The Crosshatch Club stood solitary amongst the black of its exterior, the curbs of the front parking disappearing into nothingness. Just like the other times this had happened, Noah knew he was in a dream. Although this was the first time he had been back to the club – so much time spent trying to overcome his memories of this place, of trying to forget how it had been the start of everything. If this dream was leading to a clue, Noah did not know what it was trying to say. Perhaps there would be more answers inside? Noah took an unneeded breath and walked towards the poster-laden exterior to head inside.
It was just as he remembered. It was medium sized, as clubs went. There was a ground floor, dominated by a makeshift dance-floor, indented a little bit into the wooden boards. Casual seating stood on either side and the bar itself extended across the entire back-wall. Two stairways at both ends of the bar led to the second tier, where more intimate booths had been set up for the more one-to-one club-goers. The entire club was both filled with vibrant, glittering light and completely devoid of life. It was silent although the pumping of the lights dictated a mute rhythm.
Noah walked forward. He could hear whispers of the ghosts of that time, simple fragments thought forgotten, yet resurfacing now. The sounds of excitement, of glee, of anger, of arguments, and everything in between. The closer Noah got to the bar the more these fragments of emotion of club-goers long since gone flooded his mind. When he reached the other side, it was like pushing through a wall. The voices stopped. It was silent again. And there she was, sitting at the bar, sipping from a glass.
The girl with purple eyes.
She was beautiful in a way that Noah had never considered anyone before, not even Amelia. There was something ethereal about her as she turned slightly on her stool to regard Noah. Skin dark as copper, hair put into loose braids tipped with golden bands, a wistful smile that felt like it could capture and gobble up any wayward soul. Yet it wasn't all of this, no, it was her eyes, her purple eyes, eyes that told a story that Noah simply could not comprehend. Hypnotizing, mesmerizing, persuading, all in one. It took every effort of Noah's being to pull away from the eyes and instead focus on a spot in between.
"And this is why I chose you," she said with a voice like melted velvet.
Noah realised he could remember the other times he had seen her. The times at Hearthome when she had spoken to him about his visions and about souls. Strangely, he could remember her on the bus the day of the accident that claimed Amelia's life and got him committed to Hearthome. And of course, he could remember her at the Crosshatch Club, just like she was now, only back then they were surrounded on all sides by thriving and wriggling clubbers.
"Who are you?" Noah managed.
The woman smiled. She finished off her drink and with a swish of her hand, it was gone, glass and all. She stood up and her dress looked as if it was weaved of moonlight, glittering with the brightest of the universe's stars. She walked up to Noah and brushed a finger across his shoulder as she circled him.
"You remember me now. Yes. Your mind was strong before and it will be strong again. It is getting stronger, day by day. This is good, Noah, for you and me both."
Noah suddenly realised that he was seeing properly again. He quickly held a hand against his face and realised that it was completely intact – no missing eye.
"You can be whatever you want to be in dreams, Noah. You can be a completely different person if it so pleases you."
"Why is this happening?"
The woman leaned in close to whisper in his ear. "Because I want my souls. I want to be freed from my prison. I want to feel the sweet air on my face again. And I want to do it my way, without interruptions."
"Why me?"
The woman's fingers snaked on either side of Noah's head, cupping it. Noah suddenly felt extremely fragile, as if a single movement would shatter his skull. "Because you were there at the right time and because your mind was strong. Do I need to say it again?"
"I don't understand."
"You don't need to understand. You just simply need to let my List play out."
"Your List?" Noah asked.
The woman smiled coyly. "Do I hear an echo? Why do you fight your freedom? Let the souls be claimed, let the List go, save only yourself. And when I have drank my fill, I will finally let you go. We have been together for such a while, have we not?"
Memories were trickling into Noah's mind now. He could remember. He could remember conversations with this woman, walking with this woman, eating and drinking with this woman, even—
"Stop this it once, Hope!"
The voice was foreign in the atmosphere of this dream, and every aspect of it felt shattered. Noah spun around to see another woman standing there. To Noah, she looked like a clubber – but not for the Crosshatch Club – but rather the grimy punk bars hidden in London's alleys. Her arms and legs were covered with fishnet, she wore thigh-high striped socks and a short plaid skirt. For a moment Noah had the strange feeling that Lily Talbot had somehow invaded his dream, but he quickly realised that was impossible. While she wore similar attire that Noah had seen on Lily, her face, the bob and colour of her hair, the slant of eyes, all very different. In his brief interactions with Lily, she had seemed sometimes like a cheshire cat. This woman looked more like a cunning fox.
Immediately the dark-skinned woman's face twisted, the beauty replaced by a raging storm. "Leave me to my own."
"You are breaking the poor man! His mind is fracturing even as we speak!" The woman suddenly turned to Noah and Noah realised that he recognised her voice as belonging to one of the two he had heard when he was unwell. "Noah, please, I know this is not making any sense, but you must awaken." The woman closed her hand and Noah suddenly found himself flying backwards as if tugged by a rope. The two strange women, the Crosshatch Club, all grew smaller and smaller until they were a speck.
