PITTSBURGH
8 months earlier
Nate tried to get in touch with Felicity a few days after she had helped Sybill Montgomery escape. But she wouldn’t answer any of his calls or texts. He left her so many voicemails over the subsequent weeks that eventually he filled her inbox and her phone cut him off. He had some sleepless nights, staring out his bedroom window at the glittering dark, silhouettes of the city, wondering if Felicity was somewhere within its labyrinth.
He was still reeling from the events that had occurred that day. He wondered how Felicity had pulled it off. The night before the escape, his sister had walked into his bedroom, unannounced, and asked him to take Sybill to the bathroom at noon the next day. He was reading a book on his bed, and the odd request made him look up and frown.
“What?”
“Take her to the one down the hall.”
“But she has a toilet in her cell.”
“I know that honey. But make up a reason to do it anyway. I just need her alone for a bit. Let her stay in there for about fifteen minutes.”
“What? Why?” He was becoming increasingly confused. She came over and sat on the bed next to him, smiling.
“Don’t worry. I’m going to fix this.”
“How? This doesn’t seem like---” She interrupted him with a kiss. A hot puddle of desire pooled in his stomach and he pushed her away, panting. He was determined not to let her distract him---not this time, couldn’t he get at least one time? ---but she brushed his protesting hands away and shoved him down onto the bed. His feeble willpower evaporated, and he spent the night pinned beneath her, sweating and trembling and hating himself.
***
The day after the official investigation had been closed, Stilly had swaggered into the office chewing nails and looking ready to fight anybody who told him to chill out.
“Get me every fucking scrap of camera footage we have in this hell hole,” Stilly snapped. He kicked his chair out of his way as he slammed his briefcase down onto his desk. “That little skid mark thinks she can just live happily ever after? I’ll have her ass hanging over my door.”
“We’ve already reviewed it, Stilly. There isn’t anything.”
“Sorry, I had wax in my ear. For a second there I thought you gave me your fucking opinion instead of what I asked for.”
Nate sighed and went to fetch the footage from the files. He could see the images playing out once more in his own mind as he watched Stilly view it, his partner’s face growing darker by the second.
Shot after shot of an empty hallway. Then a shot of Sybill’s cell and Nate coming by to let her out for her bathroom break. Then a shot of Nate standing in the hall, outside the door of the first-floor bathroom, for approximately fifteen minutes. Finally he knocked on the door, paused, and walked into the bathroom. He was in there for about ten seconds before he was seen sticking his head back out into the hallway and calling out. Some other officers could be seen running down the hall.
There were no cameras in the bathroom, for obvious reasons, and so determining what had happened while Sybill was in there was impossible. There were no windows either---it was a single room with a toilet and a sink---and nothing to suggest that she had maybe escaped through the walls or floor somehow. She was simply gone. She had melted into thin air like smoke from a cigarette.
Stilly shoved back his chair and grunted. A terrible scowl was on his face.
“I need to take a walk,” he mumbled.
Nate watched him storm out the front doors and disappear around the corner. He leaned his face into the cool darkness of his hands and considered his next move. He had to find Felicity and see if she was safe and he knew only one person who could help him. The thought turned his stomach, but Felicity still wasn’t answering her phone. He didn’t know what else to do, and the hole that had been torn in his heart by her absence was growing excruciating.
He drove up to the Institute the following Saturday. When the building came into view and he saw the familiar plaque gleaming on the massive gate, he fought the urge to turn the car around and drive it straight off a cliff. He still couldn’t look at this place without feeling nauseous. It had taken his sister from him. It had devoured her within its dark belly and rendered her a half-digested, frightened shell of a person. The memories of those days still haunted him.
He parked his car directly outside the gate. Then he leaned out the window and pushed the buzzer. He waited a few moments before a wheezy voice answered.
“Good morning. How can I help you?”
“Yeah, hi.” Nate looked up at the security camera that was installed on top of the gate. He gave it a small wave. “I’m here to see Doctor Reynolds.”
“Do you have an appointment?”
“No, but---”
“I’m afraid the doctor doesn’t take walk-ins. Let me give you a number to call and we can schedule you for---”
“I’m his son.”
