Chapter 137 The Asylum 7: Failure
When you walk out of the doctor's office, the sun is shining brightly—brightly piercing your face, something is being forcibly illuminated and then burned away.
The doctor's voice still echoed in my mind: "You have to try, baby, try to prove you can get out."
You are confused, you are thinking, you...
You exhale the pent-up frustration in your chest, your brow furrowed, and say to Sandra, "Please call everyone here right now, all the patients." — You'd explored the entire building last night, so you naturally knew there were other patients still there — "...all of them. Today... let's do a 'team building' session."
"It doesn't comply with the regulations? But you have the authority to arrange these things, don't you?" You look at Sandra, awaiting her answer.
“Of course, my good friend.” Sandra smiled, her mind controlled by the image of your hair, but her established identity as “head nurse” maintained her authority.
About twenty minutes later, a commotion arose at the entrance of the activity room.
You lean to one side, watching Sandra maintain order while directing the nurses and caregivers to lead the patients out of their rooms one by one.
Should we do it? It's the only way.
Welcome!
Even though you are a "patient," with Shan Zhuo backing you up, you have become someone with a lot of influence in this room.
As you approach the group of patients, you ponder what to ask them and how to talk to them.
They sat crookedly, and as you walked past them, you caught a whiff of something different—you realized for the first time that a person's character and thoughts could even be reflected in their scent.
Some people are dry and anxious, some are numb and silent, and some are covered in a musty smell mixed with the sweetness of some kind of medicine.
Let's do it one at a time.
You need to ask them one by one why they are here—you want to find a starting point that can disrupt the order here.
—Doctor…no, Dean, didn’t she say she wanted you to prove something? You don’t know what you’re supposed to prove, but perhaps nothing proves “you don’t belong here, you should leave” better than shattering the stability of everything.
The first one was a round-faced girl named Bella. Her eyes were unfocused, her hair was like crumpled strands, and her fingers kept drawing circles on her knees.
Why did you come here?
Bella stared at you, the clock seemed to stand still, and you didn't know how much time had passed before she slowly said:
“I…heard them say…I cried too much. I cried on the subway, I cried in the library. Later my mom said I was like a tap that couldn’t be turned off. She was afraid I would be led astray by others…so she sent me here.”
"So, do you think you should be here?"
Bella tilted her head: "I don't know. I don't cry anymore, but they say I've become numb. Sigh, crying is a problem, not crying... is still a problem."
She blinked, looking like she was about to cry, but she held it back.
The second was a thin woman with bluish skin named Lynn. She sat upright, her hands neatly placed on her lap, looking just like an obedient, model student.
Do you know why you're here?
She looked at you, her lips twitching downwards, and suddenly lowered her voice, saying, "I reported the company!"
“My supervisor is a complete idiot. He's been falsifying accounts for two years and abusing his position for personal gain! After I gathered the evidence, I sent him a letter right away.”
She stopped talking. You had no choice but to try to persuade her gently.
"And then? You got into a fight with him?"
"No, nothing happened. I just walked in. It turns out I have paranoid delusions."
"Do you really have paranoid delusions?"
"Yes, Doctor, I have paranoid delusions!"
You pursed your lips slightly.
You ask, "Do you still want to go out?"
"I should stay here, Doctor!"
You finished questioning her.
Next, you asked everyone you met. Some were teenagers who claimed to be able to hear "flowers and plants talking," while others were middle-aged men who had been brought in because of repeated self-harm.
Their symptoms, well, it's hard to tell if they're real or fake, but the more you ask, the more you discover:
They don't seem to be incapable of thinking; rather, they are deprived of the right to speak—some of them even agree that they don't have to speak and can simply stay put.
But not everyone is like that.
Some people insist that they have no problems and want to leave.
How do we leave?
"I don't know, but as long as... you're willing to do something with us..."
Please remain silent for now.
Of course, not everyone is willing to communicate with you.
For example, Xiao Ai.
When you sat down next to Xiao Ai, she simply turned her face away and didn't say a word.
You said in a gentle tone, "Xiao Ai, I know you're still wary of me. But I can overlook that. Your feud with Xiao Yu is your business, but what we need now is a higher level of unity, otherwise none of us will be able to get out."
She didn't respond, her gaze fixed on the malfunctioning fluorescent light in the corner.
You look at Xiaoyu beside you. She's hugging a pillow like a doll, slumped in an uncomfortable plastic chair, the air feeling heavy to her.
You no longer concern yourself with them. Your goal isn't necessarily to make everyone do things your way.
The key point, however, is that tall, thin woman who looks like a witch.
Yesterday during the day, she made some subtle remarks that suggested she knew something.
She sat in the corner, like a withered skeletal branch, twirling a broken ballpoint pen she'd somehow found.
You walk over and sit opposite her.
She looked at you, smiled, and spoke first: "Little girl, you are such a kind person."
You didn't respond, waiting for her to speak.
She chuckled and said, "You want to unite everyone? Want to know how they got in? Don't bother."
You stare at her: "You know something."
She nodded: "I know too much, hahaha, of course I know everything! And you, you're all just like them!"
"Like whom?"
"Hmph, what you're going to do is no different from what they did back then! But the end result will be the same!"
"They're all the same! SAMEEE!"
The tall, thin woman was acting wildly; the caregivers glanced at Sanjaya, then at you, and then ignored her.
You continue by asking, "What do you mean by 'same'?"
