Chapter 27 When the guards come to collect me for my mandatory psych session, I'm instantly in a bad mood at the thought of dealing with Elsher again. At least this time, the guys will know where I am if I suddenly disappear and find myself on the Lilydale most wanted list. Except to my relief, we bypass Elsher's doorway and stop in front of Dr. Smith's. The feeling is short-lived though as I'm ready to give him a piece of my mind. The guard opens the door for me and I don't wait for him to announce me or get the all clear, just barreling in. 'Did you have a nice little break?' I grumble, annoyed. Dr. Smith blinks at me in confusion, but I've already prepared for this conversation and have a full on speech prepared. 'Seriously, Dr. Smith. Of all the times to be sick, you continue to have terrible timing. Why is it that I'm always affected by this special skill of yours?' Okay. So, it comes out a little less angry than I practiced, but I'm still frustrated. Especially when he crosses his arms with an amused smile and leans back in his chair. 'Avery, you're fully charged today.' 'I'm not a frigging cell phone,' I shoot back. 'Speaking of-some warning next time would be nice. That goddamn asshole-' The words trail off in embarrassment as I spot movement out of the corner of my eye and realize we're not alone in the room. It turns to shock quickly, a gasp escaping my mouth. 'Margie!' There, sitting in my usual seat, dressed in a pencil skirt and blouse is the old familiar face of my social worker. She blinks at me a few times, processing my appearance before her expression softens. 'Hi, Avery,' she says, turning her attention to Dr. Smith with a small light-hearted laugh. 'You're right, Chris. She's made incredible progress.' 'I-' My brain struggles to compute the situation, planning to circle back to her comment. 'What's going on?' Dr. Smith gestures for me to take a seat next to her. 'You asked me to try to get Meg here for you. That's why I've been absent.' Meg? 'So you didn't have explosive diarrhea?' It slips out unfiltered, and for a second, it's hilarious to see him become flustered. It's bewildering and concerning, watching as he scrambles to recover, attempting to form words. What the fuck? His cheeks redden slightly and when he avoids glancing back at Margie again, it dawns on me why. Oh, my fucking God. He likes her! Holy shit. I absolutely called it during my first session when I likened them to each other, how they'd have cute little babies with perfect hair and wear tuxedoes instead of onesies. I just didn't think it would ever actually happen since they wouldn't have contact with each other... except for now. Except for me. Fuck. I'm a matchmaker. A fucked-up version of Cupid if he had three psychos as weapons instead of arrows. Margie laughs softly at the obvious fumbling mess the psychiatrist has become and I decide to go easy on him, giving him a few seconds to compose himself as I sit beside her. She smiles at me warmly. 'You're looking well, Avery. How are you?' 'I can't believe you're actually here,' I tell her. 'How?' I direct the last part to Dr. Smith, deciding he's had long enough to pull his shit together. I need answers. 'It took some coordination,' Dr. Smith grunts, messing around with some paperwork on his desk. It's obvious he's not actually looking for anything in particular though, just attempting to appear important. 'I knew Arthur would try to avoid signing it if I presented it to him straight up. So, I buried the form in a pile of other requests and waited until he was too busy to actually check what he was approving. I've spent the past two days with Meg getting ready so that we could bring her in straight away before he realizes.' I nod sharply. 'And no one has noticed yet?' 'Arthur is away at a meeting this morning,' Dr. Smith confirms. 'I cornered him late yesterday to sign off on everything. He was in such a hurry to leave that he didn't read anything. Then, we scheduled this appointment for this morning when we knew he'd be absent from Lilydale. But he will be returning at lunch, so let's make this productive.' I have no idea how to process any of this, and now with the urgency lingering over my head, I'm suddenly a flustered mess. At least I'm not as much as a hot messy expressy as the psychiatrist though. He stills looks a little green at the diarrhea comment. 'How much do you know?' I ask Margie, turning back to her. 'They are horrible here-really horrible.' Her face saddens. 'Chris filled me in about the procedures in place. I'm so sorry, Avery. I truly had no idea.' It's clear she's racked with guilt. It's in her tone and expression, as if she's placing some of the blame on herself for talking this place up. But she wasn't to know-no one did. They made sure of it. 'It's not your fault,' I tell her confidently. 'You did the best you could to advocate for me and you stayed with me until the very end. Well, to the start of my journey here. The concept was too good to be true. But people like Alexander Dale, they deliberately enticed the community to believe this facility was a place of refuge. No one would ever expect that it was actually a living nightmare.' Okay-I'm probably being a touch dramatic. But I'm not going to downplay my experience here. If we're going to try to get outside help, they need to know the truth. Everything. Because nothing about this is going to be simple. I have no doubt that Alexander and Arthur have covered all their bases. Everything about that fucking contract is legal somehow. They twisted reality to fit their agenda, so we need to think like Damon-find a loophole and exploit it. 'You were hurt,' Margie states gently, laying her hand atop of mine. 