Vertigo

Chapter 2 - Misapprehension

Felix Carlton was a mystery; a puzzle where the pieces did not quite fit together, and no matter how hard you tried, they never would fit perfectly. The cracks in the puzzle pieces would always be present and melancholy and psychosis would always wickedly replete them. His story was disheartening which has never failed to create a somber atmosphere. Rumour has it that Felix, an incredibly intelligent, introverted university student, cracked and lost control of himself. He lashed out and murdered his closest friend, Harry.

His story was common knowledge in the area. Well after the incident, parents still enforced a curfew for their children to protect them. Anxiety writhed in the small town, and everybody took precautions to protect themselves and their families, despite the fact that the incident occurred quite a few years ago. Many were affected by Harry's death, and the whole town grieved for months on end. He was a sociable young adult, with potential to do great things. He most certainly would have, if he had been given the chance. When Felix was found guilty (and mentally unstable), word spread that he did it because he was jealous of Harry. Unable to reconcile with his envy, he became violent and took his life.

***

Despite the popularity of Felix's case, Nick had never heard of it as he had recently moved interstate, specifically to work at the prestigious institute. Broken Pine was an institute for the criminally insane, however, it never occurred to Nick that he would have to deal with dangerous criminals. It didn't bother him, but the presence of murder often unnerved him. The building felt dismal all of the time, and it was almost impossible to be happy in these conditions. He never complained though, because the experience was incredible and he could never wish it away. He loved his job and was hypnotised by the diseases of the mind.

Nick knocked on the door twice, and opened the door. He didn't have to knock, and most of the employees at Broken Pine neglected to do so, but he felt it offered some sort of respect to the patient. Nick felt like it was important to have a relationship with the patients where respect went both ways. He found that the patients cooperate better if they feel that they are being treated like human beings.

Felix sat passively on his bed, but not absentmindedly. He was deep in thought, which was not an unusual thing for him. He often spent hours on end staring at the sickeningly white walls that trapped him. It was a prison cell for the insane, and it sent most inmates mad. He had been perched on his bed for most of the day, engulfed in thought.

“Good afternoon, Felix.” He said professionally. Nick was still young, fresh out of university. He had never had to be professional before his job interview at Broken Pine, but he always tried to be as professional as the more mature staff members at the institute. He didn't have to – everyone would have understood if he acted contemporary – but it made him feel grown up and important, so nobody mentioned it to him.

Felix, still deep in his own thoughts, hadn't noticed that the doctor had entered his small cell. Maybe he had noticed, but pretended not to. The patients did that from time to time, but they usually had poor acting skills. If Felix was pretending, he was doing a fantastic job at keeping his act up. God knows what the inmate was thinking, but it must have been interesting if he was refusing to pull away from it. Nick usually left Felix alone to his own thoughts while he did his duties in his room; cleaning, inspecting the scratches that the patient left on the bedside table and the headboard of the bed, and leaving behind food. He would leave, and come back in an hour to do a physical and psychological inspection. But today, Nick had an important message to pass onto Felix. As a result, he had to bring him out of his train of thought for the first time. Well aware of his aggressive past, he was nervous about doing so, but knew he had to if he wanted to keep his job. Nick was desperate to leave a good impression on his superiors and to climb the ladder of success. He had always been like this, and many people had dared to call him a control freak due to this.

“Felix?” He said with mock confidence. He had mastered this tone, using it around the patients who kept him on edge. He barely ever used it around Felix, who hadn't shown a single sign of agression since the day the two had met.

Felix took no notice, but blinked slowly. The air in the room felt heavy, and Nick knew he should not be afraid. There were security cameras everywhere, so the patient wouldn't dare try anything on him. Not that Felix had ever shown any intention to hurt Nick. He was just thinking of all the possible negative outcomes of what he knew he had to do.

“Felix!” He said again, forcefully. His patience was growing thin as he was instructed to quickly inform Felix of the changes to the program. This time, he noticed Nick standing in the doorway awkwardly. He tilted his head to the side and a sly smile spread across his colourless porcelain face. He beckoned Nick in, repositioning himself on the bed.

“Hello Felix, I'm terribly sorry to interrupt you.” He said sombrely, “But, I have important information to tell you.”

Felix tilted his head again, and whispered, “What are they going to do to me?” The look in his eyes showed sheer terror, and looked as if they were about to spill over with tears at any moment.

“Did I do something wrong?” He added, his voice shaking. Nick couldn't help but feel sorry for him. Felix looked and sounded so innocent at that moment, and he was so confused at how someone so meek could have had the motive to kill.

“No! They jus-”

“I did, didn't I?” Felix cut him off, his face crumbled and tears started to stream down his face. “Just tell me the truth, please.” He choked out the words, not breaking the eye contact with his doctor.

“Not at all. Felix, they just want you to join the other patients for dinner in the mess hall.” Nick responded gently, putting his hand on Felix's shoulder. He gave the wailing man a sympathetic look.

“Why?” He looked up, the tears stopping almost instantaneously.

“You're showing improvements, and as a treat, you're allowed to socialise and get out of this monotonous room. It must get boring in here, right?” Nick said cheerfully, hoping to brighten his patient up a bit.

“But I was never sick to start with. I didn't do anything wrong.” Felix spat out.

Nick was astounded. In all of their therapy sessions that they've had together, Felix had never said anything about his past, or anything really. They would talk about the food that tasted like cardboard, and how the room was unbearable to reside in, and sometimes the scratches he left on the bedside table. Nick knew that an opportunity like this sparingly arose with Felix, and he should make the most out of it. Bringing him down to the mess hall quickly, as he was instructed, would just have to wait. He was sure management would understand.

Nick pulled out his notebook and pen, and sat down on the chair adjacent to the bed.

“Now, Felix. I want you to tell me everything, from start to finish. Don't leave anything out. Tell me what happened, and why you're in here. Tell me everything, and I'll see what I can do to help.”

[Author's Note: I'm sorry that it's terrible, I just couldn't wait any longer to upload a chapter. Will write more frequently. Please leave comments and vote for me. Tell me what you think! Share it around, please. I would love to get this out to a big audience]