"True, nervous." "Very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am." "But why will you say that I am mad?" "The disease had sharpened my senses, not destroyed, not dulled them." "Above all was the sense of hearing acute." "I heard all things, in the heaven and in the earth." "I heard many things in hell." "How then am I mad?" "Hearken and observe how healthily, how calmly I can tell you the whole story." "I was taken." "I sacrificed myself to protect my team." "To protect you all." "But my sacrifice never ends." "No, not again." "Dear God, not again." "Will I ever escape, will I ever be free?" "Don't tell them anything." "Do not tell them anything." "Don't let them break you." "Don't tell them anything!" "I wasn't always broken." "I once commanded the skies." "But now..." "I can count on no one." "I Don't even know if I can count on myself." "Maybe, maybe this time it's over." "Maybe I've finally taken back my life and my mind." "The price was too high." "No one else would have given so much." "Let's start with last week." "I pray it's over now and you can believe me." "And I can be at peace." "And be with her." "♪ I'm makin' lies up ♪" "♪ In my sleep ♪" "♪ I run ♪" "♪ From truth ♪" "How's he doing?" "He's been awake for a few hours." "Did he say anything?" "That's why we called you." "He won't stop talking." "Was he carrying anything?" "Just this." "All right." "How you doing, Sean?" "Gave us quite a scare with that disappearing act." "You doing all right'?" "You wanna talk about what happened?" "I'm here to help." "A lot of people trying to help me lately." "Here." "Where you been?" "You're shaking, Sean." "Are you nervous?" "True, I'm nervous, I'm very nervous." "But why would that make me mad'?" "I feel as if I can hear everything." "I'm sharper than ever." "I can hear your doubts, hear your guilt." "I can hear all things in heaven." "Many things in hell." "This is interview number 13." "Do you remember what happened?" "I remember everything." "I am not a madman." "I loved the old man." "He never wronged me, ridiculed, insulted me." "I didn't want him for his money." "Money there was." "I think it was his eye." "Yes, it was his eye." "Whenever it fell upon me, my blood ran cold." "And so by degrees, very gradually," "I made up my mind to take the life of the old man." "And thus rid myself of the eye forever." "Yes, his eye." "Why did he have to die'?" "Tell me again, Sean, what did he know?" "What do you remember?" "Listen how calmly and precisely I can tell you this story." "And maybe you'll believe me." "My first time in New Orleans." "I wish I had better memories of this beautiful city." "But my road to sanctuary ran through this town, and I can never forget." "As I rode the ferry across the Mississippi River," "I could feel some clarity, faint and fleeting, but I was hopeful." "Maybe I could find peace." "Maybe my sacrifice could come to an end." "Sean?" "Yes." "I'm here to make sure you get to the facility." "They don't want you wandering off of it." "I didn't expect all of this." "It's nothing." "We always make sure our guests are comfortable." "Lot of high up military officials and politicians come through here." "Is it far from here?" "Huh, you in a hurry'?" "It's not that far at all." "Just relax and enjoy the view of the river." "Sure is nice this time of year, ain't it'?" "Yes, it is." "Yeah, river's always changing." "Full of life." "Full of expression." "You lived here long?" "All my life." "My parents were born here on the island where I was raised." "And their parents." "And before that, my great grandparents." "Interesting." "Most of my family are fishermen, proudly." "Boy, I can't think of any other place I'd rather be raised." "Tell you the truth, there's so many stories, I could write a book on it." "When I was younger, it was right around here, me and my father were fishing and caught a catfish about half my size." "We'll be there soon." "I ain't gonna talk your ear off, man." "No, I'm sorry." "I, uh, I just had a thought." "I wanted to write it down." "It helps me, so I don't forget." "It's all right." "I get it." "But he didn't get it." "No one could know the price I paid." "I don't want credit." "I just want my life back." "Maybe this time I could get it right." "I'd been told I was going to see the best, get the very best of care." "I wanted to believe that with all of my heart." "All that was left of it anyway." "Hello?" "Hello?" "Hello?" "What'?" "Who's that'?" "My name's Sean." "I'm supposed to be checking in." "Oh, I wasn't expecting you." "Normally the driver calls when someone is dropped off." "I must've fallen asleep." "Sorry about the lights." "You can't depend on the power in this place." "It goes out almost every day." "Well, you're used to it, it seems." "Yeah, I suppose I am." "It's easier to adapt than to try to make things the way you think they ought to be." "Have you been here long?" "All my life." "Or at least as long as I can remember." "My father was a doctor, too." "It's in your blood then." "That's good." "I need a lot of help I'm told." "Oh, what you need is afresh start." "And a new look on life, which will come in the morning." "Oh, if it were that simple." "Well, that's up to you." "It's all in your attitude." "Haven't you heard that'?" "I'm pretty tired." "Is there a room or...'