Chapter 74- Into The Thorns

“The car is about three miles from here,” Levi declared as he entered the clearing. Crystal watched as Perl pulled, he shoulders back and straightened up her body. A move she had seen her mother do; it only fueled her anger towards the two women. Perl was as much to blame. She had helped and aided Jeanette, allowed her to do the things she did.
If only someone had said no to her. Challenged her, even then maybe they wouldn’t have been in the position they found themselves in. Yet Crystal knew that her mother still wouldn’t have backed down. She liked to be in control
“What about mom,” Crystal whispered.
“My father will have his men retrieve her body,” Levi said in a soft voice. She didn’t have the strength to answer and nodded.
“Help me get them to their feet,” Perl demanded, as she began to tug and pull Opal until she was standing and swaying from side to side.
Crystal looked away. Their lives had been wasted. Why would a mother do such a thing to her child? It was her eyes, which bothered her the most. They held no light, just blank.
Taking slow steps, she bent down beside Emerald and began to gently move her into a sitting position. The process took them around an hour before they guided each of them to the minibus.
“Where’d you get the bus?” Crystal asked as she buckled in Emerald.
“The compound,” he winked, and she shook her head. Closing the door she climbed into the front, forcing Perl to squeeze herself into the back.
The drive to Arden Grange was around half hour. The car was silent, tension thick in the air.
No one knew what to say. There had been too much damage; one wrong word could easily have started a screaming match. One no one needed at that time. It was hard to keep quiet when all Crystal wanted to do was vent. Make Perl see the wrongness in her ways. But she didn’t have the strength.
There were too many problems, too much she had to fix at once. What had her mother done? Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she told herself she could do it. The fight wasn’t over. It had only just begun. She just had to survive.
She just had to make things right. Become a better woman than her mother and chase away the shadows of doubt and lies her parents had left behind. She would make it through the dark times. All she had to do was stay strong, even though sinking into the dark depths of despair felt like the easiest option. Crystal knew it wouldn’t resolve anything.
Then there was Josephine, she needed to save her from the sleeping spell she was under and get her out of that Wicked Forest. Poor Ruby had been tricked and betrayed by their own father. Now she had to do the bidding of a demon. Ruby wasn’t the sort of person that would harm another. No that was wrong. She didn’t use to be that sort of person. But she had changed. They all had. Now Ruby would have to live knowing she was the one that had killed their mother. Tricked into doing so by their father. That alone could be enough to destroy her. Crystal just hoped she was strong enough to drive the darkness and guilt away.
Then there was the virus that was wiping out the witches. Where did she start? Groaning she watched the building to the Mental institute loom closer. They called it an Asylum like it was a place of refuge. In reality it was a place where they put people, they didn’t know what to do with. After a while they were forgotten. The saying is true, out of sight out of mind. As they drew closer to the grey and derey building Crystal swore to herself, she would not forget about them.
She would save them and give them a chance at life. Whatever life was, perhaps their second chance at life would be a happy one for them.
The old house that portrayed as the Asylum was in desperate need of renovations. The dingy brick walls were streaked by the dripping of a leakage from the guttering. Black mold grew across the walls like a deadly disease. Large metal shutters blocked any visible view from the windows and were covered in rust and a green slim.
It was a disgrace; even the driveway was uneven with potholes and cracks in the concrete.
“We can’t leave them here. They might catch something,” Crystal muttered.
“We have no choice, what the future holds is too dangerous for them. This is the safest place,” Perl answered her. Crystal got the urge to slap Perl and thanked herself lucky that she was in the front. How could such a place be safe?
“You gonna share your premonition with us?” Levi asked raising one brow.
“No,” Perl said defensibly.
“Yeah, didn’t think so,” Levi grumbled, and Crystal couldn’t hold back her grin, from his pouting face. If Perl knew what was heading their way, then sharing that information would help them. But she wasn’t that kind of person.
That grin was wiped off as they entered the building. The strong smell of urine and gone of food hit her full force and she pinched her nose to stop the smell. It was no use she could practically taste it and gagged.
“Ever heard of a cleaner?” Crystal spat. The once wooden floors looked like they hadn’t been cleaned in years. The walls were a mucky cream with stains. A lone desk with a woman with a face that looked like it had been slapped a few times blocked an iron door.
Crystal marched up to the desk.
“Crystal…” Perl began, and she cut her off holding up her hand.
“This place is disgusting,” she near enough yelled at the woman behind the desk.
“Sorry about my sister, we would like to check in, Opal, Emerald, ….” She reeled of the rest of the names as if she had done it a thousand times before.
“Did they enjoy their day release?” the woman asked with no emotion.
“I think the outside world proved too much for them,” Perl answered politely.
“Follow me.” the woman instructed and used a card to open the steel door. Behind the door was a narrow hall which they walked to the end then took a sharp turn that led into another corridor. They went through another steel door and down more narrow corridors. All the same with grime covered walls and steel doors that ran either side. Finally, she paused outside another one of their famous doors and opened it up.
Inside the room was small and contained six bunk beds, three sets of draws and a wooden table and chairs. The room was dark, no light could get in through the covered window.
Crystal watched as the girl’s walked zombie like to their beds and climbed in closing their eyes to sleep.
There wasn’t one item that made the room look homely. It resembled a prison.
“I want flowers to put in here, a few pictures on the walls and a rug on the floor,” Crystal told the woman who let out a hallow laugh.
“This is an Asylum and not a holiday camp,” the woman said bitterly.
Clenching her hands into fists Crystal wasn’t in the mood for her smarminess.
“It wasn’t a question, it was an order,” she snapped and the ground shook as her anger became uncontrollable. Levi placed his hand on her shoulder and whispered. “We will make sure they get whatever you ask for,” she nodded and let out a deep breath.
“If you want them to have luxuries then you pay extra,” the woman said, and Crystal was ready to blast her with her power when Levi began to drag her away and back through the maze of corridors.
That woman needed to learn some manners and Crystal was more than ever in the mood to teach her some.
The further away from the room she walked the more she felt like she was abandoning them when they needed her. Leaving them locked up not just in their own mind but a prison that held no love or compassion.