hard knock-on wood, Adonis rolled to his other side, to see Marthus push open the door.

“Good-morning buddy “

Marthus held the door open while he stood there motioning Adonis to get out of bed.

“Breakfast sounds good this morning you don’t wanna miss that”

 “wouldn’t miss it for anything in the world” 

Adonis went to the bathroom to wash up before Marthus escorted him to the cafeteria. keep in mind, normally patients go together in a line towards one destination. but since Adonis has always been considered a danger to them, he’s kept separate. but small rules like these makes other patients jealous. so, he usually gets to sleep in a little bit to avoid the traffic. 

Just entering the enormous dining hall was dramatic. voices had quieted down eyes were drawn in his direction.

“Worry about getting your food please “Marthus said

Adonis turned to accept his meal under the window and walked back out of the cafeteria next to Marthus.

“My office is a bit messed up I'm still working on that piece you’ve been helping me with during my lunch “

Sliding his card to open the door back on to the facility he let Adonis in first and followed behind. 

“I can’t wait to see what you’ve done so far to it “

“Yeah, its something, I was surprised at the beginning that you liked it. it’s a lot more color than I thought you could handle”.

His office was not spacious at all. you would think with the scale of such a building. but Adonis was able to eat while watching Marthus draw. he had been working on this cottage core themescape ever since he had first got there. it seemed like only now he was close to finishing it.

“So, if you’d like you can tell me what’s been going on, how is Emma?”

Nearly done with his food he swallowed and looked up at him “she’s recovering fast, “

“Mmm, nothing to say about you?”

“…oh! I proposed”

Marthus looked up from his work with a huge smile and laughed with his arms wide open. 

“You’ve gotta hug me bro, I don’t hear good news like that in this place “

Adonis smiled and hugged him, before he sat down, he looked at the artwork, he was amazed by the little bridges and ponds he had so realistically depicted. 

“You’re still on course for Sunday, even more great news” Marthus said

“that’s amazing news”

“So, keep your head down like you’ve been and there shouldn’t be any issues I promise”

Adonis sat down to digest his lunch and continued to watch Marthus color a tree.

“Alright I’m putting my pencil down, as agreed I’ve taken my ten minutes to work on it”

Marthus lifted the board and sat it on the floor against the wall, his full attention was on his patient, observant of his features of what he wore and how he sat in his chair.

“Part of the agreement was that you continue the medication we have prescribed you, how has that been fitting into all this?”

“Well, I don’t get sugar cookies if I one day told you I was done with them “

They both laughed but Adonis was testing the waters and like he imagined this is what Marthus said.

“No cookies and no review, c’mon that’s absurd to even throw out there. Have you taken the medication or not?”

“I have, I’m really grateful that I have” 

“Good stuff, so its safe to say your anger is under control now?”

Adonis shook his head yes and watched him type up the notes to his computer, scrolling, looking at him and typing some more.

“Alright so from here on out your golden ticket is written up, without a scratch on it, now is there anything you need to add before I send it up?”

“nothing “

Marthus nodded and sent the ticket up signifying he was approving that Adonis be released on Sunday, but it still had to be approved by Doctor Sutherland the director.

Marthus escorted him to the auditorium on the first-floor center to the entrance. the indoor theatre could house the hundreds that were treated here. upon entering the theatre room, the doctor on stage was heard clearly. by speakers implanted in the back row. A staff member was required to always follow him. so, he stood there by the door with him while he watched the performance. The theatre was massive. it was like he was in a totally different building females were separated on the left and males on the right. Adonis sat by himself at the very back. and took note of the amount of security and staff they had guarding the entrance. pacing the isles and even sitting among the patients in pairs of two.

“Hello everyone for those who are new, welcome. and for those who aren’t you already know that I’m going to go through the whole boring introduction slide. maybe it will be the thing that motivates you to get out of here, so here we go.”

The lights dimmed like in a normal theatre. and the curtains parted starting the show narrated by a woman’s voice.

