for each of you." Johann smiled a warm smile that enhanced the elderly features spread across his face. His eyes showed wisdom of a lifetime of learning and he wore a traditional tweed outfit one would expect from oxford – although the left sleeve of his jacket hung loose and was pinned to the shoulder. Johann only had the one arm.
The room itself was full of people Noah knew and some that Noah did not. There was of course Jason Ryan who had just introduced himself to the group. Despite being taken by him, Noah had spoken very little with Jason – learning that Jason had been on a List was very much a surprise. Standing at each corner of the room were one of each of Jason's mute guards. They were still dressed in their black garb and standing like statues. Professor Schneider sat at the table, exuding such a friendly atmosphere that it seemed to irritate the person who sat as far away from everyone at the table as he possibly could, John Doe. John's long legs were spread out in front of him and he was lounging back on his seat like a naughty child in the back of class. What little of his face that could be seen under his hair was clouded and upset.
The rest sitting around the table were those that Noah had seen not too long ago all slaughtered by Conner Shepherd in his vision. Imogen Banks was still red in the face – and a little purple from where Robyn had hit her - her fingers stretched out on the table. She looked ready to explode at a moment's notice. Oscar sat quivering next to Johann but seemed to be at least crying less than when Noah had first walked into the room. Penelope sat with her fingers laced in front of her, attentive to Jason's words, her face a mix of interest and perplexment. Robyn herself sat next to Noah, her camcorder bouncing from one unique individual to the next while her eyes couldn't decide whether to glare at Imogen or stare at Jason. The five surviving members of the Hearthome List were all here.
"What I am about to tell all of you is to remain a secret to those in this room. Even if you were to tell others about this they would not believe you. I would like to explain what this List I am talking about is. To explain this, I must explain to you what a visionary is. A visionary is a special person who sees an accident or incident before it happens in reality. Take a car crash, for instance. A visionary will experience this crash, feel everything as if it were to happen in reality, and then suddenly they will wake up hours or even days before, as if nothing has ever happened. Often a visionary will notice things are exactly the same. Someone sneezes at the same moment as in the vision. A conversation is said in exactly the same way. A new visionary will tend to do one of three things. They will attempt to escape themselves on their own, they will think it was just a strange daydream and do nothing, or they will attempt to get as many people away from whichever incident was due to happen. For the vision that they see will always come true. This is where the List comes in. Whoever is taken from the accident and is prevented from being killed in that accident is put on what we have defined as a List. A List of survivors. This List is ordered by the order in which the people who were saved in the vision would have died in the vision." Jason looked slowly around at the various faces staring at him. "Am I understood so far?"
It was Imogen who spoke up. "What kind of utter nonsense are you talking about? You expect me to believe this kind of cock-and-bull story?"
"I do and I believe you will because the List is very much a reality," Jason said calmly. "As I said, there are four survivors of a List in this room. I am one of them. Seven years ago I was due to die in the Epsilon Concert Hall fire."
"I heard about that," Penelope spoke up, her face lit with interest and intrigue now. "I lived in London before I came here. It was on the news for a couple days. It featured the last ever performance of the enigma, Bridge. Hundreds of people burned alive that day. The biggest tragedy in London since I was born. You survived that?"
"I did," Jason confirmed. "And John did as well." All heads turned to John now. John seemed to squirm at the attention. "John and I were both in the crowd although we rarely talked, even after we were saved."
"That's why you were in the notebook," Robyn said. "Those other people in it must have been members of that List! Did they all…?"
"There was one other survivor who is living happily as she can be," Jason said. "Otherwise, yes, it was just her, John, and I."
"Which one of you were the visionary then?" Penelope asked. Noah was surprised at how easily she seemed to take all this news. If she was thrown by it she certainly hadn't shown it. Oscar, however, had started shaking a bit more again and Johann was gently patting him on the shoulder, occasionally whispering into his ear.
"None of us, I am afraid. The visionary at the time did not survive the List. Yes, the visionaries themselves are on the List and often at the end – for a vision only ends once the visionary themselves are killed," Jason said.
"This is absolutely crazy," Imogen kept shaking her head, muttering crazy multiple times to herself. Noah could appreciate the irony of the ones not making a big deal about it being the patients of Hearthome itself.