'And from what I understand, others are being harmed as well.' I glance over at Dr. Smith, for once relieved that he's broken doctor-patient confidentiality. Sure, I'll give him shit later for his lack of ethical behavior, but this time, he's done a good job. 'It's true,' I confirm. 'Which is why we need to get this facility closed down once and for all. We'll all die in here if we don't. And if we survive, there will be nothing left to save. I didn't survive all that before just to have everything taken away from me now.' Both of them stay quiet at my words. I didn't expect such a reaction from them. Staring at them in turn, I'm surprised to find tears in Margie's eyes and... pride in Dr. Smith's. It makes me feel oddly pleased and uncomfortable at the same time. Fuck-why can't I just take a compliment? All I ever wanted was to be told someone was proud of me, and the moment someone is, I want the ground to open up and swallow me whole. Stop looking at me. Fuck. 'Avery,' Dr. Smith says when I face away from both of them, clearly having a minor mental spiral. 'It's okay to acknowledge-' 'Here's the plan,' I interject, cutting him off. 'We need to figure out a way to bring this to the attention of people who care. I don't know-authorities or something?' I trail off. 'Isn't there an organization that deals with investigating human rights?' He gives me a glance of annoyance, before shifting into concentration. 'There are agencies that deal with ensuring facilities are compliant with regulations. But it may be difficult to prove that what they are doing is non-compliant, especially when the contract in place is held by the government.' He voices my own thoughts, but I'm already two steps ahead. 'What about those consent forms?' I ask. 'While they may have been able to involuntarily take me before, surely those bullshit consent forms that Elsher had everyone sign is a starting place? They can't claim that we have the ability to consent otherwise we'd be able to leave here. Or something.' 'Your sentences are tied into your Lilydale admission,' Dr. Smith starts, deep in thought. 'But perhaps you're correct. If we can prove that they are having people sign when they are deemed unable to make decisions, it could trigger some kind of investigation. It still wouldn't be enough though-' 'Unless we prove that it's leading to inhumane experimentation,' I finish sharply. 'There has to be a limit on what that contract allows them to do to us. Some of their methods are banned and illegal. If they are breaching their obligations by conducting treatments that are not legal, it would force the agency to have to review the whole process. It's a starting point.' Margie nods. 'I think she's right, Chris. If we can make the allegation that the forms are in breach of a patient's freewill, especially since they were apparently coerced with reduced sentences, it could put them under investigation.' I gaze at her in awe. 'You heard about that?' 'We were reviewing the form,' she admits. 'To see what we were working with. It's pretty standard in black and white, but verbally, they have coerced patients into this which is morally and ethically a breach. Not to mention the heinous methods you endured.' 'How can we prove it though?' I ask weakly. 'Damon said they cleared everything out the first time. If they destroyed the evidence of what they did to me and the others, how do we prove that they are doing something illegal?' Dr. Smith straightens up. 'We catch them in the act.' I shake my head. 'No-we can't leave them down there any longer. It's going to do more harm than good. If our report triggers an investigation, they will erase their tracks. We know they have killed patients before. We're getting them out.' Margie glances at the two of us in confusion, and I realize that he hasn't been completely transparent with her. It's obvious that she's not privy to the knowledge of Cirque des Morts, or even possibly Damon and his relationship to Dr. Smith. But the doctor recognizes what I'm saying, hearing my unspoken words. Sighing, he nods defeatedly. 'Then get them out,' he answers quietly. 'Do what you have to do. We'll lodge a report today and do everything we can to stress the urgency of the matter.' Before I can answer, a knock on the door interrupts us. My eyes instinctively move to the clock on the wall, and I know it's a guard coming to collect me-probably to ensure I don't get actual help. My appointments with Dr. Smith have been getting shorter each session, like they are attempting to disrupt him from doing his job. Standing, I smile at Margie as she rises with me. 'Please don't blame yourself,' I tell her again. 'I know what it's like to feel guilt that's misplaced. Neither of us are at fault. And for what it's worth if Dr. Smith hasn't filled you in, in a weird, twisted turn of events, coming here has saved me.' Puzzled, she tilts her head, urging me to continue. The door opens behind me, and when I check who's stationed there, I relax when I spot Connor. 'I found myself,' I tell her peacefully. 'And I found a real family where I truly belong. No matter what happens, I'm happy-well, as happy as I can be. But I came to Lilydale lost and broken, and regardless of how I leave, whether that's alive or dead, I'm leaving in one piece, put back together by people who love me and make me realize I'm worth more than I ever thought before I came here.' Connor motions for me to follow and I take a few steps, pausing in the doorway once final time as I smile at Margie. 'I'm everything I was meant to be but was too scared to become. And this asshole,' I nod, laughing quietly playfully toward Dr. Smith. 'Is now my cousin-in-law, and he was a big part in helping me open my eyes.' Discover our latest featured short drama reel. Watch now and enjoy the story!