If These Walls Could Talk (American Horror Story Asylum FanFic)

Chapter 6

Morning. Again.

I dreaded each day I awoke to the bright sun blinding my eyes, wishing that I didn't wake up at all.

The sound of a key in the lock of my room door made my head snap up and I watched as it swung open, revealing a man in a police uniform. Without speaking he unclasped my wrists and ankles and ushered me to the open doorway, where I saw the rest of the patients being herded out of their rooms as well. My inquisitive eyes found Sister Jude, strolling down the hall towards me.

"We're conducting a room search, Miss Norwood. Just a precaution."

I wordlessly stared at her as she continued down the hall towards me, clipboard in one hand and a pencil in the other. She looked into my room.

"You find anything?"

The police officer let go of my mattress, letting it fall back onto the frame with a dull thump. "Nothing."

The nun smirked at me. "Check inside of the pillowcase."

His fingers searched around inside the case before he lifted up a piece of paper with a triumphant smile. He brought it over to her and she grabbed it from his hand.

Her eyes scanned it for a few seconds before looking up at me. "Keeping a journal are you? Who did you plan on giving this to? That pathetic excuse for a column you write? I'm sure people will be wondering what's happened to the migrating geese."

I bit my tongue rather than hurl insults at her. I would not stoop down to her level.

She crumpled up the paper in her hands and I spoke up. "It won't matter how many pieces of paper you take away from me. I've got an excellent memory."

"You do? Well then. We'll see about that."

She continued past me, sending the officer out of my room with a dismissive flick of her wrist.

I can't wait to get out of here and expose everything! She'll get what's coming to her.

***

I was taken back out of my room a few minutes after Sister Jude left. I tried asking the orderly where he was taking me but all I got was a tightening of his lips in response. I sighed and let him lead me down the hall. We made many twists and turns before coming to a room with two more orderlies bustling about the room, along with a tall man in a white lab coat.

"What's going on?"

The doctor spoke up. "Put her on the bed and strap her down."

They reached for me but I swung my arms about, trying to fight them off.

I can't get strapped down again! I can't!

I fought with all my might but the three orderlies overtook me and managed to get me onto the bed, where I continued to thrash around as they put the bindings on my arms and legs.

"No!! No!!!"

Then, Sister Jude walked into the room.

"Hello Sister."

I leaned my head back to look at the doctor standing behind me. He was dipping a wooden stick into some clear substance and brought it to my head, swiping it against my temples.

"I see you managed to strap her down, Dr. Arden. She's quite the wild one."

He shrugged. "I've dealt with worse. So, would you like to do the honours Sister? I can walk you through it."

I looked back at Sister Jude and watched as she hesitated before walking around my bed to stand beside Dr. Arden.

"You can't do this!" I yelled, hoping to get the doctor to see some reason. "She kidnapped me! I don't belong here!"

He fixed his big blue eyes on mine. "Every patient here claims they don't belong."

My mouth gaped open in shock.

It's hopeless. Nobody who works here will listen!

Then he stuffed a piece of plastic into my mouth, holding his weathered hand over it before walking to the other side of the room and grabbing what looked like a stethoscope. Only instead of the two silver circles there were two white balls on either end. He held them out to Sister Jude and she took it from him, turning to look at me.

"All you have to do is hold it to her temples." He said.

She put the device around my head, the white balls pressing on my temples. Then, I felt the first shock.

***

When I was very young, maybe four or five years old, I stuck one of my toys into an electrical outlet. I was quickly zapped and proceeded to cry. Loud sobs that echoed throughout the house and soaked the front of my dress. My mother came running over to me and her and my father brought me to the hospital. The doctor was amazed that I didn't suffer through worse and I was sent home with a gentle scolding and some bandages around my fingers.

Over the years I continually shocked myself. Sometimes I would hear the small zapping sound if a blanket I shook out got static. Or maybe I rubbed up against something and shocked another person's skin. All minor things. Things that were easily forgotten.

None of those things compared to this.

***

It felt like Zeus himself was inside of my head, throwing thunderbolts at each corner of my brain. The pain was a billion times worse than my encounter with the socket in my childhood home. I tried to scream and bit down on the piece of plastic Dr. Arden had put into my mouth earlier, the pain of it making my jaw ache. The electricity the machine was using affected the lights in the room and the overhead fixture above my bed flickered incessantly, and I felt as if it were mocking me with jeering laughter.

It was like I was in a fun house. Except I doubted that anyone in this institution even remembered the concept of fun.  

My body writhed around underneath the orderlies hands that held me down on the bed. The pain felt never ending. Just wave after wave of shocks.

Finally, the machine was turned off, but my body still shook and twitched. The plastic was taken out of my mouth and I gasped, taking quick, shallow breaths.

Sister Jude removed the device from around my head and my eyes fluttered shut, both my body and soul worn out from all the pain.