The Bound Fedora

Chapter 2: Him

"You mean you didn't see him? He was horrible! Burnt to death with knife fingers! What kind of loony bin is this?!" Gregory yelled still staring at the girl as the doctor she was clutching onto checked the slash marks on her face. Sidney wanted to say something but felt everyone's eyes on her and Gregory gave her a silencing look to remind her not to talk to him out loud.

"Dammit now she's been exposed to him." Debois said angrily as she disposed of the empty syringe.

"Exposed? What the hell are you talking about? What just happened?! Who the fuck shit is him?!" She demanded.

"Come with me." Debois demanded and walked out of the room. Sidney followed to see a few patients all her age or younger poking their heads out of their rooms. "Beth will be fine. You all just go about your day." She said to them and they returned to their rooms. Sidney followed Debois back to her office. "Take a seat please." She instructed and Sidney reluctantly sat in the chair in front of her desk and Debois set a small bottle of pills in front of her. "Take these and you'll be fine."

"Fuck you! I never have and never will take any of your medicine. Tell me what the hell is going on!" Sidney demanded as she read the label on the pills in front of her. They were labeled 'Hypnocil'.

"They're just dream suppressants you'll be fine. Please just take them and forget about what you just saw in there. I can't risk having a new person exposed. We've lost too many." She explained with a sad look in her eyes.

"Dream suppressants? I don't fucking think so! Dreams are my only escape from this hell I'm supposed to call my life. Tell me what just happened! Gregory is even freaked out! He said something about a burned man with knife fingers!" She screamed.

"Oh dear... you've seen him too?" She said shaking her head.

"Who is him? Gregory saw him not me. Who in the fuck is him?!" She demanded.

"Sid don't you're only going to make things worse!" Gregory pleaded.

"Just who is this Gregory character? Is that your friend you were speaking to earlier?" Debois asked looking confused. Sidney knew it was already too late to take back what she had said and might as well tell her the truth.

"Gregory is a spirit I accidentally released seven years ago. He told me he saw a man burnt to death with knives for fingers attacking the girl. He also told me that a lot of people here have died yet there are no lingering spirits. What is going on here?" She asked as Debois began reading through a file in front of her ignoring her questions.

"It says that you were originally committed seven years ago after your parents caught you doing a ritual in an attempt to bring back your Brother's soul after he died. I take it that's how you freed your spirit friend?" Debois asked as if it wasn't uncommon to hear of such things.

"You mean... you believe me?" Sidney was in complete shock.

"We know all about those kinds of things here. It's not uncommon in the least." She said further reading into her file.

"Then let me go. If you know I'm not insane then I'm free to go right?" Sid asked with hope.

"Dear God please say yes..." Gregory said crossing his fingers.

"Of course not! You've seen too much here and you obviously aren't going to cooperate with our protocol. But you'll learn in time." Debois explained calmly.

"What?! Fuck you and your stupid protocol! I hope whomever this him is kills all of you!" Sidney yelled and threw the bottle of pills at Debois who dodged it in time and it hit the glass medicine cabinet behind her shattering it. She ran down the hall to her room ignoring the stares from the other patients locking the door behind her and began screaming into her pillow.