Legends of Windemere

West Park Asylum

Ian groans and holds his head, which feels like it is one soft noise away from shattering like a dropped glass. He sees a bottle of water and some medicine next to his bed, but he only takes the drink since he cannot identify the pills. As the pain gradually subsides, he realizes that he is in his room and somebody has put him in fresh clothes. Bandages have been put on the cuts and scrapes he received in the forest, each minor wound burning at the slightest pressure. He half expects to find himself bound to the bed considering how hard he was tackled, so he is pleasantly surprised that he is free to move around. Ian stands on aching legs and takes a few awkward steps before leaning against the wall. His stomach is roaring in hunger, but the thought of eating makes him nauseous. All he can manage is the water, which gives him enough energy and clarity to stand without feeling weak.

Noticing a typed letter on the door, Ian takes a deep breath and crosses the room. He recognizes the personalized stationary from the invitation to Raven’s Hold and gets nervous that the message is telling him to pack his things. Instead, the letter informs him that Dr. Rutherford is aware of his reason for going after Dawn and he is not in trouble. There is a reminder of the rules in regards to the forest and a warning that he will be put into the solitary wing on his next transgression. Ian sticks the letter back where he found it before knocking to get the attention of the guard outside. With a soft click, the door is unlocked and slowly creaks open enough to let a slender arm slip through. The limb blindly gropes until it finds the piece of paper and crumples it into a ball. Flipping Ian off, the arm disappears and he barely hears someone stuff the letter into their mouth and swallow it.

“It’s funny how a fire at the dock can draw guards away from the post. Especially if they’re watching a low risk patient,” Dawn says while she shoves her way into the room. Showing no sign of her previous injuries, the woman’s mouth falls open when she sees the barrenness around her. “You have nothing in here. My room has posters, a walk-in closet, bunk beds, and a hot tub. I’m not allowed to have water in there, so I filled it with hot chocolate. If we become friends then you should visit. Right now, I’m not sure what to do with you, little puppy.”

“I’m sorry if I interrupted something,” Ian swears while backing away from his guest. He remembers how she reacted to Jenny, so he kneels as if she is a queen. “Rich and I were concerned about you. Don’t be too angry with him because he wasn’t with me when I found you and I talked him into going with me. After everything that happened with Jenny and the orderlies, I thought you might do something drastic.”

“I’m insulted that you think I’m so fragile,” the young woman replies before she goes on all fours. “Why are you down here? If you see ants then you’re hallucinating. This room has termites and they only come out on Thursdays. Ants are in the cafeteria and they always appear when we get pizza.”

“I thought you would want me to kneel.”

“Maybe later. We have to talk first.”

Dawn scratches her head as she searches for a place to sit by crawling around like a cat. Her nose is pressed to the floor and she sniffs the tiles, the gesture making Ian wonder if she is doing a poor imitation of a dog. The brunette hops up to the window and pushes it open, allowing her to comfortably sit with her legs dangling outside. Unable to see her host, she pats the spot next to her until the young man joins her. Scared that she will knock him out the window, Ian faces the inside of the room and keeps a tight grip on the sill.

“I hate it when people follow me,” Dawn states, her soft voice losing some of its manic energy. “By the way, I will be settling with Mr. Garrett when I feel like it. He knows my rules and should have left you to suffer alone.”

“I agree that I should have been more considerate,” Ian whispers as he inches away from the glassy-eyed woman. She catches him by the wrist and runs her fingernail along his skin. “To be fair, I had no time to ask your permission when I followed you. When a person runs away upset, you don’t usually have a chance to say anything first. That’s still no excuse and all I can do is apologize until you forgive me.”

Clicking her heels several times, Dawn grinds her thumb into Ian’s flesh. “That sounds boring and not as effective as what I planned. If you really want to be friends then you need to prove yourself. Not only to me, but also to my unicorn who is embarrassed that you saw him in his vulnerable state.”

“Do you want me to get your unicorn some sugar cubes?”

“He’s diabetic now.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“How fast can you run, little puppy?”

“I never really thought about it.”

“The window might give you a chance.”