"The queens construction started in 2011 and finished in

2016 .it was opened a few months after that. Founded by James r Hamilton. his private practice grew throughout the early 2000’s. to become one of the leading practices in medicine."

He had taken on various kinds of patients. friends, family.

people travelled from all corners of the world to seek his advice. because his vision was unique and large. it wasn’t a new approach to the way patients had been treated in the past. but being privately funded allowed Mr. Hamilton to stay true to his original practice. that made him successful in the first place. By 2010 he had saved enough money to fund his first physical institution in Colorado making each facility more of a home than a hospital through various methods you will experience in your stay here. Now his practice is world renowned. with your help we can make that happen so we can reach out and help those who don’t know about us."

“The core beliefs that have sustained the Hamilton foundation are. Respect, ambition, opportunity and courage. “

the lights returned.

 “ay leave them fucking off!”

The doctor on stage looked over at the boy somewhere up in the middle. 

“How are you doing today, Gary? “

“I’m fuckin pissed I wanna go home and go to sleep “

He spoke with a strong Irish accent, and it made Adonis laugh. 

“Settle down now we are about to engage in our morning read anyone here remember where we left off? “ 

There were a bunch of hands that went up and the doctor laughed. 

“Alright on three I’ll give you all the chance to speak ready,

1…2…”

There collective outburst was inaudible to Adonis, but the doctor seemed to hear them.

“I’m glad you all are excited about the read and that is good.

activating the imagination once a day is bound to have extremely good results. not only for your well being but for overall life “

A hand was risen after his statement. and he passed the microphone down to her.

Adonis was here when they tried to experiment giving everyone a microphone. and it was a disaster. people would interrupt the readings for fun or just destroy the equipment

“Reading for me has improved my imagination and boosted my self confidence. I use my new imagination to draw how I feel and I’m currently designing a kids book it keeps me excited to wake up every day “

The doctor clapped his hands together and smiled with excitement. upon being passed back the microphone he made it even more clear.

” Yes! I hope each of you heard her story and I don’t want anyone to become confused here or upset. Highlight what she said. She found something she loved and something that’s going to propel her out of her suffering “

He paused and looked out at the crowd. 

“It’s not that easy to find something that will do that… sometimes a simple life is a better life. “He paused.

“I don’t have any gifts. My life is with all of you. just like how Brienna gets excited thinking about her book every morning. I’m excited about you. keep life easy and enjoy the simple things. enjoy your complex minds…. I’ll be taking questions before we take a bite out of this book by napoleon hill” 

Adonis made sure he was the first one out. to avoid the bull rush of patients. 

This was the main time in the day when he would be exposed to the rest of the patients. which wasn’t his favorite thing to do. 

Like now he dragged out a long game of chess with one of the quietest male patients there. he looked younger than Adonis was. long brown hair with a tired baggy expression on his face. Not once did they talk even though they played often. When the time for lunch had come, he waited for everyone to exit the main floor and file out to the door with escorts at each end. Adonis sat there and stared at the crystal-clear chess pieces in front of him waiting for Marthus. He played with his king, knocking it over and then picking it back up. The sunlight shining down on him was ethereal and majestic, making the wait and the silence worth it. Marthus took a seat across from him at the table and watched him fiddle with his chess pieces. 

“Did you guys talk this time?”

“No, but I still appreciate his company” 

Adonis sat back in his chair and made eye contact with Marthus.

“I approved your ticket you know that, but somethings come up. An hour from now you will be escorted to the police station for questioning for an assault “

Adonis’s eyes widened, his heart increasing in speed. 

“No marthus, listen to me. I already know who it is, he’s playing you I was taken off the streets in their car…”

Marthus held his hand up, stopping him.

“I’m not allowed to discuss details of the case with you “

Adonis scoffed and stood from his chair abruptly causing it to fall back. 

“You know that as long as this case goes on, you’ll stay here until it’s solved”

“But Marthus, we have arrangements for Sunday! “Adonis shouted trembling with rage.