?" "Of course." "Follow me." "This place can seem like a maze at first, but you will get used to it, soon enough." "This place must be pretty old I assume." "Oh, it's history dates all the way back to the late 1800s." "House was commissioned by a young fella named Arthur Harris." "When he passed away, his son redid the decor and introduced the bust of Edward Mordrake." "He supposedly had a face at the back of his head." "It would cry and whisper things to him while he tried to sleep." "What happened to him'?" "Who, Edward or young master Harris'?" "Both I guess." "Well, strangely, their fate was the same." "They both killed themselves." "But these stories are better saved for when a better light can be seen and the hour is not so late." "Easy there." "Now, don't worry." "It's not gonna bite." "Promise you, it never hurt anybody." "I'm sorry, I, uh..." "Don't think anything of it." "Go on, get some rest." "We have a lot of work to do." "Good night." "Good night." "Now, this is the point." "You fancy me mad." "Madmen know nothing." "But you should've seen me." "You should've seen how wisely I proceeded, with what caution, with what foresight, with what dissimulation I went to work." "You can relax." "Relax." "How could anyone relax under this scrutiny?" "Constant questions, distrusting glances." "The truth is here." "You will see how it unfolds." "You will see my insanity is intact." "And I will end this." "I knew I could not be alone in this." "That would be just too cool." "Help was always just out of reach." "Just out of focus." "Shit." "I craved any escape." "Anything that would dull my senses." "Anything that would let me taste freedom." "Just a glimpse of a new start." "Or an end." "No!" "Only here, only in my blissful numb fog could I dare to hope, pray that she will come again." "Pray that she?" "!" "show me the way out." "Oh, my love, I did this for you." "I've paid this price for us." "To purchase our escape from the hell that torments me, that torment's us." "I will not break." "Too many pieces taken." "Too many pieces of me torn away." "Too many pieces of my heart!" "Beaten, stolen, broken." "Sean." "Jesus." "Now, calm down." "It was just a dream." "Calm down." "I don't rightly recall bourbon being the recommended treatment for memory loss." "Matter of fact, it's most often used to forget, although with limited success." "On a more serious note, this will cause you to forget everything, eventually, Sean." "This mixed with your pills could kill you." "I couldn't sleep." "Well, it's my own fault for leaving it here." "I'll take the blame this time, but no more drinking." "Come down when you feel up to it." "What time is it'?" "You slept most of the day away already, Sean, but the evening is still open." "We still have a lot of work to do." "I need coffee." "So, you must be the new meat for the grinder." "Excuse me'?" "You gonna get that'?" "Nah, I was waiting for it to bother someone enough to come fix it." "And, uh, you are'?" "Ariel." "Sean." "Breakfast?" "Uh, well, it's a little late for breakfast, wouldn't you say'?" "No, not for you, not in the literal sense of the word." "You, uh, smell like you had quite a time of it last night." "You look like hell." "You really should consider eating something." "Here, you finish prepping the eggs." "I'll get the pan ready." "So, how long have you worked here?" "Or are you, uh, are you a patient?" "Interesting." "So, you just met me, and my choice is either the Mad Hatter or Nurse Ratched." "Which would you prefer?" "I didn't mean it like that." "I just mean what are you doing here?" "Well, I'm cooking." "Couldn't I be the cook?" "I'm wearing an apron and everything." "I was just wondering why you were here, that's all." "Well, let me ask you something." "Sean the hobo." "How long were you out there riding the rails before the old man took pity on you and took you in'?" "What'?" "I am doing exactly what you did." "I assumed, because you smell like whiskey and crab water, that you must be a crazy homeless man." "I'm