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I GOT CLOSER WITH Lino, Adie, and father Laurence as I got to know them better in the manor. I grew to enjoy their company and understand our differences. As for master Claudio, our relationship has not changed. He made it clear that we are nothing but master and butler, so that is how I have been treating him ever since.

    It's been two months since the time he told us about our roles here at the manor. During those times, he taught us everything we know that's according to our roles. While doing so, he also continued his sessions with Winter as promised.

    We seldom visit the town, and that's only when the master has to attend a party. Once a week he also leaves the manor to go to the hospital that he works for in the city. He has yet to bring any of us there because none of us know what hospital he works for.

     Other than that, it's also been two months since he last touched me. I do things for him and we'd visit his mansion, but I don't ask him to do anything for me like before. I usually just go to my room and go to sleep. Master Claudio doesn't mind though because he never forced me to do anything; he doesn't even ask me. It just goes to show how little he cares about such things.

     Master Claudio is the type of man who will embrace you if you asked. As long as you have a hole he can stick his dick in, and as long as you keep quiet and don't ask questions, he'll do it for you.

     I'm not disappointed though, and one reason is because I have no strong connection with him whatsoever. Just because we had a one-night stand doesn't mean he's obligated to take care of me. I've learned that shit the hard way.

     "Bishop," a voice calls out, and I blink and realize that I was sitting in front of the devil himself, who is currently wearing his plague doctor uniform.

     "May I talk to Winter again so we can begin the session?" he asks, and I take a deep breath and nod my head before closing my eyes. The cold temperature suddenly turns hot as a bright light flashed in front of me, and when I opened my eyes, I was surprised to see Dr. Van sitting across from me, holding his notebook and pen.

     It's already Wednesday? I didn't even notice.

     "Good morning Dr. Van. It's a pleasure to meet you again," I greet, and the doctor nods his head to acknowledge it.

     "We're still working on mapping your system, and so far I've only met three of your alters: Bishop, Alice, and Autumn. Shall we run through them again?" doctor Van asks, and I nod my head as an answer.

     Doctor Van stands from his seat and approaches the small blackboard beside his desk. He pulls out the sheet that's covering it, revealing the system map that the doctor and I have made together through our sessions.

     The map showed the names of my alters, who my alters are close with, who they hate, the reason why they come out, and their purpose for appearing. Surprisingly enough, because of this map, I get to understand my alters better.

     "Alice has been responsive. She comes out and answers my question when we need her to. As for Autumn, she still only comes out when she has the time and strength to do so, but you get to talk to her, yes?"

     "Yes."

     "Good," the doctor answers as he takes a chalk and incircles something on the board. It was the word Krimson, and that alone made me shiver. The last time the doctor tried to call for him. He was asking questions that might bring him out, but Krimson never appeared. Instead, I fainted, and Dr. Van told me that I was unconscious for almost an hour.

     "Do you want us to try to call Krimson again?" He then asks me.

     I was unsure about it as I unconsciously touch my wrists again. The doctor notices it and puts the chalk down before walking back to his seat. "Alright, we'll try it next time," he says, and I almost sighed in relief.

     "For now let's talk about the dreams that you mentioned to me last week. What do you think it depicts?" he asks instead as he takes his notebook and pen again, ready to write everything that I'm about to tell him.

     I was going to answer his question, but deep inside me, I felt unsure. Something has been bugging me since last week. I didn't know when I'd be able to ask him this question, so I decided to finally grab the opportunity now.

     "Doctor, what did you do to Bishop?" I ask, and the doctor looks away from his notebook, slowly lifting his head to look at me, probably surprised to hear my question.

     "And why would you suddenly ask me that?" He says. "Is he mad at me? Did he ask you to ask me that?"

     "N-No, he's actually not mad at you, but recently he's more concentrated and focused. He's not so lifeless anymore like before," I explain to him, and the doctor tilts his head to the side, probably thinking about what I just told him.

     "So he's doing better. Is that what you mean?"

     "Yes, exactly."

     The confirmation made doctor Van pause for a second. I couldn't tell what kind of expression he has on his face because of his mask, but for some reason, I feel like he was grinning. He was giving off that kind of aura.

     "Can you tell me more about your observation? I'm a bit curious now," he says, leaning closer to me.