You keenly sensed the unspoken meaning in her words: "You know so much because you've experienced it, right?"
The tall, thin woman stopped talking and just glared at you fiercely.
However, you've already conjured up a picture in your mind of what happened "back then".
"You think I'm encouraging everyone to leave, just like 'back then,' right?" you say slowly, hoping for a better response from her. "It's different. I just want to leave."
you say.
You think of those monsters of the night, and these "medical staff" whose minds are empty except for items with labels on them.
"Back then, what they did might have been violence against violence, but all I wanted was to leave, to throw these bullies back where they belonged, and then we could have—"
You thought for a moment, then said firmly, "Freedom. I just want to leave, I want freedom, I want to go back to my home."
You are not interested in the order, hierarchy, or grudges within this "madhouse." You simply want to encourage everyone like you, who doesn't belong here, to leave.
This is also your reply to the dean.
She uses words to provoke you into fighting, but you will never be a helpless fighting beast in a predicament.
"They"—perhaps these medical staff—have defeated the "monster," but they themselves are now trapped here.
You don't want that kind of fate.
The tall, thin woman remained silent. After a long while, she let out a weak, stammering laugh.
"By the way, I still don't know your name..." you asked out of respect.
But when the tall, thin woman was about to answer the question, the caregivers, who had been observing, swarmed around her, covered her mouth, and dragged her away.
You don't understand this scene.
But you made up your mind.
While the caregivers were no longer calmly and rationally waiting by like hunting dogs, but instead focusing their fire on the tall, thin woman, you said to Sandra, "Now!"
You wait and see what happens next.
You need to gain the trust of most people before you can leave the dean alone, and only then can you leave this place together.
You stand in the center of the activity room, light streaming down from the old chandelier, like stage lights shining on a broken yet proud actor.
"All medical staff, stop what you're doing," Sandra shouted. "Follow my instructions."
You look around.
Dozens of eyes are fixed on you—half are the patients' bewilderment, confusion, and latent expectations; the other half are the medical staff's...
Is it indifference and hesitation? Or is it a deeply hidden contempt?
You didn't have time to think too much; you just saw the little nurse who listened to Sandra obediently squat down, letting Sandra put her hand on the top of her head.
Like unscrewing a metal can, she skillfully opened her skull, took out the notebook inside, and threw it away.
You address the patients at the opportune moment: "See this? This is the medical staff! They can't cure us! We shouldn't be here!"
No one will answer you.
You pursed your lips and watched as Sandra reached out her hand to the second nurse.
But this time, the nurse suddenly dodged.
She knelt down and stood up, then punched Santoh directly in the body.
“Traitor!” she said.
“Traitor!” they said.
The caregivers, who were much taller and stronger than the nurses and usually worked as security guards, shouted loudly, half of their voices directed at Sandra and half at you.
Sandra was the first to be subdued. Clearly, they hated "Sandra" who was with them more than your rebellion.
You tried to rush out and get away, but after only two steps, a lasso was put around your neck and you were pulled backward.
When you fell, you saw Sandra's head being pulled open, and your black hair being taken out—the person didn't understand what it was, and just casually put it into their pocket.
Then, they all pounced on Sandra.
They were filled with resentment and curses.
And you, on the other hand, were subjected to utter contempt.
Only three people stayed behind to deal with you. They grabbed your hands and feet and took you to the room behind the activity room.
—The room where the person who lost the gun chair game yesterday entered.
The punishment room.
Your consciousness begins to wander.
All you know is that there is a huge machine standing in front of you, like the equipment used by early dentists, or like the electronic instruments used for interrogation.
Before you could fully figure out what it was, you felt something being gently taped to the back of your head.
Then...
It's so cold.
It wasn't even pain.
It's also possible that the pain has been blocked out due to trauma protection mechanisms.
The lights in front of me were distorted, cracked, and like phantoms.
You seem to hear someone speaking repeatedly in a very soft voice in your ear:
Who do you think you are?
"Are you a doctor? Are you a patient?"
"Do you want to bring order to them?"
You open your mouth, but you can't utter a single syllable.
Your consciousness is like floating on the surface of water, swaying and unstable.
Someone pulls you off the chair and throws you onto a stretcher.
You hear the sound of a cart being pushed in the distance, something dripping water, and a caramel-like, burnt smell.
You were wheeled out of the punishment room.
Along the way, patients stood nearby.
You see faces slide by like a slideshow.
They had no expression.
Only Xiao Ai didn't look at you.
You saw them being taken away one by one by the nurses and sent back to their rooms.
When they turned around, neither of them spoke.
You know, they've stopped relying on anyone.
You were finally pushed through that familiar iron gate.
"Solitary confinement."
A new nurse stood by the door, her face serious, holding a registration board.
She is the new head nurse.
She says to you, "We'll let you out when you've learned your lesson."
The door slowly closed in front of you, making a low click.
You lie sprawled on the bed, facing a blank wall.
You touched your head.
It took you a very long time to slowly realize that they hadn't been using your brain.
They executed Sandra ruthlessly, but you received only a routine punishment.
—You are below them, and what they did to you was enough to make an example of you.
You close your eyes. Your resolve strengthens.
You know you have to get through tonight.
But you're not afraid.
At night, they are just another group of monsters that do no harm and are simply immersed in their own world.
-----------------------
Author's Note: Oh my god, writing about rats is killing me!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
