✖ Chapter 9 ✖

        SOME TIME THE next day, a guard came into my room to lead me to lunch. It felt earlier than usual, or it could be because I stayed up all night plotting the exact deficits of what we were to go through the get out of this place. Of course there were still doubts holding me back - for instance, I had no idea where Rose was and I couldn't exactly stomp into the Council building asking for her.

       But there was also something else itching in the back of my mind that day, however I couldn't place my finger on the odd feeling. I blamed it on the building itself considering it radiates eerie vibes all on it's own.

        As we were walking down the hall, someone grabbed my arm and I instinctively threw my elbow back, hitting the person in the nose. I heard a groan before I turned, my face falling in shame as I saw it was Gunner. The guard snickered.

        "I'm so sorry, man," I told him. "I didn't know it was you and-"

        "And I should've known not to sneak up on an ex-criminal," he said, smiling some as he rubbed his nose. "Yeah, mental note made."

        The guard smirked as we started walking again, but I shrugged him off and glanced to Gunner. "What's up?"

        Before he could answer, his guard came running up breathlessly, glaring at Gunner in a way that seemed deadly. He held the harsh stare for a long moment before catching up with my own guard and starting a conversation.

        Gunner smiled smugly before saying, "Oh right. Well, I was thinking last night about that girl Rose and-"

        I stopped, giving him an odd look. "How'd you know about Rose?"

        He gave an unsettling laugh, as if afraid I would hurt him again. "I mean, everyone does, right? You guys are everywhere."

        Thinking about it for a moment, I brushed my paranoia away and moved my feet once more. "Okay, well what about her?"

        Gunner paused for a moment before glancing over at me. "How exactly did you two meet? I mean, I know she ran away but how'd she run into you?"

        I smiled a little to myself, holding back a laugh even though it wasn't all that funny. I had nearly choked Rose on the spot, thinking she was one of the Council's spy. It was a memory that was haunting as it occurred and yet it brings a smirk on my lips nonetheless.

        "Well," I started, "it didn't exactly go over well. You see, that was around the time I had escaped for the second time - I think - and I thought Rose was one of their spies, you know? It seemed odd that some girl would run through the woods for anything else."

        He straightened beside me, an action that caused me to furrow my brows at him. "What'd you do to her?"

        Feeling a gnawing discomfort in my gut, I lied. "She saw me sitting by a tree and asked me for water, so I asked her who she was. Then, I don't know. She stuck with me.

        Slowly, he nodded, as if he didn't fully believe me yet he didn't question it any further. I kept giving him presumable glances the rest of the way to the lunchroom, however, neither of us spoke again.

      To say I was relieved to see the two double doors would be an understatement. The atmosphere had grown tense between Gunner and I and I wasn't exactly sure why. All I knew was he was not the clueless boy he had been the day before.

        "You want to get some food?" asked Gunner, smiling at me in a way that was overly fake.

        "Oh, no, um, I'm good," I said, trying to brush off his odd attitude. Once he disappeared in the lunch line, I scurried over to the table Daniel, Megan, and Aiden were sitting. "There's something weird going on," I told them quickly, glancing over my shoulder through paranoia.

        Daniel rose an eyebrow. "We're in an asylum, if you forgot..."

        I snapped my glare to meet his soft brown eyes. "No, Daniel, I did not forget. But that dude that came in yesterday... he's acting weird."

        Megan shrugged. "The institution gets to everyone."

      I groaned, infuriated that they weren't comprehending my point. Sure, the asylum can bring many distraught emotions but changing someone so timid into such a nosy person overnight? Just yesterday he could hardly speak to me without holding eye contact and now he was tossing questions out there about my life.

     Looking back again, I saw a guard grab him by the elbow and carry him to the same table across the room. I let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding, turning back to face the three of the confused beings in front of me.

        "Okay, spill the beans," said Megan. "What's up with you?"

        "Yeah," added Daniel, "it was your idea to go talk to him in the first place."

