Page 38 of Lethal (Wellard Asylum #1)

“ W akey, wakey, Miss Vaughan. You’ve slept long enough, and time is precious and fleeting.

” Halstead’s voice awakens me from the darkness in which I’m lying.

I startle with a gasp, as I realize I can’t see anything as I force my eyes open.

I sharply move my limbs, only to discover that my arms are strapped tightly in front of me, and some contraption is wrapped around me.

Straitjacket, my mind supplies, and my next breath wheezes out of me.

My bare legs push to the sides, pressing and kicking against something firm.

When I lift my knees and shove upward, I realize that I’m trapped in some sort of box, devoid of light.

Scratching, and low screeches, reach my ears, growing louder by the second, and mix with my panting breath.

I feel something furry brush against my feet, and its claws dig into the skin of my arch, and a scream leaves my lips.

“Ah, you’re finally awake! That’s great news, we can continue!

I wouldn’t scream too much, it will only entice them.

They’re hungry, the poor little creatures, starved really, and I’m sure they would love a nibble or two. ”

A hitched, squeaky sound is heard, and more claws are scrambling around me, as I manage to kick at what’s touching me, and to my horror, I realize that Halstead has trapped me in a box with rats. “Tell me about Caterina, do you remember her well?”

“WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? HAVE YOU LOST YOUR FUCKING MIND!” I scream, as one of the rats bites down on my toe.

I try to reassure myself that Halstead won’t allow me to be eaten by rats, that he needs me, but my heart is ready to rip out of my chest. “I’M CATERINA! RELEASE ME! OH MY GOD! FUCK!”

“It’s time to stop with this delusion, Cecelia. I’ve given you long enough to play your games, and they’ve been highly entertaining, but I need answers. I need to understand how your mind works.”

Something slams hard above me, sending the rats into a further panic. I can feel multiple around my legs now, and they are steadily making their way up my torso. “PLEASE! PLEASE, GET ME OUT OF HERE! I’M CATERINA, I’M HER, PLEASE!!” I plead in horror, as I feel movement along my stomach.

“No, Caterina was a doctor here, long before you arrived. She completed her medical residency immediately after graduating from medical school. You have never been to medical school, Cecelia, in fact, you’re too young to have even completed college.”

No! What the hell is this lunatic saying?

He’s trying to convince me that I am not who I believe I am.

Every word that leaves his lips is filled with deceit.

I’m Caterina Vaughan, and he’s trying to manipulate me.

“LIES! GET ME OUT OF HERE!” I kick frantically, causing the rodents to panic and scramble, some of them digging their claws all over my exposed flesh.

“This is not real. This is not real, it can’t be real,” I whimper, as one of the rats bites down on my calf.

“You were brought here to Wellard Asylum, Cecelia, after you were convicted of brutally murdering your brother, Thomas, in cold blood, and attempting to kill both your parents, for having ignored what he did to you. The courts found you mentally unstable, and decided that you should serve out your life sentence within these walls.”

No, Cecelia never killed anyone, she was the victim . Thomas killed himself, I watched him do it, me, Caterina, not Cecelia. “ LIAR! Thomas killed himself!“ I scream as more weight lands on my chest.

“Doctor Caterina Vaughan was the one to petition the courts that you be remanded to Wellard’s custody, and in her care.

She wanted to help you, and she even requested to be your primary physician, despite the potential conflict of interest. I allowed it, because I wanted to study your psyche, and how it could be impacted by the betrayal of someone you loved, incarcerating you here. ”

A flash of something pulls at my mind, a petite blonde woman, wearing an orange prison jumpsuit being dragged from a courtroom, tears running down her face as she was forced into handcuffs.

Cecelia. I watch in my mind’s eye as I, Caterina, approach her, attempting to soothe the fury, and tantrum occurring.

“Please, Cecelia, all will be well, trust me, cousin. I will keep you safe, you’ll get the help you need now. ”

No, that never happened. Cecelia was never charged with a crime.

She was never forced by anyone, except my aunt and uncle, to enter Wellard.

I... I didn’t work here when she was here.

.. it’s not possible, he’s lying. Somehow, he’s manipulating my memories.

Sharp pain radiates through my mind, and another bite steals my attention, as I thrash wildly against my confinement.

“She had sessions with you almost daily when you first arrived, attempting to soothe your fears, and prevent you from falling deeper into your depression, and paranoia. She used to tell you stories of two of our most infamous patients, the Carnevil Twins. Bash and Wren Norwood. “ No, that’s not true. I had never heard of the twins before I decided to come to Wellard, to find out what had happened to Cecelia. More lies. He’s spewing so many of them, trying to trick me into believing them. He’s attempting to break my mind.

“Cece, they were so handsome, look at these pictures I found of them. Can you believe they lived here, in this place? They were serial killer clowns, isn’t that wild?

It sounds like something out of a Hollywood blockbuster, right?

” My eyes glance forward, and there, held in Caterina’s hands, are two booking photos of the twins.

They stare at the camera without a hint of remorse across their handsome features.