sorry, I didn't, I didn't mean to judge." "I'm not some crazy hobo." "Actually I'm here because," "I'm having a problem with my memories." "Well, if you can't remember anything, then how do you know you're not a crazy homeless guy'?" "Consider yourself lucky you're not remembering." "Why is that'?" "Well, if you can't remember anything, then you can't regret anything." "No bad decisions." "Everything's brand new." "I never thought about it like that before." "So why are you here?" "What's wrong with you'?" "Boy, you are a direct one, aren't you'?" "Well, I guess I might as well spill my guts to you." "You won't remember it anyway." "It's not like that at all." "I, uh..." "My memories get fuzzy, they go in and out, that's all." "You sure don't get sarcasm, do you'?" "As if I am about to spill my guts to a perfect stranger." "I am, however, more than happy to dispense advice." "Well, I've seen so many doctors in my life," "I'm used to spilling my guts to strangers." "Those things will kill you, you know." "I mean, they might not stop your heart, but they can end what's special about you." "So, how long you here for'?" "I'm not sure yet." "Hmm, let me see." "Yep, you keep taking these, you're gonna be here forever." "Yeah, I don't think so." "The doctor's told me that..." "That these would help you'?" "The only thing that's gonna help you... is in here." "You get your mind right... you'll be free." "That's my advice." "I feel like I've met you before." "Only time will tell." "Oh." "I gotta get home before I turn into a pumpkin." "Wait, wait, home?" "You don't live here?" "So many questions and we just met." "What about your breakfast?" "Oh, that." "You can have it." "I hate eggs." "You cook for me next time." "How do I find you'?" "Just click your heels together three times." "Sean." "Yeah, I'm coming." "Do you Play?" "I have." "Not for many years." "Like riding a bike they say." "I always hated this part." "Once the game begins, I can see what to do, but I never know how to start." "The great unknown, huh'?" "Well, you have the most freedom at the beginning." "There really is no wrong first move." "Except not to make one." "Your move." "What do you dream about, Sean'?" "I have enough trouble remembering life." "I don't really focus on what's not important." "I see." "And the result'?" "The same." "Everything stays liquid." "It's like I'm trying to grab at water." "Everything just falls through the cracks." "As we play, the number of moves left, shrink." "At first, there are more moves than there are people on Earth." "In the end, it will come down to just one." "Your move." "What's the last thing you remember before coming here'?" "I'm sorry, what'?" "Your brain is a muscle." "It needs exercise." "Let's start with something simple." "What's the last thing you remember before arriving here'?" "View of the city from the bridge." "I remember watching the bridge from the ferry." "What color was the ferry, Sean'?" "I don't recall." "Focus." "What color was the ferry'?" "I can't remember." "White with red trim." "My options seem to be limited at this point, Sean." "Hmm." "I never was much good at checkers." "Now, chess, there is a game." "Do you Play?" "I recall how the pieces move, just not any of the strategies." "I thought we were gonna play chess." "Well, we need pieces first, don't we'?" "Wood carving." "The job of the carver is easy." "You simply cutaway everything that isn't needed." "Course there's no going back." "You can't add to a carving, only take away." "Yes, I get it, but won't this take along time'?" "Well, what would you suggest we do'?" "The mind is tricky." "It has supposedly limitless ideas and scope, yet occupies no more space than a pitcher of water." "Now, pay attention." "The trick is to cut away from yourself." "If you try to remove too much at once, you'll crack the carving." "Here, practice." "And every day try to finish a new piece." "Much better game than checkers at any rate." "Do you make all your students learn this'?" "Ariel didn't mention anything about it." "Ariel?" "When did you meet her'?" "She was cooking in the kitchen." "I see." "Sean, I don't think it's a good idea for you to get too involved with the other patients." "They're here for their own reasons." "It would be of no benefit or interest for you to interact socially with them." "It would only be a distraction." "I didn't think anything of it." "She seemed like a nice girl." "I don't think that she was trying to..." "Sean." "You need to focus, pay attention, take your medication." "As far as you're concerned, you and I are the only people in this house." "Try and hold your focus, Sean." "Will do." "I had begun to