     I was about to open my mouth to answer, but then my vision turns black and my body gives in. I felt myself falling off the seat, but just before it happens, I stop myself and immediately grab onto the arm of the sofa.

     "Winter?" master Claudio calls out. "Are you okay?"

     I take a deep breath and look back at the doctor. The look on my face made him sigh; he probably found out that he wasn't talking to Winter anymore.

     "Let's end this session early," I tell him with an angry tone.

     "But we barely even begun," he insists.

     "I'm not in the mood to do it anymore," I fire back as I finally stand from the sofa, but before I could even take my leave, Claudio tells me, "That's not for you to decide, Bishop. You're not my patient."

     I clench my fist in anger and get ready to argue with him, but master Claudio puts his notebook down and demands, "Bring Winter back."

     "No."

     "Don't be stubborn."

     "I said no."

     Master Claudio sighs again, and to my surprise, he removes his mask, revealing the face that I despise so much. He looks at me straight in the eyes, and even though I wanted to look away, I couldn't move. His stare always captures me, enabling my ability to think with my head.

     "Your stubbornness was never a desirable trait," he tells me.

     "I am not something that one should be desired. That's not the reason why I'm here," I answer back, and master Claudio chuckles and stands from his chair.

     "Reason you say." Master Claudio walks closer to me, his eyes locked on mine. But as he got closer, a take a step back, almost like I was trying to run away from him. "Everyone in this manor has something to desire, and the fact that you're still here makes it obvious that you desire something too," he confidently tells me, and that confidence angered me even more.

     "Then are you implying that I am what you desire?" I ask back, and the low chuckle he gave out made the hair on my skin stand.

     Master Claudio finally moves away from me and goes back to his desk to put his things back to where they belong, indicating that our session has finally ended. "Fine, since you wasted the only time Winter can have his session then I'm giving you an assignment," he says without even looking back at me.

     "I want you to draw," he then reveals, automatically making me furrow my brows in confusion.

     "Draw? Out of nowhere, you want me to...draw?" I ask as I walk closer to him again.

     Master Claudio hides the files in his drawer before finally looking back at me to explain his unexpected assignment. "Last time I made Winter draw but he can barely make a perfect circle. He said Alice is the one who draws the best, and when I asked Alice, she said that she only draws what Bishop feels. You're Bishop, are you not?"

     "W-Well yes but—"

     "Good, then you can get started. You have a sketchbook, right? The one we bought when we went to town. Use that and draw something. Next week show it to me..."

     Master Claudio goes back to his seat right after. He then starts pulling his necktie off, and while he was doing so, he looks at me and continues, "Show me, and then let's talk about what we both desire."

     I gulp as soon as I hear his statement, but I remain a poker face. He has always teased me like this. There's no point if I give in to him. Giving in makes him the winner

     "The session's over. You may go," he says, and I bow my head and leave the room before I do anything further that might ruin the abstinence that I've been doing for the past two months.

     As soon as I got out of the master's office, I was instantly welcomed by a new employee wearing a gas mask. Her presence almost startled me, but I immediately composed myself and said, "Good morning."

      The woman–whose name I do not know–bows to acknowledge my greeting before walking away.

     These are the indirect employees. They arrived at the manor a week ago, so the Hell House has been very busy. There are at least thirty of them in total, and they speak a different language that only master Claudio can speak so we don't really get to converse with them. And to top it all off, they wear those gas masks too.

     Master Claudio told us that they're trained professionals, and most of them have worked at hospitals, specifically mental hospitals. I don't exactly know where they came from, but if the master himself brought them here then I have no right to complain.

     "Winter," a voice suddenly calls out.

     I turn around and see Lino walking toward me, looking like a total mess while holding a toolbox.

     "Why are you out? Is your session already over?" He asks as he got closer.

     I sigh and show him my middle finger, making his sweet expression change into an annoyed one. "Oh, it's just you," he says with a bitter look, making me roll my eyes. What did he mean by it's just you?

      "Why are you here? It's Wednesday, isn't it? Winter is supposed to be out," Lino tells me as he continues walking down the hall. I catch up to him and walk by his side before saying, "Well shit happened, okay? Winter can't always have his way. I'm still the host so what I say goes."

     "Tell that to your friend Krimson," he teases, almost making me step on his feet in irritation.