Dawn slides back into the room and goes to sit on the bed, her legs daintily crossed at the ankles. With a wicked smirk, she claps her hands over her head and makes the sound of a mournful wolf. Several faint footsteps can be heard in the hallway before Jeremy barrels through the door. Dawn gleefully squeals and bounces on the creaky bed while she watches Ian scramble out the first floor window. Blowing a kiss to her muscular lackey, the brunette hops to her feet and spins to the door. Seeing that Jeremy is still in the room, she waves him away and blocks the exit until he realizes that he should follow Ian.

“Mildly handsome, but not that bright,” Dawn says to herself while stretching her legs. She takes a deep breath and sprints down the hallway. “I need some help, Grace! Ian and Jeremy are trying to kill each other! I overheard them arguing and they went out the window. You better do something before somebody gets hurt. Remember that three of your patients think they’re lawyers and one of them is actually a judge. Raven’s Hold doesn’t want to be pulled into a lawsuit.”

The young woman hurries to get to the common room where the two men have carried their fight. Jeremy is sporting a badly bruised arm after Ian slammed the garden door on the limb, but he is still healthy enough to knock the smaller man around. The other patients stay against the walls while furniture is overturned and thrown. Ian is focused more on getting away and only throws a sloppy punch when cornered. Sucking at a split lip and running out of energy, his empty stomach goes numb with every shot that Jeremy delivers. A jab to his chest knocks him against the television that wobbles on its stand.

“Didn’t this-” Ian begins to say before he is tackled to the ground.

Battered and desperate, he grabs a nearby pillow to put under his head as his attacker attempts to slam his face into the floor. A playful giggle from Dawn gets both men to look at where she is jumping in the doorway. She licks her lips, which causes Jeremy to return to the fight and attempt to strangle his fellow patient. Delivering a solid kick to the groin, Ian gets free and makes a break for the hallway. He is almost at the doorway when an orderly with a stun gun shocks him in the chest. Another staff member steps around the twitching man to zap Jeremy, the larger man requiring a second dose of electricity to put him down.

“Take them to the solitary wing,” Dr. Rutherford orders while approaching Dawn. The blonde snaps her fingers at one of her employees and points at Ian. “Mr. Connors has not eaten in twenty-four hours. I will allow you to bring him a meal when he is able to keep food down. No utensils, so cut his meal before serving it. I will review the situation in the morning since this is Mr. Connors first transgression. On the other hand, Jeremy has been here many times before. I wonder if somebody is behind this fight. What do you think, Ms. Addison?”

“I promised Jeremy that I would do something fun with him if he beat up Ian,” Dawn replies with a casual shrug. She pats the doctor on the cheek and gives her a small hug before relaxing on the couch. “He brought it on himself. After all, I really don’t like being followed.”

West Park Asylum

Paths appear and vanish in the middle of clearings while the rustling of wings are heard throughout the branches. Ian and Rich catch glimpses of the ebony birds that are hiding behind the leaves, but it is never more than a ruffling of feathers. Squirrels bound throughout the underbrush with several screeching at the intruders before running away. Faint footprints can be seen in the every dirt road, none of them of someone barefoot like Dawn. Every trail that they follow turns out to be a dead end at a clearing. One wrong turn leads them into a patch of thorny bushes that forces them to backtrack. Nursing a few cuts on their hands and arms, the pair stop at a moss-covered oak to rest.

“How long have we been out here?” Ian asks, checking the sky for a glimpse of the sun. He can see it to his left even though he swears it had been on his right a minute ago. “I think we’ve been turned around so much that we lost track of everything. Maybe this was a bad idea and we should head back.”

“I agree, but I don’t know which way we’re supposed to go,” Rich says while looking through his camera. A shadow flickers across the lens, causing him to yelp and let the machine hang from the strap around his neck. “Did you see that? This place is just wrong. The birds are hiding in the trees and remaining silent. Every rodent seems to screech or snarl at us. Tracks stop in the middle of nowhere. I get the feeling that people aren’t wanted in the forest, so let’s pick a direction and keep walking. Forget the paths and just walk until we hit Raven’s Hold or the coast.”