"Professor Schneider here is another survivor of a List, but of a separate one."
"Indeed," Johann said, bowing his head. "It may have cost me an arm but I survived. Hence why not only is it my knowledge that I was brought in to help you, but my experience as well. I understand the thought process that can go into these things. In fact, the List I was a part of was the last reported List. Well, up until now."
"Noah," Jason looked to Noah now and Noah could feel all the gazes switch to him. "He is the visionary of this List that is happening now."
"Wait… Wait, wait, wait…" Imogen shot up standing this time. "What do you mean? You mean we're on a List? I'm on a List?"
"I thought you didn't believe in it?" Robyn asked and Noah could sense the deliberately antagonising tone.
"Shut up!" Imogen grit her teeth. "This is just one big joke, right?"
"I am afraid not." Jason slowly pointed to each of the members of the List in turn; to Noah, Robyn, Penelope and Oscar, and resting on Imogen. "The five of you were in the vision and were killed. Charles Evans and Finley Sullivan were also on this List. If you don't trust in my words, trust in what happened to the two of them. A fan falling from a ceiling like that? A lightning strike that just happened to hit windows that also just happened to hit Finley? These are actions that define a List. Actions that by all probability should not happen yet that which is improbable suddenly becomes very possible indeed."
"And what is this order that you speak of this time?" Penelope looked directly at Noah.
Noah opened his mouth and had to fight to find the words. If only Jason could have helped his speaking and not just his eye. "Imogen. Ollie. Penelope. …Robyn. Myself."
"What!?" Imogen's eyes shot open again. "I'm next? What the fuck!? When? How? What is going on?!"
"Please quiet yourself, Miss Banks," Johann gently admonished. "You must approach this with a clear mind. For the moment, you are quite safe."
Imogen stared at Johann before slowly sinking back into her chair.
"Yes, all of you are safe," Jason said. "As a visionary will always have some kind of hint or clue, perhaps a secondary vision, before the next on the List is due. It happened for Charles. It happened for Finley although it seems our warning over the radio came too late. Noah will receive a vision, Miss Banks and then we can focus on the next step."
"And what's the next step!?"
"We save you."
"Just like that?" Imogen stared doubtfully.
"Well, this is the secondary rule of the List. You cannot simply be taken off of it. If you are saved from death, you will be put on the end of the List. If someone not on the List saves someone who is on the List, then the person who did the saving is put on the List as well. No, being taken off the List is not so simple."
"So how do we do it? How do we stop it? You got all the answers, what do we do!" Imogen demanded, almost looking like she was about to tantrum like a child.
"Unfortunately, no one has all the answers," Johann spoke from his place beside Oscar. He patted the boy lightly on the shoulder again and stood up. "There are many rumours on how to stop a List past the obvious 'let it all go as it should.' However, we know of three things that are confirmed to work. The first, drink from the Nectar of the Gods. Yes, Miss Banks, I'm aware of what that sounds like. However, Nectar has long been inaccessible. The next, drink from a particular goblet using particular blood – this is how I survived the List I was on. Unfortunately, said goblet has been destroyed." Johann's voice went low and foreboding. "That leaves number three. A life for a life. But not just any life. A loved one."
"And this is how I beat the List," Jason said quietly. "To kill a loved one… Somehow whatever designs the List knows. You cannot pretend to love someone. You have to truly love somebody and then you have to kill that person."
"You killed someone?" Imogen's anger was quickly making way for fear.
"She… she asked me to. She was on her last minutes yet despite this I didn't want too but she insisted. She always was insistent." A wry, hurt smile appeared on Jason's face and Noah noticed something else – three of the four black-garbed people hung their heads as well.
"You expect that to be our solution?" Penelope asked. "What if you don't have a loved one, let alone be willing to murder them in cold blood like that?"
"Well now, this is the issue," Johann said. "There are some… irregularities to the rules as we know them. Lily Talbot is one such irregularity. In the vision at the Epsilon Concert Hall, Lily gave her life to save somebody else. Apparently doing this in a vision takes that person off the List completely as when Lily's predicted time came it skipped straight over her to the next in line."
"What?" Noah spoke out this time. His voice caught slightly in his throat. "What are the specifics on that?"