feel myself taking control." "Could feel my strength growing." "I knew something was just not right about the old man and his cold, dead eye." "I would wake and sneak to his door while the night was still and the house was dark." "Just beyond my awareness, a plan was forming." "L!" "would not be long until I would know what to do." "Be strong enough to act." "You all right, Sean'?" "I'm fine." "Seems you drifted in and out of sleep." "I'm not feeling well." "You're not trying hard enough to focus, Sean." "But these pieces are looking great." "When you arrived, do you remember what the weather looked like?" "I remember the colors." "No, we've been over that, Sean." "Got to go deeper, remember more." "Let's try again." "When I worked with the old man, clarity of purpose would escape me." "It was as if he was draining my strength of will." "Keeping me from her." "I must hold on to my mission." "I must be sure of the path." "Sure of what must be done." "You can relax, Sean." "Relax." "Of course, I..." "I had to get rid of the eye." "I was never kinder to the old man than during the whole week before I killed him." "And every night, about midnight," "I fumed the latch of his door and opened it, oh, so gently, and then, when I had made an opening sufficient for my head." "I felt restless in the house now." "Upon the eighth night, I was more than usually cautious in opening the door." "A watches' minute hand moves more quickly than did mine." "Never before that night had I felt the extent of my own powers, of my sagacity." "I could scarcely contain my feeling of triumph." "To think that there I was opening the door little by little and he not even to dream of my secret deeds or thoughts." "I fairly chuckled at the idea." "And perhaps he heard me, for he moved on the bed so suddenly, as it startled." "What'?" "Now, you may think that I drew back, but no." "Who's there?" "I kept quiet, still, and said nothing." "For a whole hour, I did not move a muscle, and, in the meantime, I did not hear him lie down." "He was still sitting up in bed, listening." "Just as I have done night after night, hearkening to the death watches on the wall." "Would a madman have been so wise as this?" "I undid the lantern cautiously." "I undid it just so much that a single thin ray fell upon the vulture eye." "And this I did for seven long nights." "Every night, just at midnight." "But I found the eye was always closed, and so it was impossible to do the work, for it was not the old man who vexed me, but his evil eye." "So you see, he would've been a very profound old man indeed to suspect that every night, just at 12:00," "I looked in upon him while he slept." "When I was alone, away from the old man, my memories seemed to become clearer." "I could allow myself lo see her." "To see us, my Ariel." "I knew it now." "How she would save me." "We would save each other." "No." "This is not real." "How can this be?" "I can set us both free." "Once he's gone... we can be together." "We can save each other." "We can free each other." "Hey there." "Tea?" "No, I'm okay." "Come, sit with me." "You still having trouble sleeping?" "How could you tell'?" "You look tired." "It's normal though." "Pretty much everybody has a problem sleeping now and then." "I have these wretched dreams." "Well, that's normal, too." "Everybody has bad dreams." "The world over." "Dreams of falling, dreams of being chased, being hurt." "Our teeth falling out." "Looking for our mothers." "We have dreams of hurting others." "My dreams are a lot worse than that." "What you need to do is just relax." "Think of nice things." "Like food." "Always helps me." "I think you need these more than I do." "I don't think so." "Your dreams will get better, Sean." "Trust me." "It's those pills that are hurting you." "Well, I don't have a lot of choice in the matter." "This is the path I'm on." "The quickest road out of here's the one I'm gonna take, so if that means taking these, that's what I'll do." "Out." "I tried 100 times to get out." "You'll never get out." "What'?" "Out of your dreams, silly." "Those will be with you forever." "It's your thoughts you have to change." "In the end, that's all we have left." "You know..." "I'm just a little tired." "Could we, uh, could we meet up later and talk'?" "Sure." "Whatever you like." "You finished the chess set." "I thought that I was..." "Yeah, Sean'?" "I only finished a few of these pieces last time." "I did let you finish them all, son." "And you did a good job for just learning." "What are you talking about'?" "No." "Sean, I want you to remain calm." "No lane's playing with you, no lane's trying to trick you." "Been working on these pieces