All the Best People Are
Chapter Two
"Two doses of morphine," Dawson mumbles as he looks over the tray filled with tools ranging from syringes to scalpels and bandages to knives and even restraints. His assistant nods, setting two needles down on the tray next to him.
"Two doses," he informs, looking down at Alice who is barely awake, barely even conscious. "What did you say that this specific… err… concoction will do?" He gestures to a dark gray liquid that rests on a side table that still continues to bubble.
"Erase her memories entirely. While I do enjoy feistiness, it is almost impossible to do anything with her and more than exhausting. Also don't have any will to spare any extra expense in paying for any injuries given to my staff."
"Erase…" The man seems to pause, his throat momentarily becoming dry. "But sir, this has to be some sort of human rights violation! You can't just get rid of someone's memories!"
"Must I remind you whom it is you're talking to, Jacobson? You have been an apprentice under me for almost half a decade! You want your doctorate, do you not?"
"O-of course, sir. Forgive me, sir," he whispers, growing quiet and submissive all the same, backing away from the table and the doctor.
"You seem to continue to forget your place," Dawson continues, merely talking to himself now. "Honest to God, this generation. Unable to follow simple direction and incapable of doing the simplest of tasks. If this continues on, the world as we know it to be is simply doomed. How disgusting. How absolutely revolting! And this woman is giving other females the blasphemous thought that they can stick up for themselves! Hah! That they don't need a man in their lives! That they can get their own jobs! You will see the decrease of the quality of work, that I can assure you. Everything will go to ruin! Calm down, Dawson. Calm down. Remember of your heart condition," he mumbles. He finally turns his attention to Alice, seeing her eyes half open. He gives a sickly grin in return, grabbing her chin. "Well, well, well. Seems like you're awake. Not for long of course. But I do need you awake for just a tad bit more. Jacobson, fetch the water bucket!"
The young apprentice scurries off, returning with a bucket half full of ice-cold water. Dawson grabs it before dumping it on the woman, causing her to cry out in shock. She instinctively jolts up, groaning in pain as the straps that hold her down painfully constrict her movement, forcing her back down on the metal table. She looks around the room before her eyes fall upon her clothing, her face reddening when noticing that the water has made her barely concealing garbs even more see through. Her blue eyes meet the doctor's dark green ones, and he gives her a taunting smile in return. "My, my. How very built you are. Indeed, being on the sea can definitely do that, although I believe that no woman should have such muscles as you do." He traces her stomach despite his words, and he trails his fingers up to her cheek, resting his hand there as his thumb traces her cheek bone. Her eyes narrow and she moves her head, quickly biting down on his thumb with enough pressure to make it bleed. If only she could have done it slightly harder. That would most certainly bite off his thumb. He yanks his hand back before swiftly bringing it back down, backhanding the woman. Her head slams painfully against the metal of the table, causing her vision to blur.
"Completely and utterly unnecessary. You just want violence to be the absolute solution to everything, don't you?" he demands, wrapping one hand around her throat as his other hand rest right below her stomach. He locks his gaze with hers again, both pairs of eyes seething with hatred and anger for the other. "You are nothing but a disgusting piece of human flesh. Nothing but something that I have every right to experiment on! And that is precisely wat I shall do! But first, let me tell you what this little vial of liquid does."
He holds his hand out for it, Jacobson passing it over. He puts it in the view of Alice, seeing her eyes swim with confusion and worry. "This… This tiny little vial, this tiny amount of liquid… with just a sip, can and will erase all your memories in an instant. Whoosh. All gone. Never to return. "
Alice's eyes widen and she looks up at him as though he just grew five heads, she feels her heart start to beat wildly in her chest as she shakes her head. "No! You can't!" she yells, struggling against the bonds. "You can't! That will render me useless! Even that will do no good to you!"
"You useless is precisely what I want. I don't want to hear a single word from you. I don't want to have to fight against you. I don't want to have to hold you down whilst I do what I want and besides, I can show you around like a circus freak, show off the true extent of my genius. Pretty soon, I can sell this concoction, make all women as they once were before you decided to go around trying to say that any woman can do anything that they want to. They cannot. They will never have that right because they were not born with it. They are children and housekeepers… Can you imagine? Women running up and down the streets rampant like maniacs? How nauseating. You've done far more harm than good. Lord Ascot was very smart to bring you here and let me take care of you. I have to repay him one day. Say, didn't your mother say that you rejected his marriage proposal? Perhaps I can sell you to him for a night."
