All That I've Got

Jake's P.O.V.

"I told you to quit smart mouthing Andrews, Jake, but no...." Emily went on after I'd told her about the hell I'd went through in the Therapist's office this afternoon. At this place I'd managed to make three friends: Emily, Alec and Paige. Luckily, all of them were around my age.

So as Emily lectured me about how stupid I'd been to shoot a spitball in Dr. Andrews' face while he was in midsentence, I tried to look like I was listening, nodding my head when it was appropriate. Emily's hair was jet black, her green eyes clearly showing annoyance, but I could always see the gentleness beneath that.

I'd met her the second day of my sentence here. She'd eventually figured out that there was nothing wrong with me, which gave me good reason to explain to her why I was here anyway. I could trust her with everything, the same way she trusted me.

I didn't believe Emily at first when I asked her why she was here. She'd replied that she could heal and manipulate people's minds, that her grandparents had sent her here because they were old and "couldn't put up with all of the nonsense". What proved me wrong though, was what she'd done after one of my sessions with Dr. Andrews. The drugs I'd been injected with had left me in a considerable amount of pain, but after staring into her eyes for what felt like forever, everything was alright. I didn't question her anymore after that.

"Jake! Are you even listening to me? He's getting madder at you every Friday and you just keep on pushing it! Do you want to die in here and end up being no help to your sister? Do you know her first nurse locked her outside during a really bad thunder storm? Don't think Andrews will hesitate to think of something more creative!" she whispered loudly, immediately catching my attention. I hadn't known that.

"Hey guys!" Paige said cheerily as she and Alec sat down.

"Why are you so happy today?" Emily asked, putting her lecture on hold when she'd finally gotten my attention.

"I think I know what's going on in this place, why it's been around so long," Paige said calming down, her boyfriend looking at her with an amused expression. He wasn't the only one that knew Paige couldn't stay calm for more than a split second. "I heard Andrews talking to Bradven about 'the tests'. Bradven said that the files were safe in the basement and that they were expecting some more patients soon."

"So they're not trying to cure us..." Alec started, Emily cutting him off unexpectantly.

"They're using us as test subjects! I knew it! The different drugs every week - why wasn't it obvious before?! No wonder they ask us how we're feeling after every session, they're watching for side effects...." Emily said, starting a completely new rant.

"Hold your horses Em," I interrupted. "We don't have any solid proof. The only way to know is to get to where ever these tests are and find some kind of way to get out of here. Even if we do find something, it won't help anyone if we can't get the info to the police," I reasoned.

"Then let's do it," Alec said simply after I'd finished, everyone looking at him with a raised eyebrow. "Like Jake said, we find out where these files are, find some kind of proof that they're using us as illegal test subjects and get it to the cops. We could shut down this hell hole and find out how to help Carys. Duh."

"What he just said," I said, laughing as he gave a high five. "But how do we find out where these files are? It was only by chance that Paige heard all of this, and if you haven't noticed, this place is huge. I'm sure the basement is as well," I said, trying to bring some logic into the conversation.

"That's why we're going to split up. Sure there's a huge risk involved, but we're not just doing it for Carys. I'm sure everyone here would be able to die happy if this place was closed for good," Alec said, looking around for our responses.

"But a lot of the kids here don't have anywhere else to go," Emily said sadly, looking around the cafeteria at our fellow inmates. You could always count on Emily to think about everyone else first.

"Then we'll figure that out later Em. So many of these people would be much better off with the family they do have, not in some asylum that's using them as guinea pigs," he said, catching her attention.

"I'm in. Don't know how the hell we're gonna do it, but I'm in," I volunteered. "Paige?"

"Anything to get out of here," she agreed, looking at Emily with a questioning expression.

"Same here."

"Okay then, tonight me and Jake are sneaking down there, and we'll see what the situation is. After that we'll meet back up and figure out where to go from there. Sound good?" Alec asked, clearly the leader in this operation.

Little did we know, the asylum was already a step ahead of our plan.

Later That Night

"Jake!" I heard Alec whisper loudly from the other side of my door. I got up, running over to the door and unlocking it.

Alec grabbed my arm, pulling me over to his side of the hallway and with a finger to his lips, pointing down the hallway. Sure enough, the night guard was walking down the hallway, her flashlight trailing along the carpet as she went; and she was coming this way.

We held our breaths as she approached, and thank god her radio went off before she had the chance to grab the handle of the door to my room. She was called down to the lobby, and we were sure not to make a move until we were sure she'd really gone.

"God that was close," Alec breathed when the sound of her footsteps had disappeared. I had no time to reply before he darted down the hallway, considering that my room was at the dead end of the hall. I ran after him, his dirty blonde hair being the only thing to give him away in the dim moonlight shining through the window. We ran through countless hallways, skillfully slipping past night guards and barely making a sound.

When we finally did make it to the basement steps, the rest of our plan seemed all too easy. There were no guards, no locks on the doors that seperated us from whatever was down there. Did we take the risk and keep going, or turn right back around and risk getting caught anyway? Alec seemed to be right in synch with me.

"Whatever happens after this Jake, you were always a cool guy. I've just got this feeling that I might not get another chance to tell you," Alec said, turning his head to look me in the eye. He was right, this was a set up. We'd come too far now, and if someone ran into us either while we were down there or returning to our rooms, we were dead meat.

"Let's do it," I said, shaking my head of all thoughts. This was what I'd come here for, and I wasn't turning back now.

We silently pushed the doors opened, starting down the long flight of stairs with no light to guide us. When our feet finally touched solid, flat ground, we had to blink a few times in order to adjust to the bright light. There were overhead lights on the ceiling, proving that this place could get even brighter.

The long hallway ahead of us had doors on either side, the top half of them windows. Soon enough, we discovered that Emily's theory wasn't far off at all.

Kids, most of them probably no older than twelve, lying in beds and hooked up to machines, needles and tubes being the only things to keep them alive. The looks on their faces when they saw Alec and I pass by, a mix of pain, desperation and worry. They were worse off than just about everyone upstairs, and they were going to die here if something wasn't done. Kids with families who cared about them enough to attempt to help them, were going to die so that this sick place could experiment with drugs and medicine.

Alec lead the way, and even though neither of us had ever been down here, it seemed like instinct was pulling us along. We passed about five passages as we walked, but as we kept straight, the doors of the young patients disappeared, and the hallway ended with a door. 'Keep Out' was written boldly on a sign that'd been nailed to it.

"This has got to be it."

"If you're sure," Alec gulped quickly, looking a bit unsteady.

I hesitated before opening the door, hand reaching out into the dark and searching the wall for a light switch. The light gave way to a very large file room. There were litteraly shelves filled with stuffed manilla folders and assortments of binders. Just thinking that it would take forever to find anything useful would be the understatement of my life.

"Okay, this is gonna be a problem," Alec said with a sharp whistle, hands on his hips.

"Is that so Mr. Warrens?" a familar voice said from behind us, heavy hands settling on both of our shoulders.

Oh, shit.