Half Mad (Sequel to Half Bad)

Chapter 8

        I laughed. "Yeah, believable enough."

        "Fine, whatever."

        Dragging a hand down my face, I looked up to him. "Sorry, Daniel. It's just a torture session two times a week really drags down any motivation I might have had."

        His eyes widened some, worry etching across his features. "Twice a week?"

        "Today is the second one this week. So far I've been electrocuted while a knife dug into my back, whipped, whipped again, and now... Gee, I wonder what fun adventure Evelyn has."

        "Why didn't you tell me?" he asked, looking a mixture of anxious and angry. "Harry, that should give you more motivation to leave! I'll even let you lash out and severely injure people!"

        Rolling my lips together, I shrugged, leaning my chin on my palm, elbow on the table. "Doesn't matter. Evelyn does it for the fun of it. I've only lashed out twice, but she said a regular schedule of her 'activities' would help 'mellow' my attitude." 

        Daniel shook his head. "Why don't you fight back?"

        I snorted. "Oh yeah, and experience more torture methods. Fabulous idea, Daniel. I'll make a mental note of that, too."

        He held his hands up in defense. "Well, lucky for you, my plan I've been working on lets you slaughter as many people as you'd like."

        And though it was wrong, I rose an eyebrow. "I'm listening."

        Megan smirked, Aiden looked away, and Daniel explained. "Okay, so there's a female therapist I've gotten kind of close too. Unfortunately, she's got a boyfriend, but that's not the point. The point is that she knows I don't belong here, and even though she knows everything you've done, Harry, she knows you don't either. So she has a key and-"

        And he got cut off by the cafeteria doors opening loudly, causing everyone's heads to turn. In came a group of guards, two in the middle with their hands tight on either side of a buff man. His jaw was clenched, his stubble visible, and his eyes angry. And yet, he still looked a few years older than me if not the same age.

        Daniel tilted his head. "Angry looking dude coming into an asylum... This should be interesting."

        Eyebrows pulling together, I watched as the man was shoved into a chair off to the side, away from everyone else. His eyes met mine and I rose an eyebrow, only for him to look away and scan the rest of the room.

        "And yet he's still scared of Harry," Megan noted, smiling. 

        Without looking back at them, I said, "I'm going to go talk to him."

        "Are you crazy?" Daniel asked, but I was already out of my seat. Lunch would be over in a few minutes, anyways. I needed to be quick.

        Sliding into the seat in front of him, I clasped my hands atop the table. A guard gave me a look and I smiled at him mockingly before focusing my gaze on the bulky man in front of me. He spoke before I could.

        "I don't want to talk to anyone."

        I held my hands up. "Just curious. Apparently the asylum doesn't get new people often. What's your name?"

        He still avoided my gaze, but his voice had softened, lowered. "I don't know."

        I furrowed my eyebrows. "You don't know?"