Welcome To Lenor Asylum, chapter 1
Little black shoes pattered down the sidewalk during a cold autumn day. Leaves painted gold and red rolled along in the breeze. Alice lifted her head, her little brown orbs watching in curiosity as the leaves fluttered away. They tumbled across the two lane road and over onto the dead grass of the lawn of the asylum. She stared in awe. So many rumours were spoken about this place—how the children inside were tortured; how ghouls haunted its hallways at night. Alice was glad she was one of the lucky ones.
In Lenor, a small town on the outskirts of a desolate valley, tradition went along differently. Children with extraordinary talent, called prodigies, were blessed in most parts of the world. They were congratulated and recognized for their effortless feats. Lenor's residents, on the other hand, viewed these prodigies as abnormal creations and thus sent them to asylums to hide them away from the world. Alice was relieved when she looked upon the ominous building that she was dismissed from having any sort of unusual talent. She believed she would never know those terrible inside corridors.
I didn't know what to think of it.
A creaking noise caught her attention immediately, and she raised her head up towards the tower window. Something black shifted against the old pane, pale-coloured hands pressed against the glass on the inside. Alice squinted to make out the form, until her eyes widened in surprise. When the figure moved away, she gasped and hurried home.
--
The buzzing of static from the old television in the living room could be heard from the front door as Alice came inside. She pushed open the door and stepped onto the mat. Glancing left and right as she cleaned her shoes, she figured her parents were doing their usual—her mother gossiping on the phone; her father, slaving away over his work in the office. She closed the door behind her softly, slipped her shoes off, and hurried down the hallway to find her mother first.
"I don't believe this!" the older woman's voice spoke out from the kitchen. "Have you heard the news lately, Margrette?" The small talk carried out into a topic about politics—something Alice wasn't too interested in. She walked in and stopped beside her mother.
Alice took her sleeve and tugged lightly to get her attention. "Mum!"
"Hang on," her mother placed a hand over the phone and looked down to her daughter. "Alice, honey, what is it?"
"On my way home, I passed by that creepy old building," as she explained, her mother nodded, "and I saw this weird-looking man in the window...it was on the girls' dormitory side!"
Her mother's eyes widened. "...Alice, are you sure?" Her daughter nodded quickly.
I wasn't sure why it was wrong to see him.
--
Later that night, from up in her bedroom, Alice could hear her parents arguing back and forth.
The deeper voice, her father, expressed his concerns as usual. "Perhaps she was mistaken...anybody can mistake a shadow for a being in that creepy place," he huffed. He didn't like the fact that this was about the fifth time his daughter had told them she had seen someone in the Asylum window. Especially a boy, since he 'was seen' on the side that housed the girls. However, Alice's father was determined to find some way out of this.
Alice's mother wasn't far from his point of view. The slender woman set her hand down onto her husband's shoulder and sighed. "Honey, I'm sure...that there's a reasonable explanation, but...have you seen her drawings?" she said and furrowed her brows. "They're of that man she keeps telling us about. The art teacher has to keep locking her assignments up because she's afraid the principal will see them! She's not supposed to know about this, but how does she? Can you explain that?!" Her grasp on his shoulder tightened.
The man sighed and then tugged her into a hug. "I don't know, I just...don't know. There's nothing we can do, there's—" Ringing from the phone echoed through the kitchen. The mother sighed, raised a hand to her mouth, while the father walked over and answered. "This is Walter Cunningham..."
Silence ensued. Muffled voices from the other side of the phone put a damper on things; it was apparent when the father furrowed his brows. He stared blankly into the darkness of the next room. "I see...of course. Thank you for your help," he paused. "...no...no...it's alright. I don't see how we could have really avoided it..."
Meanwhile, Alice crept from her room to the top of the stairs. She clung to one of the posts and watched her parents' silhouettes against the wall. Their voices were soft, but she tried to make out most of the conversation.
"Yes...yes...I understand. Mm...you too...goodnight." He hung up. What he said next brought chills to Alice's mother.
"They know."
Alice's brows furrowed. The motion of her mother's form nearly toppling over onto her father as if her knees had given away only confused her more. Who knew? About what? Her drawings? Could that have been the art teacher on the phone? She wasn't really sure, but she didn't see what the problem was. The sound of her parents crying, however, drew her back into her room. She crawled up onto her bed and tugged the lamp switch down. She hugged her knees close to her chest, barely aware of the fate that awaited her.
--
She clearly remembered the events that followed the next day. Strange men dressed in black suits came by the house. Her parents were crying. The men forced her away from the door and out into one of their cars. Her parents didn't even try to take her back. Alice could remember the bumpy road on the way to the asylum.
And now, she stood before it, shivering in fear of the ominous building before her. An eerie voice had crept forth, welcoming her after the gates had coincidentally slid open. Her mouth opened to speak, but the driver of the car suddenly pushed her forward.
He yelled, "Go inside!" before he had left her there.
Alice turned around to watch the taillights of the car fade out into the fog. Pulling herself back around, she gathered her only remaining courage to walk ahead along the stone path laid out before her.
On either side of the sidewalk were old crosses and tombstones. A cemetery? Her brows furrowed a bit as she kept towards the centre. Soon she approached the main doors to the asylum. Each door was heavily bolted, yet delicately decorated in fine detail, depicting old symbols and designs from decades before. Alice reached forward and took hold of one of the door's handles. She turned the knob and pulled at the door, before it creaked and slowly swung open. Gulping, she stepped inside, a little hesitant to enter the darkness of the asylum.
