*I WANNA SAY THAT I'M NOT A CRUEL PERSON. I FEEL JUST AS BAD AS YOU ALL DO. I'M SORRY THAT I PUT JEFF IN A COMA AND BELIEVE ME IF I COULD I WOULD REWRITE THINGS AGAIN BUT I ALREADY GOT EVERYTHING SET FOR THIS STORY. TRUST ME, IT'LL ALL BE WORTH IT I PROMISE YOU GUYS. I'M ONLY TRYING TO MAKE THE STORY A LITTLE MORE INTENSE AND ANTICIPATING. THAT'S WHAT BEING A WRITER IS ABOUT, INTEREST AND ENTERTAINMENT NO MATTER HOW HARD IT IS EVEN FOR THE WRITER. HOPE THAT MADE SENSE BUT I ENJOY WRITING, BECAUSE I KNOW IT'S GONNA TURN INTO SOMETHING GREAT IN THE END. AND, HELL, IF I CAN BEAR THIS THAN YOU CAN TOO! JUST NEEDED TO GET THIS OUT. OKAY, I'M DONE RANTING. PROCEED WITH THE STORY.*

Chapter 41

After going through about another week of school it's the weekend. It's Saturday morning and I'm finishing up getting ready to meet up with Ian and borrow my dads car to drive up to Harville. I grab my phone and a bag just in case if I need anything. I walk out of the mansion after saying good-bye to everyone. I make my way through the woods, navigating through easily from roaming around so many times and becoming familiar to the area. I make it out onto a street and head for my house.

Once there I walk in and see my dad, drinking coffee on the couch. "Hey dad," I said to him. He looks up and gives me a smile. "Hey baby girl," he said, "glad to see you again."

"Me too," I said and added, "I've come to borrow the car." He gave me a puzzled look but went up into his room to grab his car keys anyway. "Make sure you bring it back safe and sound, before your mom gets back," he explained. I nodded and kissed his unshaven cheek. "Bye dad," I said and waved him good-bye. He waved with two fingers and sipped his coffee. I walked out the front door and closed it behind me. I made my way to my dad's car and unlocked it. I started it up as I slid the keys into the ignition and the engine stirred awake.

I backed out of the drive-way and drove to Ian's house. Once I made it there I texted him that I was outside. After a couple minutes of waiting he finally came out of his front door. He wore black jeans, a blue plaid button shirt and a Guns N' Roses shirt. He always had a thing for the best. I stepped out of the car to meet him and he gave me a smile.

"Morning," he said. I nodded and said, "You ready to go?"

"Only if I get to drive," he said with a sly smirk. I stared at him and eventually gave in as I rolled my eyes and went towards the passenger's door. He chuckled and eagerly opened the driver's door and jumped in. He put his hands on the wheel and grinned. "Mighty fine car," he said, "I might just want to buy it off you."

"It's my dad's," I informed. He chuckled and said, "Well he has a good taste in cars." He started driving and I sat in my seat patiently. As houses, buildings and trees whizzed past us I watched as it started to drizzle. The soft pattering of rain nearly put me to sleep, if only Ian hadn't turned up the radio to max.

"Oh Hell yeah!" he exclaimed and started singing along with the song playing. "She's my cherry pie! Cool drink of water! Such a sweet surprise! Taste so good! Make a grown man cry! Sweet cherry pie! YEEEEAAAAH!!!!"

"Ian what are you-?!"

"WEELLL swingin' on the front porch! swingin' on the lawn! Swingin' where we want cause there ain't nobody home! I think about baseball, I'll swing all night! Yeah!"

"Ian chill man jus-!"

"Swingin' in the living room! Swingin' in the kitchen! Most folks don't cause they're too busy BITCHIN'! Swingin' in there cause she wanted me to feed her! So I mixed up the batter and she licked up the beater!"

Ian-!"

"I scream, you scream! We all scream for her! Don't even try cause you can't ignore her! She's my cherry pie! Cool drink of water! Such a sweet surprise! Tastes so good! Make a grown man cry! Sweet cherry pie! OH YEEEAAH!!!"

