The Asylum Chapter 10

But how could Amelie be any help to them?
“Because I might know a way into the main building. Listen – I won’t be able to talk for long. The music you’ve been playing for Elise – it’s helped me regain a bit more control.” “Night after night, when the legitimate clients were all in their rooms, Wolvercote would force me to go down to the gym. It was the only time I got out of this suit – and into another one instead.” Her voice was bitter. “This interface – he programmed it like that. For his plans for me to be fulfilled, I had to be supremely physically fit.” “Wherever I looked, I could see myself reflected.” Pete could hear the hopelessness in Amelie’s voice as she re-lived her memories.
“I had no choice but to do as he ordered, as he’d programmed me. That program, he changed often – it wasn’t a permanent one. But the mood change program – that runs all the time.”
A bit like Olaf’s visor, Pete thought, and pity for Amelie stirred within him.
“I still – for so much of the time – cannot control myself. Or only at great cost.” Night after night, forced to work out. Alone.
“He wanted to sell you to the military, didn’t he?”
She nodded, then winced and lifted her hands to her face.
But Wolvercote wouldn’t have let anyone see Amelie – so there must be another entry to the gym, from this side of the house.
“How do we get into the gym from here, Amelie?” When she dropped her hands again, her eyes were glowing red, and she looked as dangerous as ever. Pete could see that he’d get no answer from her now. As always, it took time. Time that was passing a bit too quickly now – the end of their food supplies were definitely in sight, though they weren’t down to the bottom of anything yet. Ariadne’s garden, with its fresh produce had made a noticeable difference.
They had to find a stronger restraint for Amelie – Jonas stumbled across the one that had been made for Aloysius – and assemble it. Then they had to wait until Amelie was sufficiently in control of herself to let them fasten her into it. Then they had to wait (but this was only a short wait!) until it was time to use the machine on her.
“Watch my eyes,” she said. “You’ll know when to start.”
Olaf ran the machine – and felt glad that Amelie was so securely held. And ran it again, an hour later.
Pete’s concern for Amelie was touching, Olaf thought. Frankly, he found her frightening. And he’d been kindness itself to Elise – and to the rest of them. So why was he so implacable towards Ariadne, who was a harmless little soul? It didn’t seem to fit with the kind of person he was. He’d talk to Elise about it – she understood people. When Amelie’s eyes had changed colour, Elise came and read to her from the book Amelie had chosen. Why she should want The Memoirs of Harry Smith, Elise didn’t know, but Amelie had been very sure about it in one of her lucid moments.
They repeated this every day for a week. Pete couldn’t believe how strong Amelie was – that much exposure would have finished him off. Sometimes Amelie thought that this had lasted a lifetime. And now Olaf needed to start treating the alloy on her face. Her clear spells were much longer, but her violent ones were getting worse, and harder for her to control at all. Reluctantly, they’d all agreed that she’d have to stay here as much as possible – it was safer for all of them that way. For once, luck was on their side. Amelie’s face responded far more quickly than Jonas’s hands and feet.
“Don’t be fooled,” Amelie said. “I’m not safe until this interface is off. Listen – keep me awake for a couple of days, then run the machine on me, and then I should be exhausted enough to let you work on it, Olaf.” Olaf did it! And Amelie managed all of three steps before collapsing with exhaustion on the floor. They carried her to her bed and then, at Olaf’s suggestion, dismantled her suit from round her while she slept. He wanted to take it off as quickly as possible in case there were any nasty surprises programmed into it. Later, on examining it, he was glad he’d listened to his instincts. Amelie woke about thirty-six hours later – out of her metal suit and clear-headed for the first time in she didn’t know how long. While Amelie had been sleeping, Elise had made her something to wear, from some more remnants from the wardrobes.
“It’s very simple. I can make you something a bit better in a few days.” “This is fine. And to be honest, after wearing that suit for so long, simple is best.”
“Then I’m glad you like it!” “The door’s here – behind this chemistry bench. Help me move it.” Amelie felt along the stones until she found the right two to press, then pushed hard. For a heart-stopping moment or two, she thought the door wasn’t going to budge, might have been locked from the other side.
Then, with a grinding noise, it swung open, and showed them a glimpse of a different world. “Look at this place! Do you think we could use it?”
“Definitely,” Ariadne said. “After all, I own it – and I say you can use it!” They both laughed. “I didn’t know you played the piano,” Jonas said to Olaf.