“Let’s rest for a bit and calm down. You’re too jittery to go anywhere,” the younger man politely points out, nodding his head at his companion’s shaking hands. He takes a seat on the ground, pausing briefly when he gets the sensation that he is in danger. “That was strange. For a second, I was afraid that I’d get sucked into the earth and fall forever. Maybe we should keep moving and remain on the lookout for Dawn. I’m going to try calling for her again. Dawn! It’s Ian and Rich! We’re out here looking for you!”

“Could you have given me a chance to stop you?”

“I’m only yelling. At worst, the orderlies find us.”

Snapping twigs and rustling bushes come from every direction while the faint echo of Ian’s voice returns. His words become louder until their volume forces the two men to cover their ringing ears. A buffering gale strikes the area and takes the shouting away, leaving the trees silent and still. The shadow of a bird passes overhead, but remains in the sun to prevent anyone from clearly seeing its form. In the animal’s wake, a chill ripples through the forest and leaves a layer of frost on the leaves. The icy coating and the eerie stillness vanish after the terrified men blink a few times.

“I assume you saw all of that,” Rich whispers, not wanting to restart the strange events. He gets closer to his friend and squats down, making it easier to talk in a low voice. “I don’t know what’s going on here. All I know is that we have to get out of here now. Dawn can take care of herself if she’s even still in the forest. It took us so long to reach the trees that she could have come out in a spot that we didn’t see. Your heart is in the right place, but this was a ridiculous idea.”

“Is that a hoof print?” Ian asks, ignoring his friend’s warnings. He crawls over to a marking that resembles a horseshoe. “Do you think-”

Aggravated and nervous, Rich pounces on the other man to cover his mouth. “No. Ghosts and demons are one thing, but I am not going to believe that a unicorn is wandering the island. One of the patients who escaped into here might have left the prints around the forest. Dawn snuck in here at one point, saw them, and added the unicorn to her hallucinations. You can’t really believe such a creature exists.”

Ian angrily shoves the sweat hand off his face and gets to his feet, standing over the sweaty man. “No, but prints wouldn’t last in the dirt for so long. It’s rained since I got here and the branches aren’t that tightly knit. All I was going to ask is if you thought someone is playing tricks on the patients in here. You just said that some people escaped into the forest, so what if they’re still around? They could use this place to mess with any of the patients that come in and they’d definitely know how to screw with Dawn.”

“I see where you’re going with this, but it wouldn’t work,” the older man replies, accepting a helping hand. He checks the sky and points to the east before taking the lead. “The problem is that it’s not that big. The winter would be a nightmare since they’d only be wearing these thin clothes. I guess they could eat some of the wildlife and I’ve seen berries. Might be some drinkable water around here too. Okay, so it the idea isn’t entirely unbelievable. If we’re in trouble with Dr. Rutherford then we can suggest this to minimize our punishment. Still I’d prefer to get back without being seen.”

Not wanting to argue, Ian obediently trudges behind his friend and keeps his eyes out for suspicious tracks. After a few minutes, he sees four gouges in an oak and stops to take a closer look at the damage. Turning to whistle for Rich, the noise gets caught on his lips when he sees that the other man is nowhere to be seen. Ian listens for the sound of footsteps, but all he can hear are fluttering wings and buzzing bees. Not wanting to wander off, he runs his fingers along the deep marks in the tree and is surprised to pull a curved claw out of the wood. The black hook reminds him of an eagle’s talon, which reminds him that he has seen such birds flying above the forest. Yet he can only imagine the size of the animal that could damage an oak and shudders at the thought of what it could do to a human body.

The faint sound of crying catches Ian’s attention and he tosses the talon over his shoulder, the item forgotten as soon as it leaves his hand. Knowing that he is making a mistake, the young man follows the noise through the trees. Black forms flicker among the branches and every motion releases a gentle rain of ebony feathers. Ian is careful to avoid every pointy rock and thin twig, which grants him a silent approach to the pond. Instead of stepping out of the trees, a warning goes off in his mind and he crouches behind a thick maple. A metallic taste is in his mouth and his heart is beating hard in his chest, but he continues to ignore the visceral signs of fear.