"He isn't one for sex," Alice bites back.
"For you? Everyone is," he states, allowing his eyes to roam her body, seeing right through the soaked garments. "Now that you know precisely what it is that's gonna happen… Jacobson, hold her mouth open."
The boy looks worried, and he walks over, gently holding her head. "I'm so sorry," he rasps out, his hands trembling as she struggles harder. She grimaces at the taste of the liquid, coughing heavily, Dawson inserting the two doses of morphine into her, watching as she sinks against the metal slab, falling unconscious.
"Bring her to her room and inform me at once when she wakes," Dawson orders, taking off his gloves and walking off, the door slamming shut behind him.
xxxXxxx
Helen sits down at her dining room table, the kitchen, which has been empty for years, filled to the brim with people. Except, this is hardly a momentous occasion. There is no celebration, just fear and almost palpable tension. Margaret enters the room, looking around, seeing almost a dozen of Alice's crewmates before she sets her coat on a hook, sitting next to her mother. "What's going on? You said that this is urgent. Who are these men?"
"They're Alice's crew members," Helen responds softly. "There's… a situation. I know that you and Alice haven't talked too much outside of writing the occasional letter to one another. She's always at sea and you're at home but… Margaret, I've made one of the biggest mistakes of my life."
Margaret seems to pale at that as she watches her mother. "W-what do you mean by that? What's going on?"
"Let's wait until the final crew members come in. Patrick and a few others have yet to join. There should be about fifteen crew members here," Helen responds, fidgeting. Margaret has never seen Helen look so nervous, typically because she never is and that only heightens her fear for what is occurring.
A few more minutes go by before the final crew members enter the room and Helen stands, greeting them all politely. "I want to be very clear with this and very transparent. Alice is in danger. Grave danger, might I add. Are any of you familiar with the name of Dr. Dawson?" Several nod, knowing well of whom she speaks of.
"The doctor that goes around experimenting and raping women. We know well of him," one man says gruffly. "How did she manage to get into his hold? She knows who he is, too. She's told a few stories of how she escaped the asylum that one Time. She jumped off a roof and stole ac carriage, then pleaded insanity." Several chuckle as they recall the story. "There isn't' a way that she willingly went back there."
"She didn't," Helen rasps out. "I was a fool. Lord Hamish Ascot, you know that she cut ties with him a few years ago. He sold her off… Like a farm animal. He sold her to the asylum and Dawson was very clear when he said that she may die under his experiments. He offered me money if she does. But she said before she was yanked away that you would know how to help, specifically you, Patrick," she says, turning to one of the larger men. "I don't know what you could possibly do to help but I'm begging you, for her life, please help me."
"I would help you even if you didn't beg to me. She's our captain. We would die for her," he responds simply, the others nodding in agreement. "There's no reasoning with the man, regardless of what you think otherwise. We take Alice by force."
"By force?" Margaret looks up, surprised by how barbaric that seems. "What do you mean, by force? There's security there! There's men there! You'll be arrested!"
"Not if the police find out what they're doing to a world-renowned captain, they won't."
"Well, what if we just go to the police ourselves and have them take care of everything?"
"That might not be a bad idea," Helen agrees.
"It is… Dawson has been paying off the police force for years," Patrick explains. "Besides, anyone in there doesn't have rights. The police couldn't give two shits about them."
"Then how the Hell are we going to get her back?" Margaret demands.
"That's why I need your help," Helen directs to her eldest daughter. "You're married to a powerful man. I know it's unorthodox but we're going to need to bribe the police force. It's disgusting in so many regards but that's our best bet in getting Alice out of there. We need the police to turn the blind eye that they've been turning towards those who are in that… awful place. Please, Margaret," she begs when she sees the hesitancy in her eyes. "Please. This is a matter of life and death for your sister."
