I slowly open my eyes, completely unaware of the time. I groan in pain as I still feel the effects of the drugs.

I sit up and try to take in my surroundings. A huge stench of drugs and vomit wafts through my nose.

"Where am I?"

I murmur to myself and look around. I'm currently sitting on a bed that's squeaky. With finger scratches on the wall and the sound of people wailing and murmuring incoherently.

Gothic Camp!

"I couldn't agree more", I mutter as I stand up slowly, shaking my head trying to shake off the rest of the drug effects off me.

Memories of me pleading with mom floods through my head.

I slowly walk up to the gates and notice a shadow by the corner of the next cell.

I'm in a cell? I ask myself as I see some spiders around the corners.
The shadow begins to get prominent and I swallow in fear.
I feel cold air around me and the hairs on my skin stands on end.

"Boo!", The shadow turns to a face and I let out a little Yelp.

"You're fresh and sweet", the voice of the face who turns out to be a somewhat old lady says

"Who are you?", I ask thanking God for the iron bars that separated us.

"I am Venus. But they call me Crazy V"

"So where's Jupiter", I say with a satisfied smirk.

Good to know someone hasn't lost her spark.

"You don't light a torch and put it under a cover", I say smiling and it soon turns to a neutral frown as the slightly older lady sternly stares at me.

"Geez! You don't get the joke?", I ask with an eye roll

"No I do, I just don't appreciate it", she says folding her hands beneath her bossom.

"Alright so where am I?", I ask with a confused look as I stare around.

"And why is it so dark?"

"Believe it or not you're in the best room in Gothic Camp"

"If this is the best, I never want to see the worst", I state in a matter of fact tone flicking my eyeballs around the room

"Isn't Gothic Camp an asylum where they care for people who are mentally ill?" I ask

And she looks at me as if to say 'duh'

Realization hits me and slams me to ground so hard. I start to feel my head hurt and hot tears fill my eyes. I clench and unclench my fist multiple times as I bow my head to the ground.

Beads of tears fall the ground and I suddenly have the primal urge to scream and trash the room.

But wouldn't that prove even further that you're mentally ill?

Is there anyone who understands me at all?

"You okay there?" Venus asks as she picks her nose.

Um... Ew?

I begin to study her. A middle aged Australian(because of her accent)woman who looks like she's in her mid forties with skin as thick as a hide and  hair so black and so luscious. She's not so petite but neither is she so huge. She has a perfectly shaped teeth with some yellow stains on them and nose so small with round cheeks and ruby red lips.

She's pretty!

"Hellooooo", she calls out snapping her fingers in the air.
I snap out of my deep assessment and just nod at her completely forgetting what she asked me.

"You awake finally Ms. Now I have to put you in these", a guard says coming into view and shows me a cuff.

I eye him up and down trying to size him. Does he think a toothpick in his mouth makes him tough?

"I have nothing against you but just for precautionary measure", he says as he cuffs me.

"I AM NOT CRAZY!"

"That's what all you people say Ms", he says leading me away from the cell.

Voices shouts and wails on my left and right. People pulling their hair out.

"If you're not crazy before coming here, this place would definitely make you crazy", an old man yells from his cell.

I just shiver and follow the guard closely trying to focus my gaze on the ground and draining out the depressing voices.

Why would mother drug me and bring me to a place like this. She could have at least put me in a better cell.

What have I done to deserve this? Why did mother drug me? Is there something she knows that I don't? Is she hiding something from me?

Isn't it obvious by now?

I blow a stray strand of hair off my face as I have my hands cuffed like a prisoner.

Never thought I'd end up in jail like this.

Well technically it's not jail!

"Yeah that helps", I say aloud to myself and the guard gives me a look and I realize how that only makes me look.

I wonder if anyone knows me here. Did I officially check in? Is my identity finally revealed?

"Hey? Do you know who I am?" I ask yet another crazy question and mentally slap myself.

"Nah... We just found you on a stretcher outside. Seems you were a lot to handle for your shrink" he says giving me a pity look and gesturing for me to enter a room.

I oblige and gaze around. This room is filled with scented candles and has just one dim halogen bulb.

It kinda feels relaxing.

"Take a seat", the guard gestures and leaves. Closing the double doors behind me.

I wait for what feels like eternity and in only matter of minutes, a really really short conjoined or should I say Siamese twins appear out of nowhere

"What!" I exclaim in an exhaustive manner and I'm pretty sure my eyes are like Saucers right now.

Conjoined twins – sometimes popularly referred to as Siamese twins are twins joined in utero but that's not even why I'm so surprised.