Once inside, Alice cleaned off her little black shoes, undid the buckle to them, and slid them off and to the side of the doors. She couldn't see much inside of the asylum except for old walls, flickering lights...even the air was a bit damp. The room had a peculiar smell to it, something that reminded her of a doctor's office in a nightmare. It sent chills down her spine just thinking about it.
Curiosity took the best of her though and carried her across the hallway to peer down a dark corridor. Suddenly, a hand settled down onto her shoulder. Alice swerved around to smack it away, but a slender hand caught her wrist. "Wh-What?!" Alice exclaimed, looking up in horror. She expected to see a frightening figure, but her eyes came face to face with porcelain skin and soft olive-green eyes. This was no apparition.
"Aah, welcome. You must be Alice." The woman's voice was gentle sounding, too. Alice immediately calmed down and looked up to the young woman, who continued to say, "You can call me Ms. Morgan. I'm the caretaker of the girls' dormitory." Her eyes softened and she slipped her hand into Alice's. Alice couldn't find words at that moment; she only nodded and followed as Ms. Morgan led her down the long hallway. Eventually they came to a pair of doors. Ms. Morgan tugged one open and led Alice in. Voices filled the room, but when Alice and Ms. Morgan entered, they hushed down to the sound of clinking forks and spoons with the occasional gurgle of an emptied drink. "This is the lunch hall. I'm sure you're starving!" Alice just stood there, staring at the other girls who were admitted into the asylum. Were they like her? No...I shouldn't be here...
As Ms. Morgan walked away to talk with the chef, two young girls not much older than Alice approached her. With one wave of a dainty hand, Alice was snapped away from her thoughts.
"Hey-o!" one girl said, "My name is Emily!" She had bright eyes and blonde hair; it was pulled back in a messy ponytail. The other girl beside her had long dark hair and wore glasses, but she had very sweet blue eyes. "This is Hanna. She's shy," Emily grinned from ear to ear. "Seems like you're new here! What's your name?"
"My name...? It's...it's Alice." Alice cracked a slight smile, but it quickly faded, "I...I don't think I'm supposed to be here, you see—" She was cut short when Emily grabbed her hand and tugged her towards an empty seat at a partially filled table.
After plopping Alice down, Emily sat beside her, and Hanna on the other side. "Sit down! Don't jibber-jabber. You're probably hungry, and the food here's actually better than school food," Emily said before she stuffed her face with a peanut butter sandwich. Hanna just giggled and sipped her chocolate milk.
"Hey, Alice...I think you'll like it here," Hanna smiled after she turned to Alice, "It's...very calm.. And you'll make a lot of friends. Even with the boys in the next corridor." Alice only smiled a bit, then nodded before eating an apple that Emily offered her. Hanna was right about one thing—Alice had already made friends since arriving. They were nice enough...that is, until...
Emily's bright idea came into mind. Being mischievous was bad enough, but putting someone up to something brought her more joy than anything else. She reached over and tugged on Alice's shirt. "Hey, I forgot to tell you. Newbies have to go through a 'challenge' when they arrive here."
Alice tilted her head, a bit confused. "...A challenge...?"
Hanna added, "Like...a dare, or something."
Alice really didn't like dares, but she nodded anyway. Emily continued, "It's not easy, and I heard the last kid who tried this didn't survive..." Chills slid down Alice's spine. "Anyway...you have to spend the entire night in Room—" Emily paused, looked around, then leaned in and whispered, "Room 136."
"Room 136?" Alice said aloud.
Hanna immediately dropped her sandwich and covered Alice's mouth while Emily raised a finger up to her lips. "Shhhhh!" She explained that it was a forbidden room, one where children weren't supposed to go. Alice wondered why for a moment, but if she wanted to stay in this asylum until she could find a better way out, she had to prove herself. Staying in a room couldn't have been that bad, could it? "Alright...I'll do it."
Alice had a feeling she would regret that decision.
--
After lunch, Ms. Morgan took Alice around for a tour through the girls' dormitory while the others went outside for recess. Alice soon learned that recess was a very valuable thing; when she was walking in step or two behind Ms. Morgan, she looked out of the old windows and watched as girls in little white dresses laughed. They were on the swings, playing tag, or even simply talking to one another. The looks on their faces told Alice that they truly liked being outside. She couldn't blame them; the weather seemed to have cleared up, and now the pleasent warmth from the sun had eased onto the grassy field behind the asylum where recess was held.
Her attention turned away from the glorious happiness when Ms. Morgan took her hand and led her to a long, open closet. Alice stopped at the front door once her hand slipped from Ms. Morgan's grip. She looked up and watched as her mentor searched through different racks of white clothes. Alice assumed they were asylum clothes—and surprisingly, they were clean.
Ms. Morgan took out three outfits; one was a simple off-the-shoulder white one-piece dress. The sleeves were nearly three-quarters in length; it reminded Alice of a rugby shirt, only bigger. That outfit had to be the main outfit all girls wore since the other dress Ms. Morgan held out was the summer dress, with no sleeves. And then the winter dress was held out: covered shoulders, turtle-neck-styled top, and a longer dress. Alice only nodded, then took the first outfit. Bashfully, she began to change.
In her new attire, Alice felt much like a cow. Altogether, to her, the girls made up the 'cattle' sense of it. They were dressed in the same style. How can they remember all of our names?
Ms. Morgan took Alice away from the closet and down the hallway. She stopped beside another room and pushed open the door. "Go inside, Alice...you'll need to be branded." Her eyes softened, almost in sadness as a slight pain ached through her body.