"I know. I know. I can't do it myself though. Lowell has to agree. He controls the finances in the family. We've recently been spending the money for schooling for John and Mina," she returns, referring to her young children. "They just started, and we needed to hire a governess for them. She's the best int eh country so she's a bit expensive. We have the excess money, we do. I just don't know if he'd be willing to… give up some of the sake of Alice. He doesn't like her too much after she's accused him of being unfaithful towards me."
Helen purses her lips, knowing it's simply not her place to get involved so she just nods in return. "I'm sure you can somehow convince him. We… we need as much help as possible. Please, can you figure it out? If need be, we can always go into Alice's funds, but I doubt she wants that. It pays for the majority of the crew's salary."
"Don't worry about us, ma'am," Patrick interrupts. "If you need to take the money, take it. Her business is successful. We'll be capable of making all of it up if that ensures that our captain is out and safe from those bastards."
"So, when do we put this plan in effect?" another crew mate inquires.
"As soon as we can. We're not under any circumstances whatsoever allowing this to drag out. That being said…" Helen takes a deep breath. "I need to go see my daughter… See how she's doing. Margaret, would you care to come? They only allow a one-hour visit per day."
Margaret nods, standing and grabbing her jacket. "Let us know when you know anything, okay?"
The crew nod before leaving after figuring out that they would head to the police department the next day. When Helen and Margaret finally get to the asylum, Margaret steps outside of it, staring at the large, foreboding building. "This place looks like a prison," she whispers mostly to herself, not expecting her mother to hear it.
"That's because it is a prison," Helen returns, her voice bitter as she stares at the large, iron gate that they just come through. "I feel as though that gate leads to Hell… These poor people in here…"
"Have insane asylums ever been good?" Margaret asks as they enter the building now.
"Not that I know of, no," she answers, heading to the receptionist. "Hello. We'd like to see Alice Kingsleigh. I'm her mother and this is her sister."
"It's lunchtime at the moment and no patients are allowed out of the cafeteria," she returns, looking through a stack of papers. "Miss Kingsleigh has also just gotten out of surgery."
"Surgery?" Helen leans over the desk. "What do you mean, surgery? We've given no authorization to such a thing!"
"We don't need authorization," the receptionist says bluntly. She looks over when Dawson enters the room.
"Ah. Mrs. Kingsleigh. Just the person I wanted to see. Come. Come. I want you to see my latest accomplishment. I believe that you'll be quite surprised and quite thrilled, even. You know how much your daughter is a disappointment to the Kingsleigh name so…" He leads the two down the hallway, opening one of the first doors. "I present to you, the new and improved, Alice Kingsleigh," he says with sick glee, a smile on his face as he looks quite proud of himself.
Alice is sitting on the bed, a plate of untouched food resting on the side table. She's staring blankly ahead, not even noticing that the three had entered the room. "Alice…" Helen whispers, her voice wavering. "Alice, oh dear God, what has he done to you?" She runs over, taking her daughter's face in her hands, staring into her eyes. She searches for anything. A look of familiarity, a light that's always there, a flash of recognition. Her heart momentarily stops in her chest when she doesn't receive anything, not even confusion. "What did you do to her?!" Helen demands, sitting on the bed and pulling her in her arms, tucking her head under her chin as she rubs her back, feeling her body trembling in her arms.
"I fixed her," Dawson returns, walking over with his hands behind his back. "I erased her memories. All of them. She is no longer a captain. She is no longer a false inspiration. She is but a woman who has learned her place. She deluded herself. Her parents deluded her. She wanted to follow in her father's footsteps. You did not stop her. Mrs. Kingsleigh, she is much safer here. She was travelling the world, heading to foreign places, spreading misinformation, and allowing women all over the world to believe that they can do more than what God has given them to do. They were put on Earth for a reason. Eve was created to help Adam and give him company. We all have our jobs. You fulfilled your job as a wife. But you still have your mother role to fill out. Mrs. Kingsleigh, I will let your daughter go home with you. You can restart with her. Ensure that you don't make the same mistake again. I wish you the best of luck… Although I want to see her at least once a week… Once a month when I believe that she has gotten better."
Margaret doesn't hear Dr. Dawson, staring at her sister, once so lively and full of intelligence, only to be reduced to this. "Alice," she whispers. "Alice, look at me. Can you hear me?" The younger of the two turns her head, looking up at Margaret. She waits for a response, growing concerned when Alice doesn't respond.