“I’d forgotten that I did,” Olaf said, the jazz coming back to life under his fingers. “Which is very odd. How could I have lost part of who I was?” Pete, however, had gone straight through to the gym with Amelie.
“I spent so much time here – and not out of choice.” The wistful figure in the mirror was a far cry from the metal-clad person who’d been forced to train here so many hours a night. Pete went through the door at the back of the gym. A well-lit corridor with smartly-painted walls – a far cry from their attic environment – led them to the foot of a spiral staircase. And at the top, a door into the main house.
“Yes!” Amelie said with joy, as it opened for them. “I hoped that door was on the same program as the gym doors: this collar opens those doors. Failing that, we’d have had to try and break it down…”
“That could have been a challenge,” Pete agreed. Pete tried the first door he saw, and to his surprise, it opened. He found himself in a cosy sitting room. This must be the rehab flat, built to help the clients get used to independent living again. Apparently, so Olaf had said, there were copies of it in half a dozen cities. Of course, it had been made ready for Ariadne’s arrival – that’s why it was unlocked. But as Amelie came after him, there was a sudden alarm sound… …And the door swung shut in her face and locked itself. “Amelie! What’s happened?”
“This collar – it must have triggered the locks for that door. Look, Pete, don’t panic. Olaf should be able to sort this. While I go and talk to him, see how much food there is in the flat. I’ll go and tell the others what’s happened.”
Amelie was right – there was nothing he could do at the moment. He explored the flat and found a neat little kitchen – with a freezer full of food! Looking though it, he realised it would last him a good while: he was so used to one meal a day by now. The sitting room was comfortable – there were books, a DVD player, a good selection of things to watch. There was also a small bathroom, and a bedroom with a comfortable bed! This would actually be quite a nice rest…and the others could cope without him now. He hoped Ariadne was feeling suitably unhappy in her mask and gloves – and he’d never once regretted putting that spiked collar on her! And when he’d found out who’d worn it first, he’d been happier yet. Amelie took charge effortlessly.
“We need to get out,” she said. “But we also need to plan for our futures. And we need to stay alive until we get out – what stores have we got, and how long will they last? And we need to be in good mental shape once we get out there again.” She had them making full use of the art and music therapy rooms. And once she’d discovered that Elise was a qualified psychiatrist, she had them making full use of her skills too.
She and Elise mostly talked about Pete when they were together – Olaf had told his worries and Jonas had added his bit too. The conclusions they were coming to weren’t good. Amelie watched Ariadne closely, watched her coping with the metal helmet, the metal gloves. I think she’s paid that particular debt, she thought.
After Pete’s first week in the rehab flat, she went over to Ariadne.
“Ariadne – I think you’ve worn that lot for long enough. We’ll get it off you. I’ll tell Olaf Pete says the test period is over.” Amelie was the only one going through into the other building, in case someone else got trapped there. “Really?” Ariadne was overwhelmed at the thought of getting free.
“Yes! And Elise is going to sort some clothes out for you. We’re going to do this while Pete’s out of the way.” After all, thought Amelie, given what might be coming Ariadne’s way once Pete was out again, she might as well have a nice time now. Ariadne felt like a completely different person.
“You look like one too! Now, about getting out of here – we have a few problems.” “Go on then. What are they?”
“No transport – your car looks dead to me from what I could see of it. Flat tyres, rusty – and I bet the battery’s died too. And we’re very isolated – the Wolvercotes have been buying up the surrounding land for generations. No roads, minimal footpaths, and no visitors except by prior arrangement. Oh, and we still have to get out of the building.” “However, thanks to your garden, the food’s lasted longer than it would have done…”
Ariadne interrupted her. “My garden! The fence is electrified, but it’s not hugely high – I guess Wolvercote was relying on the main gates to keep people in as well. Could Olaf and Jonas somehow throw one of us over it?”
Amelie picked up the idea immediately. “And then one of us could go for some sort of help. But we’re going to have to think about that carefully – Jonas wouldn’t be safe if his family got to hear that he’d survived.” Jonas meanwhile, was thinking about something completely different…
And Elise was quite happy with it! “This is completely crazy,” she said, reaching out to touch his face. “We don’t even know how we’re going to get out of here.”
“Oh, Amelie will work it out,” Jonas said, with blithe confidence.