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Fred is Lost
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About this story
THE SHADOW WOMEN OF PENDERTON ASYLUM
They were told they were ill. They knew they were prisoners.
Penderton Asylum has stood since 1880, built with the promise of caring for those society could not—or would not—care for itself. But behind its imposing walls, some women have discovered a terrifying truth:
You don't have to be insane to be locked away.
In an era when a woman's grief could be called hysteria, her independence labeled defiance, and her refusal to obey deemed evidence of madness, a handful of women find themselves committed to Penderton under circumstances that make no sense.
At the center of it all is Dr. Klaus Brenner, a brilliant and formidable physician who seems to know far more about his patients than he should. Under his watch, the women are diagnosed, controlled, silenced—and slowly stripped of any hope that someone outside the asylum will believe them.
But Brenner has made one mistake.
He has put the wrong women in the same place.
Strangers at first, they begin to recognize something in one another: courage, intelligence, secrets—and an unshakable determination to survive.
With help from a few unexpected allies inside Penderton, they begin a secret alliance.
Then they begin to plan.
Because there is only one way out of Penderton Asylum…
Escape.
But freedom will come at a price.
And if Dr. Brenner discovers what they're planning, they may never see the outside.
Come inside Penderton.
Just be careful who you trust.
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- Torture
- Drugs
- Rape
The curving and unknown back roads are enough to make me clutch tightly to the sedan's door handle. I’ve always been a nervous traveler, but now, with each passing moment, the snow, which started as a gentle and beautiful backdrop, is falling heavily, making it difficult to see much of anything. As excited as I am to be taken on a mysterious romantic weekend, the travel conditions are making me wish that we just stayed home.
I’m doing my best to hide my discomfort from Fred. It was a rare thing for him to be romantic, and I don’t want to spoil his fun by being visibly miserable. I also don’t want to distract him from focusing on the potentially deadly roads. So I stare out the window and try desperately to focus on the beauty of the white-blanketed pines, taking several deep breaths to settle my nerves.
“Don’t worry, honey,” Fred says with a chuckle, placing a hand on my leg. “We are almost there.”
Forcing a smile, I am annoyed that he can tell I am nervous, but also not surprised after twenty years of marriage. “I wish you’d say where you are taking me. I hope I have packed appropriately.”
“You will know soon enough,” Fred says, “I’m sure whatever you packed will be fine.”
Nodding, I turn back toward the window. We ride in silence, and several minutes pass before Fred starts tapping rapidly on the steering wheel, a show of stress that he never had before returning from the war.
“Is everything okay, dear?” I ask.
“Oh, um, yep,” Fred says unconvincingly. “But I think I may have missed our turn. I see a building up ahead. I’ll go in there and ask them for directions.”
I laugh. “Since when are you one to ask anyone for directions?”
But Fred doesn’t react, which I find unsettling as he slowly turns off the main road and starts up a long, inclined driveway. Leaning forward, I try to get a look at the building he is planning to stop at. It is a gigantic stone building at the top of the hill, and my eyes stretch wide, having never seen a structure so huge before.
“What is this place?” I ask, taking in the monstrous façade.
“I don’t know,” Fred says. “Might be some kind of fancy Hotel or something. Surely someone inside will be able to point me in the right direction. I’m going to pull up to the front door, but I’ll leave the car running so you can stay warm. Shouldn’t be more than a minute.”
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