Mr. Gabriel's Revenge (Book 2) [ Psychological Horror ] | COMPLETED

Chapter 23

"Jeremy is at it again. 10-4. I'm almost to his room." I hear a man say into a radio the moment I leave the ventilation room. When I step into the hallway, I'm greeted by the sight of a few nurses leaving different rooms, male orderlies coming down the hall as if getting ready to restrain someone, and some patients are either moving out of their way or peeking out of their rooms.

They all look at me, they must know I'm here, but they don't seem to care. It's like I'm a visitor or something. This is not what I expected. I didn't hear any of this when I was in that room.

Whatever happens, I have to stick to the plan and abide by the rules I created for myself.

The orderlies pass me and I notice a few briefly look at me from head to toe, like they know who I am and what I'm here for. I eye them in return with dark amusement and continue up the hall in a determined stride.

The patients are staring at me with large eyes, and one black-haired woman who looks to be in her young 20s points while shouting, "THE DEVIL, THE DEVIL!" She turns and runs back into her room, slamming the door shut, making me smirk and chuckle deep and wolfishly under my breath.

Another patient is crouched against a wall whispering to a weathered pink teddy bear in his hands. "Don't worry, we'll go home soon." he slowly looks up at me with his mouth still open. For a second as I'm walking, I fixate on him with guarded curiosity. He's missing some front teeth, his eyes are light brown, his oily faded blue hair is combed over and he has a few moles on his face.

His gaze rolls back to the bear; "Mommy and daddy know what's best. Shh! No. I'm your mommy and your daddy. That man..." he waves his hand toward me, "he is here to get us out! And THEN we'll be free!"

I look away from him and keep going. The orderlies should know why I'm here, but a patient? Can I afford to stop and ask why he's saying this? This can't be another trick, or can it?

I pause and turn my head slightly. "What makes you think I'm here to get anyone out?" My voice is soft, but stern.

"Why else would you be looking like that, walking through here all stiff and stuff..."

As he talks, I study one person after the other, watching the staff twitch like the others I've encountered while they tend to the patients. The patients... people who are lost in their own little worlds, battling demons in their heads.

"You have that macho man thing going. Kinda handsome. Maybe we could go out sometime? I could buy you a coffee! That is, if they let me. The taste - it's not half bad, you know. Shush! Mommy's trying to get you a daddy! But I AM the daddy! SHUT YOUR PIE-HOLE!"

I roll my eyes with a sigh and continue walking as he starts hitting himself.

Among the people farther up the hall, there is a woman standing alone and facing me. She's almost like a statue with how still she is.

Her hair is long and brown, her skin is a dull grayish sepia color, she's wearing a black gown with a single white stripe going down the middle, and when I look up to her eyes, I get a sudden image in my head that causes me to stop dead in my tracks.

A circular gray room, black panels with blinking lights in the walls on the left and right, there is a low mechanical hum and a sort of female humanoid breathing noise echoing in the room. I see a white egg-shaped statue with a foggy screen over it... No, that's a pod! That creature, whatever it is, is inside that pod!

The vision ends suddenly and I angrily grimace at her. My pace picks up immediately; I'm going straight for her. "What the fuck was that?" My voice is quiet and fervent with annoyance. "Explain yourself! Why did you show me that!"

Everybody around quickly moves out of my way and a couple patients laugh at my actions.

The girl is raising her hand up over her mouth and taking a step back.

As I'm getting closer to her, I begin to see something that completely shocks me.

Her features are familiar to me. She has your eyes, your hair, your mouth and nose, but her skin -- her skin looks like limestone. It looks like a statue - similar to Reuben's. There is also something about her eyes. One is a fiery amber color and the other is a hazel brown like yours. I march up and snatch her by the shoulders, looking at every detail about her.

She smacks my hands off, a disgusted expression spreading across her face. "Hey! Don't touch me!"

I look at her hands and then face again, "Who are you? Why do you look like Addison? And don't fuck with me, girl; I really don't want to kill you."

"Kill me?!" She moves back, "I don't think you know what you're saying..." She quiets her voice, "He told me about this. He told me some people will not make sense."

"Why do you look like Addison?" I repeat.

"Maybe because that's my name."

"No it's not!"

"My father gave me that name."

"Your father." I say with a small nod and laugh, "Your father -- who?"

"His name is Reuben. He raised me on his own."

What she says makes my body tense up. Even if I expected something like this, it's like a part of me is trying so hard to believe circumstances are different.

"Where is your mother then?"

"I never knew. He told me she isn't here. He told me she's somewhere else and I will get to meet her very soon and then we'll both go to a special place."

She's getting uncomfortable. She keeps gently swaying from left to right and refuses to keep her eyes on mine.

"I think you're lying. I think you do know where she is." I advance toward her again.

"Excuse me, sir!" A man comes up to my side, "Is there a problem?"

I don't pay him any mind as she backs away from me, but I move too quick and grab her shoulders again before she runs.

"WHERE IS ADDISON!?" I shout in her face.

Her eyes are wide with terror and her mouth falls open with a loud inhuman yell, causing me to flinch and almost let go, but she grabs my face with a tight grip. I scream as she bites my bottom lip and tears it away. "AHHH!!!" I trip over myself as she releases me and takes off down the hall. With my hands over my mouth, blood spilling all over me, I breathe quickly, moaning in pain. Darting my eyes in her direction, I watch as soon as she meets the end, she turns left down another hall.

While some people scream in horror of the sight, others are laughing at me or walking past like they're lost in another dimension. The staff are only standing around watching me with anticipation.

I touch my mouth a few times and then with a quivering hand, I wipe off some of the blood. Looking at my fingers, I slowly lick the blood off and flick my eyes back up to the end of the hall. "Bet you liked the taste of me, you little bitch." Speaking with a rough and breathy voice, I allow my body to become mist and then I charge after the girl.

Once I turn left, the surroundings suddenly change. I'm forced back into human form and shoved to the floor with a loud painful BOOM, taking the breath out of me.

I groan and slowly lift myself up. Among the few little drops of blood coming from my regenerating mouth, I see a reflection of a dark figure approaching me from behind.

"Hello, Gabriel."

That voice...
It stirs every cell in my body, waking the raging bloodthirsty beast inside me.

Reuben...