“Is that right?” the wheezy voice said, sounding thoroughly unimpressed. “Well, like I already said, we have a num---”
Nate had heard enough. He got out of the car, turned, and took a running leap at the gate. The voice on the intercom began to squawk in protest, but he turned a dumb ear as he shimmied up the iron bars. After it became clear that Nate was ignoring any warnings, the intercom went dead. Which meant security would be out any second now. Excellent, he thought. Come and get me, you fuckers.
He dropped to the ground on the other side of the gate, staggering and falling to one knee. He had hated growing up in the country, but at least it had taught him how to climb. Other than some mud on his jeans, he didn’t have a scratch---
That was the last conscious thought he knew before he felt an explosive pain in the back of his head. Everything went dark.
When he opened his eyes again, he saw a giant white blur hanging over his head. He blinked; the blur sharpened into a burning fluorescent light fixture. He heard a door open and he turned his head, wincing at the subsequent pain that shot through his skull. A man with pale hair bustled in, wearing scrubs and a sour expression. He checked the bag of fluid suspended near Nate’s head, poked it, frowned, scribbled something on a clipboard, and bustled back out before Nate could even ask where he was. Once the door closed, he carefully raised his head and looked around.
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
He was in a claustrophobic room with about as much eye appeal as a pile of dog shit. It looked like it hadn’t been in use for a while. The walls were decorated with tacky purple flowers and more than a few questionable stains. There was a supply cabinet in one corner---padlocked for the moment---and a window that was so high up any light filtering in was practically useless anyway. There was no furniture other than the bed he was lying on. Actually, it felt more like an operating table than a bed. He reached down and wiggled his hand under the thin blanket that was spread beneath him. His sweaty palm made contact with cold metal.
The door opened again. The blonde nurse shuffled in, followed by Doctor Reynolds. Nate’s body instinctively went rigid as his father turned to the nurse and said: “I’ll take it from here. Thank you, Tony.”
The nurse nodded curtly and strode out, slamming the door. The doctor stood by Nate’s bedside, his hands clasped behind him. He was smiling.
“How are you feeling, Nathaniel?”
“How long have I been out?”
“Two hours. You have a concussion, but I’m glad to see the damage wasn’t nearly as---”
“Right, well, nice to catch up.” Nate swung his legs over the side of the bed. “I’m here for a reason.”
“Well then. By all means.” His father made a sweeping gesture, still wearing that insufferable smile. It was like a gash carved into a piece of dough, a mere imitation of human warmth.
“Is Felicity here?” He expected a full denial and was already formulating his next question. But his father shocked him with an unusual display of candor.
“Not here specifically. But I do have her in custody, yes.”
“I’d like to see her.”
“Surely you know that’s not possible?”
“I won’t let you keep her here,” Nate began hotly, but his father held up his hand to silence him.
“Nathanial, given your chosen employment, you know even more than I do what consequences will befall your sister if the authorities were notified of her actions these past few months.”
“I have no idea what you’re---”
“We’re both aware of at least one murder under her belt, not to mention the fact that she broke out of a mental health facility with another inmate who could hardly be described as stable. But I’m sure your knowledge of her actions in between her escape and now greatly outweighs my own. Maybe you could fill me in.”
“I have nothing to say to you.”
“She must have put you in a tricky situation. I can only imagine how difficult it must’ve been for you.”
“Don’t talk to me about my fucking sister.”
“Language, please.”
“Fuck you.”
He was shaking with rage, and his heart was pounding so hard he could barely breath. This was not how he had planned on carrying out their conversation. But it was hard to maintain any semblance of rationality around his father. The sound of his voice, the smell of his sweat mingling with that cheap cologne, the way his smile didn’t reach his eyes----it all dug up memories he had worked very hard to bury, like a rotting corpse being unearthed from a grave.
“I think you should go now, son.”
“Not without Felicity.”
“Nathaniel,” his father said gently, “I would rather not escalate this.”
“What?”
“Your sister is unwell, but what about you? I know you’ve been her accomplice all this time. I would rather not have to report you to your colleagues. Isn’t this best left as it is? Please. For your sister’s sake.”
Nate stared at him, speechless. He had to admit it was a ballsy move. Threatening to turn Nate into his own colleagues could very well expose the doctor’s own Institute and the questionable treatments that went on there. But he also knew that if he told the police about Nate, whatever Nate may or may not say about the facility wouldn’t matter. He would be branded a traitor and a liar and locked up without hesitation. And a cop in prison would fare about as well as a cockroach at a crowded bus station. For your sister’s sake. This fucker. It was for nobody’s sake but his own.
