《The cure for insanity》 Prologue I creep down the stairs and peek around the corner. There are two men standing by the door. They have handcuffs with them. They are talking with a police who works here. "We''re not here for trouble. We came for the girl." Are they talking about me? "Well, by the law you are not getting her. She is mentally insane!" Officer Lucy exclaims. "We are the law! Look, there she is, peeking around the corner. And she''s only partially insane. She is intact, unless provoked!" One of the men shouts. So they are talking about me! I step around the corner, since it''s useless to hide anymore. "Come here, Emma. My name is Mr. Docter." One of the men says. I walk nervously towards him. "Are you a doctor?" I ask. Mr. Docter laughs. "No, I''m not. That''s my name. And this is Mr. Papers, but he can''t talk." He says. "Why are you here?" I ask, and out of the corner of my eye, I see Officer Lucy stomp away. "We are here to transport you to a hospital. We believe that we have found a cure for insanity. It''s our job to test it on someone." Docter says. "Why me?" I ask. "You will soon find out."The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Outburst As soon as we walk out the door, I start running, and laugh crazily with joy. I¡¯m not going to be their little science project! I don¡¯t get that far though. Papers, the mute man, catches up quickly and holds me tightly. I snarl at them, and attempt to jolt away, having no success. ¡°You see, Emma. This is exactly why they put you in an asylum. You go insane when excited, but... somehow in a different way then any other insane person. You get stronger than normal. You are one special person, Emma. You should know that. They only put you in the asylum because of how strong you are when having an outburst!¡± Docter says. He¡¯s trying to calm me down! So I look into his eyes to see if he¡¯s scared of me. Instead, he looks at me in awe, as if I had done magic! Ha! It¡¯s priceless! ¡°You know, we thought you would control yourself. We know you can. If you have another outburst again, we¡¯ll have to restrain you. With these.¡± He holds up the handcuffs. I shy away, in fear. I remember the time when they used those on me, for my first whole month at the asylum. If anything it made me crazier.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°Come on, lock the doors! Before she escapes!¡± *thud* ¡°you¡¯re spending a week in a locked cell, and a month with those on, because of your behavior!¡± *slam* *sobs* ¡°I¡¯m not insane! Let me out! I can control myself! Let me go!¡± *sniff* *sobs* i jolt, awakening from the memory, and realize I have tears on my cheeks. I wipe them off and look around. I guess when I had the flashback, they put me in the car. My stomach rumbles. ¡°Is there anything to eat?¡± I ask, suddenly realizing how hungry I am. ¡°Sure. Look in the trunk. Help yourself¡± Docter says kindly. So I eat to my hearts content. What鈥檚 going on? ¡°I¡¯m surprised you haven¡¯t asked what¡¯s going on yet, Emma.¡± Docter says. ¡°I just forgot.¡± I say, but since I¡¯m chewing, it probably sounds like nonsense. ¡°Well, let¡¯s explain it to you. You are the only person we know of that can control their insane outbursts. So, we are taking you to a hospital, where we will test a new medicine on you, one that supposedly cures madness. Sorry, correction. It supposedly transforms the rage and madness into magic. So, you have the same power you usually do in an outburst, but all the insanity about it leaves, and in its place, there is magic. We¡¯re not sure what kind of magic, or anything else for that matter." Docter explains. "So will you do it willingly, or will we have to restrain you?" He asks. "I''ll do it. It''s a win-win, right?" I ask, and stuff some popcorn into my mouth. Docter gives Papers a nervous glance. "Well... if it works, you can go free, as long as you don''t do anything stupid. But if we are wrong, and the surgery fails, you''ll have to go back to the asylum." He says. I laugh, not on purpose because I can''t help it, but my eyes are wide. What! I can''t go back! I start chewing on the seatbelt. "Emma! What the heck are you doing!?" Docter sounds