The apple was soon devoured. There was no time to make it last, because, naturally, it would rot. Just like the patients here.
Today is a "socializing" day. We are all awakened, or rather startled, by the bolts on the door clicking and buzzing open. Nurses clad in their usual white uniforms drag us out into the hallways and either wheel us into an elevator that leads to the first floor, or escort us as we walk down the grand staircase that takes forever to both descend and ascend.
We are then ushered into assigned seats and left alone by the nurses with the fake smiles, who sit casually by the door of the game room. They peer over their magazines at us, their hawk-like eyes seeming to pierce our flesh and stare right into our souls.
I shiver at their harsh gaze, then busy myself by staring at the table that I sit at. I count the grains in the wood, trace the lines and knots, anything to avoid both the lame games and the nurses.
I try my best to block out the whimpers and quiet groans of the other patients. They only seem to push me closer to the edge of my sanity. I wonder if I'll one day be like them. I wouldn't be surprised if I did, by the way things are already going.
I look up, startled, as I hear someone let out a desperate wail. The sound is coming from a woman who seems to be in her mid-thirties, but there's no way of telling exactly how old someone is when you're worn down by the place.
A raven haired nurse automatically stands, and makes her way over to the patient, who's eyes widen with fear. The nurse pulls out a syringe to sedate the woman. However, the patient has other plans, apparently. She glares at the nurse, then does somethings completely unexpected. She speaks!
Her words are somewhat hoarse and rugged, but what she manages to croak out is completely clear: "I don't belong here!"
The nurse doesn't seem surprised, in contrast to my wide eyes and quiet gasp. "Tch. Trust me, dear, you fit in perfectly here." The nurse spits. The woman closes her mouth. In a millisecond, the table is flipped, cards and boards scattering everywhere. The patients begin to howl and scream, jumping up and tearing at each other.
The woman runs from the chaos she has created, pushing through the nurses with ease and bolting for the door. The dark haired nurse curses loudly, then shouts out orders. The other nurses pull out syringes, and inject them into the wild patients' necks.
They all fall like flies, limp and helpless. Before the sharp bite of the needle pierces my neck, I watch the woman. Right before she sprints through the door, she turns her head, looks me straight in the eyes, and waves. My lips unconsciously curl up into a small smile. Someone escaped. Someone like me. My thoughts are cut short as the needle pierces my neck
and I fall to the floor, as helpless and pathetic as everyone else here.
YOU ARE READING
Sub Zero
General FictionWhen Crystal Smith was just a child, tragedy tore her family apart and drove her mother into a period of depression. To dull the pain, Ellie Smith began drinking and eventually became an abusive alcoholic. Crystal was truly alone, with no siblings...
