Madeline Ru. Return to the shelter. Madelyn Roux Animal Shelter Escape Games

Brooklyn, 1968

Three weeks earlier

They led him into a small room in mute silence. It's not the first time Ricky has gone down this road, only last time it was Victorwood in the Hamptons and he walked willingly. This is the third "refuge" in a row. All this is starting to get annoying.

Hanging his head, he stared at the floor - his lifelong performance. Did he repent? Not at all, he wanted to get out of this place. Brooklyn Hospital. Although it is called a madhouse, it sounds just as pathetic and stupid as retreat centers. He wants nothing to do with it.

I need to see my parents, he said. The conversation made them squeeze his hands even tighter. One of the orderlies pulled out a protective mask, Ricky didn't have to pretend to look shocked. - Whoa, hey, there's no need for that. I just want to talk to my mom. You must understand that some mistake has occurred. If I could just talk to her...

Okay, boy. Of course. Mistake. the nurse chuckled. He was taller and stronger than Ricky, so kicking was useless. - We don't want to hurt you, Rick. We are trying to help.

But my mom...

We've heard this before. A thousand times.

He had a pleasant voice, that orderly. Gentle. Kind. Usually it happens like this: a pleasant voice, saying pleasant things, covering up dark intentions. These voices wanted to change him. At times he was even tempted to let them.

I want to see my parents,” he repeated calmly. It was hard to hide the horror in his voice as he was being dragged into a cell in a place he didn't know at all. The camera is in a psych ward. - Please, just let me talk to them. I know it sounds ridiculous, but I think I can really make them understand.

Too late, said the nurse. - Now we will take care of you. Your parents will come to you when you feel better.

Warden Crawford is the best in the business,” another man said. His voice was warm, but his gaze was cold through Rikki. As if he wasn't there at all, or as if he were just a speck of dirt.

He really is the best, - mechanically added the orderly taller.

Ricky began to fight them, freeing himself. He had already heard these words about other doctors, other "specialists". It was a cipher. Everything was encrypted, everything that these people said in "sanatoriums" and hospitals. They never said what they really meant, that he would never come out, never be free until he was a completely different person. That tall, strong orderly on the right cursed under his breath, struggling to hold on to Ricky's hand and reached for something he couldn't see.

No part of this publication may be copied or reproduced in any form without the written permission of the publisher.

Published with permission from HarperCollins Children's Books, a division of HarperCollins Publishers

Translated by edition:

Roux M. Asylum: A Novel / Madeleine Roux. - New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2013. - 320 rubles.

Built of stone—dark, gray stone—it was hidden from prying eyes behind rugged mountains. This house contained those who could not take care of themselves, those who heard voices, who had strange thoughts and who did strange things. They were to be kept in this building by force. Once here, they could never leave.

Chapter #1

Dan felt like he was about to vomit.

The taxi had been jolting along the narrow, gravel road for five miles, and this only added to the nervous excitement. The driver kept cursing potholes and flat tires. Dan just had to hope that he wouldn't claim a refund for some kind of breakdown - the fare from the airport was already quite high.

Despite the fact that it was actually morning, the light behind the windows barely glimmered - this was due to the fact that a dense forest towered on both sides of the road.

It's easy to get lost in the woods like this, Dan thought.

Are you still alive back there?

- What? Yes, I'm fine,” Dan replied, realizing he hadn't said a word since getting into the car. “Just getting ready for level ground, that’s all.

At last the taxi pulled out of the woods, and everything was mottled and silvery green in the summer sun.

This is New Hampshire College, the place where Dan will spend the next five weeks.

These summer courses are a lifeline for Dan, they were for him the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel for the entire school year. He will be among children who want to learn, who do their homework in advance, and not hastily and somehow by their lockers just before the bell. He couldn't wait to finally get there.

From the window, Dan saw several buildings and immediately realized that these were educational buildings, since their photos were posted on the college website. Beautiful colonial-style brick houses nestled around a courtyard of perfectly trimmed emerald green grass. Several early birds were already out on the lawn and throwing frisbees in all directions. How did these guys manage to become friends so quickly? Maybe it's really easy here.

The driver hesitated when he saw a stop sign at the intersection; to the right, diagonally, a pretty, unpretentious church with a high white spire rose, behind it a row of houses stretched. Leaning forward a little, Dan saw the taxi driver turn on his right turn signal.

“Actually, to the left,” Dan hissed.

The driver shrugged.