“I know, and you have until then for this case to disappear. I really wish you the best of luck bud…” 

Adonis looked in his direction. His wrathful expression faded to a calmer expressionless demeanor.

Marthus snapped his fingers in his direction.

“Talk to me bud, what's going on “

A strange gloss came over Adonis’s iris’s, Marthus moved his head to the side to watch the normal brown of his eyes fog and haze over. strangely Adonis just stood there moving only his eyes. in every direction that Marthus moved. he wouldn't blink nor did he move any other part of his body. his mouth parted and a slight swamp green glow emitted from the back of his throat. 

“Blackened ethereal void is where I've come …. everything you've ever known gets erased and replaced with it alone, with my nightmares, with my grief!”

 The light above him hurt his eyes. he tried to shield the light with his arm, but a loud clunk resisted him from moving.

His mother appeared to his left looking down at him, her mouth was moving but the ringing in his ears made him deaf. Adonis looked over at his handcuffed wrist. like the coveralls restraining him weren’t enough. what was the point of this? … where the hell was he? his wrists were handcuffed to the railings of a hospital bed. Hospital bed? Adonis inspected the rest of the room. a police officer and a doctor talked at the front door and his mother gently brushed his hair to the side. finally, his hearing came back.

“Why am I here?” he asked her. 

Rebecca opened her mouth to speak but the officer noticed he was awake and interrupted.

“Hey, are you feeling alright? how’s your head?”

“My head?”

Adonis tried to feel his skull with his right hand but couldn’t.

so he used his left and winced in pain feeling the row of staples and now the pain set in out of nowhere.

“You don’t seem to remember anything do you?”.

“Just tell me what the hell happened! “

“What is the last thing you remember? and we can make sense of it from there.

The officer said raising his hand in front of Adonis to calm him down.

Adonis sat up right and pulled frustratingly at his cuffed hand hinting for them to unlock it.

“I was playing chess with one of the patients I normally play with. we never talk but it just helped to pass time. and then after everyone left for lunch as usual Marthus my therapist came over to see me.”

“Was there anything unusual about his attitude before he attacked you?”

Shocked, confused, and equally in disbelief all at once he frowned at the cop. 

“What? attacked me? Why the hell would he do that? “

“Did you say something to him?” Adonis looked over at his mother who bit her finger in the corner watching the conversation play out.

“I just remember us talking. I think we were going to lunch.

but I can’t remember what we were talking about, I just remember hearing his voice and staring at my chess board.”

The officer waited to see if Adonis had anything else to say.

but knowing now that he had no memory of how he got here. he didn’t see the point in asking him anything more nor did he feel the need to be there, but Adonis wasn’t done.

“Hey! “

Adonis called after the officer who turned back around.

“Your turn” 

Adonis said leaning forward in his bed. the officer took a seat and started explaining everything.

“We have what happen on a recording, it seems to not have picked up any audio but. He attacked you “

“So why am I restrained like this? And where the hell is he? “

“You’re a high-risk patient I had to subdue you, you know that. and he’s actually in a holding cell at my station.”

“I need to see him “

“That’s not up to you, between your mother and the hospital we need an agreement that you can go. that they accept responsibility for your actions if anything does occur. so, it’s not that simple.”

 “He can go “Rebecca said

Adonis looked at his mother and then back at the officer.

who scratched his head making it obvious that he didn’t want him to go over there.

“I’ll call the hospital now. will you wait for an answer? “Rebecca said.

The officer stood and adjusted his belt smiling at them both. 

“don’t have a choice now I guess”

Now both of his wrists were cuffed, along with his restraining coveralls. it was the one condition the hospital had set for him to be able to go see Marthus. alongside his mother he took a ride in the back of the police cruiser to where Marthus was being held. on the way, he admired the filthy impoverished city. trash, tents, railways above the streets. Admiration wasn’t really the word he would use, maybe something more like disdain and Awe.

Leaving the patrol car, he noticed he had a lot of people’s attention. between cars passing and just the residents roaming the sidewalk. This city was putrid of cigarette and carbon monoxide, he could never stand to live here.

