MADMAN'S DEMISE

2

Thursday, July 31th, 1958

I woke up, immediately able to comprehend it was the middle of the night. The light of summer penetrated the curtains, lightning up my bedroom. I rubbed my eyes, yawned in confusion since I wasn't alert enought to completely understand what was happening or what exact time it was.

With narrowed eyes, I glanced at my alarm clock.

1:30 am.

I slung my heavy legs over the bed, and started to plod with tired steps towards the hallway where my telephone was aggressively shouting for me. The blistering ringing sound annoyed my sensitive ears. Who the hell felt the urge to call me in the middle of the night?

As I cleared my throat, I picked up the telephone and carefully placed it to my ear.

"Beverly Frazier." No matter how hard I tried to sound polite and alert, my laboured voice failed me. But I wasn't ashamed. Anyone would be tired at this hour.

"Nurse Frazier, this is Ethel Browne. I apologize for calling you at this hour. There's an ongoing situation with Brandon, and it seems none of us are capable of settling him. Ms. Schwartz is with him now and she told me to reach you. Beverly, he is completely distraught."

Ethel's concern was heard over the line, and as her words came through, my eyes widened, and suddenly I had never felt more awake. My heart was now thundering beneath my chest, and I granted no more space for Ethel to speak.

"I will be right there."

I hung up the phone, threw it onto its place on the wall. Then I swiftly tipped through my low-lightened apartment to get dressed before I left the house to drive towards the hospital.

The worry crawled inside me. What could possibly have happened to get Ms. Schwartz to demand calling me this time at night? It never happened before. I was never called in to work after my scheduled hours.

This was something serious, something unusual, something that affected Brandon in a way I was unfamiliar with.

I drove fast in the July night, way over the speed limit. But I didn't care. I knew I had to get to him as fast as I possibly could. He needed me. Maybe this time more than ever.

As I reached the institutional area, I parked my car negligently and rushed out without care of locking the vehicle. My breath was heaving as I ran towards the entrance, and never before did I enter the elevator as fast.

I closed my eyes during the never-ending lift, tried to gather myself since I didn't want to show too much worry or expose the inner panic from being unaware of what the hell was going on.

I hoved out the doors as they slid apart in front of me, and ran with quick steps through the dark halls towards Ward 3 and room 292.

The door to Brandon's room was closed, but I could still hear the havoc going on inside. Brandon was belting, but I couldn't interpret whether it was out of rage or sadness or fright.

Ethel awaited me outside the cellar, met my attendance with heavy worry yet with obvious relief. My eyes were wide looking at her, and before I managed to reach the handle of the door, she stopped me by placing a hand on my shoulder.