shocked. "Wha...? Oh! So sorry!" I sigh. "Maybe I should be in a mental asylum." I stare out the window, tears brimming in my eyes. "Emma. Don''t cry. We''ll be there in five." He says, a grin on his face. "Five hours? Minutes?" I ask. "Four" he says. I laugh. Wow! That went by quickly. I wonder what the prodecure will be like... "wait, did you say there would be surgery?!"This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. Preparation I woke up in a hospital bed. Why did they put me to sleep in the car? I had said I''d do it willingly... weird. Two nurses roll me into a room. My heart beats quickly. "Where is Mr Docter?" I ask to one of the nurses. "He was only in charge of getting you here. I will do the rest." She says. "My name is Elena Johnson. Now I will explain what we are going to do to you. The process will take 26 hours. We will inject you with several kinds of medicine, and then we will put you to sleep. During the remaining 25 hours or so, you will start to change. We aren''t sure what will happen. We will now ask information from you, to see if that changes. How tall are you?" Elena asks. "I''m 5''6." I say. "Ok. Do feel tall or short?" She asks. "It depends. Most of the time I feel short, because I was one of the only girls at the asylum. The men were all close to six feet." I say, fiddling with my blankets. "Ok. We have the rest of your info already. Whenever you''re ready, Miss Emma!" Elena says. "I''m ready."Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. The process:part 1 ¡°Ok. Here, drink this.¡± Elena says, handing me a cup with a black liquid in it. I look at it suspiciously before taking it. As I gulp it down, I think, here goes nothing! It doesn¡¯t taste like anything. After 5 minutes or so, I felt really, really drowsy. After five more minutes, I heard, ¡°she¡¯s out. Let¡¯s get started.¡± And that¡¯s all I remember. *** Elena¡¯s POV: ¡°She¡¯s out. Let¡¯s get started.¡± I say. A nurse hands me a needle. I jab it into her upper arm, and after a few moments, into the other arm. The nurse, Peter (how many of you thought the nurse was a girl!? ??), then hands me the end of a tube. Peter opens Emma¡¯s mouth, and I carefully push it down into her throat. I walk over to the other end of the tube, put it on a machine, and press a button. Clear liquid with a tint of purple flows through it into her stomach. I let my hand hover over a button, because she jolts, and stirs. Luckily, she quickly goes back to sleep. Now for the gas. It is very painful to breath in, but must be done, or the cure would not work. Peter and I put gas masks on, and I make a gesture to Peter, who presses a button. Gas starts to fill up the room. You can¡¯t see it, but you can feel it. It¡¯s quite warm. Emma twitches uncomfortably when she breathes it in. Luckily, she won¡¯t feel it at all. I move to the computer, and check the progress. When she¡¯s breathed in enough, I press the ¡®stop¡¯ button. The gas is vacuumed away by suction holes in the walls. I put a cuff around her lower arm, with a wire attached to it. That¡¯s for an emergency wake up, if needed. We will use it to wake her very soon. One last injection. Peter pushes it into her hip. We start to clean up. We put away all the machines, and I push a button that makes the liquid stop flowing into her. I pull out the tube. She won¡¯t even know it was in there, although her throat might feel a bit sore for awhile. Then I press a small, square button on the wire connected to her arm. She jolts awake. I take off the cuff, and ask, ¡°how are you feeling?¡± ¡°Is it over?¡± Is all she says.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. *** Emma¡¯s POV: ¡±no, you still have 24 hours left.