all week." "All week." "And you've made good progress." "I've only been here for a few days." "I assure you, you've been here a week." "Don't you remember these pieces, Sean'?" "Excuse me." "Free to come and go as you please, Sean." "The only thing keeping you here is you." "How long have I been here?" "Why, what happened?" "What's wrong, what happened?" "I have to get out of here, all right'?" "I cannot be losing my memories." "I can't." "What is wrong with you'?" "How long have I been here?" "A week, I don't know." "I haven't exactly kept track." "A week." "God." "Hey, get yourself together." "Look at me." "This isn't important." "It is important." "It's very important!" "This is your problem, Sean." "What do you know about my problems?" "Hmm?" "What do you know?" "I've been through everything trying to remember, Ariel." "And I can't." "I'm scared." "Remember when I told you... that everything you need to get well is right in here?" "It's true." "I have to show you something." "What is this place?" "I'm pretty sure this used to be a ballroom." "Do you dance'?" "How do you know you don't dance'?" "You were in the military, were you not'?" "Yes." "But they teach us how to kill people, not dance with them." "I've been to a military ball." "I see how you men... twirling your partners around and around." "♪ Please meet me here ♪" "♪ Oh meet me here ♪" "Don't you think we should turn it down'?" "Gonna wake everyone up." "I hope so." "It's about time people around here started moving." "See?" "You were a dancer, especially in your past life." "No, I wasn't." "Okay." "I believe you." "Why this, why now?" "I must kill the eye, and then she can know the truth." "She will save me." "She will save us both." "I could sacrifice until then." "I could hold on until then." "I could pay the price." "I could be strong enough for us both." "I'm sorry." "I'm tired." "Thank you for the dance." "Any time." "She must know my heart." "She must know that I've been waiting for her." "She must know the price I have paid." "Why must my heart continue to bleed?" "Who's there'?" "How did you get in here?" "Why do you ask'?" "Finally, she knows." "Now we can escape together." "And be together." "It must be over now." "For we have paid the price." "And we have released each other." "It'll be over soon." "♪ My heart is alive ♪" "♪ Again ♪" "♪ Alive ♪" "♪ This is why ♪" "♪ I love you ♪" "♪ Breaking through The rule books on the way ♪" "♪ Leave these parts Behind us ♪" "♪ They don't matter anyway ♪" "♪ The past is gone ♪" "♪ Enslaved us yesterday ♪" "I wish we could escape from here." "Just get away from this house." "And fill your head up with entirely new memories." "The old man isn't any smarter than you or I." "We don't need him watching over us to get better." "♪ The sky below ♪" "♪ Above ooh oh yeah ♪" "Sean, are you in there, Sean?" "Do you remember now'?" "What's in the bag, Sean'?" "I feel so safe in your arms." "Clarity had returned." "The old man no longer had a hold on me." "The old man no longer had a hold on us." "Oh, I see you found my surprise." "Yes, and it's brilliant." "You found your skill." "Now we can move on to another project." "Well, how about a game first'?" "I believe after all your hard work, you deserve to make the first move." "So, what's next'?" "Well, you finished carving all the pieces, Sean, but they still need to be stained." "Have you ever stained wood before?" "Yes, I've treated a deck before." "Sometimes you have to make sacrifices in order to win." "Well, that's it for me." "I guess checkers is really my game." "Oh, you threw in the towel too soon I think." "You still had a play or two left." "I'll remember that for the next game." "Another?" "Of course." "Sean May I have a bit more water?" "Sure, Sean." "There you go." "What madman could've waited so patiently?" "So long... in that house." "With the old man... and the eye." "I waited." "Watched." "Presently, I heard a slight groan, and I knew it was the groan of mortal terror." "It was not a groan of pain or of grief, oh, no." "It was the low, stifled sound that arises from the bottom of the soul when overcharged with awe." "I knew the sound well." "Many a night, just at midnight, when all the world slept, it has welled up from my own bosom, deepening with its dreadful echo of the terrors that distract me." "I say I knew it well." "I knew what the old man felt and pitied him, although I chuckled at heart." "I know that he had been lying awake ever since the first slight noise, when he had turned in the bed." "His fears had been ever since growing upon him." "He'd been trying to fancy them cause, but could not." "He'd been saying to himself," ""It is