The Monsters of the Mind

Part 13

As soon as I grabbed Dr. Bose's hand, the scenery around us began to shift.

The once white walls darkened and turned into more of a cream color with the familiar brown stripes and painted roses while the white tiled flooring grew plush fibers, turning as scarlet as the carpeting on the first floor appeared. The windows disappeared and the tables morphed and stretched into a familiar bed, bedside table, and wardrobe. The room shrunk in size, returning to the normal size of my guest room at the Sea View Hotel.

"You'll probably feel a bit sick when you wake up again," Dr. Bose spoke grimly once everything returned to normal, "and now it's my turn to leave you."

"Dr. Bose, real quick," I turned to the ghost, "You mentioned that Maya and her friends denied Jimmy's offer for the midnight entertainment and that caused that other side of Jimmy - Hugo - to become upset. What happened?"

Dr. Bose looked down at his shoes, his hands fiddling with the rope still around his neck, before answering somberly, "Maya's friends were captured and tied up. Maya, on the other hand, was chased through the halls while she was trying to find the truth about the four of us."

"Four?" I asked, suddenly very worried.

"Yes. You've already met me and Amy, but you will need to talk to Harvey next," Dr. Bose looked around, as if expecting someone to hear him, before leaning forward, "I'd try the third floor if I were you."

I nodded, understanding, "Thank you, for everything."

As the world around me faded into blackness, Dr. Bose came forward and wrapped my spirit in his arm - no longer warm like it had when I first met him, but cold as ice - whispering, "No, thank you."

***

I could feel my head throb as I returned to the normal world. An ice patch had been placed on my forehead and I could sense another's presence nearby.

"Miss Martin?"

My eyes snapped open and I felt my heart nearly stop when I heard that familiar voice.

Jimmy Hall.

My body lurched forward again, as it did the last time I had an out-of-body experience. A large bowl was quickly placed before me, catching what had been breakfast. My heart was racing in my chest again and I was gasping - tears forming in my eyes, whether from the experience of being pulled from my body again or the fact that Jimmy Hall was still next to me. His hand was rubbing up and down my spine, the other still pressing the ice pack to my forehead while my own hands were grasping at the bowl in front of me.

I fell back, after everything had come out, out of breath and very tired.

I watched as Jimmy's face scrunched at the remains of breakfast before taking the bowl away and disappearing into the bathroom. I could hear the contents being dumped and the toilet being flushed before he returned.

"How are you feeling, Kylie?" Jimmy returned to his chair, the wooden one that had sat in front of the desk on the opposite side of the bed.

At breakfast earlier, he had been wearing his signature vest, tie, and bowler hat. Now, the bowler hat had been tossed to the wind - completely gone from his person - as well as his vest. The mint green patterned dress shirt sleeves were rolled up to his elbows again, the pair of suspenders he wore matching the plaid-stripes of his shirt perfectly. His face had gone completely ashen, his dark eyes wide with worry. 

"Sore," I admitted, my voice soft as my hand reached up to touch my forehead, "What happened?"

"Don't touch it," Jimmy advised, his hand grabbing mine and placing it back on the bed, "You ran into one of the office doors on the first floor as I was coming out of the room. The door left a cut where it hit you, and it'll bruise pretty good."

"I don't remember that..." I curled my hand into the covers, keeping my hand from touching it.

I did remember running to my room after seeing Dr. Bose in the bathroom, coughing up the nearly invisible shards of glass and blood from the sandwich kid-Jimmy had made him. I also remembered feeling someone chasing after me, hearing footsteps on the corridor before something hit me in the head.

But I also remembered seeing Jimmy's face, grinning wickedly at me from above.

"I doubt you would," Jimmy was saying, "It scared me half to death to hear a solid thunk on one side and you knocked out on the other."

I blinked hard, trying to focus on the present now, "How long was I out?"

Jimmy was silent before answering, "A good hour... hour and a half?"

It couldn't have been that long... could it?

My eyes shifted to the alarm clock on the bedside table. The hands read 10:20, but it was hard to know if Jimmy Hall was telling the truth on this one. My brain was hurting from too much thinking, trying to remember when it was that I had collided with whatever Jimmy had hit me with.

My scrunched face only made Jimmy more shifty, "Miss Martin - Kiley, maybe it would be best if you stayed in here and rested. I'll make up some soup and tea for you, if you want."

The offer was very tempting...

However, my fear - especially after what Dr. Bose had told me about the broken glass in his sandwich - made me be a bit more vigilant about what I would accept from this man. It made me also think back to the first night I had stayed here, when Jimmy dressed as Hugo Punch had offered me a glass of champagne. Something made me stop from drinking it, even though at first I was annoyed with my behavior.

It made me realize that this man could not be trusted, not when I was vulnerable.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Hall," I sat up slowly, pulling the ice pack from my head, "I actually think something fat and greasy might do the trick for me. I'll call a cab later and have the driver take me into town."

"But, Kiley -"

"Please, Jimmy," I did my best to give pleading eyes to him. I only would beg if absolutely necessary, and now seemed to be the best time to do so. I didn't want to risk any more injury to myself and I needed to find Harvey's spirit.

Jimmy stared at me for a long while, his eyes shifting between sadness and anger. Eventually, his shoulders slumped, "Very well."

"Thank you," I smiled, "I'm not planning on leaving just yet, probably around noon though. If you want to come with me, maybe we can eat at one of the diners together."

"I can't, I need to stay here and keep an eye on things, remember?"

I had almost forgotten, "Well, when I leave, would you like me to pick something up for you?"

Jimmy seemed to debate it, unsure with himself as well as he was with me.

"Let me think about it."

***

I looked at my forehead in the bathroom mirror shortly after Jimmy had left, claiming he needed to get back to his office and order a few things. 

The bruising didn't seem too bad, as it was hidden by my hairline, and there wasn't any cut that I could see. I let out a sigh of relief, at first afraid that I had more than just a bruise and a cut. Whatever it was that Jimmy had done, this felt like an attack.

'But Maya and her friends were also attacked by Jimmy Hall,' my mind thought, 'At least, that's what Dr. Bose said.'

"Yes, but don't forget that we're dealing with two pieces of a puzzle," I grumbled, "One is Jimmy, the other is Hugo."

'Still, it's starting to seem that he - they - know we're up to something. We'll have to tread carefully going forward.'

I couldn't agree more. Even though this attack didn't do collateral damage, it was warning - a warning that said this was only the beginning and that the next attack, if any, would be much worse. I scratched the back of my neck, I knew that I had to find Harvey Hall's spirit next - and he would be somewhere on the third floor from the information Dr. Bose's spirit had provided.

Getting up to that floor would be no problem, making sure I wasn't caught was another issue.