Chapter 3: Secret Mind Room

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Iris lay upon a canopy bed whose four deep oak posts were wrapped in soft white and red roses. The lace canopy draped elegantly off the bed frame. The mattress was made of the softest and finest cotton and silk. The room was decorated so that it seemed to meld with nature, not fighting against it. It was as if Iris was a sleeping beauty in a fairytale. Iris herself wore a lilac purple nightgown that had intricate floral designs along the hem and thin straps. As Iris lay there asleep, a skeletal bird-like creature stood just out of reach, watching her through the lace canopy. He tentatively reached out his talon and opened the curtain, revealing the sleeping Iris. He then brought his talon to her cheek, almost seeming to touch it, but it hovered ever so slightly above. He lingered there a moment, admiring her beauty before he ran his talon down the length of her body, his talon hovering on the cusp of physical touch. The skeletal bird remained there until he saw her stir. He quickly got off the bed, just in time for Iris to wake up.

Iris awoke slowly, her body and mind still weak from the ordeal the system had just gone through. She sat up in bed and stretched out her arms, rubbing the blurriness from her eyes. Once she was fully awake and took in her surroundings, Iris realized that she was not in her room in the Safe Place. She began to panic as she realized she couldn't feel Marc and the others. Where am I? Why can't I feel Marc and the others? Iris thought frantically. The skeletal bird decided this would be a good time to make his presence known.

Iris was about to open the canopy to get up when she saw the silhouette of a large birdlike creature. She gasped and scrambled as far as she could away from the silhouette and the talons that had begun to open the canopy. The creature opened the curtain fully, revealing himself to her. Iris's eyes grew wide with fear as she took in the massive bird skeleton thing in front of her. His head was that of a falcon skull that hovered over the mummified body of a man. He had to be at least 10 feet tall. The creature was holding a wooden staff with a crescent moon at the top.

Iris stared into those empty sockets of his and seemed to get lost in them, as if she was put under some sort of spell. She stayed like this until the creature began to circle the bed to get closer to her. This broke the mysterious hold he had on her and she began to look around for something to defend herself with. Her breathing quickened as he got closer and closer until she saw a letter opener on the nightstand. Iris quickly lunged for the knife and raised it defensively in front of herself.

"Who are you? Where am I, and where are the others?!" Iris asked the creature.

The creature stopped his movement, obviously uphased by Iris's attempt at self-defense. "I am truly hurt that you do not remember me or this place, Iris. We have been here before."

Iris looked at him, confused. She tightened her grip on the knife, "I think I would remember a 10-foot-tall pigeon monster!"

He placed a talon over his heart in mock offense, "That truly hurts me that you do not remember me. And I'll have you know I am a 10-foot-tall falcon monster. Now, why don't we lower that knife? You might hurt yourself. We both know it won't hurt me."

"Not until you tell me who you are and where my boys are."

He sighed dramatically before a large stone throne appeared behind him. He sat down upon the throne, laying his staff across his lap. "I am Khonshu, God of the Moon, protector of the night. I have been watching you and your brothers for quite some time. As for this place," -he gestured to the room around him - "is a secret place made just for you inside of Marc's mind. A place I helped you create for when the system gets so close to breaking that it nearly sends Marc over the edge. The boys are fine."

"Okay, um, this all sounds like bullshit. I am the system personified. I know everything that goes on in Marc's mind, every personality and world he has developed. I make sure that his mind does not break." She paused, her voice shaking, "I don't know you."

Khonshu leaned forward in his throne and locked eyes with her. "I am not from inside Marc's mind. I can help you remember. If you would allow me to." He outstretched his talon towards Iris.

Iris looked at the outstretched talon, then up at his face. He almost looked hopeful that she would take his hand, Iris quickly shook that thought away. "I will accept your gesture if you show me the boys are okay."

He leaned back in his throne and tapped his talon for a moment, as if in thought. Khonshu then arose from his seat, walking towards a mirror. He tapped it, and an image of Marc appeared. "You will be able to see and hear what is happening, but they won't be able to see or hear you."

Iris cautiously crawled out of the bed and walked towards the mirror. "Don't try anything funny."

"I am a perfect gentleman, and you wouldn't be able to hurt me anyway." She gave him the side eye before looking in the mirror. It revealed Marc sitting in a chair next to their father's hospital bed in the ICU.

Marc had turned on the news, just something to pass the time until the nurse inevitably came in to tell him visiting times were over. She would look apologetic and call his night nurse to escort him back to his own room.

They had been in the hospital for three days now. Stella had been the first to visit him. She brought get well cards and balloons signed by the football team and some of her friends. She also brought him comic books she borrowed from her brother. Something to help pass the time when cable TV gets boring, she had said. The next day, the team and Stella showed up. They hung out until visiting hours closed and helped Marc almost forget why he was there. Almost. On the third day, an investigator came to talk to him about his mother's attack. The investigator tried to reassure Marc that his mother would not escape again, but he wasn't convinced. Once the investigator left, Marc went to the bathroom, shutting and locking the door behind him. "About fucking time they left. They're completely useless. The only ones we can count on are ourselves." Jake said in the mirror.

"Yeah, well, we have to cooperate with them for now, for dad's sake. Have you found Iris yet? Stevie has been asking about her, and Im running out of lies to tell him."

Jake raised an eyebrow at the Stevie nickname but decided to ignore it for now. "I have looked in every corner of our mind. She isn't here. It's almost as if she never existed except for her bedroom door."

"Thats fucking impossible Jake. Iris exists in my mind. She is the system that keeps my mind together. She can't just not be here!"

"Well, what the hell you want me to do!? Huh? She aint here, and I think I know who took her."

"Oh my fucking god, not this shit again. The skeleton bird monster does not exist. I think I would know if that were running around in my head."

"You didn't know about me. For years." Jake deadpanned.

Marc glared, "That's because Iris hid you from me, and you're not a bird monster!" Marc took a few deep breaths to calm himself, "Iris has to still be here, or we would be locked up in a facility right now. If this creature were real, where would it take her?"

"Probably somewhere in our mind that is blocked off. Iris said that there are certain areas of our mind that were sectioned off to protect us. Some kind of trauma response.""Did she create these protections?""I ain't sure. She said she doesn't have access to em either. Like something was blocking her. That's it! Marc, I think the bird took her to one of these places! We need to ——"

The mirror suddenly turned back into a regular mirror.

Iris's whole body went stiff as she could feel Khonshu's body behind her, towering over her. How the hell had she not seen him move from his spot? She had been sure to keep him in her sight as she watched the mirror.

Iris wanted to run, but she couldn't. She wanted to scream, to let Jake and Marc know where she was, but she couldn't. Whatever power he had over her kept her firmly planted where she stood. Khonshu ran a talon along her cheek, correcting an out-of-place strand of hair. Iris shivered, goose bumps traveling up her body as she broke out into a cold sweat. Her breathing quickened as she realized he was not going to let her go this time. His other hand rested firmly on her hip, he lowered his beak to her ear.

"I think it's time you remembered me, Iris." He whispered.