nothing but the wind in the chimney." "It is only a mouse crossing the floor."" "Or "It is merely a cricket, which has made a single chirp."" "Yes, he'd been trying to comfort himself with these suspicions, but he had found it in vain, all in vain." "Because death, in approaching him, had stalked with his black shadow before him, and enveloped the victim." "Upon the eighth night, I was more than usually cautious in opening the door." "A watches' minute hand moves more quickly than did mine." "Never before that night had I felt the extent of my own powers, of my capacity." "I could scarcely contain my feeling of triumph." "To think that there I was opening the door little by little and he hide even to dream of my secret deeds or thoughts." "And it was the mournful influence of the unperceived shadow that caused him to feel, although he neither saw nor heard, to feel the presence of my head within the room." "And I resolved to open a little, a very little crevice in the lantern." "So I opened it." "You cannot imagine how stealthily, until at length a single dim ray like the thread of a spider shot out from the crevice and fell upon the vulture eye." "It was open." "Wide, wide open." "And I grew furious as I gazed upon it." "I saw it with perfect dist/ﬂatness, all a dull blue, with a hideous veil over it." "But what you mistake for madness is but over acuteness of the sense." "There came to my ears a little dull, quick sound, such as a watch makes when enveloped in cotton." "I know that sound well, too." "It was the beating of the old man's heart." "It increased my fury, as the beating of the drum stimulates the soldier info courage." "But the beating grew louder and louder." "I thought the heart must burst." "And now a new anxiety seized me." "The sound would be heard by a neighbor." "The old man's hour had come." "He shrieked once, once only." "In an instant, I dragged him to the floor and pulled the heavy bed over him." "I then smiled gaily to find the deed so far done." "But for many minutes, the heart beat on with a muffled sound." "This, however, did not vex me." "It would not be heard through the wall." "At length, it ceased." "The old man was dead." "I removed the bed and examined the corpse." "Yes, he was stone, stone dead." "I placed my hand upon the heart!" "And held it there many minutes." "There was no pulsation." "I knew then it was over." "The eye was dead." "There was still work to be done." "It you still think me mad, you will think so no longer, when I describe the wise precautions" "I took for the concealment of the body." "The night waned and I worked hastily, but in silence." "First of all, I dismembered the corpse." "I cut off the head and the arms and the legs." "I then took up three planks from the flooring of the chamber and deposited all between the scandlings." "I then replaced the boards so cleverly, so cunningly that no human eye, not even his, could have detected anything wrong." "There was nothing to wash out." "No stain of any kind." "No blood spot whatever." "I had been to wary for that." "A tub had caught it all." "When I had made an end of these labors, it was 4:00." "Still dark as midnight." "As the bell sounded the hour, there came a knocking at the street door." "Open up, police." "I went down to open it with a light heart." "For what had I now to fear?" "There entered three men who introduced themselves with perfect suavity, as officers of the police." "Neighbors reported a scream." "We're here to investigate." "A scream?" "It was my own, gentlemen." "I had a childish dream." "But it, would you like to look around?" "Please come in." "Please." "We're sorry to disturb you so late, but it's our duty." "Where is the old man'?" "He's gone into the city." "You're up late this evening." "Oh, the dream I spoke of." "It woke me, I was trying to distract myself by tending to some things around the house." "When did he leave?" "The old man, yesterday." "How long will he be gone?" "Not long." "A week, maybe two." "Seems all right here." "There's nothing out of place here." "His room's just down the hall." "Everything should be in order." "He didn't pack much." "Would you like to see'?" "Please, follow me." "There's no need." "You understand that when a complaints made, we have no choice but to investigate." "Of course, gentlemen, of course." "Well, it's a wretched night." "I was just about to have some tea." "Why don't you stay and have some with me'?" "I hate the idea of sending you out into the cold." "No, thanks." "I think we need to get back to the precinct." "No, please." "Please stay." "I insist, stay." "The officers were satisfied." "My manner convinced them." "I was