Nillium Neems (6 page)

Day 36

The days are going by quickly. I’m mainly
spending them sleeping since I don’t have anything else to do.
Twice in the last six days I woke up with injection marks on my
right arm. Dr. Sirius must be as silent as a ghost. It worries
me.

On the plus side, the food
at least is edible. Not once have I received bloody oatmeal! Nor
have I heard any rustling in the walls or seen anything else weird.
Nothing at
all
.
This is the first time in my life that I have gone so long in a
state of normal. Makes me wonder if all the drugs that Sirius has
been experimenting with are warping my mind more than usual. Either
that, or Derrick and the rest of the ‘Haunt Nillium Neems Crew’
simply have yet to find me.

This morning was good. One of the best days
I’ve had, because Hammy walked in to talk with me, my Snoopy Cap
held under one arm. I’d thought he had forgotten all about
me...

"Nil!" He exclaimed, looking worried. "I’m
sorry I’ve taken so long. There’s been a lot of meetings lately,
and one of them was about you," he handed me the Cap, which I
promptly fit snug on my head. Already my cheer and hope were
rising.

"I’m guessing you weren’t invited to the
meeting concerning me?" I guessed, all too accurately.

He nodded.

"I am not held in high opinion by the Board
of Directors. They believe my methods of actually bothering to care
to be, and I quote ‘Too soft’."

"That sucks."

"Thoroughly. But tell me what happened with
Peabody. We got interrupted before you could explain."

Well I’d been halfheartedly
thinking up some lies to explain Peabody’s death, since I’d had six
days without anything to do, but I decided in that moment to tell
the truth. Hammy had gone out of his way for me, and the least I
could do for him was bring him into my confidence (Actually,
the
least
I could
do for him was strangle him, steal his key and lab coat, and walk
out of Atrium disguised as an undersized doctor. But I’d feel bad
about it since he was so nice).

"You’d better sit down," I said to him at
last. "This is going to take a while..."

Then I told him everything,
my Snoopy Cap on my head all the while, giving me courage. I told
him about Mousy, Derrick, The Hooded Man, the mysterious hole in
the wall in my old room,
everything
. I saved Peabody’s murder
at the hands of the Killer for last.

I don’t know if Hammy believed me at all,
but he at least listened to what I said and actually seemed to
think on it. That made me happy. Hammy is a really nice man and I’m
glad he doesn’t listen to the Monsters.

"I need some time to think over what you’ve
told me, Nil." He said once I’d concluded. Not the best response I
could have hoped for, but it was enough.

"How long? This room is getting pretty
boring."

"I’m... not sure. You’ve given me an awful
lot to think on. I want to test some of it for myself to verify its
truth."

I nodded. That was fair enough. As long as
he gave me a chance, that was all I could ask for.

"Any progress getting me back to my old
room?"

Hammy’s expression darkened and he shook his
head.

"I’m trying, I really am Nil. But if it’s
even possible, I believe it will take some little time. Perhaps
what you’ve told me might help, if I can find a way to use it. But
I’ve got to go. I’m ostensibly down here to check on your health
and if I take too long, they might get suspicious."

He turned to leave.

"Hammy?"

He stopped but didn’t turn.

"Why? Why are you doing this for me?"

He was silent for a good half minute.

"Because I’m not a monster," he said quietly
and left, closing the door gently behind him.

For the first time I have a friend on my
side. He wasn’t strong, nor big, nor particularly impressive
looking. He suffered from the unfortunate name of Flagham and was
surrounded by hateful coworkers. But he was my friend and the first
I had aside from Mousy. This has been one of the happiest days of
my life.

Nil, Out!

Day 37

Since Hammy gave me my Snoopy Cap back, I
have been wearing it constantly, even while sleeping. This morning
I woke up after another dreamless night, to find small mushrooms
sprouting from the floor all around me. I hopped out of bed to
investigate, careful not to step on any of them. It then occurred
to me that perhaps this room would have a host of its own strange
inhabitants...