“Fine,” Nate said through his teeth.
“I’m glad can come to an understanding,” said his father. “Though we could’ve decided as much with a phone call. You hardly had to climb over my gate…”
“Is Sybill at the Institute too?”
“I’m sorry?”
“I’m just curious.”
“I’m afraid I don’t follow.”
“What, you’re gonna seriously act like you don’t know who she is?” His father continued to stare at him. Nate heard his voice rising. “Felicity broke her out of jail. Did they come here together?”
“I’m afraid I don’t know about that young lady’s whereabouts. Perhaps she got out of town.”
Nate seriously doubted he was as ignorant as he claimed, but he decided not to press the matter. “Where are we?” He gestured around him. “It looks like you hijacked an abandoned pediatrician’s office.”
“We’re not at the Institute,” the doctor said. “I took you to a more secure location after you attempted violent negotiations with my gate. You made such a scene. I didn’t want to upset my patients.”
“So where am I?”
“A private rehabilitation facility.”
“Oh? Who runs this one?”
“An old friend.”
His father seemed uncharacteristically flustered as he looked towards the door and adjusted his tie. “I’ll let you rest now, Nathaniel. You should be able to go home soon, but as I mentioned before, you have a bit of a lump on your head. I’d like to monitor you for a few more hours if---"
“Do I get a phone call?”
“You aren’t in jail, son.”
“Can I at least talk to Felicity? Just for a little bit.”
“That’s not possible right now.” He dropped his voice. “However, there is a matter of some urgency that we ought to address while you’re here.”
“What?”
“It’s about the incident at Union Station. I’m not sure to what extent you’re involved in that case, but I want to assure you that I have taken every measure to ensure her safety. There is nothing to incriminate her. And if you really want to help your sister moving forward, keep your colleagues away from my facility. They’ve been nosing around a lot.”
Taken every measure? Nate’s mind raced. The only “loose end” to Felicity’s crime had been the gun she’d used to kill Coppula.
“Is this room secure?” he asked after a moment’s pause.
His father looked at him with some surprise. “There are no cameras in here, if that’s what you mean.”
“Or audio devices?”
“Of course not. What---”
“So you’re telling me you confiscated the murder weapon? That’s what we’re talking about here, right?”
His father patted him on the shoulder. “I’ll send someone in to escort you off the premises. Rest now.”
He turned and strode out of the room. Nate heard a lock turn in the door. Asshole. He could never just be straight about anything. He stared at the ugly wallpaper for what felt like hours. The purple flowers blurred together into a single bruised stain that stretched across his whole range of vision.
As promised, he was released later, although it was hard to pinpoint how much time had passed since his admittance. Some lackeys came in and collected him, checked his head and vitals, made sure he had all his belongings, and then escorted him down a series of hallways, flanking him on all sides with such solemnity that Nate couldn’t help but smile sourly. Guess his father expected him to make a break for it or something. But where would he go? He had no clue where he was even located. He dared to look around while they were walking him down a flight of stairs, but it didn’t tell him much about where his surroundings. It all just looked like a largely abandoned corporate building.
A car was waiting for him outside, purring against the curb like a sleek grey cat. One of his escorts opened the door for him, and as Nate ducked inside, he glanced up once more at the five-story building towering over him like a colossal grave. A figure was standing in one of the upstairs windows. It was the shock of red hair that sent the wind flying from his lungs. Felicity was here after all! She was being held prisoner in the upper rooms somewhere---
Wait. No.
The figure at the window was too tall to be his sister. Felicity was short, and her hair fell to her waist. This woman’s hair was chopped off at the ears. He stared up at the stranger, squinting hard, and it was only when she turned away that the pieces came crashing together in his brain: he hadn’t recognized the face right away, but he definitely knew her back. He’d seen it plenty of times growing up, on those nights when he had crept into her room to ask what was wrong, only for her to snap at him to go back to bed while she hastily dabbed at the tears shining on her face.
The car door slammed, plunging him into the velvet blackness of an obviously newly- vacuumed car. As the vehicle rumbled down the road, Nate twisted around in his seat in the hopes of catching one more glimpse of his mother. But they were moving too fast, and the building had already dipped out of sight.