"...Branded, Ms. Morgan?"
"Mm," was all Ms. Morgan could do to reply. When Alice finally went into the room, Ms. Morgan closed the door and grimaced. Inside the room, Alice sat on a small stool, an elderly man hunched over a desk only a few feet away. He was preparing a metal iron, moulding the 'stamp' into something: a number, Alice's name, and the lines that identified her as such.
A terrible shriek echoed throughout the Asylum. The rusted door to the room beside Ms. Morgan swung open and out ran Alice, holding her shoulder, crying. Ms. Morgan gasped and swung around to catch Alice in her arms. "It's alright! I promise you, the pain goes away! Oh, Alice!"
"I'M NOT SUPPOSED TO BE HERE!" Alice cried out, her grasp on Ms. Morgan's arms tightening. A moment of silence fell upon the two as Ms. Morgan knelt down and held Alice close. Alice was afraid; she didn't know why she was here. She did nothing wrong!
Ms. Morgan gently brushed her hand down the back of Alice's hair. "Shhh...you are supposed to be here, Alice." Alice only shook her head in response, but Ms. Morgan continued. "There must have been some reason they brought you here. Can't you remember?"
Alice reached up to wipe her eyes, wincing lightly. Her shoulder burned from the barcode carved into her skin. "...I...I just..." She paused a moment. Mentioning that man before obviously hadn't been a good thing—it had brought her here, hadn't it?
The he'sitation from Alice gave a clue to Ms. Morgan that Alice was hiding something. "You don't have to be afraid, Alice...you can tell me." Ms. Morgan wanted Alice to know that she could be trusted. She, like Alice, refused to ever tell why, but she was determined to have Alice comfortable here, just like she had done to every other frightened child that walked beyond those iron gates out front. It was the least she could do.
Nodding slightly, Alice whispered, "...I...I saw a man." She gulped and shook her head quickly, adding, "Not just any man! I-I saw a man...here...in the asylum window while I was walking home. I-I'd seen him before...I told my parents. I-I guess they didn't want me anymore, because I drew that man in class, and—"
Ms. Morgan's hand quickly flew over Alice's mouth and silenced her. There's no possible way! Alice had seen?! But only...possibly! No...it can't be. Thoughts rushed through her mind as fear slowly crept across her face. "A-Alice...it's alright. That...that man..." she gulped, "N-Nevermind. Just don't think about it, okay?" Alice nodded.
"Alright, so...I'll take you over to the baths so you can clean up. The other girls will be in there shortly." Ms. Morgan stood and helped Alice up and led her down the hallway.
Eventually sweetened scents filled the air and shifted through Alice's senses. She closed her eyes momentarily before sighing out. Butterscotch Vanilla. When the both of them finally came to a stop at a set of double doors, Ms. Morgan stepped forwards and gently opened one of them. She ushered Alice inside. Alice rubbed her eyes as her face met with a cloud of steam. After waving some of it away, she looked around.
They were in a large room—a very large room. In the middle was a pool area, with steam rising from it. Around the outside, at about 3 feet apart, were little soap bars, shampoos, and washcloths set aside. Female workers were busy mopping the tile floors around what Alice saw as two sets of stalls, one where the workers could bathe themselves, and another for cleaning supplies to be stored. The walls in the room were a bit rusted, but they seemed a lot more welcoming than the hallway Alice had first went through. "It's so big..."
Ms. Morgan laughed. "Hardly enough! It gets crowded when thirty or so girls come in to wash at the same time!" She patted Alice's head. "Go ahead and get started. The others will be here soon." With that, Ms. Morgan turned and walked off back down the hallway. Alice turned to watch her go, before skittering off to large bath.
Steam rose from the water. Alice dipped a foot in and quickly pulled it back out. "It's so hot!" She whimpered at the pain and then looked around curiously. She was still pretty shy, so when she realized no one was looking, she quickly threw her shirt off and hopped into the water. Her body froze up and she whined out from the hot water. She stayed still a moment or two to get used to it.
The shuffling of feet caught her attention. She spun around to look, and paused when it was only one of the older ladies she saw when she first walked in. The old woman picked up her white outfit and only smiled before she walked off. Alice's eyes followed and witnessed her as she hung up Alice's shirt. "O-Oh...thank you! I'm—"
The doors swung open, crashing against the walls. "ME FIRST!"
"LAST ONE THERE'S A ROTTEN EGG!" another voice yelled before a frenzy of bodies plunged into the water, white outfits flying off onto the floor. Alice clamped a hand over her mouth and scooted back into the corner of the bath. The other girls didn't seem to mind the new addition to the asylum, but two very familiar faces quickly picked out Alice from the crowd and waded over towards her.
The first was Emily, the spunky blonde Alice had met earlier; and Hanna, who smiled her usual small smile, her glasses reflecting some of the light on the water's surface. Emily reached behind Alice and grabbed a soap bar and rag. "Sooo...how was the tour, huh? Did Ms. Morgan show you around the rooms?"
"Not too many..." Alice's eyelids drooped a bit. "I got this brand, though." She showed her shoulder to Emily and Hanna, who both nodded and showed theirs to Alice. Do all of the girls get branded?
Hanna spoke up. "It's not so bad. A lot of people complain because..."
"Because it's like we're farm animals or something. Some people on the outside call us cows," Emily snorted. "Well! At least we don't eat grass all day, huh?" and giggled. She began to scrub off the dirt from her body with the soap and rag while Hanna sat down her glasses on the edge of the pool, took the shampoo bottle, and lathered her hair in the scent of rain forests.