Standing at the muddy shore of the pond, Dawn has her hands clasped to her chest and is sobbing. Frogs are hopping around her bare feet while a trio of turtles stare at her from the murky water. Perched within the trees, hundreds of fat ravens wait patiently for the young woman to talk. A few of the ebony birds have dead squirrels and mice clenched in their feet, the tattered meals eventually dropping to the forest floor. A hot wind whips through the clearing and brings a group of vivid butterflies with it, the insects gathering around Dawn. With a relaxing breath, she lifts her hands to her shoulder and gently strokes the nose of a creature that is not there.

“I’m glad you came back,” Dawn coos before giving a kiss to the unicorn’s cheek. She wipes a few tears from her eyes and gazes at the ravens, her eyes briefly pausing on where Ian is hiding. “I made a big mess and I don’t know if I can go back. People might be dead. At the very least, Grace is angry and I will be punished. I miss my bed. Pottery class was fun too, so I’m not ready to go away. Yes, I love you too. Do you think you could undo what I did?”

The wind grows incredibly hot and the pond bubbles, cooking the turtles in their shells. A chorus of caws erupt from the trees and the birds take to the air. Obviously annoyed, the flock circles the clearing and dive to tear the wings off the helpless butterflies. The twitching insects are snatched up by the frogs that leap into the water where they pop like overfilled balloons. A horrid stench rises from the pond and it takes all of Ian’s strength to avoid throwing up.

“I’m sorry that you’re angry!” Dawn shouts in a pleading voice. She suddenly turns and reaches out as if to grab the unicorn by the horn. “No! Don’t take him away from me. I’ll be good from now on. Okay, not good, but I’ll be more careful. I’ll give you a new toy if you fix things. Not even everything. As long as I can go back to Raven’s Hold because I don’t want to go away. Thank you. I know what to do. Do you still love me?”

The ravens return to the trees, but the biggest one perches on the branch above Ian’s head. It stares down at him with piercing yellow eyes that seem to eat at his mind. With an anxiety attack looming, the young man sprints away from the pond and crashes through the trees. He has no clue as to where he is going and only wants to get away from the ravens. Branches seem to reach down and slap Ian in the face to leave burning cuts on his skin. Bramble bushes tear at his pants while he struggles to breathe and remain conscious. The sound of flapping overhead drives him to run faster through an icy rain that falls from the cloudless sky.

Ian bursts out of the forest and is immediately tackled by an orderly whose friend is gently subduing Rich a few feet away. The bald man is quietly giving up and doing whatever he is told to do, which includes not looking at his friend’s outburst. Ian’s eyes widen at the sight of the needle, which plunges into his thigh and gives him the soothing sedative. With his muscles relaxing, he tries to mumble about Dawn and the ravens, but all he does is drool. Another attempt sends a shot of spittle into the face of the orderly who casually wipes the bodily fluid from her face.

Before the injection can have its full effect, Ian sees Dawn in the distance and he thrashes on the ground. The young woman is happily skipping and dancing toward the building, a random cartwheel feeling like she is taunting her fellow patients. Nobody seems to notice her flashy approach, including those she passes by. As Ian passes out from the sedative and exhaustion, he watches Dawn stop at the door to the common room and blow him a friendly kiss. The young man can swear the sound that comes out of her mouth is a cawing raven, but he is unconscious before he can be sure.

West Park Asylum

Rich and Ian are frozen in place as they gaze through the window at the destruction and chaos in the common room. Tables have been tipped over and chairs have been hurled outside, one of them drawing their attention to the outburst. One of the bookcases has been knocked over to block the main entrance while the exit to the garden has been locked. The bent key is still sticking out of the keyhole, forcing the staff to try and break the door down. An orderly is twitching on the ground after being zapped by his own stun gun, the sedative syringes having been broken in the scuffle. Two more attendants are struggling to keep a black-haired woman in the corner and tend to her battered face. Security is busy trying to catch Dawn, who is leaping over the couches and lashing out at anyone that gets too close. The uniformed men are limping from kicks to the groin and chairs to the knees. A high-pitched cry rings out from the largest of the guards when Dawn jabs him in the eye with an empty syringe.

