Nillium Neems (9 page)

As I lay there, waiting for
him to strike again, my mind raced.
No one
left but Nil
. The wardens, the doctors,
everyone was oblivious to this creature. If he killed me now, who
would stop him? Would he go on to torment others, other patients
like Jeremy, like Lana, even crazy little Harold?
No one left to stop him
.
No one but me...

I got to my feet, facing the monster. That
was when I changed. I don’t know if it was my confidence in
standing up to Derrick only moments before, or my new found
freedom, but I was done being afraid. Done being afraid of every
single one of them. Done being a victim.

As the Hooded Man reached out his hand once
more, I grabbed it and bit it, bit it hard. It evoked an unexpected
chuckle from the Tormentor, who otherwise seemed unfazed. Frowning,
I yanked hard at his arm and heard a pop as it came loose and fell
to the floor. I found myself staring at nothing but your basic,
decayed human arm.

My eyes traveled upwards from the arm, to
the two ugly yellow lights beneath his hood. One of them winked and
I heard the rattle of chains as his hooks once more wrapped around
my feet, sweeping them out from under me once more.

I fell and it hurt, but I couldn’t let it
stop me. I had to act fast before he finished me. I struggled
upright but the hook wrapped tighter around my foot and pulled,
knocking me right back to the ground. He wanted my fear and would
continue this game as long as he could before finally killing
me.

With that in mind, I pretended to be trying
to get back to my feet, smiling inside at the fact that he was
letting me. Then I lashed out with a shout of anger, letting my
fist fly towards whatever excuse for a face lay hidden beneath his
hood.

My fist met with nothing but sharpness and
pain, though he did take a step back from the impact. I stared in
horror at the mangled flesh of my hand, while the Hooded Man
laughed and swept my feet from under me yet again.

Tears and blood ran into my eyes, clouding
my vision, and I know I was crying for it all to end. The jig was
up now that I was fighting back, and I felt those hooks grab me and
drag me towards the cloak, towards whatever fate Derrick suffered.
I grabbed the edge of the rough fabric and tugged, an unexpected
move that made him stumble and nearly fall.

Taking advantage of the moment, I yanked
sharply to the left and the Hooded Man toppled sideways, falling to
the ground beside me. I scrambled to my feet and headed for the
door, stopping in my tracks as I heard the soft slither of falling
fabric behind me. I turned as the cloak and hood fell to the
ground, revealing the previously hidden form beneath.

It was... like clockwork. The twisted
innards of some insane timepiece, all cogs and chains, blades and
hooks, and strange things not of this world. Everything was pointed
and sharp. It was no wonder I had cut my hand, for his face was
like gears made of saw blades, turning and whirring as they sliced
through the air. Remnants of Derrick dripped from his torso as it
opened and closed like some obscene clawed cage. The two lights on
his face, tiny supernovas of hatred, narrowed dangerously as he
looked at me.

I was standing now a little outside the door
and could have fled so easily from this horror. But I didn’t. For
things had changed now and I was no longer merely content to flee.
I wanted to ensure first that there was as little as possible to
flee from.

So I stood my ground as the monstrosity got
to its feet and came at me, it's one dead arm outreached in a claw,
hooks writhing across the ground behind it like so many worms. Feet
away, the hooks raised into the air, aiming towards my throat as
the Hooded Man continued to charge. He was done playing cat and
mouse with me and wanted my blood. But I didn’t intend to let him
have it...

I waited till the last moment and then
slammed the door in his face. The satisfying crunch of metal
rewarded me as he collided. Opening it, I grabbed his prone body by
its bladed foot, regardless of the pain, and dragged him forwards
until his head was in range of my new weapon. With a grim look on
my face, I slammed the door once more, crushing the Picasso of
metalwork that formed his head. He twitched and started to sit up,
but I just slammed the door once again, over and over, until his
form was just twisted parts, whirring uselessly like broken
gears.