It was the worse awakening yet. Noah fell to the floor twisted in his sheets and only barely made it to the toilet where he heaved up whatever was left over in his stomach from the previous day. It took him a while before he finally managed to get out and stumble his way to the bed again, where he sat heavily.
He just didn't understand. Why was this happening to him? Why couldn't it just be the List he had to worry about? Why were there these strange dreams? Who was that woman with dark skin? Why were there so many questions and never any goddamn answers? Noah suddenly realised that this time he could remember everything clearly. The last couple of times he had forgotten. He waited, expecting the memories to disappear, but no, that beautiful woman with dark skin stayed prominent in his mind, the words she said, everything.
Noah realised he couldn't keep it to himself any longer. It had been a week since he, Robyn and Ollie had confronted and defeated Rebecca. Noah had spent almost two days recuperating from how he had felt when he heard those two voices, as well as the injuries he had sustained from Rebecca. And things seemed to quiet down a little bit, at least comparatively. John was still bed-ridden, his trust in Penelope was still wavering though he didn't understand why. He could feel himself drawing away from people again, hiding in his room, eating with Robyn but that was it. But what else could he do? He felt like he was waiting for the other shoe to drop.
The memorial for the residents had also happened, although Noah had stayed away from the crowd. It had to be delayed for a few days as two new names had been added to the duo of Charles Evans and Finley Sullivan: Imogen Banks and Paul Spinner. Noah hadn't been told much information, but Conner had led Jason to Imogen's body in the forest. As for Paulie… he had apparently been found unresponsive in a corridor, having had a heart attack. Although there were rumours and conspiracies, something Robyn had latched right onto, that his body showed signs of more than a heart attack… There was something weird about all of that but Noah felt again like he was away from it all. He didn't want to have to worry about anything other than the immediate threat this List posed and even then…
Even the List felt like it just was slipping through his fingers.
Doctor Evans would have told him off for using the word, but Noah honestly felt like he was going crazy.
So yes, he had to talk. He would have talked to Doctor Evans but that couldn't happen now. He would even have talked to Johann Schneider, but he had been missing for the last week and Jason was refusing to say why. In fact, Jason had been distancing himself from Noah, Ollie, and Robyn but Noah supposed that wasn't too surprising. They were patients of Hearthome after all, not one of his soldiers. So without the doctor or the professor to talk to, Noah knew it was time to let Robyn know everything – what he was feeling, his dreams, the strange woman in them. He could feel himself needing to let someone else know, if only to not feel the weight of holding onto it all himself.
"Look, I know we don't like to use the c-word around here, but with all due respect Noah, that sounds absolutely crazy," Conner Shepherd grinned like a wolf as he slapped Noah on the back.
"Conner! You're supposed to be supportive when someone reveals something personal about themselves! Come on!" Robyn pouted from her position sitting at the table.
Noah sat across from her silently, trying not to feel like a fool. He hadn't planned to talk while Conner was here but the urge to speak overcame his urge to keep it just to Robyn. So when he had arrived at the library – the current haunt of both Conner and Robyn – he decided that it should be okay to let Conner know what was going on as well. To both their credits, neither had spoken until Noah was done.
"I am being supportive," Conner shrugged. "Just because something is crazy doesn't mean it's not a real thing to be worried about. Trust me, I've seen my fair share of crazy." Conner leant on the back of Noah's chair. "So, this chick in your dreams, this Hope girl. You reckon you know her from before?"
Noah nodded. "Until this morning, I did not remember her. But now I do. She was there at the Crosshatch Club before my first vision. And then she was there at the bus crash. The details are foggy but…" Noah closed his eyes again. Now that he had spoken about this strange and tumultous dreams, he admittedly felt lighter. "I think she helped me at the Crosshatch Club. I think she was the one who explained to me what a List was."
"Well then," Conner said. "I have-"
"-a question!" Robyn interrupted, beaming. She stuck her tongue out at Conner as she interrupted his train of thought. "If this Hope was at the Crosshatch Club, and she left the Crosshatch with you, wouldn't that mean she would have been on the original List?"
Noah frowned. "Maybe, but…"
"Maybe that means she knows how to beat the List!" Robyn exclaimed gleefully. "Something other than all that nasty stuff the Professor and Jason were talking about. We should follow the clues, find this Hope woman."
"Hang on, Robyn, you can't just throw random conclusions out there like you're clutching at straws," Conner tapped the table. "No, what's more interesting is what she was doing at the bus crash. From what I understand, that wasn't a vision, right?"
"…Right." Small flashes of his time at Hearthome permeated Noah's thoughts, times when he couldn't answer that question, when he didn't know if even now he was still caught in the web of the List from back then. Even now, with this new List, there were moments, brief seconds, when Noah just couldn't be certain.
"So why was she following you around? Was she a girlfriend or a partner or something?"
Noah shook his head. "No, I don't think so."
"Did Amelia know about her?" Conner asked.
