Nillium Neems by Francisco J Ruiz Page A

the old stuff though the first
bit, the Book of Ages, had been replaced by something called
Genesis. I skimmed through it in confusion as it explained the
beginning of mankind. It went on about some Adam and Eve
characters, which was completely at odds with what the Book of Ages
had said.
    The Book of Ages had spoken of how we were
descended from demons who had escaped from the uttermost pits of
Hell long ago. None of this new, made from dust by God stuff.
Needless to say, I was woefully confused.
    Still, I didn’t disregard it out of hand and
kept such things in mind for future study. If this was Siegfried’s
doing perhaps he was trying to tell me something. So taking Book,
Pocket Watch, and Journal, I set off to go be a hero.
    Only partway down the hall
outside my room, I stopped and leaned against a wall, feeling dizzy
and nauseous. I had no idea what I was doing or how I would help
the imprisoned patients of Atrium. Just because I wanted to, no longer so
willing to flee the whole God-forsaken place, didn’t mean I had a
clue how to begin. I was no hero. I was just me.
    Not sure where I was going, I began moving
again, heading to the same room where I’d first found the killer.
Holding all my stuff would only hinder me since I had no pockets to
keep it in.
    Making it to the room within a few minutes,
not encountering a single warden, I hurried inside, glanced around
for any waiting Killer, and stuffed my stuff under the mattress. I
kept the Snoopy Cap of course. That would follow me to my
grave.
    Mousy hopped off my shoulder and scurried
over to the door. He rustled quietly, warningly. On tiptoes, I
headed over and opened the door the merest crack, peering outwards.
The Killer was right outside, wandering slowly down the hallway,
head bent and looking at the floor. His gaze roved left, then
right, then back again, as if following invisible tracks. Tracks
that were leading him right to the door that I hid behind.
    I could have been scared. I probably should
have been. But after standing up to the Hooded Man, I was done with
all that. And I had an idea. The way the door was designed it
opened both ways. And hey, it had worked against one Tormentor
already.
    Grinning like a maniac, I waited right up
until his hand was on the doorknob before slamming it open,
knocking the Killer off his feet. Then I grabbed Mousy and ran like
a scared little girl down the hall. If only I could carry a door
with me everywhere I could beat every monster in this place.
    A lion-like roar echoed around the walls
behind me, and I knew I’d only managed to tick him off. I was good
at that. But now I’d found a stairwell leading upwards, and maybe
just maybe he’d think I was still on this floor.
    Taking the stairs two at a time, I was
nearly at the top when I ran right into my buddy, Warden Copley,
his back to me as he munched on pretzels. The salty snacks flew
everywhere as we collided, bouncing down the stairs like so many
scattered dreams.
    I kicked him in the head while we were down,
stunning him and scrambling to my feet. He yelled at me but I was
already running up the stairs and away. Things were about to get
desperate.
    My feet skidded across the floor as I slid
to a stop to avoid colliding with another surprised Warden. I gave
him a sheepish grin, then punched him and ran down another turn of
the hallway. Was my life to consist of just running down halls?
    Crazy ideas ran through my mind as to how to
get away; Starting a fire and burning the place to the ground (bad
idea), explaining that it was all a big mistake and nothing was my
fault (worse idea), and somehow finding a doctors coat and sneaking
out of Atrium dressed like one of the staff. The last option
appealed to me most, but then it occurred to me that I was awfully
short. Every doctor in the building was taller than me and if I
wore one of their coats I’d look like a little kid playing dress
up. Sigh. And people think being a deranged mental patient is
easy!
    Alarms went off