Page 24 of Sour (The Wellard Asylum #10)

Dream cheerfully pranced into the dayroom as Koven shadowed her, like her own personal little storm cloud.

Watching the two contrasting personalities was always amusing.

They were such polar opposites, yet separating them seemed impossible.

Dream brought this little sliver of light into Koven’s dark world. It was a pleasant thing to witness.

“Happy!” Dream spotted me. Her smile grew enormously as she ran over to my table. Koven followed, her usual sullen self taking a seat across from me. “I hear you had a very interesting night last night.” She winked.

This woman is an enigma.

Koven eyed Dream who sat right next to me. “What happened last night?” she asked.

I shrugged. “All I did was take a shower.”

Dream twirled her hair. “I don’t know the full story, but I know one thing for sure. You, Ziggy Slater, were not alone.” She smiled over at Koven. “Happy here has made all kinds of friends.”

Koven eyed me with a concerned look and crossed her arms. “You don’t say.”

Oh, there’s a flavor I haven’t seen in a while.

“No need to be jealous, Skittles.” I winked.

Koven scoffed. “I’m not.”

Liar.

We all stopped speaking as a young, blonde hair nurse approached the table. He cleared his throat and looked at Koven. “Ms. Carter?” She raised a brow. “Dr. Sable has asked me to escort you to your next electroshock therapy session.”

Koven and Dream looked confused. I wasn’t.

“I–I don’t understand. BJ is normally the one who takes her,” Dream stated.

The young nurse shrugged. “Yeah, well, not today. Now come, let’s go, Ms. Carter.” The nurse grabbed her arm, and I shot to my feet.

“Easy, Ziggy,” Koven whispered. “It’s okay.” She looked at both of us and yanked her arm free. “Don’t fucking touch me,” she bit out. The man’s face drained of color

There’s the Koven I know.

“This way.” The male nurse motioned for Koven as he eyed me closely.

Dream grabbed the hem of my shirt as the two disappeared from view. My eyes fell to hers, and I noticed a fearful look on her face. “Happy?” She tugged my shirt again. “I–I don’t understand. BJ never misses a shift.”

My eyes looked around the dayroom. The staff was all either zoned out or occupied with other patients.

Koven was getting her brain fried, and God only knew what Johnny was up to.

“Hey Dream?” The white-haired woman looked at me.

“I got a surprise for you. But we have to sneak out of here to get it, okay?”

Dream pondered for a moment. “Where is it?”

I grinned and grabbed her hand, helping her to her feet. “Just stick close, and whatever you do, keep quiet.”

The woman nodded silently.

“Good.” I guided her from the dayroom and in the direction of the showers. “I really hope you like it. I stayed up all night working on it. Just for you, cottontail.”

We walked cautiously through the asylum and into a different wing, bobbing and weaving around patients and staff until we finally made our way to the dark hall.

The nice thing about the showers was that they were located in one of the abandoned bathrooms. Only a handful of patients still used them, which made last night a lot easier.

“Here.” I pushed the bathroom door open. “Go on in.” Dream flashed me an uneasy look, but stepped inside.

The bathroom was mostly out of commission, filled with chipped tile walls and floors, abandoned bathtubs, and only a single working shower. It was old as shit, and barely functional. And for the most part, it sat in complete darkness.

“H–happy?” Dream stuttered my name as she stepped farther into the bathroom, her hand gliding over the edge of a bathtub. I flicked the switch, and the entire bathroom slowly flickered to life, revealing what she was standing next to. Or better…who.

God, I hope she doesn’t fucking scream.

Dream didn’t make a single sound. She just stood there, staring down at the partially flayed body as it sat in the bathtub, filled with water and blood.

The corpse’s arm hung over the edge as blood softly dripped onto her shoe.

Her arm reached out, trembling as her fingers touched the very spot on the man’s chest that once had the infamous tattoo.

“BJ,” she breathed. Dream slowly turned to look at me, her eyes red and burning with tears. “Is this my gift?” she asked. “Because I don’t like it.”

My head shook. “No. That’s not your gift.

” I walked over to another tub and reached in.

“This is. Close your eyes.” She didn’t move.

“Dream, I can’t give you your gift until you close your eyes.

” A tear fell down her cheek as she shut her eyes.

I lifted the creation and walked over to her.

Her breathing increased as I stood directly in front of her, smelling her fear.

“I’m not going to hurt you, Dream. We’re friends. ”

“You killed BJ,” she whimpered.

True.

“An unfortunate incident, but necessary. BJ tried to hurt me. And he’s already hurt both you and Koven.

You don’t deserve to be played with so roughly.

” I gently wiped her tears away while she flinched at my touch.

“None of you do.” Dream exhaled as if relieved by what I said.

