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The hydrotherapy incident was hours ago. Dinner had passed and pre-bed rituals had commenced.
I continued on with my sessions booked for tomorrow, hoping distraction would help with my twisted emotions and the suffocating feeling of being trapped.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“Can we…can we turn off the lights?”
“Why?”
“I’d feel more comfortable. Please, Doc, I promise I’m not up to no good.” He was genuine, the request hard for him to admit.
I nodded reassuringly and extinguished the lights, his agitation easing away as darkness took hold and his breathing steadied into a mellow, soothing stream.
Blindly recollecting my seat, I spoke into the blackened space. “Is that better?”
“Yes, Doc. I prefer the dark.”
“Some would say it’s safer. Easier to hide or disappear.”
Ace flinched at my observation. “You’re right. Most don’t like losing their vision. It makes them scared, uncomfortable, not realising that demons come searching no matter the time of day. The dark has only ever been my friend.”
“You’re a Variant, aren’t you?” He retreated into himself, scared to admit what was biologically passed down from birth, what he was most likely targeted for. “There’s no need to fear. So am I.”
Ace laxed from the knowledge, sinking further into his chair. I was glad to be able to give him some semblance of comfort.
What the fuck is happening to me?Comfort? I really have lost the plot.
He couldn’t help but ramble, glad to talk to someone about something so ingrained. “I have night vision. Well, outside of here, anyway. When I was younger, I’d have to say ‘lay low’ for my Variant to be triggered. As I aged, my ability became automatic. I come alive in the dark, like I can breathe easier here.”
His speech naturally tapered off, his fond description catching me in the vestiges of a past life. Memories where my sisters and I discovered our own abilities, learning and teaching through each other. I didn’t realise how long I’d gone without speaking, reliving those formative years.
Clearing my throat, I crashed back to the present as Ace contemplated his next words, hesitating before following through with whatever was on his mind.
“Doctor, you seem…sad.”
“Hmm. I’ll be leaving Oakview soon. So I guess I do have a certain melancholy air about me.”
“You’re right to leave, Doc. You’re not like the rest of them. You do right by Psycho, leaving before the evil of this place consumes you.”
Observant, indeed. “What evil, Ace?”
“Your colleagues, Doc. They ain’t good people.” I couldn’t blame him. They were vile humans, but the poor boy had us confused. Little did he realise that I was capable of far more evil than they ever possessed.
“I must say, tonight does feel particularly ominous,” I said, referring to the city-wide lockdown.
“Well, today’s Wednesday, ain’t it?” I could hear him shuffle into a more comfortable position. “When theTerror Squadof Oakview comes out to play. Security Fern the brute, Nurse Katsy the sexual deviant, Manager Burner the thief. And everyone’s least favourite, Dr Mudlark, the mad scientist.” I froze, soaking in his descriptive narrative as he released a soft chuckle. “I actually thought you called for me so you could send me down for experimentation, Doc. I was shitting my fucking pants. I should have trusted you…although I never would have guessed that you would leave Psycho to the mercy of them,” he hummed. “Or maybe that’s a good thing, so he can’t remember you. Come tomorrow, there won’t be much left of him, anyway.”
“What do you mean?” My tone was low and airily menacing.
Ace choked in disbelief. “You didn’t know?”
I shoved upright. “Where is Psycho?”
“They took him down to the basement, Doc.” His voice cracked with each word. “They took him to the mad scientist.”
Chapter 12
Psycho