Alice just nodded and watched, still too shy to act like it's nothing to bathe with other people. She didn't even bathe with her mother. Eventually she opened up and took the rag from Emily and began to wash herself.
The three of them continued to chit chat about different things; the asylum life, what the boys looked like, what it was like outside of the asylum told in Alice's point of view—normal things that helped calm Alice down.
When the girls were finished, they dried off and dressed in their usual white outfits before heading off to the bedrooms. Hanna and Emily rushed off with Alice, eager to show her where she could sleep.
Ms. Morgan was waiting for the girls. She smiled her soft smile and opened up one of the doors to a room. Hanna and Emily darted inside underneath her arm, and Alice followed shortly after, expecting a dull room made just for 'farm animals'.
She was right about one thing: the room was plain. However, she didn't expect to see the stuffed animals in the corner of the room, or the various dolls in another corner of the room. She even tripped over a "dress-up" hat in the middle of the floor. To catch her footing she grabbed the post of the bed and sighed out. Maybe it won't be so bad, Alice thought.
Laughter filled the room as Hanna and Emily bounced onto the bunk bed over by the wall. Each room usually held three or four girls, so it worked out just fine for Alice to be with them. The thought that she was filling up someone's place filled Alice's head...
And so, she asked out of curiosity, "Wasn't someone else here with you before I came?"
Emily and Hanna both gradually came to stop. Emily nodded. "Yeah...she was really nice...and shy like you, Alice." She smiled and continued. "You want to know what happened to her, right? Well, she died...you know...and some say she died because she walked past Room 136. Its 'curse' made her die. She—"
"Emily, stop that!" Hanna exclaimed before sliding off of the bed to go and hug Alice. "She's just trying to scare you. You know, because you accepted that dare. Don't listen to her!" Alice only nodded, and Hanna continued. "The last girl did die, but it was only because she had a heart problem. It's nothing you need to worry about."
The other girl looked off and brushed part of her messy blonde hair back behind her head. She knew that the girl had died from heart problems, but the thought that maybe something supernatural led to her death still excited her inside. To actually know if the asylum was truly haunted was something she was determined to find out, and Alice would be the one to do it for her.
Alice wiped her eyes and yawned slightly. After all that had happened, she felt exhausted. "I think...I'm going to bed early tonight."
Hanna agreed. "I think we should all go to bed. We're going to need the rest for tomorr—"
Emily cut her off and grinned, "...Nuh-uh! Alice will need it for her dare, remember?" She raises a finger to make her point obvious. "She's going to be up all night in that creepy room. Alice, we should let you rest." Alice's eyes slightly widened in horror, but if she wanted to make a place for herself here in the asylum, she would have to go through with this. Nodding, Alice climbed up the ladder and up onto the top bunk before snuggling up against the cool sheets covering the mattress.
Why am I doing this? I shouldn't...be doing...this...
Her eyes closed, and her mind and body drifted off into a deep slumber.
--
A heavy shove and a small whisper of her name broke Alice away from her dream. Her eyes slowly fluttered open to the two girls in front of her. She yawned and sat up, then rubbed her eyes. "Emily...Hanna..." The younger girl, Hanna, placed a finger up against her lips while Emily motioned for them to follow. Alice knew what would happen now.
"Everyone's sleeping...don't be loud, okay?" Emily whispered and led the other two girls out of their room and down the hallway. Their bare feet padded against the dark floor as they hurried past the stain-covered walls of the asylum. Alice took up the middle, glancing around and huffing before looking forward again. Hanna remained in the back to keep an eye out for anything else. They continued, weaving their way through the building's structure before a sudden creek and a slight whisper carried along the air forced Emily to stop at the corner to another hallway. Alice managed to stop, but Hanna bumped into Alice, forcing her into the girl in front. Emily withstood the sudden shove as everything grew silent once more.
"Did you hear that?" Emily looked back and whispered to the other two. They shook their head. Emily nodded, then turned her head back around—only to have Hanna's hand cover her muffled scream. Emily immediately tried to silence herself in the process, but her eyes were wide with horror, her body trembling with fear. Alice clasped onto Emily from behind, with Hanna's hand outstretched past her to cover Emily's mouth. After taking in the situation, Emily slowly calmed down. The girls' eyes witnessed as Ms. Morgan bowed to the chef in the kitchen doorway before she turned to walk away. Ms. Morgan paused, though, and looked back towards the girls with empty, sorrowful eyes...as if looking, not at them, but at something else.
Alice gulped, then glanced behind Hanna to see what it was, but there was only nothing but the outstretched, dark hallway. She looked forwards again, and Ms. Morgan was gone. What was she looking at?
After their scare, the girls continued along through the asylum before they came to the hallway with room 136. Emily, now over her trauma, marched in front of Hanna and Alice with beaming courage. Hanna moved to the middle, and Alice to the back, her own courage weakening.
"This is creepy..." Hanna whispered, sticking close to Emily, who was obviously the bravest of the three once again.
"Oh don't be such a chicken poop," Emily responded, furrowing her brows as she marched down the hallway with a flashlight the girls had grabbed before leaving their room. Alice was behind them, gulping down any remaining courage she had. When they finally found the room number, Emily turned to Alice. "Alright...no lights for you or anything. Just stay in there for the night, okay? If anything bad happens...run." The seriousness in her eyes led Alice to believe that this definitely was a bad idea.
"W-Well, maybe I should..." Alice began.
Emily shook her head. "Nope! Can't back out of it now, Alice."