Siamese twins are a very rare phenomenon, the occurrence is estimated to range from 1 in 49,000 births to 1 in 189,000 births, with a somewhat higher incidence in Southwest Asia and Africa. BqApproximately half are stillborn, and an additional one-third die within 24 hours. Most live births are female, with a ratio of 3:1.

And that's why I'm like... Paralyzed from shock.

"Well hello there" the voice or should I say voices which sounds very platonic brings me out of my deep reverie. I blink multiple times consecutively to bring back my focus to them.

This is both very creepy and exciting if that makes any sense at all.

"Wait! Wait! Wait! Hold up let me get this straight", I say faintly, holding my hand up and shaking my head in total disbelief, well more of shock and surprise.

This is so overwhelming!

"I know right!", I exclaim to myself suddenly feeling a rush of adrenaline coursing through my veins. I think I even feel my testosterone rising. At this thought I chuckle lightly only for me to meet the four eyes of the somewhat irritated twins who are joined together by the head or should I say neck?

"Okay so you guys are obviously Siamese twins and I have lots of questions because I've never met one in my life. First, what pronouns do I address you guys by?", I ask with a raised eyebrow and a very innocent look I believe.

"Huh?", One of them says

"Like do I address you by he, she, it, they..."

"You do not get to ask the questions woman", the mean looking one interjects.

Woman? Ugh rude much!

"Relax Margaret! I think it's good she's asking questions ", the nicer looking one says and I just smile.

"Yeah yeah yeah. So back to you guys. How does it feel to be attached to one another? Of course no offense intended", I say still reeling from excitement.

The stern look on the mean one's face whom I believe to be Margaret starts to relax.

"Well as you must have probably guessed by now, I'm Margaret and this is Matilda"

"Do you guys share a brain?"

"Of course not silly, we are conjoined at the neck not at the head so there's no way that's possible", Matilda says with a chuckle.

"We have very different mindset and character and the only thing we share is a body", Margaret chimes in.

"Does it make you guys uncomfortable?", I ask fascinated that I get to meet real life Siamese twins.

This is like real life science. If I were a neurobiologist, I'd take their brains to examine and experiment on in my lab.

"Well it was very difficult to get along with my sister while growing up because we had like very different personalities. She's like the exact opposite of me and we would always argue but that's all we get to do... Argue", Matilda says

"Why didn't your parents you know, separate you guys at birth or after wards?"

"We can't answer that not because we don't want to but because we don't know for sure. It could have been because there was really no money growing up amongst other things but anyway, as fate would  have it, we learned to work past our differences, learned to just coexist and tolerate the other", Margaret says with a simple smile.

"That's why we went into this in the first place you know ", Margaret continues.

"Into what?"

"This whole asylum thing. We own this place and we want to help as many people as possible with so many disorders like us. We faced so many societal stigmatization and psychological problems which was hard for us as children growing up and we made up our minds then to help other children or adult who have order disorders too. It's just by the time they get here, it's too late for any help. Doesn't mean we don't render our help nonetheless", Matilda explains.

Wow!

"I'm still in awe! I don't know what to say"

"And it almost seems like you're normal. Your stance, your speech, your expressions they all seem Normal" Matilda says

"That's because I am!", I exclaim in exasperation as I throw my hand in the air for dramatic effect.

"Yeah honey. Those who seem Normal are the ones with the bigger problems", Margaret says using a finger to scratch her head.

How do I know who is controlling what?

"No seriously I am! My LOVING mother drugged me and brought me here against my wish for God knows why", I say with my voice slightly raising.

"Hmm, I see", they both chorus and nod their head, taking notes.

This is not creepy. At all!

I suddenly feeling all the adrenaline and excitement flush away from my body.

This only proves mother is definitely hiding something and Damien is very much alive.

"I think I saw my dead brother though after eleven years but if I saw him then that only means he's alive right? Anyways, mother says I'm delusional and all but I know she's only lying to avoid telling me the truth. She probably thinks I'm too fragile to handle the truth but that's not true but what is true is that I've gone through shit and can face any truth told to me" I say stopping abruptly as I realize I've said 'truth' too many times in one sentence which is rather redundant and this makes me burst into fits of laughter.

Oh no!

"You guys shouldn't think I'm crazy. My inner self whom I believe is my subconscious which I also believe everyone has talks to me all the time and she's the logical one and says funny things which makes me laugh", I mutter all too quickly.

"You say your subconsciousness talks to you?", Matilda asks while Margaret studies my soul with her eyes.

Geez woman! Stop that!

I become uncomfortable in my seat and suddenly feel my butt itchy.

"Yes" I answer with all seriousness

"And you say you're not crazy?" She asks again taking notes

"Nope"

"How long have you noticed this voice in your head?"

"Uh since I was born duh! Doesn't everyone have a voice in their head?"

