Madness (Madness #1)

Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

A fist pounding against the wooden door to the room I share with my twin has my heart beating furiously against my chest.

I suck in ragged breaths as the screams from the rabbit hole haunt me.

The thin walls between each room do nothing to muffle the cries of the patients as they beg not to be sedated again, missing days at a time from the grogginess of the drugs.

Desmond glances at me, and I see nothing but a silent understanding that we are in this together and that we are both affected by the stay in the ward below us now.

“Dus?”

“I’m good,” I say through choppy pants, “I just need a minute. What time is it?”

The familiar niggle at the back of my mind has me asking, not wanting to lose any more time than I already have.

“It’s eight,” Desmond says, and I have to hold myself still, so I don’t spiral, “We’re not late, Dus.”

We have nothing to be late for, but my brain can’t comprehend that as I remember we have group therapy at two.

If we get food now, we can go straight there after breakfast and wait.

We can’t be late.

We just can’t.

The need to stick to a precise schedule gnaws at me, and I relay my plan to Des as I get changed. I hear him sigh in defeat, and I know he’ll agree to the plan that my head has made.

But we must stick to it; otherwise, Des might die, and I can’t lose him. He’s the only thing I have in this place – without him, I would be lost.

How could I live without the other half of me?

We dress in matching outfits again, and I smile, remembering the chaos we caused as children. We have only the slightest differences, and people rarely can tell us apart, but I don’t mind .

Some of my favourite memories are with Des as we swap roles, him being me and me being him.

“Ready?” I ask my brother.

“Let’s go.”

We make our way to the cafeteria, the smells wafting through the hallways, eliciting a growl of hunger from my stomach.

Rows of tables greet us, laden with an assortment of food and teapots, and I can feel my tastebuds salivating at all the choices.

The rabbit hole provided us with three meals a day, but we were never given a choice, and I was sometimes too drugged up to eat.

There are a few groups surrounding tables, but I spot a free one by the window, and I take the chance to see the outside for the first time in months.

Desmond follows me through the room, ignoring the stares from others, and we take our seats at the window.

We pile food onto our plates and fill the provided cups with tea.

“It’s like a fucked up tea party,” Desmond snarks, stuffing a whole pancake into his mouth, dry.

“I don’t care. I just want to eat actual food,” I say, stabbing a piece of bacon and shoving it into my mouth .

“No room! No room!” a very familiar voice shouts, and I smile at Hare as he sprints towards our table.

Three figures follow him, exchanging worried glances, but I don’t spare them a glance as I focus on the one little speck of light Des and I got down in the rabbit hole.

We know enough that Hare is allowed to move between levels and wants to make friends with everyone. From what I gathered from Hare when he told me stories about his adventures in Wonderland, he’s somehow managed to befriend the most terrifying patient in solitary and the Jabberwocky who guards us.

He even goes as far as leaving toys in his room for when he wants to go down and see him.

“Hey stranger,” I greet him.

“Strange. Strange,” Hare repeats, and my brow furrows.

“Hare?” Des says, and Hare pauses, staring at us both.

“Friends. Look, friends. Lots of friends!” he exclaims loudly, grabbing onto one of the figure’s hands and bouncing on his feet.

“Yeah, buddy. Are these your new friends?” the woman asks, smiling softly at him.

“No. Not new,” Hare says, shaking his head.

“Then how do you know them?” she asks him, directing him to come sit down with us.

The other two join us, and I see the blonde one shaking his head and muttering under his breath .

Great, we’re having breakfast with crazy, mad, and bonkers.

“How di yi know Hare?” The ginger one says, his crazy hair peeking out from under the beanie on top of his head. His green eyes swing between my twin and me, and I hope that we get to play with them all a bit.

I miss the games we played when we were younger.

“We met down the rabbit hole,” I say, stuffing a piece of waffle into my mouth.

I ignore the sharp inhale from the pretty woman with bright red hair and focus on my food, not knowing what could happen in this place.

“How did you get out of the rabbit hole? It’s almost impossible,” she says, and I flick my eyes to hers.

“Not impossible. Nothing is impossible,” I say, then go back to my food.

“The warden let us out,” Des says, and I kick his shin under the table.

We do not know these people, nor do we know if they are friends with the Jabberwocky that guards us all.

Nurse White is a monster, but the warden suits the nickname given to all wardens who guard Wonderland.

He’s ruthless and uncaring – never listening to the pleas of the people who were placed here against their will.

“How?”

The blonde one stays silent, observing us all, his ass perched on the edge of the chair as if he’ll bolt any moment.

“Doesn’t matter,” I say, “Who are you?

“I’m Red,” the woman introduces herself. Her hand reaches out to shake my hand, but I recoil from her touch, “Sorry,” she says sheepishly, pulling her hand into her lap.

“It’s fine.”

I look to the other two expectantly, and the blonde one sighs, “I’m Al.”

He watches us both like he’s waiting for us to react to his name, but I shrug and look to the last member of their little trio, “I’m Harry.”

His name clicks in my head, and I smile, “You talk to the rabbit, right?”

He lets out a deep, long sigh and looks to Hare, “Have yi been telling people that a speak ti Thatcher?”

“Yup, yup, yup!”

“Fuck my life,” he sweeps his hand over his face, “Anyway, you two are?”

“I’m Dusty,” I say, deciding not to cause too many problems to start with.

We just got here, and the way people buzz around Red tells me she’s important even though word of her never got down the rabbit hole .

“I’m Desmond.” My twin says, winking at Red and she laughs, shaking her head at his antics.

Harry scowls but doesn’t say anything, so I assume he’s not with her like that.

Three others approach as we explain how we know Hare, and this table is getting far too crowded for my liking - Hare apparently agrees.

“No room!” he shouts, pointing a finger at the others. I have to smother a laugh at their shocked expressions.

“Who’s the newbies?” the girl with the glasses asks, ignoring Hare’s outburst.

“They are Desmond and Dusty. These three are Rose, Tulip, and Bud,” Red says, introducing us all.

The girl called Tulip waves to us all, and I tip my head in acknowledgement.

Bud is a six-foot-two man who tells us that he was committed to Wonderland at the same time as Rose and Tulip, and I register how he stands between them both protectively.

Rose, with the glasses on, narrows her eyes at Al, who is shaking his head again. “Are you okay?” I ask him.

He nods his head but clears his plate, then leaves.

“What’s up with him?” Rose asks, sitting in the spot Al just vacated.

“He’s Alice; he’s utterly mad,” Harry says so nonchalantly that I almost gape at him.

This is Wonderland – aren’t we all a little mad?