Patients of the Ward

Patients of the Ward --- Prologue (Part 1)

The sun was setting. It was around 9:30 as the summer sun started to sink toward the horizon, casting fiery colors of orange, yellow and red across the sky. On the opposite end of the land, toward the darker horizon the sky was a dark purple and blue. The battle of the bright colors versus the dark was taking place once more in the atmosphere, but it wouldn't be much longer till both colors were overtaken by complete darkness. The only lights then under the starless and new moon sky would be the faded gold-colored street lights that attracted the moths. The lamps lining the suburban streets were already reacting to the nearing dark. A car was being pulled in to and slowly opening garage door. A mother was scolding her child out on the front porch to come inside. Somewhere in the distance dogs were barking and howling in excitement.

This was peaceful place. This was a normal place.

Inside a small two story apartment on the first floor was resident A2 the second of the two first floor renters. They would be moving in tomorrow, or so the land lord had been informed. Young and naïve, the land-lord thought when he first signed off her papers to her parents' first payment toward her rent. It was not an uncommon thing for him to see; young teenagers irresponsibly renting their own apartments and failing to keep up with the payments once their parents drew the line actually happened quite often in the housing business. Micheal Cooper the land-lord of the Hillside apartments was no stranger to this vicious cycle.

Michael J. Cooper; a man in his mid forties with receding strawberry blond hair, inherited the apartment from his late father, who had passed away just 3 short years ago. With no wife and no interest in dating nor any self-confidence that dating was a possibility, he was kind of a shut-in with a pessimistic attitude toward other people. He was a burly man with a temper toward most things like loud noises, children, and barking dogs. He was also a bit of a cat fanatic. In fact, on his second floor apartment room, which he lived in by himself, he owned four cats all with the names of Great Britain king's, his favorite being King George- the frisky Bombay that always lurked on the rusty balcony railings.

He may have been skeptical to having this tenant stay in his apartments, but then again Mr. Cooper was no hypocrite. For one such as he who also leeched off of his parents in his prime of life he understood where the kid was coming from. When they were unable to come up with the rent money, he'd find a good way to get them out.

Aforementioned before, this was not his first time dealing with something of this nature. Rather, he was ready this time. In his favor, the cats which he prided himself over in his cramped living space kill a great deal of mice. It only took 3 measly dead mice carcasses in the ventilation system to drive out a rebellious 19 year old brat who said that once his skate boarding sponsor contacted him with his payment, he'd pay the rent. Only six days of rotting to have the room back open to rent out again. This was easier and more effective than anything his parents used to try.

Michael Cooper felt brilliant, and maybe he was, since if he actually did involve the police they would finally have a legitimate reason to search the apartments. Which could result in the closing of the building due to poor upkeep, safety hazards like mold and a stash of drugs that he'd either confiscated or bought from one of the tenants.

They've been trying to get into the building for a while now, but Mr. Cooper wasn't really all that concerned. He merely sat back in his stained and overstuffed ugly chair and flipped on the television to the sports as the outside world calmed down.

---

Heavy. So heavy that her arms could fall off. Setting down a box with the label “Ice Cream” and “THIS SIDE UP”, a young woman with dark brown hair took a second to wipe the sheen of sweat from her forehead. Good thing her room in this stinky apartment was in the first floor or else she was sure she would faint. Maybe unpacking would have been much more pleasant in the morning hours when the sun wasn't so high in the sky. Now it was just past noon and she was bringing in boxes all by herself to a space with temperatures that were just as unwelcoming as the outside. The AC is busted. She should have figured so. Why didn't she snatch a fan when her parents were helping her load up her little blue car? It hadn't occurred to her that today would be in the high eighties. It was the same day that her parents finally “kicked” her out, not that she could blame them; eventually all birds needed to leave the nest. She just felt a little unprepared was all.