Just by the laughing grin in one of the photos, I can tell that one is clearly Wren.

No, it’s not true; this never happened. Somehow, Halstead is making me see these things.

“Why are you doing this? I’m a doctor! One just like you!

You took an oath, you are supposed to help people, not hurt them!

You’re a liar and a monster!” I scream, as multiple bites happen at once.

Tears cascade down my face, as pain and terror assail me.

“You’re right, I am a doctor and a scientist. By conducting my experiments, and learning how to dissect the human psyche, I’ll be able to save humanity one day.

I’ll be able to curb the urges of violent offenders.

Offenders like the monsters you profess to love, the ones that existed, and perished, long before you ever stepped inside of Wellard’s doors. ”

Perished? What the fuck does he mean? The twins are alive.

I was just with them last night. Has he had them murdered?

I would know if they were gone, I would feel it in the connection deep inside, the one that the three of us share.

“They were here in the early 2000s, Cece, they killed so many women, luring and kidnapping them, and then eating them. Real live cannibals, can you believe that?” Caterina’s cheery voice penetrates through my mind.

“Remove Miss Vaughan from the crate, I believe she’s having a breakthrough, and is in a position to listen.

” Halstead’s strong voice cracks through the voices in my mind, and I take a deep breath, holding it as I feel a rat clawing at my neck, its whiskers twitching and rubbing against my jaw.

The lid of the crate lifts suddenly, blinding me with bright light, and I hear and feel all the rats scrambling, trying desperately to escape.

Large hands roughly grab me by the shoulders, forcing me to sit up, and my head immediately swims. “I see the rats had a little treat already, good for them.” Halstead stands before me, his hands buried in his pockets, as his henchman, Henry, lifts me out of the crate, and the final rat races for the dark shadows.

“Place her on the chair and restrain her,” Halstead instructs Henry, and he drops me painfully onto the medical chair, and wraps thick, leather straps around each of my legs, my chest, and waist, ensuring that the only thing I can move is my neck.

I want to escape, I want to stop breathing with all the fear that saturates me, but a huge part of me refuses to give up.

I can’t leave here, not even in death. I can’t leave here until I punish those who hurt Cecelia, and find the twins. I have to keep them safe from Halstead.

“You see, Cecelia, I have allowed you to live in this delusional world you created to soothe yourself, after you committed your most heinous crime, for months. I did it in hopes that it would offer me a new understanding of how grief breaks a person from their current reality.” He leans forward and brushes my tear-drenched hair away from my face.

“Do you remember how you killed your cousin, Caterina Vaughan, in a fit of rage and paranoia? Do you remember how you strangled her with your bare hands, until she stopped breathing, and then tore her body apart like an animal?”

“WHAT? You’re lying! I’m Caterina Vaughan!

I’m still alive, I’m right here, you sick bastard.

You’re lying about Cecelia. She was gentle and broken.

She couldn’t have hurt anyone. You broke her, you experimented on her until she couldn’t go on any further, then you killed her, and disguised it as suicide!

I’ll fucking kill you, Halstead! You’ll pay for what you did to Cecelia, to all the others you’ve been testing on! ”

Halstead turns away with a disturbing calm, and that might even frighten me more than his threats, and the rats.

He grabs something reflective off a nearby medical table, and brings it back in front of me, holding it up to my face.

“Look in the mirror, Miss Vaughan, tell me what you see staring back at you,” he demands.

At first, I close my eyes, refusing to look at the reflection, and playing his malicious games.

He must motion to one of his henchmen, because they come up silently behind me, forcing my head straight with their arm around my neck, and choking me.

My rapid loss of oxygen has me prying my eyes open, and staring into the mirror before me, and what I see not only shocks me, but destroys me.

“No, no, no, no! It’s not possible... this is a.

.. trick. It’s not real... not real... can’t be. ”

“What do you see, Miss Vaughan? Who is it that is staring back at you?” Halstead demands with an icy edge.

A sob rips from my throat, a wretched sound filling the air, as I stare at the emerald green eyes staring back at me, in a pale face featuring high, sunken cheekbones, covered in pale freckles.

Her once-vibrant, thick, and silky blonde hair is now long, thin, ragged, and brittle.

Her emaciated features stare back at me, mocking the image of Cecelia I’ve always known.

My lips open to speak, and the image reflects the same movement back to me. “It... it can’t be... she died.”

“No, Cecelia, Caterina died, you killed her. You murdered the one person who tried to save you. First, with your brother, and then later, by bringing you here. She did everything she could to protect you, and you rewarded her with death, and then, in your mind, created this elaborate world, where you needed to avenge all the harm inflicted on Cecelia Vaughan, on yourself, and in your fractured mind, you took her place.”

I try to fight him off, the man holding me from behind, my limbs frantically wrestling with the restraints, but it’s no use, I’m strapped too tightly, a prisoner of Halstead, and I fear I am going to die.

The man behind me breathes against my hair, his chin pressing down on the top of my head.

“You’re so pretty when you scream, Blondie.

I hope Doctor Halstead lets us have a taste of you. ”