        "He seemed like a decent enough ally considering it's six foot something and built heavier than a professional wrestler," I told them. "Yesterday he was so quiet and today in the hall he wouldn't shut up about Rose."

        The unsettling feeling in the pit of my stomach grew just as Daniel's eyes widened some, the color draining from his face. He leaned over to whisper, "Do you think he's one of Cecilia's minions to spy on us?"

        "I don't know why she'd need one considering her granddaughter is the warden," I said. "But he didn't just show up out of nowhere, either."

        Megan said, "Or maybe he did. They grabbed me right off the bat and I had no idea what was going on."

        "Listen, Megan dear," I told her in the best sincere voice I could manage. "One simply isn't a criminal being tossed into an asylum, totally silent one day and terrified to speak, and then the next start asking about other criminal's girlfriends. Does that sound like logic to you?"

        She squirmed, crinkling her nose as she took it into consideration. "Well, no, but-"

        "But, your savior here has figured a way out," I cut her off, raising my eyebrows.

        Her jaw dropped, Daniel grinned, and Aiden for once in his life moved his head in our direction, his head tilted in interest. The surprise on all of their faces was partly insulting and humorous. Either they didn't think I'd pull through or they didn't believe me.

        "What? Daniel can have a plan and you all get overwhelmed and when you rely on me and I finally get a one, I get shocked faces?"

        Megan lips quirked upwards. "This is why I idolize a criminal. Go on and keep saying words with that accent of yours."

        "Speak, oh wise one," Daniel added.

        I rolled my eyes at the both of them before giving them the basics.

***

        Gunner came up to me again after lunch, diving right into the questions, except this one caught me off guard. "So, have you come up with a way to escape yet?"

       Surprised, I looked over at him to see his eyes distant but curiosity still laced his tone. "Escape? What makes you think that?"

        He shrugged. "You've escaped three other times, haven't you?"

        I snorted. "Forgot that this is an asylum with maximum security?"

       He actually seemed to have deflated with my response. "So... no escape plan? No brilliant move to find Rose or anything?"

       "Why are you so interested?" I couldn't help but ask. "You got here yesterday and you act like you know everything there is to know. Yesterday you hardly spoke a word to me."

        Gunner fell silent before muttering, "A lot can happen over night."

        Intrigued, I leaned over to him. "Like...?"

        He bit his bottom lip - hard - before shaking his head furiously. He was muttering things under his breath, things incoherent to my ears and yet it seemed as if he were fighting with himself. He gripped the sides of his head, abruptly stopping to lean against the wall. I watched, unsure of what else to do, as he repeated "stop" over and over again.

      Then it hit me. Cecilia. She had to be controlling him for him to suddenly switch moods. Of course, if she were the one behind this. This was another sign leading to a yes, however, and I tried to hear as much as Gunner was grumbling.

        Except that's when he took his nails to his face, dragging them down and digging them into the skin. He was screaming that same word - stop! - over and over, slamming his body against the wall as his nails grew closer to his eyes. 

        Snapping out of my daze, I grabbed his wrists and tried to tear them from his face before he actually gauged both his eyes out. I yelled for the guards and their footsteps were soon pounding down the hall. Gunner was fighting with all his strength, his head shaking furiously but his hands threatening to retract to his face.

        A guard grabbed my shoulder and pulled me out the way as they latched the restraints on his wrists, pulling them behind his back. They started to drag him away but he was pushing his feet against the floor, turning his head to look back at me.

        "Harry! Don't trust anyone!" he yelled, his hands still fighting off the cuffs. 

        I looked at him, confused and alarmed just like yesterday when Carson was ripped from me and taken to an unknown place. I wanted to save someone this time. I couldn't let another die at my hands like Carson's possible fate was. I had to do something - anything - to help.

        However, as soon as I brought myself back to reality, he was gone.

(please stop being mean about being confused guys. that's kind of the whole point of this book. you aren't supposed to know everything or anything for that matter. it all plays out in the end, bear with me. if you do have any questions, you can PM and I'll answer them the best I can without giving anything away. thank you for reading xx)