Chapter 2: Our world is ending
Two years went by quickly since Mario was forced into the madhouse, he was treated fairly by most, the fact that his so-called madness drove him to kill a murderer was seen in a positive way. The ones responsible for his treatment were focused on his prompt rehabilitation so he could go back into society, they have been medicating him so that his mind won't show him hallucinations anymore.
Mario has endured quietly, because he knows the truth, he has been waiting patiently for this day to come, today, June 6 is the day the world as they know it is going to end. He's been preparing, he could have escaped before they put him inside the mental institution, he could have gotten away with the murder if he pleaded self-defense. Yet, there was a reason for him to be there, Blake said he would be protected from the invaders currently roaming the world, a place like this is of no interest to them.
It almost nine o'clock, 'three hours until midnight', he heard a voice inside his head, it was time to start moving if he was going to survive this night. Boris, a male nurse in charge of his care was one of those who sympathized with Mario, so he tried his best to befriend and help him during his stay there, so he wasn't surprised when Mario asked for him.
"My friend", Mario said when Boris arrived to his room, "I hate to ask this of you, but I need a favor". The male nurse was a head taller than Mario, his big frame looked imposing and was the reason many patients knew to behave around him. "What can I do for you?", Boris answered smiling, not expecting Mario to ask for anything too outrageous. "I need you to tell Dr. Moore I'm ready to talk, but it has to be now, in private, she will know what I mean".
Mario knew Marianne Moore was on the facilities tonight, a young female doctor who started working here a couple of months ago. According to his exchanges with her so far, she is the one most likely to believe and help him with his plan, she and Boris are crucial for tonight to go as planned. He'd rather not have to force his way out of the institution, but it is his plan B.
Marianne was in her office, researching a couple of documents about bipolar disorder for one of her patients, when a knock on the door distracted her. "Come in", she said, a tall male nurse walked into her office, she was somewhat intimidated by the man, memories of a patient going out of control came to mind, Boris barely had to make an effort to handle the situation.
"Dr. Moore, a patient is requesting to meet with you", Boris said, she could hear a slight tinge of nervousness coming from his voice.
"At this hour, I don't take meetings at this time of the day", she answered, but her curiosity won over her again, "who is it?", she asked.
"Mario Guerra", the male nurse remembered the words the patient said before, "Mario said he is ready to talk, it has to be now and privately, he said you would understand".
'Him?', Mario Guerra was one of the most interesting patients Marianne has met since starting to work as a psychiatrist, they have talked about multiple topics, he even managed to convince her to play chess with him. But he refused to speak about his condition, his 'hallucinations' as he himself called them.
"Bring him to the entertainment room, there should not be anyone else there at this time", her curiosity was always getting the best out of her, she thought to herself.
Several minutes later, Marianne was sitting in front of a chess set, waiting for Mario arrive. Their last conversations have been just like this, playing chess while she tries to get him to talk more about himself.
When Mario is brought to the room he smiles as Dr. Moore is waiting for him with the table ready to begin their 'game', sadly this time he won't be playing, who knows if they will be able to play again after tonight.
Marianne eyes the patient, one of the things that surprised her is his incredible physical condition, apparently Mario has been working out since the day he arrived. She saw his pictures from before, a slightly overweight nerdy looking guy. Now, he is fit, she can see the definition in the muscles of his arms, the shirt he is wearing tightly fitting his body.
"I would like Boris to hear what I'm about to say", Mario says as he notices the male nurse leaving the room, who pauses when hearing his name.
Doctor Moore signals for the nurse to sit in a chair close to them, knowing Mario wouldn't ask for him to stay if it wasn't important.
"I need you to remain quiet and listen", Mario begins talking, "what I'm about to say is going to sound crazier than you think I am", he pauses, "so let me show you proof before explaining myself".
Both Marianne and Boris look confused, so far they have a good impression of Mario and don't think of him as one of the "crazy" patients inside the institution, on the contrary, he has proven to be the most reasonable of them.
"Blake", his voice hesitating, "show yourself".
'His imaginary friend', thinks Dr. Moore, it was mentioned in his file by the doctors who treated Mario in his childhood. 'That's it, he still has his imaginary friend, that's what he didn't want to talk about before'.
As Marianne is trying to analyze Mario, her thoughts are interrupted by a humanoid figure coming out from Mario's shadow. Her brain stops working and she doesn't know how to react, her eyes widen and her mouth open in disbelief.
Meanwhile, Boris quickly stands up from the chair, almost falling in the process, "Dios mío", he says unconsciously using spanish, his original language.
Mario sighs, he can understand their reaction, but he needs them to calm down, so he gestures Blake to come back into his shadow.
"I need you two to calm down and let me explain", he says as calmly as possible, trying to get them out of their shock.
Marianne hears his voice and stares at him, blinking repeatedly trying to process what just happened, 'am I going crazy?', she questions her own sanity, until she sees Boris looking more scared than she is. 'Mass hallucination? But how?', her mind races trying to find the answers.
"That was Blake", Mario explains, "my best friend". When he sees the two of them reacting to his words, he asks them to keep calm and listen to him.
"There is a reason for all of this, and I need you to listen, you are my only hope of surviving tonight", they stare at him, confused, but remain quiet, waiting for him to speak.
He tells them his story, about his childhood and the things he could see that no one else could, about Blake protecting him from those things, how he went to get treatment and led a normal life for almost ten years, he tells them about the monster who murdered a teenage girl, a creature possessing a man's body to feed itself.
"No man", Boris paces back and forth trying to get rid of the feelings currently controlling his mind, "this is insane", the male nurse looks scared.
Marianne remains quiet, her mind is a mess, she doesn't want to believe what Mario is saying but she can see the seriousness of his face, 'he doesn't need to lie', seeing Blake appear in front of her makes it hard to come up with a good explanation. She tries to calm herself, thinking about every word the man said.
"What is it you need to survive tonight?", she asks cautiously while her gaze focus on Mario.
"Not just me", he answers, "all of us, our world is coming to an end".
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