“Stay away from me!” she screams, crawling onto a table and crouching. She leaps over the charging guards and lands on the heavy television, which wobbles beneath her weight. “Nobody feeds my unicorn without my permission! He’s on a very specific diet of grass, apples, and shrimp. So punish Jenny!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” the other woman cries while pressing gauze to the bite wound on her cheek. She curls into a ball when the television remote shatters against the wall above her head. “Please don’t hurt me. I won’t go near your unicorn again. I’ll be more careful. I didn’t even see him.”

“Him? My unicorn is a girl!” Dawn replies while she rocks her awkward perch. Security reaches for her, so she swiftly breaks one of their fingers and bites into the fleshy hand of another. “Gross. Wash up before work. I taste fear and sweat. Stop trying to catch me. You’re not in charge here!”

With a malicious grin, Dawn puts out her arms and shakes the television until it pitches forward. The heavy electronic crashes on top of the guards and pins them to the ground, broken glass surrounding them. Hitting one of the couches with her back, the brunette cackles like a little girl and flips over the furniture. Dawn does nothing to stop herself from slamming into the floor, her face leaving a bloody splotch on the tile. As if nothing happened, she hops to her feet and takes a deep breath through her broken nose. She spits out a tooth, which she casually reclaims and swallows.

“It’ll grow back,” Dawn claims while approaching the small group in the corner. As if seeing Rich and Ian for the first time, she spins around to blow them a kiss. “Nobody likes peeping toms, boys. Except the blonde who keeps trying to walk around naked. I don’t know if I like her. Now I forgot why I was mad. Where did my unicorn go? Did somebody scare him away?”

“You said that your unicorn ran into the forest because I gave her a piece of pineapple and that made her hyper,” Jenny replies, hoping that being helpful will get her out of trouble. The injured woman’s goes dry when she sees the rage aimed at her again. “I’m really sorry, Dawn. I didn’t know and . . . Jeremy told me it would make us friends. Yeah, he gave me the idea. I’ll do whatever it takes to make it up to you.”

“What would I ever want from something like you?” Dawn asks in utter disgust. She spits on the floor at the woman’s feet and raises her head like an arrogant ruler. “I rule Raven’s Hold with an iron fist and a kind touch. You may not realize it, but all of this is for me and my beloved King. If only I knew where I left him. So there is nothing I would ever need from a peasant that readily grovels at my feet. Always remember that you are in my kingdom and angering me is dangerous. Unless I’m in the right mood and then we’ll flip a coin to see what happens. I will consider the fact that you were tricked by Jeremy. After all, I am a benevolent Queen and nothing without my citizens. Maybe not nothing, but I’d definitely get bored. For now, be gone from my presence.”

“Be gone from your presence?”

“Run like a little bunny before I eat your eyeballs.”

“But the doors are blocked.”

“Then go out the hallway window.”

“Those don’t open.”

Frustrated with the difficult woman, Dawn grabs a chair that she uses to beat the remaining orderlies to the floor. Tossing the blood-dripping weapon aside, she grabs Jenny by the arm and flashes a chilling grin. Spinning on her toes, the brunette hurls the terrified woman at the window, but the weeping body only cracks the glass. Dawn cocks her head to the side and goes to poke at the damage while Jenny uses the couch to help her stand. Still wanting her victim to leave, she grabs her fellow patient by the hair and beats her against the window. She only stops when the doors to the garden are bashed open and she sees the reflection of Dr. Rutherford entering. Ten guards and orderlies are filing in with their boss, each one armed with a stun gun and making a wall at the back of the room.

“You dare to challenge me, Grace?” Dawn asks while gently placing Jenny on the nearest chair. Without hesitation, she kicks the legs out from under the piece of furniture and sends the unconscious woman to the floor. “This peasant needs to pay for overstepping her bounds. She fed my unicorn, which you know is punishable by severe punishment. Now go back to your files and sessions. None of this concerns you.”

