them to work for me by claiming Patient 14 was hiding somewhere in my asylum.”
“Did it work?”
“It did, even better — and madder — than I’d anticipated.”
“How so?”
“They actually believed he was hiding among the other Mushroomers in here. This is how the Mush Room began.”
“This was the Dum Brothers idea?”
“It was, and I endorsed it. Anything to stop those annoying insane people from babbling all day long. It was driving me crazy.”
“I’d say the pills drove you crazy,” I tell him. “They also made you forget some details.”
“You could say so. But what matters is that the Dum Brothers fried every patient’s head, testing if they were Patient 14.”
“But you just said they’d forgotten who they were.”
“I said it didn't happen so fast. By the time they were tormenting you in the Mush Room, it had become a habit they enjoyed and never remembered why.”
“And the writing on the wall?”
“No one knows whose it is,” Tom says. “The fact that it’s signed by Patient 14 doesn’t prove he ever existed. Are you done interrogating me about that myth yet?”
“She isn’t,” the March says, looking a bit dizzy. “Because this Patient 14 knows the true story about how Alice and Him met. Knowing such a thing proves he isn’t a myth.”
I watch the March wince a little. I ask, “Are you all right?”
“I am. I think it’s the light bulb in my head playing games on me.”
I help him rest on the edge of the Pillar’s couch, feeling guilty he’s been dragged into this. The March is like the purest thing I’ve seen in this insane world. I want to hug him and keep him safe all the time.
I turn back to Tom Truckle. “So let’s say Patient 14 is real. Does that mean he’s the one who wrote on my cell’s wall?”
“Could be,” Tom says nonchalantly. “But that would mean he’s been to your cell or that you knew him at some point.”
“Or he’s known my family.”
“That, too, is a possibility.”
I share a moment of silence with all of them in the room. My eyes shift to the news showing the police cars waiting outside. Nine hours left, and nothing in this day makes the least bit of sense. I’m not sure if I should be digging deeper into Patient 14’s legend, or focus on waking up the Pillar to escape this place.
But, like usual, it’s the Pillar who makes these decisions for all of us. I watch him sit up on his couch with his beady eyes. He barely glances at us, then pulls out his small hookah nearby, lights it up, leans back on the couch and starts smoking.
He says, “Is it my eyes or is a bit blurry in here?”
Chapter 27
It’s only seconds before the Mushroomers barge into the cell and greet the Pillar. He’s their idol. The leader of the pack. The crème de la crème of the bonkers and the loonies. The Pillar takes it up a notch and begins dancing with them.
“I told you he’s playing us,” Tom tells me.
I fist my hands and turn toward the Pillar and shout, “Stop it!”
The Mushroomers duck behind the couch. Again, they fear the girl who once worked for Black Chess, but ironically have a sweet thing for the most manipulative man in the world.
The Pillar calms the Mushroomers down, whispering, “Just don’t upset her. She’s a mad girl with a teenage problem. Remember Carrie, the movie?”
The Mushroomers duck even lower.
“Pillar!” I tense.
He straightens up, as if in an army, dropping the pipe’s hose. “Aye, aye, sir.”
“Don’t do this.” I’m playing as calm as I can. “This isn’t really the time.” I point at the TV. “We’re going to get killed in a few hours if you don’t anything about it.”
“I know.” He nods. “Heard you talking while I pretended I was asleep.”
“Told you he was faking it,” Tom says.
“Drop the act, pill popper,” the Pillar says. “I was asleep in the beginning, but then decided to listen to what was going on. Did I really arrive in a coffin?”
“You did,”
“Did it work?”
“It did, even better — and madder — than I’d anticipated.”
“How so?”
“They actually believed he was hiding among the other Mushroomers in here. This is how the Mush Room began.”
“This was the Dum Brothers idea?”
“It was, and I endorsed it. Anything to stop those annoying insane people from babbling all day long. It was driving me crazy.”
“I’d say the pills drove you crazy,” I tell him. “They also made you forget some details.”
“You could say so. But what matters is that the Dum Brothers fried every patient’s head, testing if they were Patient 14.”
“But you just said they’d forgotten who they were.”
“I said it didn't happen so fast. By the time they were tormenting you in the Mush Room, it had become a habit they enjoyed and never remembered why.”
“And the writing on the wall?”
“No one knows whose it is,” Tom says. “The fact that it’s signed by Patient 14 doesn’t prove he ever existed. Are you done interrogating me about that myth yet?”
“She isn’t,” the March says, looking a bit dizzy. “Because this Patient 14 knows the true story about how Alice and Him met. Knowing such a thing proves he isn’t a myth.”
I watch the March wince a little. I ask, “Are you all right?”
“I am. I think it’s the light bulb in my head playing games on me.”
I help him rest on the edge of the Pillar’s couch, feeling guilty he’s been dragged into this. The March is like the purest thing I’ve seen in this insane world. I want to hug him and keep him safe all the time.
I turn back to Tom Truckle. “So let’s say Patient 14 is real. Does that mean he’s the one who wrote on my cell’s wall?”
“Could be,” Tom says nonchalantly. “But that would mean he’s been to your cell or that you knew him at some point.”
“Or he’s known my family.”
“That, too, is a possibility.”
I share a moment of silence with all of them in the room. My eyes shift to the news showing the police cars waiting outside. Nine hours left, and nothing in this day makes the least bit of sense. I’m not sure if I should be digging deeper into Patient 14’s legend, or focus on waking up the Pillar to escape this place.
But, like usual, it’s the Pillar who makes these decisions for all of us. I watch him sit up on his couch with his beady eyes. He barely glances at us, then pulls out his small hookah nearby, lights it up, leans back on the couch and starts smoking.
He says, “Is it my eyes or is a bit blurry in here?”
Chapter 27
It’s only seconds before the Mushroomers barge into the cell and greet the Pillar. He’s their idol. The leader of the pack. The crème de la crème of the bonkers and the loonies. The Pillar takes it up a notch and begins dancing with them.
“I told you he’s playing us,” Tom tells me.
I fist my hands and turn toward the Pillar and shout, “Stop it!”
The Mushroomers duck behind the couch. Again, they fear the girl who once worked for Black Chess, but ironically have a sweet thing for the most manipulative man in the world.
The Pillar calms the Mushroomers down, whispering, “Just don’t upset her. She’s a mad girl with a teenage problem. Remember Carrie, the movie?”
The Mushroomers duck even lower.
“Pillar!” I tense.
He straightens up, as if in an army, dropping the pipe’s hose. “Aye, aye, sir.”
“Don’t do this.” I’m playing as calm as I can. “This isn’t really the time.” I point at the TV. “We’re going to get killed in a few hours if you don’t anything about it.”
“I know.” He nods. “Heard you talking while I pretended I was asleep.”
“Told you he was faking it,” Tom says.
“Drop the act, pill popper,” the Pillar says. “I was asleep in the beginning, but then decided to listen to what was going on. Did I really arrive in a coffin?”
“You did,”
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