I’m tormented by not knowing where Naya is or if she’s okay, and I can still recall the look on her face when I saw her yesterday. I know she is fine, she has to be, because she is strong.
They drugged me down yesterday after one of my attacks, where all I did was fight against the guards, managing to get a few of them down and bleeding, probably having to spend the night in the emergency room. I have become a rabid animal; frankly, I don’t care. All I care about is Naya, but she’s not fucking here.
A thin sliver of light spills into the basement room I’m in as the door opens, and I follow it out. On the other side of the door stands a bald guard with a baton, ready to use it if I attack him. Those weapons hurt like shit, and I’m not in the mood to fight anymore.
“Go on.”
A snort escapes his lips as he points with his baton to the end of the corridor, where I had my previous meeting with Emilio Ricci. It’s the room where he told me the news of my brother’s betrayal, and I realized I had been blindly devoted to protecting him all along. My love for my brother blinded me, and my naivety caused me not to see his faults.
I walk forward as fast as I can, feeling the bruises scattered across my skin from all the beatings. The guard behind me is impatient, and I soon feel the brutal force of the baton hitting my back. It feels like multiple stones are being thrown at me at the same time, and I buckle down with a groan.
“Move faster.”
The guard hisses at me with hatred-filled words, but I’m having difficulty standing steady. All I need to do is get to the door, but even that feels impossible, with the pain spreading through my back like wildfire. There is pain in every bone in my body, every step is slowed down and broken.
I finally arrive at the door, my body aching as the guard unlocks it, but not before he shoves me aside, leaving me stumbling against the wall. A sound of dismay involuntarily escapes me as I proceed toward the room located in the basement. Seeing the chairs and table in the same position with the same lamp hanging above gives me shivers; it’s just as dead and cold as the last time I was here. The bald guard forces me to sit in one of the chairs with my back to the door while he secures my wrists to the built-in handcuffs on the table in front of me.
“Thank you, Harris.”
I instantly feel a chill course through my veins when I hear Emilio Ricci’s voice, and my body involuntarily shivers when I see him lurking in the corner like a creepy stalker. Emilio takes a seat in the chair that is situated in front of me.
“What is this about?”
As he looks at me blankly, a clear and unmistakable disappointment shows in his eyes. “After the little charade that you and another patient caused yesterday, we’ve decided to send you to the new program. That place has maximum security, and your chance of being released is gone. Actions have consequences, Madden.”
He remains in the same position with an aura of composure around him, seemingly enjoying the moment, and the nausea returns, making bile rise in my throat. He cannot be serious, he must be joking.
“What about my lawyer?” I try to press him, knowing the lawyer won’t be okay with this because he was hired to defend me.
When Emilio Ricci speaks his following words, everything takes a different turn, and my world tilts on its axis.
“I will take over from here.”
The anger boiling inside me needs an outlet, so I direct my glowing and seething gaze toward him.
“Don’t look at me like that, boy.” He emphasizes the last word as if mocking me. “You will be transferred to the next program in another building. You will not have the chance to say goodbye to your friends.”
If I could, I would take this chance to strangle him, choke him with my bare hands because he doesn’t deserve to live. I can feel the need surging through me, the darkness of my monster whispering in my ears to just do it, to fucking end his pathetic and miserable life.
As Emilio Ricci gets to his feet and starts to walk around the room, his strides make a loud noise that echoes off the walls. I remain motionless, my wrists fastened to the table, unable to do anything.
“Do you want to know something?” Striding toward me, he inquires, placing his hands on the table and leaning toward me.
His eyes have an intimidating and sinister glint that causes me to draw my shoulders back in alarm. I do not shy away from any challenge, yet it is clear that something is seriously wrong with him. Rather than answering him, I fix my eyes on him without uttering a single word.
His lips contort into a nasty snarl of distaste. “It was all a lie. An illusion, and now you are part of it. We will take your precious Naya with us. It is time to atone for your sins and thus the one person you love.”
Fear and terror wash over me as our eyes meet, and my face pales. Cold sweat beads on my forehead, and my expression reveals my horror.
“Oh, don’t give me that look. I have seen how you trail after her like a lost puppy these past few weeks. Months, even.”
The thought of him seeing our actions for months turns my stomach, knowing he was aware of us the entire time. That means he knew we planned to escape that day.
“There is no such thing as goodness in this world, and you, Madden, are a monster.”
The grin on his face is one of pure malice, one meant to do nothing but harm, and it’s only at this point that I fully grasp the enormity of this man’s misdeeds. He said I am a monster, when in fact, he is one too. We are not so different, he and I. The only difference is that I wouldn’t do as many fucked up things as he has, fucking with innocent children’s lives.
“Your sinful past makes you the perfect doll in a house full of torture. You failed Naya by not protecting her. Love is a weakness. And now she will suffer for your consequences.”
