The Gotham Queen

Chapter 3

The second the door unlocks, I reach to rip it open in desperation, but a hand suddenly grips onto my arm. I cry out and turn around, my brain a twisted mess as it makes me think my boyfriend really did magically appear, and I start to kick and try to fight the person off.

"Dr. Quinzel!" I hear a voice call out, a voice that sounds nothing like my boyfriend, and my brain slowly registers the guard from this morning, making my anxiety start to calm down. "Dr. Quinzel! Calm down. It's alright. You're safe. I didn't mean to alarm you."

"What?" I ask, and my voice cracks a bit as I speak, so I clear my throat because I will not look weak in front of this man. I will show everyone that I can handle being able to work here without having a mental break down on the first day. I have to prove that I can do this because failing just isn't an option for me.

"I've been sent to find you. Dr. Smith has your files ready and is waiting for you at your office. He's supposed to be giving you a tour of the Asylum, too." The guard explains to me, and I nod my head as I turn to go through the door behind me once more. I'd rather face any other horror than what I just went through.

"Let's go then." I say, about to scan my ID through the scanner, but he stops me in my tracks.

"No! Not that way, Dr. Quinzel." He tells me in a slight panic, and I look at him confused. Why not? I'd rather face whatever is in there than what's waiting for me back in the maze of disgusting horrors. "In there is where we house the highly dangerous and deadliest patients. One of them has an extreme love for the color red."

We both look pointedly at my bright red blouse along with the red lipstick that I put on this morning in an attempt to hide my split lip.

"Who is it? Why do they like red so much? What would happen if they saw the color?" I ask in a rush, questions exploding in my mind. I can't help the curiosity that explodes in me, and the need to have the answers.

Why would they allow me to wear red if it upsets a patient, knowing that there would be a chance I would end up walking through these doors? Plus, I thought the whole point of security is to make sure us doctors and nurses are safe. If they don't, then what's the point of having them?

"All I can tell you is that he loves red, and if he sees you wearing that red blouse, all hell will break loose. He'd do whatever it took to get to you, including murdering anyone who gets in his way. I don't even want to know what he'd do when he got his hands on you." The guard, I really should ask for his name, tells me, and my eyes widen at his words. I don't really want to be the reason a sudden massacre happens, so I force my head high and nod firmly.

The guard leads me back into the maze of screaming and disgusting inmates, but I can't help being curious. His explanation left me with more questions than answers, and I look back at the door as it gets further and further away.

I don't really know why, but I have the strange urge to walk in there despite the warning. My curiosity makes me want to see who exactly is so dangerous that a guard would have to warn me and stop me twice from going through the doors. I want nothing more than to find answers, but something in me also tells me that I'm not going to like what I find.

~~~~~~

Making it back to my office, I find a young man standing next to my office door, and I assume that this must be Dr. Smith. He has bright, happy green eyes, which shock me as I didn't think I'd find something so positive here, soft caramel-tanned skin, and light brown hair.

This man looks more like a lifeguard on the beach than a psychologist.

I mentally agree with the voice in my head as Dr. Smith smiles brightly when we walk up to him. He thanks the guard, who I finally found out is named Aron Cash, for finding me before turning to look down at me.