I knelt beside one of the thicker patches of
mushrooms, thinking they were cute at first. Pale brown and green,
slightly pointy, they reminded me of those little mushrooms you eat
all the time in Chinese takeout.

I gently poked one out of curiosity and the
cap that was its head swiveled slowly around to face me. And a face
it was, a tiny human countenance, twisted in a bizarre expression
of outrage. I screamed, thoroughly freaked out, and started
stomping on the monstrous little things.

They began to shriek in high pitched voices,
the noise hitting a crescendo of pure sound that rocked me on my
feet. It was an eerie sort of wailing, that spoke of pain, fury,
and sadness. Stopping my assault, I retreated to the safety of my
little cot.

The noise lessened but did not dissipate,
continuing on a much lower level that worked its way deep into my
being, severely disturbing me. I shut my eyes and tried to block it
out. After a while, I mostly managed to. Until I met Siegfried that
is.

I first became aware of him when I heard his
gentlemanly introduction beside me, as he spoke in a thick British
accent. I opened my eyes to see him sitting beside me. The fact
that he was an oversized slug alarmed me not at all.

He didn’t really have any hands (being a
slug) so I gave him a pat in lieu of a handshake.

"Nice to meet you, Siegfried. I’m Nillium
Neems. What’s up with all the little mushroom guys?"

"Don’t fret about the Mushrooms," he
replied. I could hear a smile in his voice. If he had been human, I
felt he would have been giving me a wry grin. "They are former
patients of Atrium, who have died unwholesome deaths. Slain by the
corruption that twines through this building."

I looked closer at the Mushrooms, still
wailing aloud. I could see the sorrow on their faces now that I
looked for it. There were an awful lot of Mushrooms...

"All of them are former patients?" I asked
slowly.

Siegfried nodded, as best as a slug can
nod.

"Pity and do not fear them. They mean you no
harm. The Mushrooms vent their sorrow at their own miserable
fates."

Well that made me sad. To think that I had
been heartlessly stomping all over them a moment ago, when they
already had enough troubles of their own. I got off my cot and
knelt down beside them once more. Reaching out, I gently stroked
one with my hand. It seemed to calm them all down a bit. That made
me smile for the first time in I don’t know how many years.

Siegfried nodded at me as if in approval,
like I’d passed some kind of test.

"What are the Monsters?" I asked him.
"Derrick, the Hooded Man and the Killer? What is it they all
want?"

The slug smiled knowingly and began the
following explanation. Or at least, I think he smiled. It’s hard to
read the expression on the face of a slug since they don’t really
have one.

"Derrick I have never heard of, so is of
little consequence. A meaningless anomaly," he began, "but the
other two you mentioned are of great importance. As you have
correctly guessed, Nillium Neems, the Monsters that you see
wherever you go infest this place to the core. They influence the
doctors and wardens, even the other patients. Of them all, there
are some, such as the Hooded Man and the Killer you encountered in
the hall, who lead them."

"So they’re like the chief Monsters?" I
asked. "Villainous masterminds? Because the Hooded Man fits that
image, he’s certainly smart enough, but the Killer seemed kind of
mindless. More like a raging bull than anything else."

"They are Tormentor’s," Siegfried answered.
He spoke the word tormentor not as a descriptive, but as a name.
"That is what they live for, to torment and terrify others. These
creatures as so gifted at the art, that they have achieved great
power over the years. They are truly to be feared."

"But why do these Tormentor guys only seem
to target me?" I asked. "I’ve never seen the Hooded Man go after
anyone else. Jeremy saw him in the Yard, but the Hooded Man was
only after me."

"Because you can see, Nillium Neems. You are
not blind like the others, but see things as they truly are."

"Why is that?" I asked of him. "Do you mean
I’m special in some way?"

Before Siegfried could answer, the Mushrooms
began their wailing again, increasing steadily in pitch till the
sheer volume made my head ring. At the point where I couldn’t take
it anymore, feeling my very skull would split open, the Mushrooms
disappeared beneath the floor and the door opened. Dr. Sirius
walked in with his measured stride, each step exactly the same as
the previous one. He looked at me, keeled over on my bed, hands
clasped to my ears, and frowned disdainfully.

