𝘚𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘳 | 𝘚𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘹 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳

2. Patients (Part 1)

As you're being directed to the cells, you firmly hold the folders in your arms, trying to release your worry into the thick stack of papers.

In the email you recieved, it mentioned that the death count in the past two years for caretakers here were 5... although it doesn't seem like much, there were only 5 caretakers like had applied in these two years. Now you would be the 6th caretaker, and the odds of you surviving were close to 0. But because you feel so determined, you have great belief that you can do it. Others like Anais and Mr. Thompson cannot say the same though.

"This is our first patient, Norman Bates," Anais begins, taking the folders from your arms and only handing you his file. When she does, you catch on to a bandage wrapped around her hand. Was that an injury from one of the patients. Ignoring it, you quickly absorb all the new information in the file.

When you're done learning about Norman, you walk forward and peek into his cell from the small window on the door, the only safe place to view the inside of the cell.

"You can go in and meet him," Anais begins when you look back up at her. "Just use your card." You nod, pulling it from your cardigan pocket. Slowly, but excitedly, you hold the card against the censor beside the door. It turns green, and the door's locks inside all click unlocked. You take a glance at Anais, who ushers you to go in. Taking a quick deep breath in and out, you go inside. The door closes and locks itself behind you, making you jump a bit.

The cell itself is just a dimly lit room. The bright white paint in it mellows down to a light grey. The room itself is fairly normal, a little bigger than your average jail cell.

Inside Norman's room, there are very few things in it. A bed, very low to the ground with metal bars sits in the corner of the room. On it is a tossed white blanket, and some papers. In the cell, there is also a desk, as well as a sink and toilet. And, crouched in a corner scribbling aggressively, is Norman.

Hesitantly, you approach him, slightly crouched as you do to appear less intimidating.

"Norman..?" you call out. Slowly, you see him look up. His face looks calm as he stares. "Hello," he responds, standing up. You walk towards him, stopping once you're 5 feet away.

"My name's Y/n. I am the new caretaker here." Norman gives a small smile. "You're very pretty..." he remarks, mostly to himself. He doesn't hold eye contact with you for long before his eyes wander to your hair and clothes. You smile. "Do you want to tell me a bit about yourself?" you ask softly, snapping Norman out of his daze. He looks around curiously, as if he was in awe with something, before turning back to you.

"Uhm... I like when I am allowed to g-go outside... and..." he fumbles over his words before leaning down and picking up a sheet of paper. "I also enjoy writing."

You look at him, as if asking for permission to take it. He nods, and you grab it. Looking at the paper, you see lots of writing all over it, poetry. You look up at him in amazement.

"Do you enjoy poetry specifically?" you question, genuinely interested. Poetry has always been something you admired and fascinated. Norman gives an eager nod. "Yes, I do." You hand the paper back to him. "Thank you for sharing that with me. I hope that sometime me and you might be able to work together on a poem..!" Norman nods, smiling so wide that he looks like he's about to burst.

A knock is heard at the door from Anais as a sign that says, 'Hurry Up.' Giving a comforting pat on Norman's hand, you partially turn to the door.

"I have to go see the others now, but I will see you again later," you say, cheerily waving Norman goodbye. His head slightly lowers, but he accepts it and smiles. "Goodbye, Y/n." The last thing he sees before the door shuts and locks is your beautiful, gleaming face. In his mind, he takes note of your lovely features, not in a weird way, but in a curious way. "Y/n.." he whispers to himself as his cheeks redden from the mere thought of you.