Freegans part 7

Cara
I took a look at this girl. I kid you not, she was one of the scrawniest, most half-starved looking people I have ever seen. Her hair was white, and stood out in shocks all over her head. It looked like she had stuck her finger in an electric socket on a repeated basis. Her body type was tall and scrawny, as if instead of bones she had bits of wire covered by skin. She was also very pale, as if she had never seen the sun, or at least not in months. What interested me most was her eyes. They were a lot bigger than any eyes I had ever seen, and looked a bit like glass green marbles. On closer observation, as she gave a demented grin, I got the feeling that she didn't have many marbles up top.

"So, they finally decided to feed us! Hee hee hee hee, I've been starving down here!" she cackled, coming closer to us. She crouched down, looking Lucy in the face.
"Hmmm, you're a little scrawny, but you'll do." Then she looked at me and Matt. "Oh, I'm afraid you'd be impossible! We'd need to fatten you up! There's not enough meat to feed a mouse on you!" The girl stood up, and set the candle down on the ground by Lucy. Speak of the devil, I was really starting to feel concerned for her. She was getting the same facial expression as that of a rabbit in a trap.
"P-p-please don't hurt us," she squeaked. "We really don't taste very good."

At that moment the person who was apparently 'Ben-ben' stood up. He was of medium height, and looked slightly Native American, except for the fact that he had very intensely blue eyes. He put a hand on the girl's shoulder, in a matter that seemed to say 'Enough.' She gave him a hurt look, then said, "Oh, all right, Ben. You know best." Then she turned to us, and said, "Ben says no-no. Don't be afraid, we won't eat you."

"Then why-" Matt started to ask. I elbowed him, then whispered, "Isn't it obvious? She's not all there."
"Aren't I?" asked the girl, who evidently had really good hearing. She held out her arms. "See? I have all my arms, hands, fingers, legs, feet, toes. How can you say I'm not all here?"
"I mean...forget it. Why are you here?" I changed the subject. Her eyes got wide, and she looked furtively from side to side. She leaned towards me, and whispered, "Promise you won't tell?"
"Yeah."

"The white coats know where I went," she said quietly.
"Where?"
"Down the rabbit hole. I've been down the rabbit hole, and now I know too much.They want to keep me quiet."
I tried to hide a smile as I asked, "Is your name by any chance Alice?" She blinked, looking puzzled.
"Alice?" Then comprehension dawned on her, and she laughed. "Oh, no. Not that famous. I'm Madiza."
"That's an interesting name," said Matt.

"Isn't it?" said Madiza with a smile. "Do you know where it comes from?" We, including Lucy, shook our heads.
"Because I'm as mad as a hatter!" she cackled, grinning again. We looked at each other. Our thoughts were clear: we had been placed in a cage with a nutcase.
"Why doesn't he say anything?" I asked, pointing to the boy. I heard a gasp, and saw Lucy staring at him almost like she had been hit by a truck. I didn't understand why.
"The white coats stole Ben's voice," said Madiza. "Boxed it up and shipped it away, along with my mind. Don't let them get you too. They'll take your mind, and your soul, so you'll never get to heaven." Her eyes went wide as she said the last phrase, and she stared at us with a fixed expression. I got the feeling that she was genuinely scared. I wondered if she had a right to be.