"That I sadly do not know. Lily Talbot is the only reported case. Alas what happened to her was a very human tragedy, not a tragedy of the List." Johann looked to Noah. "Did somebody save somebody else in your vision, Mr Barker?"
Noah looked wordlessly to Robyn. Robyn looked back and it took her a moment to realise the implication. "What, really?" Robyn asked. "No way."
"You hit him with your camcorder. It smashed to pieces. It stopped him from going after me," Noah murmured.
Robyn looked at her camcorder with wide eyes. "No way. I would never break this. No way, Noah."
"That's what happened," Noah said quietly.
"I see," Jason nodded. "So it is possible that you, Robyn, may not be on the List. We cannot say that comfortably though. We do not know the exact circumstances of Lily Talbot's death within the vision at Epsilon. There are two other potential irregularities that may clear everything up and give us some new options to help you. John. How did you survive the List?"
John glared at Jason, glancing beside him, and shrugged. "No clue. I certainly didn't do anything with any nectar nonsense… and I do not love anyone besides myself." A crooked grin appeared beneath John's beard. "And I'm still going."
"You haven't had continuous accidents happen to you?" Jason asked.
"Nope. I've travelled a long way with every opportunity for 'accidents'. I just figured I was like a broken toy, thrown away after he outlived his usefulness," John replied. He looked beside him again. "If I want your opinion, I'll ask for it."
"Over the course of the next few days John, I'd like you to think on why you are not on the List. It is not so simple as you make it out to be. Nevertheless, the same situation applies to you, Noah," Jason said, turning his green eyes on Noah now. "This is not your first foray into a List and what it means. I know what happened at the Crosshatch Club. I know that you have had a vision before. So, what did you do to survive that List then?"
Noah blinked. The question confused him. Why did it confuse him? He knew how he did it, after all, he just… just… Noah furrowed his brows. He just what? There was a… someone? There was someone, yes, someone was there, helped him, guided him through that horrible time but… who? A girl? A boy? They were young but… Why was his mind fogging up? Noah connected his gaze with Jason again. "I don't know. I… wish I did."
"That is unfortunate but expected," Jason said. "Both yourself and John will be regularly meeting with Professor Schneider to try and unlock the memories of what the two of you did to be rid of your List. It is possible you both have something in common or you both found two completely different solutions. Either way, I believe this is our best chance."
"Excuse me." For a moment the source of the voice wasn't clear but Noah finally realised it had come from beside Johann. Oscar wasn't crying anymore. In fact, he was sitting up straight, hands on the table, face firm and serious. Noah realised that Oscar must have disappeared and now it was Owen sitting in his place. "How can we trust you? Even if we believed these ridiculous things you are saying, how can we trust that you are here to help us? You look military, your guards are dressed in masks, and you waited until both Dr Evans and Sullivan were dead before acting and getting us together as a group. I feel like you are trying to achieve an agenda of your own. I don't like being used."
"A fair question and one the organization I work for thoroughly deserves." Jason made a strange movement with his hand, almost a flick, two fingers pointed up. "Even only a few months ago, the organization had particularly strict rules regarding identity and secrecy. Our uniforms are to keep us from being seen as 'humans'. We are tools and we sign up to be tools. After recent events, things have changed somewhat. My team here go by codenames. Rhino. Wasp. Barrett. Berlin. We are bound by the blood of combat and trust each other more-so than any other bond. For a long time, to take off a mask while on duty was deemed traitorous. To reveal oneself to a civilian was unheard of. This is what I am willing to do to earn your trust, as the situation here is of the utmost importance." Jason flicked his fingers down. Each of his guards took off their respective masks and hoods without resistance.
The group looked at each of them in turn, surprised at just how… normal, they looked. Noah realised that Jason had been right. Even though he had seen them follow Jason the last day he had just put them to the back of his mind as these shadows. With their masks off, they were human. There were three men and one woman. Jason pointed at the oldest member of his team, a worn looking man. "This is Erwin." He pointed at the small woman. "Gloria." The biggest man whose height gave even John a run for his money was next. "Steve." Finally he pointed at the fourth member, the most military looking of the lot. "Garreth." Jason crossed his arms. "We are humans who look out for humans. That is the mission of my organization. We used to be called the Department of Supernatural Investigation. Now we call ourselves the Department of Human Protection. This is a secret even to those high in the government. This is the extent that I am branching out my trust. Is this acceptable, Owen?"