There was a last feeble movement from the
Hooded Man, a tiny remnant of whatever mockery of life had animated
him. Then he was still. Still and dead, able to torture me no more.
It was followed by a sudden flash of light that engulfed his corpse
and filled the whole room, forcing me to shield my eyes. It only
lasted for a moment, but I stared in awe at the sight that was left
behind.

The Hooded Man was gone, a small yellow
flower growing out of the floor where he had fallen. It was
beautiful, like nothing I’d seen, large yellow petals damp as if
with dew, glistening in the sunlight. There was no sunlight and
there was no way there should have been dew, yet both adorned the
flower all the same. It spoke of hope and of light. I looked up
from it, a smile on my face, and realized with alarm that my whole
room had changed.

It looked as if brand new, bright and shiny,
almost cheerful in appearance. The bed looked comfy and soft, my
shelf larger and painted a nice blue, and the hole in the wall was
gone. Everything just seemed better. And the clock! That evil clock
was dead and gone, replaced by a cute painting of a girl in a field
of yellow flowers. I looked at that painting for a while, actually
smiling at how happy that girl made me, until I saw that it was me!
A different me, a... happier me. A me that was full of joy and
picking flowers.

I glanced between the flower on the floor
and the painting on the wall. There was something there. I wasn’t
sure what, but it was there all the same. I walked over to the bed,
a deep blue like the shelf and full of warmth.

Somehow I found myself upon it, laying my
head back upon the soft pillows. Tired from my endeavors, not
caring now if anyone found me, I fell asleep in exhaustion. I feel
like my life has begun anew.

Nil, Out.

Day 64

I slept soundly and undisturbed. Since I’d
been moved to the room with the Mushrooms, this one had remained
unoccupied. It occurred to me with a smile that I could probably
just camp out here indefinitely and no one would ever know. I’d
need food, but maybe Mousy could help scrounge that up for me.

For a while I just lay with my eyes closed,
enjoying the peace and safety, thinking over what had happened the
day before. I’d won. I’d faced my worst fear, the Hooded Man, and
beat him. Nothing could stop me now. I was getting out. I was going
to win my freedom.

Deciding there was no point in waiting
around any longer, I opened my eyes and found myself bathed in a
warming light, as if the sun were peeking through an open window.
There was no window. Frowning, I pushed myself up with my hands and
felt a sharp pain shoot through the right one.

Panicking as all the memories of how badly
damaged it was came flooding back to me, I raised it up to my eyes,
expecting to see little more than a bloody stump. All of my fingers
were intact and all that marred my pale flesh were tiny wounds,
little more than paper cuts. I flexed my fingers once or twice just
to make sure and found them in perfect working order. My hand had
mostly healed overnight...

An image of Siegfried popped into my mind,
and I wondered just what his role in all of this was. My eyes
wandered to Mousy, snoring restlessly (or rustlessly, as he made
that signature sound instead of snorts) as he lay on the foot of
the bed, like a miniscule guardian angel keeping watch.

I poked him gently and at once his blue eyes
snapped open, swiveling back and forth. For just a moment, as I’d
seen once before, there was something more in his eyes than his
small form hinted at. Something all too human.

"Do you trust me, Mousy?" I asked him.

He looked up at me, the wariness of his eyes
fading to be replaced by a softness that answered my question. Then
he rustled once, a pointed yes.

"I trust you too, Mousy. You’re the best
friend I’ve got. So tell me what’s going on. Who are you, who is
Siegfried?"

He rustled again, a longer, protracted
rustle, with more than a note of frustration in it. But I
understood what he meant. Mousy wanted to help me understand, to
answer all the questions he could. But he could only speak in
rustle. He was able to help me, but unable to speak to me.

I nodded in understanding and reached a hand
down to stroke his slightly jelly like head.

"It’s alright, Mousy. Your company is
enough. Once I track down that English-speaking slug, however, I
will have some hard questions for him."

Mousy climbed onto my hand, up my arm, and
then perched on my shoulder. It was time to get going. I got off
the bed, grabbed my Snoopy Cap, and started to leave, turning back
with regret to look at this haven of safety.

