Crooked Halos
Chapter Six
wiL’s gone.
Patrick found him this morning.
Patrick’s now in isolation because he won’t stop screaming and telling everyone that we’re doomed, that we’re all going to die in this place.
We all feel sorry for Patrick, but it’s a relief to know that wiL’s not hurting any more.
There was nothing in his eyes last night, he was already dead and numb in his mind, it’s good that he stopped himself hurting.
Its Patrick we’re worried about now.
He’s hardly said a word in nearly ten years, and suddenly he’s screaming as if he was possessed – I wouldn’t be too surprised if the wardens don’t shut him up themselves at some point in the near-future.
Jade’s completely silent in class, sheet-white and silent, he stares at the board, but you can tell he’s not actually seeing anything. I wonder if he blames himself for what happened because I heard him doing the maths with Davey before class and apparently they were fucking in the showers at around the same time as wiL slit his own throat.
I guess it’s kinda sad really. He succeeded where Kyla failed.
Frank didn’t show up for class today, Gerard shouts at anyone who he even thinks is looking at him funny.
Ms. Smith puts a page number on the board with the word ‘algebra’ underlined at the top along with the date and her name (as if any of us are dumb enough to forget it.)
There’s a scuffling sound as everyone gets their books out and starts leafing through them to find the correct page.
“Okay, now, will you please look at question one…”
If X+4-7=27 what is the value of X?
Numbers flick through my mind but I give up almost as soon as I start. Three of the desks have emptied in the past week… suddenly X doesn’t seem that important any more.
***
“This isn’t funny!” Ryan shrieks.
I wince; Christ has that kid got a set of lungs on him…
Gabe sobers up, looking at Ryan, confusion apparent in his face.
Jared glares at the both of them, pen poised loftily above his notebook which is missing about thirty pages now.
“Why isn’t anyone doing anything?” He looks around at the few of us who aren’t having a shower right now.
I had mine five minutes ago, no doubt Jared will have his in five minutes time and come back wearing a long-sleeved shirt, Gabe had his just after he came back from class.
Brendon walks in, towel-drying his hair and frowning slightly at the amber-eyed boy.
“What’s up, Ry?”
Ryan waves a clumsy hand in frustration.
“This. Everything. No one seems to care that everyone’s dying, Pete and Kyla got killed and now wiL… Patrick’ll go any day now, so we might as well put that down as another one…”
Jared leaves.
Jades face is carefully mask-like as he walks in and positions himself on his bed with a book. Davey follows a minute later, clearly pissed off.
The silence is interspersed with Ryan’s rant about how selfish we all are, not doing anything to stop anything, about how we should have helped wiL more – I don’t think it’s the best time to point out that if wiL hadn’t killed himself someone would have put him out of his misery in the next couple of days.
Shannon wanders in shirtless and starts rummaging mindlessly through his draw, I let my eyes fix on his pale back, his spine jutting out alarmingly on an otherwise wiry figure.
Jared wanders in with none of his brothers confidence, sleeves pulled down, hiding behind his fringe.
Frank and Gerard are nowhere to be seen.
I almost sigh with disappointment when Shannon finally pulls a shirt on, but I give myself a good, hard, much-needed mental slap. Three room-mates in less than a week, now is not a good time.
“Trick’s right, you know.”
“Wha-” I look up to where Ryan is glaring at us from Brendon’s bunk.
“We are all going to die in this place if we don’t do something soon.”
“If we do anything we’ll die anyway.” Jared mutters, pulling his notebook out from under his pillow and leafing through the pages.
“We have to at least try.”
“We don’t have to do anything.” Gerard says darkly, walking in, wet hair clinging limply to the sides of his pale face. “Jared’s right, if we try anything, we’ll die for certain. At least this way we’ve got a chance.”
“So we’re going to sit here and be live bait? Do you know anything about the people who get sent here?”
We bite back laughs, how dumb does he think we are?
“We live here.” Davey doesn’t quite manage to keep the laughter from his voice.
Ryan glowers. “But do you know why you were sent here?”
Blank faces meet his words.
He looks at us in amazement.
“Haven't you ever heard of the Jekyll Brainwave?”
General facial expressions vary from dumb to confused.
He sighs. “It’s what’s been linking the top serial killers together for years, when the government discovered it years ago, they started testing children for it with what’s known as the Hyde Test.”
“And you know all this how?” Gerard asks bluntly.
Ryan rolls his eyes. “It was all over the newspapers. The kids who fail the Hyde Test under the age of fifteen get sent to institutions, like MerryWeather-”
“What about kids over the age of fifteen?”
Thank you, Gabe.
“They’re put under close surveillance and kept under tight control.”
There’s silence while everyone digests the information.
Ryan can’t wait until we’ve finished though.
“My point is, that this is the brainwave that’s linked all of the most successful serial killers together for years. People like Ted Bundy, Gerald Stano and John Wayne Gacy. Once they start killing, they won’t stop until they get caught, and we’re just sitting here like live bait. Patrick’s right. We’re all going to die in this place.”
I don’t think I’ve ever heard Ryan so pessimistic before, but, looking around, I can see the sense in it, and I consider the fact that he might just be right.