Noah couldn't tell what Owen was thinking. In fact, each member around the table had different expressions on their faces. John looked downright angry. Penelope seemed particularly intrigued. Owen was perplexed. Robyn was wide eyed as if she had just been given a present for Christmas. Imogen was twitching, her lips curling like a feral dog.
"Believe me when I say that I am looking out for you. This is my duty as a CEO of the DHP. We are here to help the five of you survive this List and in doing so, understand why this List is even happening," Jason said, the inflection of those last words strange.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Penelope asked. She pointed at the elderly professor. "Earlier, he said that the List he was on was the last reported List. It sounds like many Lists have happened in the past, why is it so strange for a new one to happen now?"
Jason nodded as if he had expected someone to ask the question. "That is because as of three months ago, as far as we were to understand, there would be no more Lists. This is why we are directly involving ourselves into your affairs." This echoed what Doctor Evans had said to Noah. Had Doctor Evans been a part of this DHP if the information was apparently that private?
"Are you saying you would usually leave us to fend for ourselves?" Owen asked with those narrowed eyes of his.
"Yes," Jason said firmly. "We look out for the welfare of humankind as a whole, not as an individual. Yet if this List is the start of an entirely new set then that very much affects humanity as a whole." He sighed. "But this is not for you to worry about, it's big picture stuff and I have already set your thinking to the limit. The five of you need to worry about your own List and you need to fight to survive it until we can understand how to stop it. Myself and my team will not involve ourselves directly as we cannot risk being placed on the List ourselves but we will do all we can to support, guide, and help."
"So what do we do?" Imogen asked, seemingly trying to choose an emotion between anger and fear. "We just… sit and wait?"
"Exactly. You continue your lives in Hearthome as normal. You attend meetings when the doctors call you, you interact with your fellow residents as you would. You try and heal from your issues outside of this List. Imogen, you will return to active duty as an orderly." Jason looked at each of the survivors in turn, to Imogen, to Owen, to Penelope, to Robyn, to Noah himself. "The most important thing is not to let fear take a hold. If you are careful then you avoid any accidents. It is shock, fear, and surprise that the List thrives on. Remember, there is nothing to worry about until Noah here receives his clues. Live your life as normal, I implore you."
Noah couldn't help but be pessimistic in his mind. How could he live his life as normal when normal was the furthest thing in Hearthome? Although… Live your lives as normal. Isn't that what she said? But who was she… Why was she present on the fringes of his mind, involved back at the Crosshatch Club, involved in Noah's first vision. It frustrated him that he couldn't settle on this image floating across his subconscious.
"And of course, as Mr Ryan said earlier, you will all receive one-on-one talks with me so I can understand how you are taking this, to be frank, potentially damaging news," Johann Schneider said. "You will stay in this room until you are called and then you will be allowed to head back to your daily lives. Remember, the List does not control us, we control the List. This is key. Imogen, I would like you to come with me first." Johann stood and strode towards the exit.
"What?! Me? I'm not a resident, I don't need—"
"Let us not tarry," Johann said almost jovially, disappearing out of the door. Imogen looked around and had no choice but to tread behind Johann like a stroppy child.
A/N:- Hello all, just a little one-off author's note. If it wasn't already obvious, this chapter is indeed confirmation that Final Destination: Asylum takes place in the same series as my World's End Chronicles. While there are characters from that series, my intention is for this to be stand-alone with any references being of the smaller variety. If you haven't already and are interested in reading the rest of the series, start with Final Destination - Encore, Final Destination - Elimination Game, Final Destination - Last Laugh and finishing it off with Apocalypse - Outbreak (Please note that Outbreak is not finished. Perhaps I will finish it one day, but for the moment is remains as is.)
I have had issues over the last couple of years in gaining back my enthusiasm and commitment to my writing, and judging by the miracle that I have kept to my schedule so far and am already on Chapter 18 with over 50,000 words, I have had the most fun writing Asylum than I have in a long while.
Please continue to join me following the survivors of Hearthome, and the twists and turns within. Enjoy the ride!
-BT