¡± Elena laughs. I¡¯m disappointed. A whole day left! My throat feels sore for some reason, my hip and upper arms ache, and every time I breath it hurts a little bit. It doesn¡¯t help that I suddenly feel like I drank a bunch of water! What did they do to me!? And then I feel the pain. It¡¯s like nothing I¡¯ve ever experienced. It makes my broken leg from when I was 10 seem like a scrape. It¡¯s so unbearable. The nurses put in ear plugs. You might say this is an outburst, but it¡¯s not. It¡¯s pure agony. I scream and sream. The process:part 2 A/N: expect updates every day! Hope you enjoy it so far. The pain was unbearable for the first couple of minutes. They gave me painkiller, and now it¡¯s not so bad. It feels like someone is poking me with a stick. Before it felt like daggers. I have 3 more hours left. Yep, someone has been poking me with a stick for 21 hours. But I¡¯ve been noticing some changes in myself. Usually, I¡¯d have had an outburst from pain by now, but I haven¡¯t. Elena says I shouldn¡¯t try, or it might mess up the process. I used to have several moles. I don¡¯t have any, now. My hair is really shiny, and I don¡¯t feel crazy anymore, but Peter says I still have that look in my eyes. Also, I feel really smart. Elena walks over with a dreaded needle. I had grown to fear them, because she had poked 6 into me already. ¡°This is to finish up the process. After this, you¡¯ll have to sleep for the rest of the time, to let everything settle. Ok? This is the last needle.¡± Elena tells me. Then she pokes it into my shoulder before I can resist. ¡°Ah!¡± I shout, and grunt from the extra pain. She looks at me, as if waiting for something. Then I feel so,so tired. ¡°Wha...?¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. *** Elena¡¯s POV: ¡±you put a sleeping medicine into that!?¡± Peter exclaims. I shrug. ¡°Yeah. She was never going to get to sleep on her own, not with that pain.¡± I say. I know I told her no more needles, but she¡¯ll never know. I pick one up and push it into her hand. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to take it out?¡± Peter wonders. ¡°Not yet. That has to stay in for some time. Now the last one. The very last.¡± I answer. Peter pokes the last needle into her neck. *** Peter¡¯s POV: ¡°Woah! What¡¯s going on?!¡± I ask, scared. Emma was twitching, and jolting. ¡°It¡¯s part of the process, probably. Just keep an eye on it.¡± Elena answers, calmly. So I do. *** Emma¡¯s POV (3 hours later): I wake up sweating. It¡¯s over! The pain has stopped! My throat is still sore, though. Bummer. A captive and betrayed I wake up the next day in a car. My hands are cuffed, and my legs are tied together. My throats is parched, which is very uncomfortable, and I feel really groggy. What did they do to me? The driver, who is wearing a hood, startles me when they talk. "Hello, Emma. Nice to see you. You comfortable?" I grunt in reply. Who was this? It sounded like a teenage boy... but it could be anyone. I stare out the window, and try to figure out where we are by looking at the signs. Looks like Canada. Then he turns around. "I didn''t know you woke up so early." Peter says.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. Meanwhile Unknown persons POV: I sit in silence, like I have for the whole time since she left. I am now the only girl. The tallest girl, the shortest girl. The oldest girl, the youngest girl. The shadow people move around, watching me. Their red eyes stare into my soul. No one else can see them. "You''re insane" they say. I may be. But I''m also right. I know that she is in danger. I know that she is in pain. I will do something. I get up, for the first time in days, and go to take a shower. I come out, and meet Jason standing in front of my door. "What do you want?" I ask. "Why are you moping around?" He asks, and pulls out a knife. "I don''t know. Where did you get that?" I say, taking a step back. He shrugs. "I dunno. Found it in the bushes covered in blood. Old blood." He says. "Now lets go rescue her."Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. A/N: sorry for the short chapters, I''m still kind of in a blank spot, but I''m recovering slowly. I have an idea that might just work. Tell your friends about this book if you think they''ll like it! Were going to Alaska I sigh. It''s been almost 24 hours since the operation, and I still haven''t been able to test my potential powers! Then again, things have taken a turn for the worst. Basically, this is my life the past week or so: adjust to a new life get taken away to who knows whereThe narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. have something done to me recover then the whole