The Eleventh Ward

Chapter 1

Looking back now, I probably should have taken that moment of freedom to breathe, take it all in, but I couldn't. People always say your life will never go in the direction you expect, but this. This I really didn't expect.

I heard the van door open, and I stepped out into the sunlight. The building in front of me was fake and intimidating. So big that it looked like it could crash down and take everything with it, but painted bright colours to make it look like even if it did come tumbling down, at least it would be reasonably pretty. But how the building looked was honestly the last thing I cared about. My handcuffs were still too tight, and I had been sitting in a boiling hot van for the last half an hour while people were getting the paperwork sorted. But in that moment I breathed fresh air and felt the sunlight on my skin, and for the first time in months, everything felt like it was going to be okay.

"You got her from here?" officer Peatree said to a lady in a dark blue smock and black leggings.

"Don't worry, she'll be fine" Peatree digged around in his pocket for a minute before fishing out a key and unlocking my hands cuffs. He looked up at me, and smiled.

"Be good kiddo" he smiled, taking one last look around before walking out.

"Welcome to Carter Wood Hospital, Miss West. We hope you have a pleasant stay with us," Okay so this seems like a completely normal welcome, but to me this was really fucking weird. For the last 8 months I'd been thrown around, spat at, ignored. Nobody had spoken to me like I was an actual human being, instead I was just another criminal getting in the way.

The nurse turned around and started walking towards the lift, so I followed her, and the two massive security guards followed me. Because everyone needs abnormally large men to protect you from a seventeen year old. The ride up to the fourth floor was awkward and it felt strange not having handcuffs around my wrists anymore. When the lift opened, we walked through a maze of white hallways, every new corridor seeming exactly the same as the last one but with different signs pointing to different wards. Any nurses or patients that walked past seemed to shy away from me as if claws were going to spread out of my arms and grab them. That was until we reached the eleventh ward, and a boy with curly brown hair smiled at me from a window between the hall and the ward as we approached. He was quite tall and his teeth were really white. He had a ripped band shirt on with a badge pinned to it saying 'VOLUNEER'.

"Morning Ashton," the nurse said while putting in a pin code to open the door before standing aside and allowing us all inside.

"Morning" he smiled back. I could see why they let him work in a mental ward, he seemed so happy it was almost infectious. I followed the nurse into a small office where she sat at her desk and motioned me to sit opposite. The two security guards stood at attention behind me, as if waiting for me to stab her with one of her perfectly sharpened pencils.

"Brandi West, you have been put into the care of Carter Wood Hospital by the court, which means you will follow our rules while you have your psychiatric assessment as prescribed by the judge. So before we let you into the ward properly, you need to sign this..." She handed me a small pile of papers and a pen. "It's just a list of rules and regulations for the ward, for example you must be in bed with lights out by ten, no cutlery allowed outside the cafeteria, that kind of stuff." I quickly scribbled my signature at the bottom and handed it back to the nurse. "There, now do you have any weapons or sharp objects on you at all?" Was this bitch crazy?

"I've been surrounded by police officers for the last 8 months, do you really think I have a sharp object on me?" The side of her mouth lifted up as if trying to supress a laugh.

"That still doesn't answer the question"

"Of course I don't" I snapped at her.

"Good, lets go then. She stood up and walked out the office and towards the boy by the window.