Fear

41 • Institutional instability

I decided it was time to take matters into my own hands. Tyler's secretiveness and the heightened security measures had left me feeling more isolated and anxious than ever. I couldn't shake the feeling that something significant was going on, and I needed to find out what.

Raven trailed me closely the whole day, her presence a constant reminder of the new restrictions.

We were heading to the cafeteria for lunch when she abruptly said, "I need the toilet."
She glanced at me, her eyes narrowing. "Stay here until I get back. Don't move."

As soon as she disappeared into the restroom, I saw my chance. Tyler's office was coincidentally at the end of the corridor. Heart beating nervously, I slipped away, my footsteps as silent as I could make them.

I carefully pressed my ear against the closed door, straining to catch the conversation inside. Tyler's voice was tense, accompanied by the murmurs of Jack and Nate.

"...new security measures... we can't risk anything," Tyler said, his tone firm but weary. I could just imagine him at his desk, that familiar tense expression on his face.

Jack's voice followed, low and serious. "But what if... and then he... ex finds out? We've got to be prepared."

Ex? My mind raced, trying to piece together the fragments. Were they talking about an ex-patient? Or perhaps an ex-girlfriend or boyfriend? That seemed odd.

The snippets I heard only added to my confusion, but it was clear that something serious was happening.

Nate's voice cut through the murmur. "What are you going to do about Emily, now that he knows about her?"

Me?

Tyler's voice was low as he replied, but I couldn't quite catch it as he spoke too quietly.
Then he said, "We need to keep this under wraps until we have more information. No one outside this room should know."

I barely had time to process what I'd heard before I heard footsteps approaching. Quickly, I darted back down the hallway and positioned myself where Raven had left me. I barely managed to slow my breathing when she returned, looking none the wiser.

"Let's go," she said curtly, and we resumed our walk to the cafeteria. My mind was still racing.

Who were they talking about?
What's the "ex" they're on about?
What do they have to be prepared for?
Why can't he just tell me?

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The cafeteria was bustling with activity as patients sat around eating some bland-looking slop, but an undercurrent of tension hung in the air. People spoke in hushed tones, and the unmissable presence of the new guards was impossible to ignore.

As Raven and I settled at a table, the atmosphere suddenly shifted.
A loud crash echoed through the room, drawing everyone's attention. Two men were in a heated argument near the serving line-a patient and a security guard.

The patient was a tall, thin man in his late twenties or early thirties. He wore a torn, dirty pair of light grey pyjamas and his black hair was unkempt and greasy. His eyes were sunken into his skeletal face and his arms were covered in bruises. He looked absolutely dreadful.

"Why the fuck are you even here?" the patient screamed, his eyes wild with rage. "Why won't anyone tell us what's going on?"

The guard tried to calm him, his hands raised in a placating gesture, but the patient lashed out, shoving him hard into the wall. The sound of the impact was sickening, and a gasp rippled through the room.

The smell of the cafeteria's bland food mixed with the scent of fear. Patients around us froze, their eyes wide with shock.

Some whispered to each other, their voices trembling. An older woman at the table next to me clutched her tray tightly, her knuckles white, while another man in the queue backed away, his eyes darting around as if searching for an escape.

In an instant, several other guards rushed in, subduing the man with an unnerving efficiency. The patient's desperate cries were quickly quelled as he was escorted out, leaving the rest of the cafeteria in stunned silence.

I glanced at Raven, her expression mirroring my own unease. The fight had shattered any semblance of normalcy, and the feeling of instability and danger was palpable.

The rest of lunchtime passed in a tense quietness, the incident casting a long shadow over everyone.

As we finished eating, I couldn't shake the feeling that the institution was teetering on the edge of something potentially dangerous. Something was happening.

Tyler's evasiveness, the cryptic conversation I overheard, and now the outburst in the cafeteria all pointed to a looming threat. Whatever it was, it was only a matter of time before the truth came to light, and I was more determined than ever to find the answer.

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