“Well, since you say so… Only the damn machine seems to have doubts. - And as if demonstrating this, the taxi driver slammed his fist on the screen of the GPS navigator. He showed that the planned route ends here.

“Left,” Dan repeated, less confident this time. In fact, he did not understand how he knew the way, because he did not look through the route in advance, but something in this old little church stirred up his memory - if not memory, but some kind of inner instinct.

Dan drummed his fingers on the seat, eager to see where he would live. The student residences were undergoing renovations, so course students were to be housed in a building called Brooklyn, which was described in the brochure as "a former mental institution and historic site." In other words, mental hospital.

Dan was still surprised that there were no photos of Brooklyn on the site. But as soon as the taxi turned the corner and the building came into view, he understood why.

Though there was a fresh coat of paint on the walls of the building and some enterprising gardener went a little overboard planting bright hydrangea bushes along the path, Brooklyn loomed at the end of the road like a warning sign. Dan could not have imagined that the building could look so intimidating, but Brooklyn clearly exceeded all expectations. Strange, but for some reason it felt like this house was watching him.

Dan shuddered, imagining how the patients who had once been placed in this psychiatric hospital felt. Did they know? Did any of them feel this strange panic, or were they too sick to realize it?

He shook his head. What strange thoughts... He was a student - not a patient. And as he had already assured Paul and Sandy, Brooklyn was no longer a mental institution; it closed in 1972, and later bought by the college and turned into a hostel with shared bathrooms and separate floors for boys and girls.

“Here we are,” the taxi driver said, although Dan noticed that he had stopped about thirty feet from the curb. Maybe Dan wasn't the only one who had strange feelings about this place. Nevertheless, he opened his wallet and pulled out three twenties that his parents had given him.

“Keep the change,” he said, leaving.

Getting his things out of the trunk, Dan finally felt the reality of this day clearly. A guy in a blue baseball cap walked past with a stack of comics in his hands. This made Dan smile. “Own people,” he thought, and headed towards the hostel. It will be his home for the next five weeks.

Chapter #2

At Dan's high school, someone who had a brand new BMW parked in the parking lot was considered cool, and Apple appliances and large piles of books seemed to be indicators of coolness in CKNGK.

That's what they must have called these courses, Dan thought quickly. The college student volunteers who handed over the keys to the rooms and helped the kids check in kept saying, "Welcome to PKNGK!" clueless guy.

Dan walked up the porch and into the wide foyer. A huge chandelier could not fully illuminate the room, because there were many wooden partitions and massive furniture. Beyond the large archway opposite the entrance, Dan noticed a wide staircase and corridors to either side of it. Even looking at the students scurrying back and forth, he could not get rid of some kind of depressive feeling.

Dan started up the stairs with his suitcase. After climbing three long flights of stairs, he reached his room number 3808. Dan lowered his things, opened the door, and found that the roommate he had been assigned had already checked in. Or, perhaps, it would be more correct to say, put everything on the shelves. Books, Japanese comics, reference books of all shapes and sizes (mostly biology) were neatly arranged by color on the bookshelves provided for that purpose. The neighbor occupied exactly half the room, his suitcase, lying under the bed, neatly zipped up. Half the closet was already filled with coat hangers for shirts, trousers, and jackets—white hangers for shirts and jackets, blue for trousers.

I was delighted. I really liked her. In the second part, we will be told about how three friends - Dan, Abby and Jordan will come together again for their own investigation. And the reason for their collection again is the photo that was sent to them with the inscription "You are not finished."

The layout of the book is incredible. Exactly like the pictures.

It is the content of the pictures that makes the book similar to the trilogy about strange children. And for some reason, many say that they are similar, although in the review of the first part, I mentioned that the plots are ABSOLUTELY different.

Sometimes there were pictures, but the mention of them, what kind of photo, what it refers to in the text was further and was a little inconvenient.

At the beginning of reading, I thought that the book would disappoint me, because it was a little boring to read. But this "feeling" quickly disappeared and I plunged into this story again. The story is very interesting and mysterious. It is very intriguing to unravel this intricate story together with the main characters, to find out what the matter is all the same.

Some moments from the first book are revealed, a more complete picture of this story becomes.

This book is amazing and intriguing!

My reviews of books about strange children and the first part of the Orphanage:

"City of Hollows. Escape from Peculiar Children"- second part

"Library of Souls. No Exit from Peculiar Children's Home"- the third part. I don’t have a review of the first one, but it WORTH reading!