"Good luck, Alice..." Hanna said, before both her and Emily hurried back down the hallway, leaving Alice alone in the dark in front of the forbidden room. Using up the last ounce of bravery she had, Alice raised her hand and grasped the old rusted knob on the door. She turned it, pushed open the door, and walked inside.
In Lenor, a small town on the outskirts of a desolate valley, tradition went along differently. Children with extraordinary talent, called prodigies, were blessed in most parts of the world. They were congratulated and recognized for their effortless feats. Lenor's residents, on the other hand, viewed these prodigies as abnormal creations and thus sent them to asylums to hide them away from the world. Alice was relieved when she looked upon the ominous building that she was dismissed from having any sort of unusual talent. She believed she would never know those terrible inside corridors.
I didn't know what to think of it.
A creaking noise caught her attention immediately, and she raised her head up towards the tower window. Something black shifted against the old pane, pale-coloured hands pressed against the glass on the inside. Alice squinted to make out the form, until her eyes widened in surprise. When the figure moved away, she gasped and hurried home.
--
The buzzing of static from the old television in the living room could be heard from the front door as Alice came inside. She pushed open the door and stepped onto the mat. Glancing left and right as she cleaned her shoes, she figured her parents were doing their usual—her mother gossiping on the phone; her father, slaving away over his work in the office. She closed the door behind her softly, slipped her shoes off, and hurried down the hallway to find her mother first.
"I don't believe this!" the older woman's voice spoke out from the kitchen. "Have you heard the news lately, Margrette?" The small talk carried out into a topic about politics—something Alice wasn't too interested in. She walked in and stopped beside her mother.
Alice took her sleeve and tugged lightly to get her attention. "Mum!"
"Hang on," her mother placed a hand over the phone and looked down to her daughter. "Alice, honey, what is it?"
"On my way home, I passed by that creepy old building," as she explained, her mother nodded, "and I saw this weird-looking man in the window...it was on the girls' dormitory side!"
Her mother's eyes widened. "...Alice, are you sure?" Her daughter nodded quickly.
I wasn't sure why it was wrong to see him.
--
Later that night, from up in her bedroom, Alice could hear her parents arguing back and forth.
The deeper voice, her father, expressed his concerns as usual. "Perhaps she was mistaken...anybody can mistake a shadow for a being in that creepy place," he huffed. He didn't like the fact that this was about the fifth time his daughter had told them she had seen someone in the Asylum window. Especially a boy, since he 'was seen' on the side that housed the girls. However, Alice's father was determined to find some way out of this.
Alice's mother wasn't far from his point of view. The slender woman set her hand down onto her husband's shoulder and sighed. "Honey, I'm sure...that there's a reasonable explanation, but...have you seen her drawings?" she said and furrowed her brows. "They're of that man she keeps telling us about. The art teacher has to keep locking her assignments up because she's afraid the principal will see them! She's not supposed to know about this, but how does she? Can you explain that?!" Her grasp on his shoulder tightened.
The man sighed and then tugged her into a hug. "I don't know, I just...don't know. There's nothing we can do, there's—" Ringing from the phone echoed through the kitchen. The mother sighed, raised a hand to her mouth, while the father walked over and answered. "This is Walter Cunningham..."
Silence ensued. Muffled voices from the other side of the phone put a damper on things; it was apparent when the father furrowed his brows. He stared blankly into the darkness of the next room. "I see...of course. Thank you for your help," he paused. "...no...no...it's alright. I don't see how we could have really avoided it..."
Meanwhile, Alice crept from her room to the top of the stairs. She clung to one of the posts and watched her parents' silhouettes against the wall. Their voices were soft, but she tried to make out most of the conversation.
"Yes...yes...I understand. Mm...you too...goodnight." He hung up. What he said next brought chills to Alice's mother.
"They know."
Alice's brows furrowed. The motion of her mother's form nearly toppling over onto her father as if her knees had given away only confused her more. Who knew? About what? Her drawings? Could that have been the art teacher on the phone? She wasn't really sure, but she didn't see what the problem was. The sound of her parents crying, however, drew her back into her room. She crawled up onto her bed and tugged the lamp switch down. She hugged her knees close to her chest, barely aware of the fate that awaited her.
--
She clearly remembered the events that followed the next day. Strange men dressed in black suits came by the house. Her parents were crying. The men forced her away from the door and out into one of their cars. Her parents didn't even try to take her back. Alice could remember the bumpy road on the way to the asylum.
And now, she stood before it, shivering in fear of the ominous building before her. An eerie voice had crept forth, welcoming her after the gates had coincidentally slid open. Her mouth opened to speak, but the driver of the car suddenly pushed her forward.
He yelled, "Go inside!" before he had left her there.
Alice turned around to watch the taillights of the car fade out into the fog. Pulling herself back around, she gathered her only remaining courage to walk ahead along the stone path laid out before her.
On either side of the sidewalk were old crosses and tombstones. A cemetery? Her brows furrowed a bit as she kept towards the centre. Soon she approached the main doors to the asylum. Each door was heavily bolted, yet delicately decorated in fine detail, depicting old symbols and designs from decades before. Alice reached forward and took hold of one of the door's handles. She turned the knob and pulled at the door, before it creaked and slowly swung open. Gulping, she stepped inside, a little hesitant to enter the darkness of the asylum.
Once inside, Alice cleaned off her little black shoes, undid the buckle to them, and slid them off and to the side of the doors. She couldn't see much inside of the asylum except for old walls, flickering lights...even the air was a bit damp. The room had a peculiar smell to it, something that reminded her of a doctor's office in a nightmare. It sent chills down her spine just thinking about it.
