up from the ground. Nothing has changed around, but the lull was not as long as we would like. A few minutes later, the heavy, long-drawn, terrifying wail of the city siren echoed throughout the city. The last time she worked was during a fire, but this time it’s completely different. At that moment, everything seemed to come alive. The fog began to dissolve in the air, and the light gradually turned into darkness. Alex panicked, his heart pounding in his chest, when he saw the darkness at the very end of the main street, which was quickly swallowing up the houses, one by one, like a black hole. There was a scream in the school. Alex didn’t know exactly whose, because he was already far from the school and running to the car. He was praying out of fear, his legs were giving way, adrenaline was pounding in his head, and the siren was getting louder and louder.
And now he sees the car! With a final tug, Alex jumped into it. For a second he was afraid: “Tedd might have the keys!!” But, alas, this guy left the car open with the keys, he probably thought that it was unlikely that anyone but them would come here.
The engine roared, and Alex started backing up. Darkness engulfed the entire city and pursued only him, but the car turned sharply and sped down the highway at full speed. He had to get off this highway before the darkness swallowed him up. Ahead, a “2 km to Centralia” sign flashed in the headlights.
“Where am I?” Alex thought.
He opened his eyes. There was no fog, and he recognized the area. He was glad to be back in Centralia. A man in a firefighter’s uniform knocked on the car window.
– Are you all right, are you alive? – he asked.
Alex began to come to his senses a little. It turned out that he lost consciousness at the wheel, drove off the highway, very close to the city and crashed into an apartment building. The impact crushed him under the steering wheel, the airbag did not work.
Alex tried to get out, but the pulling pain in his ribs prevented him from doing so.
– So don’t worry, kid, and sit up straight, we’ll get you out, – the firefighter continued to talk to him. The door jammed, and Fortune’s cry was heard. After a while, the door was removed, the steering wheel too, and Alex was helped out.
After inhaling fresh air, Alex felt dizzy and lost consciousness again.
He woke up in the hospital. Next to him sat a policeman in a white coat and a man, judging by his clothes and badge, a psychiatrist. The man looked at Alex and smiled:
– Welcome back, if I’m not mistaken, Alex, right?
– Why ask me about something that you already know perfectly well? – Alex replied calmly. The Doctor chuckled:
– There’s nothing wrong with his memory, it’s good. Tell me then, please, where were you yesterday?
– Where was I yesterday? Alex repeated. “By the way, where were you yesterday?” flashed through his head, memories like needles stabbed into his brain, darkness, blood, siren…
– Okay, calm down, nurse, bring gauze, the guy’s nose is bleeding, relax, Alex, it’s okay, you’re safe.
Meanwhile, the policeman was writing something down in his journal. Alex spoke softly:
– Yesterday, my friends and I went to a Quiet hill..
– Go on, – the doctor replied, wiping away the blood.
– We decided to go to school… Then…
– What?
– Something happened…
– What happened?
Alex frowned for a second. The thought that he might end up in a psychiatric hospital again haunted him, he did not know what to answer.
– My nose started bleeding. Megan ran after Bill, Tedd and Sarah to school, – he continued.
– Where are they now?
Goosebumps ran all over his body.
– They stayed in that city… at school…
– Why did you leave without them?
– The alarm went off, the city siren… darkness… it enveloped everything and haunted me… I couldn’t stay there.
The doctor stood up, sighed, took out his glasses from his pocket and, putting them on his nose, opened a magazine. After making a few notes, he nodded to the policeman and left. The policeman closed his notes, adjusted his cap, and then looked at Alex.
– Orderlies! Take him to Hospital No. 16, the boy inhaled too much gas…
His heart was pounding in his chest, and Alex jumped out of bed:
– No! There was no smell of gas! Everything was safe and sound there, this place is still cursed! Why don’t you believe me? – the fear that he would have to spend the rest of his life in a mental hospital prompted him to take actions that were not typical of him. He remembers all too well the days when he was first brought to this place.
– Don’t be nervous, it’s all right, – the policeman tried to calm him down, the nurse was already standing behind him with a syringe.
– I know! You want to take me back there! – Alex couldn’t control himself, adrenaline surged in his blood, and he tried to run out of the room. But they grabbed him and injected him with sleeping pills.
“I’m telling the truth…” were his last words before he fell asleep.
Chapter 2: Psychiatric Hospital No. 16
Alex was lying in a small room on a soft bed, covered with a large, equally soft blanket.
One hand was handcuffed to the bed. Next to her was a bedside table, on which stood a beautiful white vase with a bouquet of lush scarlet roses.
“The same walls again… white, cold…” Alex thought and realized where he was. Sunlight filtered through a small window located almost under the ceiling. There were bars on the window. The door merged with the wall. At that moment, the same doctor entered the room, carrying a tray with a variety of food.
The tray was a portable table with extendable legs, and the doctor pulled them out and put them on the floor. Then he smiled and, approaching the patient, undid the handcuffs.
– How did you sleep? – he asked.
– Very tight, – Alex replied sarcastically.
– I’m glad, but what do you say about what happened at the Quiet Hill?
Alex looked at him.
– If I tell you the same thing, I’ll be handcuffed again, am I right?
The Doctor smiled again.
– No, I see that you have calmed down, so you no longer need handcuffs. By the way, I’ve looked at your file. It’s not your first time in a place like this, is it?
– Yes,
