Escaping Our Sanity

Chapter 6: The Plan

After Lunch, all of the "patients" were told to line up against the cement wall for attendance. Once I got to know my surroundings, I understood the way of life at an asylum. Here is how the schedule is for most of us:

• Be waken up with cold water by a heartless nurse at about 5:30am

• Get handcuffed and dragged down to the cafeteria

• Sit down and wait as nurses bring your breakfast. (Which you don't get to choose)

• Get handcuffs taken off and be restrained to the chair

• Eat the repulsive slop

• Be taken to the "activity room"

• Get dragged to the cold dousing room that I described earlier

• Go back to your room for a few hours

• Go down for lunch

• Take Attendence

• (And if you are granted rights, you can choose between going to the library or the activity room.)

• Get sent to the testing or operation lab

• Go to dinner

• Go back up to bed and repeat the next day

Well that doesn't seem too bad.. you might think. Well the cruel and unnecessary punishment takes place at any time that they decide, but mostly during the activity time. The activity room is not fun... whatsoever. There are ranging sizes of blood drops on the walls and floor, a broken piano infested with mice, a few children's books, old porcelain dolls that are broken, which makes them sharp and a danger for the severely mentally disabled, and a rocking chair.

Sometimes you can even hear the screams coming from the testing lab. From what I've heard about the testing, they do shock "treatment", jab patients with sewing needles to see how much pain they can withstand, remove limbs unnecessarily, force you to bath in boiling hot water, and sometimes they even operate on people without anaestasia. Most of the people here are severely, mentally challenged.

Some of the disabilities/ problems that patients have are autism, depression, suicidal thoughts, epilepsy, down syndrome, and even normal people that they find reasons to lock them away like me. The living conditions of Briarwood were not sanitary or safe under any means. There are many stains of blood on fabric chairs, padded cells, beds, linens, and even the floors.

I am treated much better than alot of the patients here. The doctors and nurses here completely disregard people's abilities and age. The elderly as well as many others are whipped or beaten when they do not complete a task. The people here are malnourished, sickly, and enduring intense pain. There are two psychologists that are here. They are Dr. Fredrich Carson and Dr. Earnest Hoffrey. Dr. Hoffrey was kind and understanding, he knew that I didn't belong there. He didn't like to see patients always in pain. He was different than everyone there.

Dr. Hoffrey always came up discreetly to check up on me. Then one day, he said something I NEVER would have expected to hear him say. I was 15 at this time and I was so used to the asylum life, that I forgot about my old life. He came up to my room on a cold, winter day and spoke these words; "Elise, you've been here for quite some time and I feel like we've gained each others' trust. So there is something I must tell you." I sat on my bed and listened intently to his soft voice. "I plan on getting you out of here soon. I don't know when but I will let you know." He whispered.

"But why? Just me? I don't understand, doctor." I whispered back. "Oh Elise, please call me Earnest from now on. I have a plan. You are not the only one that will be freed. There are Three other inmates that you haven't met because they only come out of their rooms at certain times." He disclosed. "What are their names??? Is Raven Vamps one of them? What will happen to everyone else?" I asked excitedly. "Well golly, Eliza! You sure do ask a lot of questions!" He proclaimed quietly.

"One by one now, okay? Raven Vamps isn't because she is being moved to another asylum or a prison... i don't quite remember which. The rest of the patients will most likely not survive. It's hard to say at this point. The patients that are escaping are you, Quinton Richeski, Gregory Tindley, and Margareta Elleon. I will make arrangements so you can meet them soon." He said cautiously.