Curiosity took the best of her though and carried her across the hallway to peer down a dark corridor. Suddenly, a hand settled down onto her shoulder. Alice swerved around to smack it away, but a slender hand caught her wrist. "Wh-What?!" Alice exclaimed, looking up in horror. She expected to see a frightening figure, but her eyes came face to face with porcelain skin and soft olive-green eyes. This was no apparition.
"Aah, welcome. You must be Alice." The woman's voice was gentle sounding, too. Alice immediately calmed down and looked up to the young woman, who continued to say, "You can call me Ms. Morgan. I'm the caretaker of the girls' dormitory." Her eyes softened and she slipped her hand into Alice's. Alice couldn't find words at that moment; she only nodded and followed as Ms. Morgan led her down the long hallway. Eventually they came to a pair of doors. Ms. Morgan tugged one open and led Alice in. Voices filled the room, but when Alice and Ms. Morgan entered, they hushed down to the sound of clinking forks and spoons with the occasional gurgle of an emptied drink. "This is the lunch hall. I'm sure you're starving!" Alice just stood there, staring at the other girls who were admitted into the asylum. Were they like her? No...I shouldn't be here...
As Ms. Morgan walked away to talk with the chef, two young girls not much older than Alice approached her. With one wave of a dainty hand, Alice was snapped away from her thoughts.
"Hey-o!" one girl said, "My name is Emily!" She had bright eyes and blonde hair; it was pulled back in a messy ponytail. The other girl beside her had long dark hair and wore glasses, but she had very sweet blue eyes. "This is Hanna. She's shy," Emily grinned from ear to ear. "Seems like you're new here! What's your name?"
"My name...? It's...it's Alice." Alice cracked a slight smile, but it quickly faded, "I...I don't think I'm supposed to be here, you see—" She was cut short when Emily grabbed her hand and tugged her towards an empty seat at a partially filled table.
After plopping Alice down, Emily sat beside her, and Hanna on the other side. "Sit down! Don't jibber-jabber. You're probably hungry, and the food here's actually better than school food," Emily said before she stuffed her face with a peanut butter sandwich. Hanna just giggled and sipped her chocolate milk.
"Hey, Alice...I think you'll like it here," Hanna smiled after she turned to Alice, "It's...very calm.. And you'll make a lot of friends. Even with the boys in the next corridor." Alice only smiled a bit, then nodded before eating an apple that Emily offered her. Hanna was right about one thing—Alice had already made friends since arriving. They were nice enough...that is, until...
Emily's bright idea came into mind. Being mischievous was bad enough, but putting someone up to something brought her more joy than anything else. She reached over and tugged on Alice's shirt. "Hey, I forgot to tell you. Newbies have to go through a 'challenge' when they arrive here."
Alice tilted her head, a bit confused. "...A challenge...?"
Hanna added, "Like...a dare, or something."
Alice really didn't like dares, but she nodded anyway. Emily continued, "It's not easy, and I heard the last kid who tried this didn't survive..." Chills slid down Alice's spine. "Anyway...you have to spend the entire night in Room—" Emily paused, looked around, then leaned in and whispered, "Room 136."
"Room 136?" Alice said aloud.
Hanna immediately dropped her sandwich and covered Alice's mouth while Emily raised a finger up to her lips. "Shhhhh!" She explained that it was a forbidden room, one where children weren't supposed to go. Alice wondered why for a moment, but if she wanted to stay in this asylum until she could find a better way out, she had to prove herself. Staying in a room couldn't have been that bad, could it? "Alright...I'll do it."
Alice had a feeling she would regret that decision.
--
After lunch, Ms. Morgan took Alice around for a tour through the girls' dormitory while the others went outside for recess. Alice soon learned that recess was a very valuable thing; when she was walking in step or two behind Ms. Morgan, she looked out of the old windows and watched as girls in little white dresses laughed. They were on the swings, playing tag, or even simply talking to one another. The looks on their faces told Alice that they truly liked being outside. She couldn't blame them; the weather seemed to have cleared up, and now the pleasent warmth from the sun had eased onto the grassy field behind the asylum where recess was held.
Her attention turned away from the glorious happiness when Ms. Morgan took her hand and led her to a long, open closet. Alice stopped at the front door once her hand slipped from Ms. Morgan's grip. She looked up and watched as her mentor searched through different racks of white clothes. Alice assumed they were asylum clothes—and surprisingly, they were clean.
Ms. Morgan took out three outfits; one was a simple off-the-shoulder white one-piece dress. The sleeves were nearly three-quarters in length; it reminded Alice of a rugby shirt, only bigger. That outfit had to be the main outfit all girls wore since the other dress Ms. Morgan held out was the summer dress, with no sleeves. And then the winter dress was held out: covered shoulders, turtle-neck-styled top, and a longer dress. Alice only nodded, then took the first outfit. Bashfully, she began to change.
In her new attire, Alice felt much like a cow. Altogether, to her, the girls made up the 'cattle' sense of it. They were dressed in the same style. How can they remember all of our names?
Ms. Morgan took Alice away from the closet and down the hallway. She stopped beside another room and pushed open the door. "Go inside, Alice...you'll need to be branded." Her eyes softened, almost in sadness as a slight pain ached through her body.
"...Branded, Ms. Morgan?"
"Mm," was all Ms. Morgan could do to reply. When Alice finally went into the room, Ms. Morgan closed the door and grimaced. Inside the room, Alice sat on a small stool, an elderly man hunched over a desk only a few feet away. He was preparing a metal iron, moulding the 'stamp' into something: a number, Alice's name, and the lines that identified her as such.