"Get up," he said, walking over and hauling
me upright. I glanced around for Siegfried but didn’t see him
anywhere in sight.

"What do you want?" I quavered, still
getting over the Mushroom's screaming.

Dr. Sirius didn’t even answer me, instead
reaching into his pocket and bringing out a syringe. He jammed it
into my arm, pumping me full of some new poison. I tried to push
him off, but Sirius just shoved me to the ground.

"Aren’t you supposed to at least inform
patients what you’re drugging them with?" I groaned.

"Normally," he replied, his voice as bored
as ever, like someone reciting from a textbook. "But your parents
long ago gave up all rights to you. You are a ward of the State,
meaning that we own you and can do as we wish to you. You are also
completely and dangerously insane."

"By whose standards?" I asked angrily.
"Because sometimes I get the feeling that the patients aren’t the
only nut jobs in this ward."

"None of our efforts," Sirius continued,
ignoring me, "seem to have done much to improve your sanity over
the years. In my opinion, Dr. Flagham and Dr. Higgins have been far
too lenient with you. The instant that electroshock therapy failed
to improve your attitude, they should have taken more drastic
steps."

I stared at him in shock,
not believing the words that issued from that flat mouth. For him
to think that Dr.
Higgins
had been too soft with me, made me wonder in
horror what he considered to be appropriate treatment. Sadly, I
didn’t have to wonder for long, because the very next words he
spoke were exactly what he thought should be my fate. As if he were
some mediocre god, declaring judgment on his unwilling
subjects.

"Nillium Neems. I have spoken with the Board
of Directors in this facility, explained your case to them, and
they have given me approval to take more drastic steps. The
medication I have just given you is the very strongest that Atrium
Pharmaceuticals has to offer. It is banned from use, even here at
the heart of Atrium, without express permission from the board.
They have granted me that permission, with which I intend to make
full use."

"And what’s this new medicine do, Dr.
Sirius?"

"If this last drug fails," he continued,
ignoring me once more, "then we will be left with no choice but to
lobotomize you. A rather archaic method of treatment, true, but
undoubtedly effective in pacifying an unruly personality. Whether
you even understand what I’m telling you matters not one bit to me,
I’m simply stating it to be official about this."

Without a further word he left, leaving me
alone and wondering whether or not I’d even survive this new
‘medicine’. I started to shake, curling up in a little ball on my
cot. Whatever this stuff was, it was already taking effect.

The door opened once more a moment later,
and Sirius strode back in. He crouched above my little form like
some kind of predator, and snatched my Snoopy Cap right off my
head.

"No personal possessions," he said plainly,
and then left once more, leaving me alone and in pain.

Nil, Out...

Day 40

I’ve been too weak to write for the last
three days straight. In and out of consciousness, hallucinating,
seeing things that clearly aren’t there. This new poison is the
worst yet. Muscle spasms almost to the point of seizure, my heart
beating so hard that it’s painful. So yeah, I’ve been in a lot of
pain. Today the effects are at last starting to wear off and have
left me weak and achy, barely able to move.

I’d actually welcome one of those IV-Drip
things right now, since I’ve not been able to eat a thing. But this
dungeon-like room seems to lack even the most basic privileges,
including apparently, the privilege to stay alive. No one has been
in to check on me since Sirius, other than the silent man who
shoves food through my door twice a day. I’ve never seen what he
looks like, or if he even is a man.

Life is Hell right now, not that it’s ever
been much else. No sign of Siegfried or the Mushrooms, no Snoopy
Cap or strange Book to comfort me. I’m all alone in here.

I tried praying for a little while, since my
only hope was in someone stronger than me, but I don’t think it did
much good. It never does. I’m on my own.

This weak little girl has now come to a
resolution. That I must do something. Because I have had enough. I
am tired of this unpleasant life, tired of pain and loss. I must do
something to change it. I must escape...