"Ian what the Hell are you doing?!" I exclaimed, finally getting to him. He looked at me and said, "Letting the feels take control! What else does it look like I'm doing?!"

"It looks like you're being weird," I stated.

"Whateva!!!" he yelled and started singing again, "She's my cherry pie! Put a smile on your face! Ten miles wide! Looks so good! Bring a tear to your eye! Sweet cherry pie! YEAAAH!!!"

Great, now I'm stuck with this thing the whole entire drive. Aren't I special?

...

Thirty minutes have passed and we're already nearing the front gates of the institution. As soon as we were allowed entrance we found a parking spot and got out of the car. "You ready for this?" Ian asked me, concern in his voice. I nodded and started walking to the front doors. He followed behind and we stepped in. Nurses, doctors and patients walked around the lobby while some visitors sat on the comfy looking maroon chairs. I saw the receptionist and walked up to her desk. She looked up at me and said, "How can I help you ma'am?

I looked over at Ian with a nervous look. He nods in approval and I clear my throat. I hope this works. "Yes I would like to see the records of a patient."

"We don't usually give that out to just anyone Miss," she said, "I'm going to need to see some ID."

I gulped and looked at Ian for an idea. He had the same look in his eyes as I did, nervousness. What will I do? I can't just tell her that I'm the proxy and I need to see some records of my missing grandmother or else the world will end. What do I do?

"Uhh," I stammered. I'm beat. As I was about to come up with a stupid lie a man came up to the receptionist and said, "Ms. Lane, they're with me."

"Who are these kids," she asked him. The doctor chuckled and said, "They are my interns...yes, interns! Now why don't I take them to my office and have them start on their work for today!"

She gave the doctor a strange look but let us pass. We started walking with the unknown doctor through pearl white halls filled with other doctors or nurses. After a while of silence we made it to his supposed office he had talked about. Ian and I walked in and the doctor closed the door behind us. We turned around and he gave us a smile. "I can't believe you're here, in the flesh. I never thought you would come to this institution, my dear. And might I say you have a handsome boyfriend as well!"

"I-I'm not her boyfriend-." Ian tried to say but was only interrupted. "It's amazing how boys these days grow. You must be at least, what, 5'10?"

"Yeah I am," Ian said, with a bit of amazement. The doctor chuckled and said, "Don't sound so surprised."

I finally had enough of the small talk and got straight to what I needed to say. "Okay, who are you?" I asked. The doctor gave me a stunned look but then laughed aloud. "Silly. I forgot to introduce myself! Well, little Miss, my name is Dr. Brendan. But that's just a cover name. Shhh, don't tell the staff!"

"Then what is your actual name," Ian asked, suspicious. The doctor smiled and said, "Some call me a monster. Others call me a blessing. But I prefer none of those titles! So, hello! My name is Dr. Smiley!"

...

I stared at the doctor, mostly wondering why he would have such a strange name. But as I looked at Ian I could see in his eyes, a mixture of shock, fear and more amazement. He knew who this guy was.

Ian spoke up, "You mean the Dr. Smiley?" The doctor chuckled and said, "Well I wouldn't see myself as being anyone special by using "the" before my name but...yes that is I."

"You know who this guy is?" I ask Ian. He nods and says,"Yes I do!"

"So judging by this," Dr. Smiley started, "you must be familiar with my work, yes?"

Ian nodded and said, "But what I don't get is...why are you working here?"

Dr. Smiley's lips curled at the corners and he said, "It's merely a cover job. Although I honestly don't like it, I have to do this if I don't want to get caught. No one should know of my real work unless I want them to know."

"What do you mean by real work?" I asked him. He looks at me, with his crimson eyes and smiles. "Well, you see, I help people."

"Help people how?" I ask. He walks closer to me and leans forward, his dark hair falling into his eyes. "I am a doctor. But I'm not an ordinary doctor. I help people in a way like nothing else. Instead of saving my patients from death like regular doctors...I help them embrace it."

