The halls of Ravensbrook Asylum for the Unsettled Youth echoed with distant screams and muffled sobs. The caretaker’s heels clicked sharply against the warped wooden floorboards, each step steady and practised. She didn’t even flinch when a loud bang sounded from upstairs—it must be a common occurrence.

“Right this way, dear." She said briskly. Her tone tried for warmth but came out thin and weary, the voice of someone long done pretending to care.

She pushed open two tall double doors leading into what appeared to be a common room—surprisingly, one where patients were even allowed to interact.

“Social hours are between eleven o’clock and three." She recited. “After that, you’ll wash up. Dinner is served at six. Bedtime by eight.” With that, she turned sharply on her heel and left, as though lingering too long among the patients might somehow contaminate her.

The common room was small and dim, smelling faintly of dust and disinfectant. Only a few figures occupied the space.

A boy with brown hair lounged on a worn couch near a tall shelf of books, an old tome resting in his hands. Beside him sat a dark-haired boy whose piercing gaze lingered on you a moment too long.

“Don’t stare, William." The reader muttered without looking up. His eyes flicked toward you only briefly before sinking back into the pages.

William scoffed. “Just observing the new victim, George." He said, biting out the name with mocking precision.

“You’re both awfully rude." Another voice said lightly. “The least you could do is greet them.”

At a small table across the room sat a dark-eyed boy hunched over a chessboard. Opposite him, a fair-haired boy studied the pieces in silence.

“I’m Thomas.” The first boy said, glancing up with a faint, forced smile. “And this is Samuel.”

Samuel only tilted his head in acknowledgement, blue eyes darting briefly toward you before returning to the board.