A terrible shriek echoed throughout the Asylum. The rusted door to the room beside Ms. Morgan swung open and out ran Alice, holding her shoulder, crying. Ms. Morgan gasped and swung around to catch Alice in her arms. "It's alright! I promise you, the pain goes away! Oh, Alice!"
"I'M NOT SUPPOSED TO BE HERE!" Alice cried out, her grasp on Ms. Morgan's arms tightening. A moment of silence fell upon the two as Ms. Morgan knelt down and held Alice close. Alice was afraid; she didn't know why she was here. She did nothing wrong!
Ms. Morgan gently brushed her hand down the back of Alice's hair. "Shhh...you are supposed to be here, Alice." Alice only shook her head in response, but Ms. Morgan continued. "There must have been some reason they brought you here. Can't you remember?"
Alice reached up to wipe her eyes, wincing lightly. Her shoulder burned from the barcode carved into her skin. "...I...I just..." She paused a moment. Mentioning that man before obviously hadn't been a good thing—it had brought her here, hadn't it?
The he'sitation from Alice gave a clue to Ms. Morgan that Alice was hiding something. "You don't have to be afraid, Alice...you can tell me." Ms. Morgan wanted Alice to know that she could be trusted. She, like Alice, refused to ever tell why, but she was determined to have Alice comfortable here, just like she had done to every other frightened child that walked beyond those iron gates out front. It was the least she could do.
Nodding slightly, Alice whispered, "...I...I saw a man." She gulped and shook her head quickly, adding, "Not just any man! I-I saw a man...here...in the asylum window while I was walking home. I-I'd seen him before...I told my parents. I-I guess they didn't want me anymore, because I drew that man in class, and—"
Ms. Morgan's hand quickly flew over Alice's mouth and silenced her. There's no possible way! Alice had seen?! But only...possibly! No...it can't be. Thoughts rushed through her mind as fear slowly crept across her face. "A-Alice...it's alright. That...that man..." she gulped, "N-Nevermind. Just don't think about it, okay?" Alice nodded.
"Alright, so...I'll take you over to the baths so you can clean up. The other girls will be in there shortly." Ms. Morgan stood and helped Alice up and led her down the hallway.
Eventually sweetened scents filled the air and shifted through Alice's senses. She closed her eyes momentarily before sighing out. Butterscotch Vanilla. When the both of them finally came to a stop at a set of double doors, Ms. Morgan stepped forwards and gently opened one of them. She ushered Alice inside. Alice rubbed her eyes as her face met with a cloud of steam. After waving some of it away, she looked around.
They were in a large room—a very large room. In the middle was a pool area, with steam rising from it. Around the outside, at about 3 feet apart, were little soap bars, shampoos, and washcloths set aside. Female workers were busy mopping the tile floors around what Alice saw as two sets of stalls, one where the workers could bathe themselves, and another for cleaning supplies to be stored. The walls in the room were a bit rusted, but they seemed a lot more welcoming than the hallway Alice had first went through. "It's so big..."
Ms. Morgan laughed. "Hardly enough! It gets crowded when thirty or so girls come in to wash at the same time!" She patted Alice's head. "Go ahead and get started. The others will be here soon." With that, Ms. Morgan turned and walked off back down the hallway. Alice turned to watch her go, before skittering off to large bath.
Steam rose from the water. Alice dipped a foot in and quickly pulled it back out. "It's so hot!" She whimpered at the pain and then looked around curiously. She was still pretty shy, so when she realized no one was looking, she quickly threw her shirt off and hopped into the water. Her body froze up and she whined out from the hot water. She stayed still a moment or two to get used to it.
The shuffling of feet caught her attention. She spun around to look, and paused when it was only one of the older ladies she saw when she first walked in. The old woman picked up her white outfit and only smiled before she walked off. Alice's eyes followed and witnessed her as she hung up Alice's shirt. "O-Oh...thank you! I'm—"
The doors swung open, crashing against the walls. "ME FIRST!"
"LAST ONE THERE'S A ROTTEN EGG!" another voice yelled before a frenzy of bodies plunged into the water, white outfits flying off onto the floor. Alice clamped a hand over her mouth and scooted back into the corner of the bath. The other girls didn't seem to mind the new addition to the asylum, but two very familiar faces quickly picked out Alice from the crowd and waded over towards her.
The first was Emily, the spunky blonde Alice had met earlier; and Hanna, who smiled her usual small smile, her glasses reflecting some of the light on the water's surface. Emily reached behind Alice and grabbed a soap bar and rag. "Sooo...how was the tour, huh? Did Ms. Morgan show you around the rooms?"
"Not too many..." Alice's eyelids drooped a bit. "I got this brand, though." She showed her shoulder to Emily and Hanna, who both nodded and showed theirs to Alice. Do all of the girls get branded?
Hanna spoke up. "It's not so bad. A lot of people complain because..."
"Because it's like we're farm animals or something. Some people on the outside call us cows," Emily snorted. "Well! At least we don't eat grass all day, huh?" and giggled. She began to scrub off the dirt from her body with the soap and rag while Hanna sat down her glasses on the edge of the pool, took the shampoo bottle, and lathered her hair in the scent of rain forests.
Alice just nodded and watched, still too shy to act like it's nothing to bathe with other people. She didn't even bathe with her mother. Eventually she opened up and took the rag from Emily and began to wash herself.