singularly at ease." "They sat, and while I answered, cheerily, they chatted of familiar things." "But here long, I felt myself getting pale and wished them gone." "My head ached, and I fancied a ringing in my ears." "But still they sat and still chatted." "The ringing became more distinct." "I talked more freely to get rid of the feeling, but it continued, and gained definiteness." "Until, at length, I found that the noise was not within my ears." "No doubt I now grew very pale." "But I talked more fluently and with a heightened voice." "Yet the sound increased, and what could I do?" "I gasped for breath." "And yet the officers heard it not." "I talked more quickly, more vehemently." "The noise steadily increased." "Surely it would surprise people what evil the night can conceal from their eyes, but not your eyes." "To be sure." "I smiled, for what had I to fear?" "I took my visitors all over the house." "I bade them search, search well." "I led them at length to his chamber." "I showed them his treasure, secure, undisturbed." "In the enthusiasm of my confidence," "I brought chairs info the room and desired them, here, to rest from their fatigues, while I myself, in the wild audacity of my perfect triumph, placed my own seat upon the very spot beneath which reposed the corpse of the victim." "The noise steadily increased." "Why would they not be gone?" "But the noise steadily increased." "Ah, God, what could I do?" "I foamed, I raved, I swore, but the noise steadily increased." "It grew louder, louder, louder." "Was it possible they heard not?" "They heard, they suspected, they knew." "Anything was more tolerable than this derision." "I could bear those hypocritical smiles no longer." "I felt that I must scream or die." "And now, again, hark, louder!" "Louder!" "Louder!" ""Villains," I shrieked." "Let me do it." "No, no, no, they'll do no harm to the boards." "I'm a little less tidy with the old man away." "No need, relax." "Relax." "Relax." "Yes, I did it." "I did it." "I did it." "He's there under the floor." "Do you hear'?" "I did it." "Let me show you." "I did it!" "I did it!" "I did it!" "He's there under the floorboards." "Dissemble no more." "I admit the deed." "Tear up the planks." "Here, here." "The beating of his hideous heart." "It was here." "I don't understand." "It was here." "It was right here." "You been drinking?" "What are these pills for'?" "Those were." "Those were." "It's happening." "You feeling okay, Sean'?" "How do you know my name'?" "How do you know my name'?" "No, you should take me in." "I killed him." "What are you talking about, Sean'?" "You didn't kill anybody, Sean." "What did you do, Sean'?" "What did you do, Sean'?" "I killed him." "This shouldn't be happening." "I killed him." "I killed him!" "I killed him." "It should be over." "We should be free." "Where was she?" "I'd killed the eye." "Ariel." "Why won't this nightmare end?" "Are you in there, Sean'?" "Do you remember now'?" "You told them you had information." "To buy us some time." "If we keep quiet, if we stay together, we can get out of this." "Stay strong, don't give them what they want." "It's too important." "Hey, listen, he doesn't know anything." "You come talk to me." "I got all the information." "You, come here." "Fuck you." "Sean, don't tell them anything!" "Sean!" "I wish we could escape from here." "Just get away from this house." "Fill your head up with entirely new memories." "The man isn't any smarter than you are." "We don't need him watching over us to get better." "I had given up hope when we returned." "There was no sign of you." "What kind of sick torture did they do to you?" "What information did you give them?" "Snap out of it, Sean." "What did they do to you'?" "What did they do to you'?" "Sean!" "But I wasn't strong enough." "I couldn't get us both out." "What did you tell them?" "Why do you wanna know?" "No, no, no, no, you left me there to die." "You left me there." "She came, she came to save me." "I remember she came and saved me." "What did they do to you, Sean'?" "She was fucking never there, Sean." "What did they do to you, Sean'?" "Are you in there?" "Their names, Sean, fell me their names." "What did they carve out of your head, Sean?" "You need to focus." "Focus and remember." "There are people that don't like my work." "You will never leave this place." "And I can come visit you anytime I like." "The only thing keeping you here is you." "No, no, no, you left me, you left me there to die." "She came and saved me." "No, you don't remember, Sean." "She was never there." "No, she came and saved me." "I cannot give you back the pieces, Sean." "What's been taken away can't be anyway." "Not