“I would be lying if I said I wasn’t angry and disappointed,” Grace states, her normally calm voice holding a subtle edge. She picks up a nearby chair and quietly sits, her glasses nearly slipping off her nose. “I understand that Ms. Cohl upset you and your pet has run away. Yet, that does not give you a right to injure others. All of these men and women need medical attention because of your actions. Justified as you may think you are, there is never a reason to cause so much brutality. You would be upset if you were on the receiving end of such actions. Please remember that you are here to get better and rejoin society without being a danger to others. I fear that I’m failing you, Ms. Addison, and for that I apologize. Now, what do you believe we should do here?”

Feeling slightly diffused, Dawn bites her lower lip and drums her bare toes on the sticky floor. As her anger fades, she picks up on the tension in the room and realizes that it is all directed at her. The sight of the stun guns and the doctor makes her sweat, her teeth slowly piercing her lip. Backing away, she glances out the window at the hallway and sees armored figures waiting with sword-sized syringes. Cat-faced bats hang upside down and press their noses against the glass, their tongues writing her name on the misty surface. Touching the doorknob, Dawn yanks her hand back when she feels the fangs of a spider strike her palm and the poison runs up her arm. Blue veins throbs beneath her skin and she grabs an edged piece of plastic to make a long cut around her bicep. She watches the toxin seep down to her fingers, tiny skulls laughing at her from the ichor.

For the first time in years, Dawn feels scared and weak, which drives her into a panic. When one of the guards shifts uncomfortably, she assumes they are about to rush her. Refusing to give up without a fight, the brunette grabs a book and throws it at Dr. Rutherford. The projectile knocks the blonde woman off the chair, causing one of the guards to bend down and check his boss. Dawn races for the opening in the wall and uses the crouched man to help her leap out one of the windows. She lands on the grass and races toward the distant woods, avoiding the few orderlies that try to catch her. Several patients leap in to help and tackle the staff to give their fellow patient a clear path to the wilderness. Unleashing a maddening scream and holding her head, Dawn plunges into the forest and disappears among the trees.

“Hurry up or we’ll lose her,” Ian whispers while backing away from the window. He watches those inside tend to the injured, none of them paying attention to him or Rich. “I don’t think she should be alone right now. Come on or she might do something foolish. Why aren’t you following?”

“Because it’s Dawn Addison,” Rich replies, catching his friend by the wrist. He crouches and takes Ian down with him, making sure they remain out of sight. “This is the woman who wrapped duct tape around your neck. She tries to make you eat your breakfast in a bowl on the floor every morning. I don’t have anything against her, but I’m not going out of my way to check on her. Besides, the idea of being in that forest gives me the creeps. They get worse when I imagine being alone with Dawn in there.”

“So she thinks I’m a dog and not person. She’s still one of us,” the younger man says, sighing at the eye roll he gets in return. Slipping his wrist free, Ian crawls backwards until he is out of reach. “Fine, she’s one of my people since you’re not supposed to be here. Haven’t you wanted to investigate the forest anyway? You’re always talking about the basement, but the source of the ghosts could be there too. If you really want to prove you’re not delusional then you need to check every lead.”

Rich clicks his camera a few times and watches as several patients are escorted back to the building. “I hope you realize that you’re a horrible person. If I was delusional then you’re only feeding my problems and making it harder for me to leave this place. Think about that while we check on Dawn and see if we can find an open grave or disturbed holy land. We’re only going out there for an hour though. Once the sun is over there, the mission is over and I’m coming back with or without you.”

“Deal, but I’ll take the lead.”

Ian begins to crawl along the ground, but stops when he realizes how suspicious that would be. Instead, he calmly walks toward the furthest tennis court that is only a few yards away from the edge of the forest. Rich remains a few steps behind, which makes his friend think he will retreat at any moment. Nobody pays any attention to the pair since there is already a group playing a game. Ian waves to the orderly and stretches his arms before breaking into a slow jog and gesturing for Rich to do the same. They make a few laps around the court, their circles gradually getting wider and wider. None of those inside the fenced area pay much attention to the pair and focus more on their game.

“Make a break for it now,” Ian hisses when they are on their seventh pass of the forest. He sprints for the trees and is happy to hear Rich is right behind him. The two men hear some yelling from the orderly and patients, but they have vanished into the shadowy forest before any of them can reach the fence’s door.