Frank is nowhere to be seen.
Patrick found him this morning.
Patrick’s now in isolation because he won’t stop screaming and telling everyone that we’re doomed, that we’re all going to die in this place.
We all feel sorry for Patrick, but it’s a relief to know that wiL’s not hurting any more.
There was nothing in his eyes last night, he was already dead and numb in his mind, it’s good that he stopped himself hurting.
Its Patrick we’re worried about now.
He’s hardly said a word in nearly ten years, and suddenly he’s screaming as if he was possessed – I wouldn’t be too surprised if the wardens don’t shut him up themselves at some point in the near-future.
Jade’s completely silent in class, sheet-white and silent, he stares at the board, but you can tell he’s not actually seeing anything. I wonder if he blames himself for what happened because I heard him doing the maths with Davey before class and apparently they were fucking in the showers at around the same time as wiL slit his own throat.
I guess it’s kinda sad really. He succeeded where Kyla failed.
Frank didn’t show up for class today, Gerard shouts at anyone who he even thinks is looking at him funny.
Ms. Smith puts a page number on the board with the word ‘algebra’ underlined at the top along with the date and her name (as if any of us are dumb enough to forget it.)
There’s a scuffling sound as everyone gets their books out and starts leafing through them to find the correct page.
“Okay, now, will you please look at question one…”
If X+4-7=27 what is the value of X?
Numbers flick through my mind but I give up almost as soon as I start. Three of the desks have emptied in the past week… suddenly X doesn’t seem that important any more.
***
“This isn’t funny!” Ryan shrieks.
I wince; Christ has that kid got a set of lungs on him…
Gabe sobers up, looking at Ryan, confusion apparent in his face.
Jared glares at the both of them, pen poised loftily above his notebook which is missing about thirty pages now.
“Why isn’t anyone doing anything?” He looks around at the few of us who aren’t having a shower right now.
I had mine five minutes ago, no doubt Jared will have his in five minutes time and come back wearing a long-sleeved shirt, Gabe had his just after he came back from class.
Brendon walks in, towel-drying his hair and frowning slightly at the amber-eyed boy.
“What’s up, Ry?”
Ryan waves a clumsy hand in frustration.
“This. Everything. No one seems to care that everyone’s dying, Pete and Kyla got killed and now wiL… Patrick’ll go any day now, so we might as well put that down as another one…”
Jared leaves.
Jades face is carefully mask-like as he walks in and positions himself on his bed with a book. Davey follows a minute later, clearly pissed off.
The silence is interspersed with Ryan’s rant about how selfish we all are, not doing anything to stop anything, about how we should have helped wiL more – I don’t think it’s the best time to point out that if wiL hadn’t killed himself someone would have put him out of his misery in the next couple of days.
Shannon wanders in shirtless and starts rummaging mindlessly through his draw, I let my eyes fix on his pale back, his spine jutting out alarmingly on an otherwise wiry figure.
Jared wanders in with none of his brothers confidence, sleeves pulled down, hiding behind his fringe.
Frank and Gerard are nowhere to be seen.
I almost sigh with disappointment when Shannon finally pulls a shirt on, but I give myself a good, hard, much-needed mental slap. Three room-mates in less than a week, now is not a good time.
“Trick’s right, you know.”
“Wha-” I look up to where Ryan is glaring at us from Brendon’s bunk.
“We are all going to die in this place if we don’t do something soon.”
“If we do anything we’ll die anyway.” Jared mutters, pulling his notebook out from under his pillow and leafing through the pages.
“We have to at least try.”
“We don’t have to do anything.” Gerard says darkly, walking in, wet hair clinging limply to the sides of his pale face. “Jared’s right, if we try anything, we’ll die for certain. At least this way we’ve got a chance.”
“So we’re going to sit here and be live bait? Do you know anything about the people who get sent here?”
We bite back laughs, how dumb does he think we are?
“We live here.” Davey doesn’t quite manage to keep the laughter from his voice.
Ryan glowers. “But do you know why you were sent here?”
Blank faces meet his words.
He looks at us in amazement.
“Haven't you ever heard of the Jekyll Brainwave?”
General facial expressions vary from dumb to confused.
He sighs. “It’s what’s been linking the top serial killers together for years, when the government discovered it years ago, they started testing children for it with what’s known as the Hyde Test.”
“And you know all this how?” Gerard asks bluntly.
Ryan rolls his eyes. “It was all over the newspapers. The kids who fail the Hyde Test under the age of fifteen get sent to institutions, like MerryWeather-”
“What about kids over the age of fifteen?”
Thank you, Gabe.
“They’re put under close surveillance and kept under tight control.”
There’s silence while everyone digests the information.
Ryan can’t wait until we’ve finished though.
“My point is, that this is the brainwave that’s linked all of the most successful serial killers together for years. People like Ted Bundy, Gerald Stano and John Wayne Gacy. Once they start killing, they won’t stop until they get caught, and we’re just sitting here like live bait. Patrick’s right. We’re all going to die in this place.”
I don’t think I’ve ever heard Ryan so pessimistic before, but, looking around, I can see the sense in it, and I consider the fact that he might just be right.
Frank is nowhere to be seen.