~ deliberately untruthful; deceitful; false~

[Heavily unedited]

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       Madeline's eyes adjusted to the darkness of the room as she slowly got up. Her wrists felt strange without the handcuffs, almost as though the handcuffs were made just for her, like it was permanently meant to be on her wrist. She walked slowly to the door letting the single fluorescent light bulb guide her, seeing her shadow on the ground shake with fear. Her ears adjusted to the silence that the room carried. It was never this quiet- not even at night. She could hear the faint chirp of the crickets. She constantly listened to the chirp every night. But not tonight. She needed to figure out a way to Ben's room.

Putting her left hand behind her back, she interlocked her forefinger and middle finger, saying a silent prayer in her head. With a jerk of her right hand, she slowly turned the doorknob and to her surprise, it opened. Madeline smiled as a sigh of relief left her. As she stepped out of the room and closed the door silently, she frowned.

"Why would the guard forget to lock the room?" she whispered to herself. Madeline looked at the door with uncertainty. Biting her lips, she faced forward and started walking quickly, silently, knowing that if she was caught, they won't hesitate to kill her. But she knew that this was her last chance of talking to Ben. The mysterious boy with green eyes was coming in two days.

Hearing the silent pit-pat of her naked soles on the floor, she walked past a guard who was snoring soundly. His hands were fastened to his lapel. And Madeline knew that his lapel contained an injection. Treading silently, she entered the Type C hall; making sure to notice the shadows of the guards as she walked past. With an almost gleeful mind, she saw the different rooms. Ben had said that they were thirty in total which meant that there were 15 rooms. Huffing silently, she looked at the hallway, carefully watching any movements of the guards. There were none.

Wiping her hands nervously on her white, cotton shorts, she walked up to the first room. Madeline's eyes went to the rectangular window panel that was on the door of each room. Standing on her toes, she gazed into it whirling her head to notice any sign of black, unruly curly hair. She huffed in disappointment as she saw two blondes. Turning around, she looked at the empty hallway and walked to the next door. Repeating the same movement for 14 rooms, sweat started to build at the base of her neck. Ben wasn't in any.

Brows furrowing, she walked up to the last door, mentally preparing herself on approaching him. Sighing silently, she looked up to the window panel; right hand on the knob she already knew would be unlocked because she was in the Type C hall. The guards never lock their doors. Turning her head around, eyes set in the white paint of the room, she saw a brunette boy walk past.

"That must be his roommate" she muttered to himself.

Craning her neck more, she saw an auburn head walk past. Madeline's hand left the doorknob as it scorched her. Furrowing her eyebrows, she looked into the window panel once more. They had both lain on their beds that were at the opposite end of the room. There was no sign of a black, curly, unruly hair. There was no sign of Ben.

Putting her hands to her mouth, she muffled a sob. Wild thoughts ran in her head. But the thought of Ben dead after he showed her the painting rang the most. Walking slowly and carefully, she walked into Type B's hall, making sure she wasn't heard or being followed by a guard. Walking past a room in Type B, she heard the maniacal chuckle of a patient. Hanging her head low, she walked past it only to hear two voices at the same time. A girl's and a boy's. Different genders weren't put in the same room. Madeline thought this with confusion as she walked to the room. Looking into the window panel, she saw black curly hair. Her heart jolted.

"Maybe it's another boy", she said as she laughed quietly to herself. Craning her neck, she looked for the girl she had heard. There was none. Furrowing her eyebrows, she stood higher on her toes, wanting to see the other end of the room. There was no girl. Just a single pale boy who laughed silently as he talked to nothing, staring at the wall. Madeline's toes finally loosened their grip and as she turned her eyes away, she saw a side profile of the boy she was looking for.

"Ben?" she whispered.

He didn't hear her though. He wasn't meant to. But Madeline saw him, smiling, chuckling as he lifted his hands in the air, as though caressing a face. He caressed thin air. Madeline could feel tears burn at the back of her eyelids. Lifting her gaze to the sign at the end of the hallway, she saw the red letters of the 'Type B'. She wanted to scream. As she turned towards the window panel, where Ben was still caressing thin air, she saw the faint cursive letter of 'B' etched into his wrist. Whirling around, she turned to leave when she heard him mutter a name. She didn't wait to hear it. She ran to her room, keeping vigilant of any guard. Seeing her room in the same state, she entered it and shut it behind her quietly. Immediately, she dropped on her knees and sobbed.

"Nothing makes sense", she said to herself. Closing her eyes slightly, mismatched green eyes appeared in her vision. She sobbed loudly.

"Nothing ever made sense. Nothing ever will", she cried. But deep down, she knew that behind the crooked smile, Ben was in trouble. She heard what he had said; that he had 16 days to live. But what she didn't know was if everything had been a lie. She bowed her head as the words of the trader resounded in her mind.

..."Group B is dangerous, but not as group A. Patients here are mostly those who talk to themselves, and sometimes, have more than one personality..."

Madeline's eyes widened as the truth dawned on her. Ben was never in group C. And if he was alone in that room, who was he talking to?

Madeline's mouth opened in shock as she questioned with disbelief in her voice. "Himself?"

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So...Ben's a liar?

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Thanks for reading!

-Ada