“Now, put your hands out.” Her palms shook as she did what I asked, extending them out.

“Here.” I placed the gift into her grasp.

“Open your eyes, cottontail. But don’t judge me, I’m not exactly an experienced seamster. ”

Dream slowly opened her eyes to see the gift I had made just for her, a small rabbit, handsewn with medical stitches and made entirely of BJ’s flayed flesh. Her big hazel eyes scoured over the eerie stuffed critter.

“What is it?” she asked cooly.

Well that’s embarrassing.

My arm reached out, and I tapped the flimsy makeshift ear. “It’s a rabbit. I made it just for you, cottontail. Well, Johnny helped.”

Dream stared at the human-skin animal and noticed the stomach. I had used the large chunk of BJ’s chest, the piece with the tattoo she was so fond of, to create the main body. And by the way she stroked the etched ink, I had a feeling she liked it.

“You did this, for me?” Dream’s eyes lifted, filled with tears. I nodded. “Oh Happy!” She hugged the fleshy rabbit tight, stroking every inch of it while mumbling to herself. “I’m going to name him Schmoocums.”

“Well, that’s a mouthful. Not BJ?” I playfully asked.

The woman shook her head with the biggest smile, giggling at her new toy. “Nope. Schmoocums, ‘cause it’s a name that makes you smile. Just like yours.” She booped the bunny’s makeshift nose made from BJ’s nipple. “Thank you, Happy.”

“Anything to see that smile, cottontail. That’s what friends do. But now, I need a gift from you, friend.” She stroked the rabbit’s ears. “I need to know everything about Koven and Dr. Sabel.”

Dream’s smile fell. “Everything?”

I nodded.

“Every last dirty little detail, cottontail. Spill their secrets.”

KOVEN

“Dream?” The white-haired woman kept her back to me as she sat on her bed.

She was humming, seemingly lost in one of her infamous rabbit holes.

“I was looking for you earlier. One of the nurses mentioned last seeing you with Ziggy, but wasn’t sure where you two ran off to.

Dream?” She didn’t respond, just kept her back to me.

“Is everything okay?” I walked around to find her sitting on her bed, legs crossed as her white hair lay freely along her entire upper half.

She was brushing her hair, smiling down at the most disturbing thing I’d ever seen.

“Dream…what the fuck is that?” I pointed to what looked like a shriveled up rabbit made of—

No…it couldn’t be.

“Is that…skin?”

Dream giggled and booped the rabbit’s nose. “It is. Happy made it for me.” She blushed, and for the first time ever, she had some color to her cheeks. “Said I was a special friend.”

“Dream, Happy doesn’t have friends. He uses people.”

She shrugged. “Don’t we all?”

What the fuck is going on with her?

“Dream, hey. Dream. Dream.” She giggled some more. “Whose skin is that, huh? Who?”

The door to our shared room swung open as the same male nurse from before stepped inside. “Ms. Carter?” I looked back at him. “Dr. Sabel would like to see you.”

“Now?” He nodded. I looked back at Dream, tangled in her own insanity. “I’ll be right back, Dream, okay? Just…stay away from Ziggy. I don’t want him to hurt you.”

Dream’s smile fell. “Happy is my friend. He would never hurt me. He gave me Schmoocums, and so I returned the favor. With my own gift.”

A favor? Gift? What—

“Ms. Carter.” The nurse snapped. I had no choice but to follow him.

Where the fuck is that prick, BJ?

As I stepped away from Dream, I looked back one last time, an odd feeling growing in the pit of my stomach. “I’ll be back soon, Dream.”

She laughed to herself and played with the rabbit. “No, you won’t. Isn’t that right, Schmoocums?”

What the hell?

The male nurse stopped me just outside the bedroom door and pulled out a set of handcuffs. “Arms.”

“Excuse me?” The nurse grabbed my wrists and immediately put the cuffs on me. “What the fuck are you doing?” I tried to pull my arms away, but he just tightened the cuffs more, hurting me. “Ow! Hey! What the hell is going on?”

The nurse then yanked my arm and began to pull me alongside him. “Let’s go.”

My body whipped away from him. “I’m not going anywhere with you, not until you tell me what the fuck is going on! Where are you taking me? Why the hell am I in handcuffs, and where the fuck is BJ?”

The male nurse glared at me. “I have my orders. And my orders are to bring you to Dr. Sabel, cuffed, and not waste any time. So shut the fuck up and let me do my damn job.” The man grabbed my arm and pulled me as we walked down the hall. We moved in silence, passing Dr. Sabel’s office.

“Wait.” I tried to stop, but the nurse kept pulling me farther down the hall. “Wait! That’s her office. Why are we still walking? Where are we going?” He didn’t answer.