when you carve them out." "I'm just keeping a few pieces for the memories." "Good, you're just in time." "I fixed you something special." "I thought that she would save me." "It's okay." "You're safe now." "I thought it was over." "Hey, they're here." "How did you get out, Sean?" "She saved me." "She saved me." "Yeah, she did." "Nobody saved you, Sean." "No, Ariel saved me." "Nobody saved you, Sean." "I hope what I'm gonna tell you sinks in this time." "We've done this many times." "Interview number seven." "He'd never wronged me, ridiculed me," "I think it was his eye." "I don't know what to tell you, Sean." "I know not to interrupt you during the telling." "You get too excited." "This was recorded three years ago." "You talk about hearing things that can't be heard." "This is our interview number eight." "I feel as if I can hear everything." "This one is from a year ago." "True, I'm nervous, I'm very nervous." "But why would that make me mad?" "I've heard this story and variations of it for a while now." "I wanna know what happened, Sean." "I wanna know what you told them." "Why did they let you go'?" "Do you want a marker'?" "This thing, eh'?" "I dare you, come here." "I'm not your enemy." "You haven't been a pilot for seven years, Sean." "Seven years." "You were shot down, Sean." "You hit your head and suffered a bad concussion." "Thank God you were cunscious enough to open your chute." "The Afghan's captured us as soon as we hit the ground." "And the woman?" "Ariel?" "The one you speak about every single time'?" "Ariel is your therapist." "She works here, Sean." "A shrink, a trauma specialist." "The only thing that's gonna help you... is in there." "What do you know about my problems?" "This is what's wrong with you." "She's not your lover, Sean." "She's here to help you." "You understand that?" "Here to help you." "You were never with her, Sean." "You're comatose most of the time." "And not from drugs, not from anything." "Just say it's a learned reflex." "Your mind... protecting you from its memory." "No, the old man..." "You never killed anyone, Sean!" "I don't know where the old man comes from!" "The old man." "When you finish carving all the pieces, Sean." "What good are carvings that can't be admired?" "There, Sean." "You tell me the same story every single time you come out of it!" "And you never say it right!" "My pills." "Where are my pills?" "You took my pills?" "Where are my pills?" "Give me the fucking pills." "Where do you go, Sean'?" "In between our little meetings here." "I last saw you four months ago." "And before that it was seven months." "And before that it was years between episodes." "Where do you go'?" "I wanna help you, Sean." "Just like you helped me." "Oh, well, time to go." "The game's almost over." "And I'm afraid there's not too many moons left." "I'm gonna let you live." "I'm just keeping a few pieces for the memories." "I abandoned Sean once." "I won't do it again." "He will have the best care available." "And while I Don't know why," "I will keep searching for the clues." "Searching for the old man Sean thinks he killed." "I owe him that much." "How are you feeling today, Sean?" "Did you enjoy your visit with Mr. Adams?" "You seem nervous today." "Don't be." "Yes, I'm nervous." "Very nervous." "But why would that make me mad'?" "♪ The beat of your heart ♪" "♪ Beating ♪" "♪ Through your walls ♪" "♪ I can hear your heart ♪" "♪ Beating through The nevermore ♪" "♪ I can hear Your heart beating ♪" "♪ Beating through the walls ♪" "♪ I can hear Your heart beating ♪" "♪ Beating nevermore ♪" "♪ I hear them Knockin' on my door ♪" "♪ Couldn't help myself ♪" "♪ I'm tryin' to keep My heartbeat J7" "♪ Under control ♪" "♪ Thought I was doin' the right thing J7" "♪ I was hiding it From the truth ♪" "♪ Now I'm draggin' the room ♪" "♪ On the wing Of a penance ♪" "♪ of a sight ♪" "♪ Your eye was so evil ♪" "♪ What other choice Did I have ♪" "♪ But to put it to rest ♪" "♪ I hear Lucifer!" "' Dog knocking ♪" "♪ Inside of your eye ♪" "♪ And now tell me again ♪" "♪ Oh, it was livin' me insane ♪" "♪ it must've known What I was hiding ♪" "♪ It was a wildest guess ♪" "♪ Suffering from hell ♪" "♪ No, he'll never Please don't fell ♪" "♪ Tell on me, eye ♪" "♪ Hallelujah ♪" "♪ Yeah ♪" "♪ I'm terrified to see ♪" "♪ That hole ♪" "♪ I've dug ♪" "♪ With lies ♪" "♪ I fake a breath ♪" "♪ but I breathe dirt ♪" "♪ it fills ♪" "♪ My lungs ♪" "♪ The truth is Feasting on my soul ♪" "♪ My conscious ♪" "♪ Dies ♪" "♪ The vicious circle Starts to pull ♪" "♪ And ♪" "♪ Go down ♪" "♪ Goad faith goes Twist/n' down the drain ♪" "♪ watch ♪" "♪ It go ♪" "♪ My life is flowin' back at me ♪" "♪ The truth ♪" "♪ Escapes ♪"