My eyes widened and I said, "So you're just killing people?!"

"Correction," he said, "it's helping."

"Call it what you will but you're just another killer," I said.

He frowned slightly and cleared his throat. He backed away and put his hands behind his back. "Well, enough with the chit chat. We seem to be getting off at a bad start here and I don't want that. Now I don't want to waste your time. You're here for one reason and one reason only! Isn't that right Little Elizabeth?"

I blushed from surprise. "How do you know my name?"

He chuckles and says, "I know everything, my dear. Now come!" He opened the door and lead us all out. We started walking through the halls again and I asked, "Where are you taking us?"

He didn't turn around to look at me but he did speak. "I'm going to get you your grandmother's files. That is what you want right? Maribel Umber was her name was it?"

I said, "Yes but...how did you-?"

"Like I said before, I know everything," he said with a hint of amusement. Ian and I followed him and I asked, "So you're just going to get us her files? You're not gonna report us or turn us over to security?"

He laughed aloud and said, "Even if I did, I'm sure mere security guards can't stop the proxy. And before you ask the same thing again...I know everything. Now hurry along!"

...

We finally came to a bigger room that had file cabinets along the walls. Are all of those holding patients' files? That's a lot of patients! Dr. Smiley walked along one side of the room, examining file cabinets intently. He jumped up slightly and opened a cabinet up. He sifted through a bunch of files and he finally picked up one. He looked through it and smiled widely. He handed me the folder and said, "Here you go! I hope you find whatever you're looking for in there."

I looked at Ian and he seemed anxious too. I opened the folder and looked at the papers inside. It must've been years since these files have been in that old file cabinet but strangely enough the papers look brand new. I looked at all the papers, scanning every word for any clue on my grandmother's whereabouts. It says that she escaped from the institution seventeen years ago. Its been a while, huh? I read papers that told of her condition too. She suffered from a case of schizophrenia, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and Hysteria. What happened to her? Was it inherited? Or was it because of the fact that she was the proxy...? If so, I wonder if that will happen to me too.... After reading the first two papers I finally came down to her visitors list. I looked at all the names, finding anyone who looked reasonable. There were some random people here and there but the name that came out repeatedly was someone named "Oliver Ferrell". I furrowed my brow and said, "Who's Oliver Ferrell?"

Dr. Smiley shrugged and said, "I'm not sure. But he had seemed to visit her a lot back then. Must be a good friend or maybe a boyfriend?"

"Maybe...," I muttered. I took the list and gave back the folder to Dr. Smiley. "Thank you for bringing us here," I told him. He nodded and put the file back in the cabinet. He gave me a smile and said, "Glad to help you, dear." I looked at the list and folded it up. I put it in my pocket and turned to Ian. "If I can find this Oliver Ferrell guy, maybe he can tell me about my grandmother."

"Do you really think you'll find him?" he asked. I shrugged and said, "But it's worth a shot isn't it?" He stared at me for a few moments and sighed. "All right," he added, "hopefully you find something." I smile and we all head out of the room. We go back to the lobby and Dr. Smiley says, "Well, have a safe trip you two! Hopefully I get to see you again."

"I hope that means something good," Ian mumbled.

Dr. Smiley laughed and said, "You never know..." Ian's eyes widened and he became uneasy. I rolled my eyes and said, "Thanks again, sir. I appreciate it."

"Don't mention it, Elizabeth," he started, "I hope you find your grandmother...before its too late."

I got nervous at those last words but pretended to not be bothered by it. Dr. Smiley sent us on our way and Ian and I walked back to the car. We got in and Ian started the car up. As we began driving back home I thought of those disorders my grandma was diagnosed with. Is it possible for me to get them as well? I am the proxy...maybe all the past hosts suffered from mental disorders too. I'm sure my panic attacks are already a sign of that. They haven't been coming recently but they can be random. Hopefully, I don't end up like my grandmother. Hopefully I won't be seeing Dr. Smiley in a patient room. It's bad enough that he seems to have a psychotic demeanor, I don't want to end up the same...