     "Is he even really...there? You know, inside you? None of us have even met him. What if he's fake all along."

     "Please, you don't even want to go there. It's a miracle that he hasn't shown himself yet. If he did come out then we're in big trouble. You don't know what he's capable of," I explain, and Lino just shrugs it off until we finally arrive at an empty room.

     Lino drops the toolbox on the floor and then starts inspecting the windows.

     "What's this room for?" I ask as I lean on the doorframe with my arms crossed.

     While Lino tightened the screws on the window, he answers me, "Master said we need an extra room for therapy sessions for the patients that will be arriving next week."

     "Therapy sessions? For criminals that are sentenced to death?" I confusingly ask with my right eyebrow raised.

      "What? If I was sentenced to death then at least I want to die sane," Lino says, and I couldn't really argue with that. If I was in the same situation, I think I'd want to be cured too before I meet my end.

     "So, any news about the patients that will be arriving soon? Do you know their genders or their ages at least?" I ask next, and Lino moves away from the window and checks its sturdiness for the last time before looking back at me.

     "Other than the fact that there are eight patients in total, I have no fucking clue what they are or what they did to be sentenced to death, and honestly, I'm not very interested," Lino says as he walks back to his toolbox. He was about to leave the room, but then he seemed to have remembered something as he looks back at me and says, "Oh yeah, since you already opened it up, can you check the rooms on the third floor and check if the doors are secured. I have to fix another broken pipe downstairs."

     I was about to complain and tell him that he should do it himself, but I sighed and nodded my head instead since I didn't really have anything better to do.

     "Fine," I say, and Lino pulls out a key from his dozens of keys and hands it over to me.

     I didn't say anything else and just walk my way to the upper floor. The stairs to the third floor were blocked by an iron gate that Lino and a few other workers had installed just a couple of days ago. Master Claudio said it's to keep the patients from escaping, but honestly, I think it's the other way around. I think it's to keep others from getting inside. The only other exit for that floor is the elevator, but of course, it's also locked.

     I finally open the gate and walk up the stairs. As I got to the floor, I was welcomed by the eerie silence and the cold atmosphere. The manor itself felt like a hunted house, but somehow, this floor felt extra unsettling. 

     "I can't believe I agreed to do this," I tell myself as I walk to rooms zero to seven where the patients will be staying in.

     "Room zero," I say, inspecting the door like what Lino wanted me to do. I then check the rest of the doors, and when I made my final diagnosis, I look back at all eight rooms and give out a loud sigh.

     So this is it. These are the rooms that will be housing the patients that we were all tasked to take care of. A week from now, the purpose of our stay here will commence. All that preparation will fall down to these eight patients.

     I couldn't really say it out loud at the session earlier, but the reason why I'm more concentrated and focused now like how Winter described is because of that very purpose. To be given a task–a responsibility–I couldn't help but be overwhelmed by it.

     As emotionless as Claudio may be, he knew what he was doing when he recruited us. He knew how to control us and how to make us stay. It was that easy for him.

     Now, I can't even run away anymore. Now that I'm in this too deep.

     "Bishop!" I voice suddenly calls out, making me flinch. I turn back around and see father Laurence walking toward me with a tired expression. He wasn't wearing his cassock anymore, but instead, he was wearing a cook's uniform that was covered in sauce stain.

     "Marcelino said your session with the master was over so I came looking for you," He says, which explained why he was panting so much. The fool must have run his way here.

      "And why were you looking for me?" I ask him.

     "Well now that you're free, help me out in the kitchen. It's hard enough that I have to feed forty people, but now my assistant got the flu and is currently sick in bed," he explains, making me chuckle since people's suffering and misfortune always amused me.

     "Are you even listening? Help me out! Marcelino's too busy and Adeline still ignores me. You're the only hope I have," he insists, and I sigh heavily again.

     "Fine fine, let's go," I say as I drape my arm around his shoulder as we walk down the stairs.

     "Let's walk faster. This floor really gives me the creeps," father Laurence comments.

     I chuckle again and look back at the patient's rooms for one last time before finally leaving the floor with Laurence. Things might not have gone the way we wanted, but I guess this marks the beginning of our new chapter.

     A beginning that all my alters were not prepared for.

     "Oh, my little Winter. I hope you're ready for tomorrow to come..."

to be continued...