Talk:Vicious/@comment-77.85.124.130-20141202115845

The four blank cinder-block walls gave Alison a lot of time to think. Hours upon hours—she had no sense of time—days upon days, months upon months. Who knew how long she’d been in here? Her psychiatrist wouldn’t tell her, almost like it was above her level of privileges to know. Her psychiatrist barely told her anything, actually, except to push a Dixie cup full of pills to her and watch as she swallowed them down. The pills did little to help her sleep or even buoy her mood. But they didn’t cut through her scheming mind, either, so Ali dutifully took them. She wanted to be the perfect patient. She wanted them to fall in love with her like everyone else.

The psych ward in the prison sucked, but another year of this, maybe two, and she’d be moved to a different psych ward outside a prison. She’d done her research. She knew what the protocol was. And in a basic mental hospital—well, she would practically have free rein. She’d lived long enough inside The Preserve to know how to work the system. All she had to do was hold on for a little bit longer. Endure the pills, deal with the leather straps that sometimes tied her down, get over the freaky moaning in the middle of the night. Get lost in her head, thinking of the way she was going to change things next time.

She thought about everything that had gone wrong. Enlisting Nick. Choosing the wrong Ali Cats. Relying on her mother. Not checking and double-checking every detail. Next time, she would be smarter. Flawless, in fact. She’d find different Ali Cats. Snag a better Nick. Become a perfect Ali. She had already lost all the weight she’d put on to conceal her identity. Here in prison, she had better doctors, and they’d treated her burns more properly than Nick’s nurse had, and her skin was looking better, too. She’d gotten a fake tooth to replace the one she’d pulled out. She was on her way to being Ali D again—the brilliant, beautiful, perfect Ali D. The girl who could make anyone do anything. Including scheme for her. Kill for her.

Carry out her every wish.

She measured her days by mealtimes and pill times and lights-out, but she knew this wouldn’t be forever. Soon enough, said a voice in her head as she envisioned Spencer, Aria, Emily, and Hanna. Soon enough, I’m coming to get you all.