Again, Noah shook his head. It was strange talking about Amelia with Conner and Robyn. It was stranger that he didn't feel entirely uncomfortable talking about it either. "If she did, she never told me. Hope told me that she chose me. Said my mind was strong." Noah smiled bitterly. "Said it was getting stronger, but honestly it feels like its getting worse." He stood up from the table. Conner stepped back to give Noah some space, studying Noah with those eyes of his. "All of this… this nonsense. Not just the List, but the Department of Human Protection, and these masked Sins, and this—" he placed a hand on the side of his face, over the patch that was covering his eye socket. "In such a short amount of time, I've been through such strange things, I'm losing my grasp on reality. And that might not mean much to you guys, but to me… reality is important. I'm losing my anchor and I'm worried I'm just going to… drift… away…" Noah found himself talking without thinking. "…Sometimes I just want my mind to just… stop… to just permanently turn off."
Robyn suddenly slapped her hands on the table, causing Noah to jump a little. "Hey! Don't talk like that! Sure, a lot's happening, sure, it's probably not healthy for us, and sure, there's a constant threat of dying that wasn't here only a few weeks ago but we're in it together now. All three of us. We'll be your anchors, Noah, and we'll hold you down! Right, Conner?"
Conner brushed his hair back a moment and sniffed. "Mmm."
"Conner!"
"Sure, sure," Conner shrugged. "Look, I think things are going to start culminating soon. Jason is angry, angrier than I've even seen the guy. He's usually such a boy scout. He's going to get answers from the Sins we captured one way or the other. The DHP are good at getting answers. Hell, he might already have the answers. He will deal with the Sins, sooner or later, and then we can focus on the List."
"But you should be leading the charge," Robyn exclaimed. "They fought to bring you back here and now it's like they've pushed you away. Jason has got you stuck in here and barred off the whole administration building from residents."
"Jason is an important individual with an important job to do," Conner said with another shrug. "I've given him all the information he wanted. I've given him my theories, my answers, and my solutions. Ain't much more I can do. We don't know fully what the situation with the Sins are yet. There is one unaccounted for. It would be too dangerous for me to step out properly into Hearthome. Jason tells me I still have my role to play but…" Conner laughed. "Well, like you say. He's shut me out. I'm off the playing board now. My attention is now with you, Noah. I'll put the Sins on hold. I'm not sure what I can do to help you with the List, but now that I'm on it, I suppose I'm somewhat more invested."
"Thank you, Conner," Noah said. "It's just a waiting game though, until either I get my next clue or something happens otherwise. These… people… in my head. They're interfering. I didn't get a vision for Penelope's part on the List, but then again, it seemed to skip her anyway, so…" Noah just sighed. "We just wait. As far as I can tell, it should still be Penelope's turn next."
"Hrm. And we'll keep an eye on the two of you as well," Conner said seriously. "You were bed-ridden for a few days, Noah. In and out of consciousness. It's possible you may have had a clue and didn't even realise it."
Noah sighed. "If I missed a clue, then Penelope would be dead." And even if something strange is going on with her, I still don't want it to happen, and she's still alive.
"Unless she got saved," Robyn said brightly. Noah had to admit that she and Conner got on extremely well, bouncing off of each others ideas well. Noah couldn't tell if it was healthy or unhealthy for Robyn, but she seemed happy, and for every resident of Hearthome, they deserved some semblance of happiness. Although a part of him, the selfish part of him, couldn't help but feel that Robyn was also drifting away. She had been his closest friend throughout his time at Hearthome. Without her, what else was there? Noah just shrugged again, trying to ignore the intrusive thoughts. He wasn't convinced in Conner's theory that he had had a clue while in the medical bay. Even just thinking about that place made his stomach throb from the injuries he had sustained from Rebecca.
"Well then, let's go talk to her!" Robyn said brightly.
Noah shook his head. "I'm not up for it, Robyn."
"You've said that every day since the stuff that happened here," Robyn said with a frown. "I want to know what got you so freaked out about her. With this kind of thing, it's better to clear the air. We need to make sure she is okay anyway, if she is next. Come on, Noah, you can't avoid it. I know you think she stole my camera but…" Robyn held up the camera and looked at it. "She gave it back, if she did, so no harm, no foul? Let's go, Noah, please? Before it's too late? Before we regret it?"
Noah took a long moment to look at Robyn's pleading face before finally giving in. "Fine. I expect she's in the Rec-Zone with Ollie. Maybe I have just got the wrong end of things."
"You two be careful with her, alright?" Conner suddenly said, looking from Robyn to Noah. "I mean it. Gut instincts are often the only things we can trust. If your gut tells you to be wary of her, Noah, then be wary of her."
"Well, my gut says she's fine!" Robyn said.
"It can be both things," Conner put his hands up. "Look, I'm just saying be careful, alright? It's been a while since the List hit. It feels like it'll be any moment now. So just, keep your head on a swivel, and be careful."
A/N:- Hi all, welcome to the final stretch of Final Destination: Asylum. There are fourteen chapters left after this one, which puts the finale date on Friday, 9th June! Isn't that fun? It's been a bit of a topsy-turby ride, but hopefully I can stick the landing, answer the many questions in a way that makes at least somewhat sense!? Either way, I'm having fun, and onwards as we follow our heroes into their epilogues.