Adonis walked up the stairs next to his mother. the officer kept a close eye on him when he passed through the precinct. 

“Normally we house our lucky residents on this floor. but, given the condition of Mr. Grenali that I'm about to disclose to you he’s been placed on the lower level.”

“His condition?” Adonis said under his breath. 

“How long have you known Mr. Grenali? “The officer asked Adonis. 

“Over A year”

The officer looked down at the floor withhis hand on the stairwell door to access the level they needed to be. 

“Well, I'm sure this is not who you are used to seeing and I'm sorry “

Opening the door. the way down was lit by old dangling lamp fixtures that swayed now to the draft rushing in on the top floor. eerie in every way. Adonis followed the officer down the shadowy stairwell. with his mother’s hand on his shoulder. while they descended a single flight down to a door on their left. Adonis was feeling nervous, but even more unsure what he expected coming down to a place like this 

Narrow, much darker and intimidating in atmosphere. most of the barred cells were empty on each side. but Adonis did spot a few residents curled up into the darkest pocket of their rooms or in a meditative like shape. he got the feeling these people were forgotten, neglected. but he did see evidence of food lying around their area. it just wasn’t a place you wanted to ever find yourself locked in.

At last, the final cell. the brightest one. A man sat under his ceiling light, facing away from them. hunched over and completely still. The middle-aged form of his body clothed in the last pair of pants and shirt Adonis had last seen him in. It was Marthus. Adonis needed to get in there with him he didn’t want to talk behind these bars. He missed his friend, what was going on?

Adonis approached the bars and called out for him. but there was not a single movement made by him nor did he utter a single sound. An anger that was his , exploded out ward.

“LOOK AT ME!”

Marthus’s glasses… fell to the floor. and he looked up at the overhanging light that was flapping with moths.

“he’s getting stronger Adonis. if you don’t find the stone there will be no one in thehn galaxy to stop him…”

“What happened Marthus why are you in here?”

Marthus spoke through his teeth. with his head in-between his legs hitting himself on the temple as he spoke.

“He is the end of all things! A weapon Flushed forth from our own creator, to remind us of who our masters are!”

Before Adonis could speak, Marthus threw his stool chair up into the light. shattering it and blackening his entire room. 

“Step away from there!” 

The officer grabbed Adonis by his arm, but it was too late. Marthus had reached through the bars and took hold of his throat. hissing in his direction with a mist of saliva that spattered on his face. His eyes bloodshot, and wild. Pu uh

“Answer the call...” he demanded, maniacally.

Gripping Adonis tighter and tighter. Adonis couldn’t speak or breathe but he tried to beg Marthus to reconsider what he was doing. while his mother and the officer tried to pull Adonis free.

“Bring death to the Dragonai! bring harmony back to the void! … “

A taser was deployed into Marthus’s neck. but still he would not let go. Adonis was changing color in his face. he was fading. and then the officer broke Marthus’s hand with his baton. which then the weakened arm released Adonis. 

Choking and crawling towards the back of the wall. away from the cell that held the howling and swearing Man he no longer recognized. Adonis stared into the darkness of that cell and listened, why did he recognize what he was saying? It wasn’t the voice it was the words coming out, they belonged to someone else, but he couldn’t pin it to who until he said this

“Resurrect the destroyer, bring death to the Christian way, bring honor and glory to the cold hall!!”

Adonis sat they’re in disbelief while they tried to get him on his feet. and get him out of there. but Adonis was mesmerized in terror. the creature had a gotten a hold of him, it had done this to him but why? What happened!?

Finally, he rose to his feet. and as he walked away, he could hear a muffled last word. 

“Until we have heaven in sight …”

the door they came from was closed behind them. and they

were gathered around the bottom floor looking up to the precinct door.

“This is why we don’t take these chances “the officer said. 

“it’s not his fault “ 

Adonis croaked with a sore throat climbing the stairs first.