Nillium Neems by Francisco J Ruiz Read Free Book Online Page B

he
replied. I could hear a smile in his voice. If he had been human, I
felt he would have been giving me a wry grin. "They are former
patients of Atrium, who have died unwholesome deaths. Slain by the
corruption that twines through this building."
    I looked closer at the Mushrooms, still
wailing aloud. I could see the sorrow on their faces now that I
looked for it. There were an awful lot of Mushrooms...
    "All of them are former patients?" I asked
slowly.
    Siegfried nodded, as best as a slug can
nod.
    "Pity and do not fear them. They mean you no
harm. The Mushrooms vent their sorrow at their own miserable
fates."
    Well that made me sad. To think that I had
been heartlessly stomping all over them a moment ago, when they
already had enough troubles of their own. I got off my cot and
knelt down beside them once more. Reaching out, I gently stroked
one with my hand. It seemed to calm them all down a bit. That made
me smile for the first time in I don’t know how many years.
    Siegfried nodded at me as if in approval,
like I’d passed some kind of test.
    "What are the Monsters?" I asked him.
"Derrick, the Hooded Man and the Killer? What is it they all
want?"
    The slug smiled knowingly and began the
following explanation. Or at least, I think he smiled. It’s hard to
read the expression on the face of a slug since they don’t really
have one.
    "Derrick I have never heard of, so is of
little consequence. A meaningless anomaly," he began, "but the
other two you mentioned are of great importance. As you have
correctly guessed, Nillium Neems, the Monsters that you see
wherever you go infest this place to the core. They influence the
doctors and wardens, even the other patients. Of them all, there
are some, such as the Hooded Man and the Killer you encountered in
the hall, who lead them."
    "So they’re like the chief Monsters?" I
asked. "Villainous masterminds? Because the Hooded Man fits that
image, he’s certainly smart enough, but the Killer seemed kind of
mindless. More like a raging bull than anything else."
    "They are Tormentor’s," Siegfried answered.
He spoke the word tormentor not as a descriptive, but as a name.
"That is what they live for, to torment and terrify others. These
creatures as so gifted at the art, that they have achieved great
power over the years. They are truly to be feared."
    "But why do these Tormentor guys only seem
to target me?" I asked. "I’ve never seen the Hooded Man go after
anyone else. Jeremy saw him in the Yard, but the Hooded Man was
only after me."
    "Because you can see, Nillium Neems. You are
not blind like the others, but see things as they truly are."
    "Why is that?" I asked of him. "Do you mean
I’m special in some way?"
    Before Siegfried could answer, the Mushrooms
began their wailing again, increasing steadily in pitch till the
sheer volume made my head ring. At the point where I couldn’t take
it anymore, feeling my very skull would split open, the Mushrooms
disappeared beneath the floor and the door opened. Dr. Sirius
walked in with his measured stride, each step exactly the same as
the previous one. He looked at me, keeled over on my bed, hands
clasped to my ears, and frowned disdainfully.
    "Get up," he said, walking over and hauling
me upright. I glanced around for Siegfried but didn’t see him
anywhere in sight.
    "What do you want?" I quavered, still
getting over the Mushroom's screaming.
    Dr. Sirius didn’t even answer me, instead
reaching into his pocket and bringing out a syringe. He jammed it
into my arm, pumping me full of some new poison. I tried to push
him off, but Sirius just shoved me to the ground.
    "Aren’t you supposed to at least inform
patients what you’re drugging them with?" I groaned.
    "Normally," he replied, his voice as bored
as ever, like someone reciting from a textbook. "But your parents
long ago gave up all rights to you. You are a ward of the State,
meaning that we own you and can do as we wish to you. You are also
completely and dangerously