"She's forgotten how to talk. She's forgotten how to eat. The only things she does know is breathing, sleeping, and looking. But it's worth it. You get to start over, and you have such a good slate to do so with, too," Dawson says with a smile, running a finger along the woman's jawline. Helen slaps his hand away, glaring at him.
"You touched her, didn't you, you sick bastard?!" she demands. "I should get you arrested! I should get you thrown in jail! Don't go near her!" She pulls her daughter closer to her chest, looking at Margaret. "Go outside and call Patrick. We need to b ring her home immediately, figure out how to… undo this thing that happened."
Margaret nods and immediately leaves, coming back minutes later with the crew member. Patrick shoves past Dr. Dawson, not even throwing him a look as he gathers his captain up gently, grabbing the sheet and wrapping it around her. "Come on," he mutters, his eyes glassy from unshed tears before carrying Alice out of the asylum. "Do you want me to stay in the carriage with you?"
"Please. We need your strength to carry her inside to her bedroom," Helen returns gently. "Until she leans how to walk again, we need your help if that's alright."
"Of course. I'd do anything for her," he speaks honestly, glaring back at the asylum. "It breaks my heart, though… Seeing her like this… Reduced to nothing…" He looks down at the woman, trying to search her eyes when they enter the carriage. "But she's still here… Deep down, inside, I can see it. I know she's still there. She still has a light in her eyes, however dim it is now."
Margaret and Helen don't say anything, knowing that he's right but that still doesn't help their worry to any degree. When they get back, Patrick gathers the woman up again and brings her to her room, setting her down on the bed gently. "If you need anything, I'll be staying down the street with a friend," he says. "Don't hesitate to come by no matter what Time of day it is. If Captain needs the help, I'll be right here," he promises. Helen thanks him before walking him out, Margaret just sitting on the bed.
Margaret watches as her sister sleeps, knowing that she's probably exhausted and part of her is grateful that she doesn't remember, at least, the very recent events. Lord only knows what she was subjected to. Margaret sighs before laying down on the bed, gathering her sister in her arms and holding her close. "When was the last Time we stayed like this?" she thinks aloud. "When we were children? Before I got engaged? I think before I got engaged… Right after Father passed… Do you miss it? I know I do… Even when I'm laying with Lowell, it's not the same. It never feels right. It feels so lonely. Remember when we used to lay there and talk for hours on end? Until the sun rose, and you fell asleep before me and I would fall asleep listening to your breathing?" Margaret takes in a shuddery breath, blinking away tears. "And then you were gone," she whispers. "I disappeared and… now I'm back, I realise how much I miss all of this. I realise how much I miss you. I don't know how long you're going to be like this… I don't know how long you're going to need me and Mother to take care of you. What Dawson did was despicable, and I hate him for that… But for however long it takes, I'm going to be here. Right here with you. No matter happens… I swear it." She presses a kiss on her temple, rubbing her back gently. "Okay?" She isn't expecting an answer back, just content to promise that aloud.
She looks down when she sees Alice wake up slightly, her eyes fluttering open. "How are you feeling?" Margaret inquires, stopping suddenly when the girl begins to tremble in her arms, her body quick to become violent in the shaking. She sits up, trying to hold her sister as she feels fear rush through her. "MOTHER!" she calls out, Helen rushing inside of the room.
"Place her down on the bed!" she instructs, noticing the signs of the seizure. She curses under her breath, ensuring that Alice can't go anywhere or fall off the bed, Margaret panicking herself as she stands, looking terrified.
"M-mother, what's going on?" she inquires, allowing her to work as she wraps her arms around herself in an attempt to comfort her. "I-is it?"
"A seizure," she confirms. "I don't know what the Hell Dawson did to her but if he messed around with her brain... God, why did I ever allow him to take her?" she demands, her voice breaking. She waits until the shaking stops, letting out a breath when the girl relaxes on the bed once more, not really asleep but not fully conscious. Her heart breaks when she hears a pained whimper from her daughter, and she pulls her closer now. "Sh, sh, sh. It's okay… It's okay…" she whispers into her hair, rubbing her back. "You're okay… We'll fix this. I know we can. We'll figure something out, my dear. We'll fix this."
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