The Psychological Mystery of Thomas King

Chapter Fifty-Three: You're Not Supposed to Be Here

Thomas

I wander through the hallways, glancing back at the map from time to time. It's completely silent here, which scares me. Is everyone really asleep? I shake this thought away.

It's late at night. Everyone must be asleep. I keep reminding myself I'm being paranoid, but I still turn around to look behind me every now and then. I can't seem to shake off the feeling that I'm being watched.

I lean against the wall after about an hour, mentally exhausted. A flashback suddenly comes to me, hitting me so hard that I find it hard to catch my breath. I realize quickly that the flashback was from when I was first admitted into the Whisperwood Mental Institute:

The boy walked down the hallway. He was not supposed to be out of his room, but something called him out there. After a few minutes of aimless wandering, he heard two people talking around the corner of the hallway. He hid from them, leaning his back against the cold wall.

"Have you been keeping tabs on the boy?" An old man's voice asked. The voice seemed familiar. It almost sounded like....

Dr. Owens?

"Yes." Said a woman. Mom? "I think the experiment is starting for him. He seems more distressed than usual." The boy looked at the pair for a few seconds. What he saw confirmed his suspicions. The psychologist and his mother were standing far down the hallway, conversing with one another in the dark. Dr. Owens frowned.

"You seem scared." He said, "What's wrong?" The boy was flat against the wall again, not wanting to be seen.
"He's seen The Keeper." the boy's mother said, "What if he learns it's weakness?"

"That it can be killed with water?" He asked, then chuckled. "I'm sure he won't find out. It'll be hard for someone to make the connection. You worry too much, Jane."

Jane?

"Make sure you report to me everything that happens." Dr. Owens continued. "And you have to make sure not to spill our secrets."

"I will, father." She said, "I will make sure he and his sister never know the truth."

"Did you make sure the twins will never know of their father's death?"

"Of course." She said. "I tied up all the loose ends."

"What about our little experiment?" He demanded. "They can't know that your consciousness is inside-"

"I know father." She said "And they won't. I promise." The boy heard nothing, so he thought they were gone. Tears began to form in his eyes.

That monster, the one that's been haunting him. It's real. Not only that. It also has a weakness. But that thought quickly faded away.

His parents were dead.

He choked on a sob, covering his mouth with his hand, so no one would hear. Everything that's happened after his parent's "divorce" was a lie.

All of it.

When he composed himself, he took a deep breath and turned the corner to find that Jane and Dr. Owens were both still there. They turned their heads sharply towards him.

"You're not supposed to be here." They said, in unison. The boy saw a silhouette of a terrifying creature. He realized in horror it's that creature he saw in his house.

The Keeper.

A guard snuck up from behind the boy and grabbed his arms. He struggled in the guard's grip, but it was useless.

There was nothing he could do. He was dragged against the floor, kicking and screaming, fighting for his life.

He's taken to a small familiar room and is strapped to a gurney. An oxygen mask is placed over his mouth. He kept screaming and screaming until he felt his limbs go numb and the world faded away.....

The boy woke up in his room and looked around. He knew that something happened. Something bad. But... he couldn't remember. All he remembered were the words:

"You're not supposed to be here."