thing over again. Peter says we''re going to Alaska. That''s a long way away from here. He hasn''t told me anything else, and won''t let anything leak about his betrayal. Well, at least Darcy doesn''t know. A/N: this is sort of an in between chapter, so that''s why it''s so short. It''s just supposed to maybe hint a couple things, and let you think about what''s going on, and what might happen. Try to guess! Wait, what?! We arrive at a business building, with hardly any windows. I wonder why. As we walk closer, I look around. That earns me a jerk from Peter. We go in, and I groan as I see it is a hospital. ¡°Don¡¯t resist. We¡¯re going to give you some formula.¡± Peter hisses at me. ¡°Why?¡± I wonder. ¡°Ugh! Too many questions. Whatever. I don¡¯t want to do this. I¡¯d rather not, but they¡¯re paying too much to say no. We are doing an experiment. Then, if it works, we¡¯ll keep you for studying, and maybe on display.¡± He tells me. ¡°What?!¡± I exclaim. What were they going to do to me?! I feel panic, and some new emotion surface. It feels like power, but I¡¯m scared. It feels like an outburst, but I have more control over the situation, and I don¡¯t feel the urge to laugh. Peter notices, and zaps me with something that looks like a taser, but it¡¯s less painful. And I know how a taser feels. ¡°Ow!¡± I exclaim. I glare at Peter. He shrugs. ¡°Had to be done. Wouldn¡¯t want your powers surfacing now.¡± He says, indifferently. So that was the feeling of my ¡°powers...¡± hmm. He leads me into a room with a bed that has restraints, and a table with all sorts of things on it. It reminds me of my room in the other hospital, actually. ¡°Why do it in this hospital? Why not in a closer one?¡± I ask. ¡°This isn¡¯t a hospital. It¡¯s an experiment lab on humans.¡± He says. ¡°So... whaat exactly are you going to do to me?!¡± I ask, slightly panicked. ¡°We¡¯re going to enhance your powers. Then, find a way to transfer them to a volunteer.¡± He opens his mouth to say more, but then we hear more shouting. I guess it¡¯s quite common in this place. Peter has a look on his face that says, ¡®what¡¯s it going to be now¡¯. I get a peek around the corner of the door. No. It can¡¯t be. ¡°Darcy?¡± I whisper.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. The great escape Darcy''s POV I run as fast as I can to the room where Emma is. "Emma!" I shout, just as she turns to look at me. A guard grabs me and pulls out a taser. I''ve learned to avoid them, and try to keep my senses with me, but one messed up part of my mind says no. I try to run again, and end up on the floor curled in pain. Eventually, they drag me into the room, and ask Emma if she knows me. She nods. They shut the door. "Ok then. Let''s get started, and when the time comes, we won''t have to get any volunteers . We''ll just use her." Says a rather cute boy holding Emma. I see by his name tag he''s called Peter. Eh. I don''t think it suits him. Emma cries out in protest. "What! No, no! Don''t use her! Please! Let her go." She screams, and breaks into sobs. She winks very quickly to me, so I know she has a plan. I stand there, waiting, and wonder how we could escape. Then the next few seconds go in slow motion. The door opens. Emma stands up. Peter is thrown back by some invisible force. Emma grabs me. A man shouts. We start running towards the front door, and Emma asks me if I came alone. "No. Jason''s outside." I pant. She raises an eyebrow, like she thinks there''s something going on between us. There isn''t. "Jason, follow us!" Emma shouts when we exit the building. *** Emma''s POV: We open the door to a shed. ¡°Looks cozy.¡± Jason says, and we duck through the doorway. i catch my breath, and wait for Darcy to ask the question. Here it comes. "What did they do to you ? How did we get out?" She asks. Jason nods in agreement. "They didn''t do anything. But they were going to soon." Eh. True enough. She gives me a look that says, ''you didn''t answer the other question''. I sigh. "Ok. The doors automatically open if you press a certain button, and luckily it was on the bed. I pressed it when I was ''crying''. I don''t know why Peter jumped back, but it was helpful." I lie. There¡¯s a moment of awkward silence, and everyone sort of looks around the shed. Jason coughs, and it seems like no one believes my story. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure some of that was a lie. Like how Peter jumped back with his own free will... but I understand that you don¡¯t want to tell us just yet. We''ll give you some time.¡± Darcy says, looking down. ¡°I promise to tell you the truth later. But now, I¡¯m not ready. It¡¯s hardly the truth to myself yet.¡± I whisper. Darcy lays down and soon, we can tell she¡¯s sleeping. ¡°Is the truth really that bad?¡± Jason asks, concern in his eyes. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I don¡¯t even know if it is bad, or good. It¡¯s both. It¡¯s none. At times I might even forget. But I know it¡¯s true.¡± I say, getting quieter towards the end. ¡°Good night.¡± Jason says. I lay down, thinking. When could I tell them? And how? How could I tell them? And how would they react? Darcy... well, Darcy, based on her optimism, would only see the good things. She might say, ¡°no one can ever beat us!¡± Or, ¡°you¡¯re so lucky, Emma!¡±. Jason would see both. Both good and bad. He¡¯d feel sympathy, and I know if a man has sympathy, he¡¯s hard to resist. That¡¯s happened once before. A year ago. I loved it at the time. After, I couldn¡¯t even look at him. The memory fills my head.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. He hugs me close to his chest. ¡°Emma. You are special. You don¡¯t belong here. You should travel, sometime. See the world.¡± He whispers. ¡°At least we¡¯re not locked in our cells. We can go anywhere, even outside. Just not past the gates.¡± I say. We lock eyes and lean in closer. I feel my heart beat wildly. And suddenly, it¡¯s tomorrow. I hate that memory. I avoid him all day. I told myself I wouldn¡¯t kiss until I was 16, and I wouldn¡¯t kiss a mad person. I was only 15, I kissed a mad person. True, I might be one too, but I can control myself. I¡¯m never talking to him again. I¡¯m never forgiving myself until I can say sorry. I will never kiss again. I¡¯m glad he only kissed me. He could have done much more. I¡¯m lucky............... i drift to to sleep with that unwanted memory in my mind. Why couldn¡¯t I have thought of something else? *** i wake up feeling grimy and tired, like you feel when camping. I check Jason¡¯s watch, and it says 06:27. But I¡¯m not sure if Alaska is in a different time zone or not, so I don¡¯t trust it. But why is it so light outside? And inside... weird. I hear Darcy stir, and see that she¡¯s awake. ¡°Emma? Is that you? I can¡¯t see, it¡¯s so dark.¡± She whispers, squinting at me. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s me. But it¡¯s not dark outside, I can see clearly. Jason¡¯s watch says it¡¯s six thirty, but I¡¯m not sure.¡± I say. Darcy looks at me weirdly. ¡°Emma, I can hardly see you! How is it light outside?¡± She asks, suspiciously. I shrug. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s because I¡¯ve been up longer, so I got used to it.¡± I lie. It was probably something to do with my magic that I didn¡¯t want. She nods, but still looks suspicious. Jason gets up, and checks his watch. ¡°Hello, ladies. Want to go get breakfast?¡± He asks, and yawns. That sets off a chain reaction. I yawn, then Darcy yawns. (A/N: how many of you yawned reading that? I did!) we get out into the cool air, and breath In deeply. I shiver, and we all huddle together. ¡°Look! There¡¯s a cafe! Let¡¯s go!¡± Darcy shouts. ¡°We don¡¯t have money.¡± Jason hisses. I have a thought. I imagine a few dollar bills in my mind, holding out my hand. There¡¯s a rush of energy that runs through me. I look down at my hand, and smile. It actually works! ¡°I have money!¡± I say. ¡°Where¡¯d you get that? How much is it?¡± Jason asks. I shrug, and Darcy counts it. She stops in the middle. ¡°Hey! This is our money, elf! Don¡¯t you try to steal it! Shoo!¡± She says, and brushes something invisible off the money. I look at her in confusion. Elf? ¡°We have 23 dollars! Yay!¡± She squeals. We walk into the cafe, and the good smells embrace me. I could live like this, with cheerful Darcy and silly Jason. They¡¯re all I need.