The three of them continued to chit chat about different things; the asylum life, what the boys looked like, what it was like outside of the asylum told in Alice's point of view—normal things that helped calm Alice down.
When the girls were finished, they dried off and dressed in their usual white outfits before heading off to the bedrooms. Hanna and Emily rushed off with Alice, eager to show her where she could sleep.
Ms. Morgan was waiting for the girls. She smiled her soft smile and opened up one of the doors to a room. Hanna and Emily darted inside underneath her arm, and Alice followed shortly after, expecting a dull room made just for 'farm animals'.
She was right about one thing: the room was plain. However, she didn't expect to see the stuffed animals in the corner of the room, or the various dolls in another corner of the room. She even tripped over a "dress-up" hat in the middle of the floor. To catch her footing she grabbed the post of the bed and sighed out. Maybe it won't be so bad, Alice thought.
Laughter filled the room as Hanna and Emily bounced onto the bunk bed over by the wall. Each room usually held three or four girls, so it worked out just fine for Alice to be with them. The thought that she was filling up someone's place filled Alice's head...
And so, she asked out of curiosity, "Wasn't someone else here with you before I came?"
Emily and Hanna both gradually came to stop. Emily nodded. "Yeah...she was really nice...and shy like you, Alice." She smiled and continued. "You want to know what happened to her, right? Well, she died...you know...and some say she died because she walked past Room 136. Its 'curse' made her die. She—"
"Emily, stop that!" Hanna exclaimed before sliding off of the bed to go and hug Alice. "She's just trying to scare you. You know, because you accepted that dare. Don't listen to her!" Alice only nodded, and Hanna continued. "The last girl did die, but it was only because she had a heart problem. It's nothing you need to worry about."
The other girl looked off and brushed part of her messy blonde hair back behind her head. She knew that the girl had died from heart problems, but the thought that maybe something supernatural led to her death still excited her inside. To actually know if the asylum was truly haunted was something she was determined to find out, and Alice would be the one to do it for her.
Alice wiped her eyes and yawned slightly. After all that had happened, she felt exhausted. "I think...I'm going to bed early tonight."
Hanna agreed. "I think we should all go to bed. We're going to need the rest for tomorr—"
Emily cut her off and grinned, "...Nuh-uh! Alice will need it for her dare, remember?" She raises a finger to make her point obvious. "She's going to be up all night in that creepy room. Alice, we should let you rest." Alice's eyes slightly widened in horror, but if she wanted to make a place for herself here in the asylum, she would have to go through with this. Nodding, Alice climbed up the ladder and up onto the top bunk before snuggling up against the cool sheets covering the mattress.
Why am I doing this? I shouldn't...be doing...this...
Her eyes closed, and her mind and body drifted off into a deep slumber.
--
A heavy shove and a small whisper of her name broke Alice away from her dream. Her eyes slowly fluttered open to the two girls in front of her. She yawned and sat up, then rubbed her eyes. "Emily...Hanna..." The younger girl, Hanna, placed a finger up against her lips while Emily motioned for them to follow. Alice knew what would happen now.
"Everyone's sleeping...don't be loud, okay?" Emily whispered and led the other two girls out of their room and down the hallway. Their bare feet padded against the dark floor as they hurried past the stain-covered walls of the asylum. Alice took up the middle, glancing around and huffing before looking forward again. Hanna remained in the back to keep an eye out for anything else. They continued, weaving their way through the building's structure before a sudden creek and a slight whisper carried along the air forced Emily to stop at the corner to another hallway. Alice managed to stop, but Hanna bumped into Alice, forcing her into the girl in front. Emily withstood the sudden shove as everything grew silent once more.
"Did you hear that?" Emily looked back and whispered to the other two. They shook their head. Emily nodded, then turned her head back around—only to have Hanna's hand cover her muffled scream. Emily immediately tried to silence herself in the process, but her eyes were wide with horror, her body trembling with fear. Alice clasped onto Emily from behind, with Hanna's hand outstretched past her to cover Emily's mouth. After taking in the situation, Emily slowly calmed down. The girls' eyes witnessed as Ms. Morgan bowed to the chef in the kitchen doorway before she turned to walk away. Ms. Morgan paused, though, and looked back towards the girls with empty, sorrowful eyes...as if looking, not at them, but at something else.
Alice gulped, then glanced behind Hanna to see what it was, but there was only nothing but the outstretched, dark hallway. She looked forwards again, and Ms. Morgan was gone. What was she looking at?
After their scare, the girls continued along through the asylum before they came to the hallway with room 136. Emily, now over her trauma, marched in front of Hanna and Alice with beaming courage. Hanna moved to the middle, and Alice to the back, her own courage weakening.
"This is creepy..." Hanna whispered, sticking close to Emily, who was obviously the bravest of the three once again.
"Oh don't be such a chicken poop," Emily responded, furrowing her brows as she marched down the hallway with a flashlight the girls had grabbed before leaving their room. Alice was behind them, gulping down any remaining courage she had. When they finally found the room number, Emily turned to Alice. "Alright...no lights for you or anything. Just stay in there for the night, okay? If anything bad happens...run." The seriousness in her eyes led Alice to believe that this definitely was a bad idea.
"W-Well, maybe I should..." Alice began.
Emily shook her head. "Nope! Can't back out of it now, Alice."
"Good luck, Alice..." Hanna said, before both her and Emily hurried back down the hallway, leaving Alice alone in the dark in front of the forbidden room. Using up the last ounce of bravery she had, Alice raised her hand and grasped the old rusted knob on the door. She turned it, pushed open the door, and walked inside.
