Smiling Oak's Academy for the Insane.

I woke up the next morning.
I felt nothing but my heart beat..
I wasn't hungry, nor thirsty.
My head was on my shoulders, and my shoes on my feet.

We climbed into Richard's small car, and began to drive north.
Everyone was silent, even Innocence, who could never shut up.

"It takes the same amount of force to chomp into a carrot as it does to chomp into a finger," Innocence said plainly, looking straight forward, "so don't make this any harder than it has to be."

We stopped at a small, white house in the suburbs. Basher's house.
We hopped out of the car, put our hoods over our heads, and trailed up the walkway, then hid in the bushes that lined the tall, wooden fence.

(Basher's Point of View)

I rang the doorbell.
Nobody answered.
I rang and knocked.

My younger brother, Paige, answered the door. "Veronica?"

"Paige."

He was grown up; Last time I saw him, he was three. Now he was much taller than I.

"...They let you out?" He asked.

"I need to talk to mother."

He let me into the house without another question.

"Where is she?"

"She's grocery shopping. But she should be back pretty soon... She left early." He was nervous. I would be too if my older sister who'd been locked in the insane asylum for my whole life appeared at ten in the morning on the doorstep, asking for "mother".

I sat on the couch. This house was not the house I once knew. The walls were painted in tangerine and brown stripes, rather than the tapioca green I was once slammed against. The place smelled of cheap, rose-scented air freshener, rather than the stale fried chicken scent that I was forced to breathe in deep breaths to calm myself down so my mom wouldn't grab the red-hot tongs that she'd leave on the eye of the stove.

I got up and walked into my former room.

Not the room I remembered. This room was painted black and covered in band posters, rather than painted lavender and with *Nsync posters.
This was Paige.

"Well, this is my room." He said from behind me, as though I didn't know any better.

"How old are you?"

"Eleven... How old are you?"

"...I don't know."

The front door opened. "Paige! I'll need some help with the groceries!"

"Come on, Paige," I rested my hand on his shoulder, "let's help mother with the groceries."

"...She'd like it if you helped with the groceries." He squinted. "If you showed her you were here." He began to back away, towards the window, and grabbed his skateboard. "I'll see you when we cross paths again."

I watched him climb through the window, and disappear down the street.

"Paige?--" Mother stood in the doorway. "Veronica?"

"Mother." I growled.

"Did they...let you out?"

"I showed myself out."

She gripped my shoulder. "You don't belong out here. Let's call the institution and--"

"MOTHER!" I screamed and pinned her to the wall. "You did this to me." I growled. "This is all YOU!"

"I couldn't keep you! I had my own life!"

"So you had Paige. Why'd you do that?" I grabbed the switchblade from my pocket.

"How was I going to get rid of you and Paige?"

"You were always selfish, Mother. Living off of Papa-Paul's and Gaga's wills. Your dad even said you were ungrateful!"

Harlequin, Lydia, Innocence, Richard and Skull appeared behind me as I backed up.

"All of you, OUT!" Mother yelled.

"Nah-ah, Miss Hopkins." Innocence said. Each one of them pulled out their switchblades in unison. "Tell me, Miss Hopkins. What's the combination?" Innocence smirked.

"I WON'T TELL YOU!" Mother shrieked.

Innocence threw one of her many knives at Mother, pinning her shirt to the wall. "Tell me. Next time, I won't miss."

"NO!" She snotted herself, without tears.

Innocence huffed, throwing another knife, and landing it deep into her wrist, pinning Mother's right arm to the wall.

As Mother shrieked in pain, Innocence began to get impatient. "What is the GODDAMN combination? The next one goes into your throat."

"Then you won't get a word out of me!"

Innocence pushed me aside and grabbed my mom's chin gently. "I am losing my patience, Verona. Tell me the combination." She stabbed the wall. "Tell me, tell me, tell me!"

"Thirty-five!"

"Thirty-five, yes,"

"Three,"

"Mmhm,"

"Nineteen."

"LIE!" She stabbed Mother's thigh. "What is the THIRD NUMBER, Miss Hopkins?"

Mother sighed in pain.

"Verona?..." She smiled. "Verona. I could ask Paul. Paul tells me everything."

"Not Paul!" She screamed.

"Then you tell me, Verona!"

"Thirty-five, three, twenty-nine!"

She smacked Mother across the face. "Finally. Thank you." Innocence swiftly slit Mother's throat. "Quick, Richard, get the bag, Harlot, get the gasoline and matches. Lydia," She squinted and smiled, "finish her up."

Lydia pulled out her blade and began to stab at Mother, then kicked her a few times.

Lydia was like a little naive sister of mine. Poor girl. She had no clue what she'd have coming to her.

Innocence cackled. "It was to your luck, Basher, that Paige decided to run away today, and five minutes prior."