"Yes we do but some are more than others and when it becomes repetitive with some studied behavioral movements we refer to it as Dissociative Identity Disorder"

I roll my eyes and shake my head as if to tell them they don't know what they are talking about.

"So let me rephrase my question. At what point in time did the 'voice' in your head become very prominent?"

"Ugh! Not this again! I don't know okay, I've had this voice in my head for as long as I remember and I'm telling you it's nothing now why do you guys want to make it seem like I'm crazy? Tell me did my mother pay you?", I say as my eyes glisten with tears

"What's your name?"

"Lucia"

"Look Lucia I don't know who your mother is and I honestly don't give a fuck and it seems you don't know what you're dealing with", Margaret says as she hits her fist on the desk in front of her.

"Calm down Maggie I'll handle the questioning", Matilda says

"Now let me break it down for you Lucia. I'm going to tell you the symptoms of DID and all you have to do is tell me if you've noticed them at some point in your life or not okay" Matilda soothingly says and I grudgingly agree

"Now there are some symptoms of DID that you may or may not have noticed and it is important you tell me exactly if you've noticed them or not and I need your absolute attention for that"

I nod my head still finding all these absurd.

"Memory loss, that is amnesia, of certain time periods, events, people and personal information. Is there any part of your life you feel you've skipped and not fully processed?", Matilda asks as Margaret holds a pen and paper ready to write as fast as possible.

This is absurd!

"I know right!", I whisper to myself before looking at their expectant eyes.

I guess it's time to concentrate.

"Well to be honest, I don't really remember what happened in my life when I was 16-17. I feel like I just woke up one day and bam I'm 18. I don't know if it was the year that went by so fast or something but it didn't feel right "

"Alright good, we're getting somewhere.
Have you ever had a sense of being detached from yourself and your emotions?"

I shake my head gently trying to see if there was anytime I felt emotionless and nah.... nothing

"Nope... I'm the most emotional person you'd find here on earth. I mean, I cry at the slightest inconvenience in my life. I don't hesitate to show when I'm shocked or happy. So nope. I'm well into my emotions "

"Hmm I see. What about a perception of the people and things around you? Do they seem sort of distorted and unreal?

"Nope" I say popping the 'P' loudly

" How about a blurred sense of identity?"

"This is getting tiring just so you know"

They stare at me still waiting for an answer.

"No, not really"

How do I explain to them that I'm Samantha Montero but most times I feel comfortable in the names I've given myself like one time I told this guy I was Stacy and it suit me so well. That's the only name I've used for up to three months and I felt free. I didn't feel like a fugitive for those three months.

I just purse my lips and wait for them to go on.

"Significant stress or problems in your relationships, work or other important areas of your life?"

"Well I'm stressed right now Matilda", I say with a bored gaze.

"Inability to cope well with emotional or professional stress?" She goes on completely ignoring the change in my tone.

"Yes most times I find it hard to go on with so much going on around me"

"Mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts and behaviors?"

"Depression? Not quite
Anxiety? A lot
Suicidal thoughts? I've had my days"

"Okay and..."

"Give her a break Matilda", Margaret chimes in stopping Matilda in her quest to drill me with questions.

"We'll continue from here tomorrow Lucia and we might want to take you for psychotherapy and if possible, hypnotherapy to know if there's an alter ego okay?", Matilda says

"Are you guys doctors?"

"Doctor, psychologist, psychotherapist therapist, whichever one you like", they say as if it has been rehearsed.

"Right!", I say standing up feeling less thrilled than before.

A guard walks in and takes me back to my cell where I wallow in deep thought.

I have to leave here! I have to leave here!
I have to leave here! I have to leave here!
I have to leave here! I have to leave here!
I have to leave here! I have to leave here!

I recite to myself like a mantra, while holding my knees up to my chin and rocking back and forth.

What is mother hiding? Is Damien really alive? Or has his ghost come back to haunt me? Does mother know about him? Why would she bring me here? Did Jack know something?

I suddenly start laughing like crazy with tears falling from my eyes.

"Honestly at this point, I won't even be shocked if I find out that Eric and Nicholas are probably in on this" I say aloud to myself.

"You good?", Venus calls from her cell.

"Yeah I'm good", I say wiping the tears off my eyes with the back of my hand.

"Good. In about two minutes the guards will be here with dinner"

I say nothing and just stare at the ground looking lost and hopeless.

I think I'm going to conduct another escapade!

And with this thought, a surge of adrenaline courses through my veins and I suddenly feel alive. I feel my heart racing and pulse rate increase by a 100.

This should be exciting!

A/N
Samantha: Omg! I'm gonna go on another adventure.

Author: You're welcome!
Anyway guys, I hope you've enjoyed the story so far. More surprises are waiting in store for you my loves.
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