I then realized I had completely forgotten
about my Pocket Watch and Book, both still sitting on my bright new
shelf. If I was leaving, I wasn’t leaving without both of them.
Even if the book was creepy.

Moving over to pick them up, I saw that the
Book had changed right along with the rest of the room. I flipped
through its pages, finding most of the old stuff though the first
bit, the Book of Ages, had been replaced by something called
Genesis. I skimmed through it in confusion as it explained the
beginning of mankind. It went on about some Adam and Eve
characters, which was completely at odds with what the Book of Ages
had said.

The Book of Ages had spoken of how we were
descended from demons who had escaped from the uttermost pits of
Hell long ago. None of this new, made from dust by God stuff.
Needless to say, I was woefully confused.

Still, I didn’t disregard it out of hand and
kept such things in mind for future study. If this was Siegfried’s
doing perhaps he was trying to tell me something. So taking Book,
Pocket Watch, and Journal, I set off to go be a hero.

Only partway down the hall
outside my room, I stopped and leaned against a wall, feeling dizzy
and nauseous. I had no idea what I was doing or how I would help
the imprisoned patients of Atrium. Just because I
wanted
to, no longer so
willing to flee the whole God-forsaken place, didn’t mean I had a
clue how to begin. I was no hero. I was just me.

Not sure where I was going, I began moving
again, heading to the same room where I’d first found the killer.
Holding all my stuff would only hinder me since I had no pockets to
keep it in.

Making it to the room within a few minutes,
not encountering a single warden, I hurried inside, glanced around
for any waiting Killer, and stuffed my stuff under the mattress. I
kept the Snoopy Cap of course. That would follow me to my
grave.

Mousy hopped off my shoulder and scurried
over to the door. He rustled quietly, warningly. On tiptoes, I
headed over and opened the door the merest crack, peering outwards.
The Killer was right outside, wandering slowly down the hallway,
head bent and looking at the floor. His gaze roved left, then
right, then back again, as if following invisible tracks. Tracks
that were leading him right to the door that I hid behind.

I could have been scared. I probably should
have been. But after standing up to the Hooded Man, I was done with
all that. And I had an idea. The way the door was designed it
opened both ways. And hey, it had worked against one Tormentor
already.

Grinning like a maniac, I waited right up
until his hand was on the doorknob before slamming it open,
knocking the Killer off his feet. Then I grabbed Mousy and ran like
a scared little girl down the hall. If only I could carry a door
with me everywhere I could beat every monster in this place.

A lion-like roar echoed around the walls
behind me, and I knew I’d only managed to tick him off. I was good
at that. But now I’d found a stairwell leading upwards, and maybe
just maybe he’d think I was still on this floor.

Taking the stairs two at a time, I was
nearly at the top when I ran right into my buddy, Warden Copley,
his back to me as he munched on pretzels. The salty snacks flew
everywhere as we collided, bouncing down the stairs like so many
scattered dreams.

I kicked him in the head while we were down,
stunning him and scrambling to my feet. He yelled at me but I was
already running up the stairs and away. Things were about to get
desperate.

My feet skidded across the floor as I slid
to a stop to avoid colliding with another surprised Warden. I gave
him a sheepish grin, then punched him and ran down another turn of
the hallway. Was my life to consist of just running down halls?

Crazy ideas ran through my mind as to how to
get away; Starting a fire and burning the place to the ground (bad
idea), explaining that it was all a big mistake and nothing was my
fault (worse idea), and somehow finding a doctors coat and sneaking
out of Atrium dressed like one of the staff. The last option
appealed to me most, but then it occurred to me that I was awfully
short. Every doctor in the building was taller than me and if I
wore one of their coats I’d look like a little kid playing dress
up. Sigh. And people think being a deranged mental patient is
easy!

Alarms went off throughout the ward.
Everyone would be hunting me now. Mousy rustled worriedly upon my
shoulder, his eyes swiveling back and forth looking for a route of
escape. There was none. It was all just hallway and random doors,
leading either to offices or patients rooms.