Dark Sides

Chapter 1- The Checkup

        As I looked around at the blank white walls surrounding me, my anxiety only grew. Why am I here? The question haunted my mind as my solid white shoes tapped softly on the monotonously grey floor tiles. My blue eyes landed back on the paper in my hand, reading the words again.

Patient 7734, please report to clinical area 2 for a requested checkup at 7:45 am.

        There were no "checkups" in that godforsaken place. Although they'd renamed the Asylum to be called a "State Hospital" long before I'd arrived, most of the people here called it what it was. Anoka's Insane Asylum was not there to cure me. I was sent here to live out my life until I keeled over dead. There was absolutely no point in having a checkup if I was just going to die there, anyways.

       "...What are you doing?" Marilyn Hetter was sitting there in one of the chairs with a solemn expression on his face. His lush, dark hair was shiny in comparison to the dull room that occupied the two of us. I'd never seen a darker shade of brown in anyone's eyes, but all of these observations were in a simple glimpse. Before responding to the man, I took a deep breath. "I'm waiting, just like you are."

       My eyes avoided him as I continued with my strange pacing. Marilyn Hetter was devilishly handsome, but I knew better than to say anything about it. I wouldn't have even stepped foot in a room with him if he didn't have that straitjacket on. He was a dangerous man, I knew that for a fact. One of the nurses came in, repeatedly tapping a pen against her clipboard. "Patient 7734?"

           "That's her." Marilyn nudged his head in my direction as I hopelessly tried to form words. "Follow me." The nurse said, seeming very unenthusiastic about her job. My eyes met with Marilyn's as I took hesitant steps. "Come on, dear. We haven't got all day!" With that, I followed her down the wide, ominous hallway. We reached a wooden door, and she opened it. "He'll be here soon. In the mean time, make yourself comfortable....and kid, I wouldn't suggest talking to Marilyn." 

         The nurse walked away, leaving me alone inside the room. I cautiously sat down on the exam table  waited for somewhere around 10 minutes for the doctor to come in. I noticed that there were around 7 cardboard boxes stacked on top of each other in the corner of the office. My eyes were locked on those when the young man walked through the door. "You must be Mallory. I'm Doctor Edward Fultor." The first time I ever laid eyes on him, I had no idea what was in store.

           I guess he must've been used to that; the sudden pause in a person's natural expression when they looked his way. He was gorgeous. He had smooth, flawless skin and ice blue eyes that could send chills down your spine. His matte black glasses complimented his face in a comforting way. He and Marilyn were two different kinds of handsome. Something about this man, however, gave me more fear than Marilyn did, and there were quite a few reasons to fear Marilyn. Perhaps it was the things I didn't know about him that scared me the most.

        "I-I'd rather go by Lilith." I replied, sheepishly avoiding meeting eyes with him. "That's alright," He paused for a moment, shutting the door. "Do you know why you're here today?" No. I thought. The way he was looking at me was strange- A slight smirk was formed on his lips, and his eyes were filled with desire. I shook my head in response, and his smirk got wider.

        "I was going through patient files, since I've just recently been hired here and I was curious as to whom my skills would help. Your file, specifically, caught my eye. Mallory Lilith, age 22, born on January 19, 1925 and raised in New Orleans. You were neglected as a child, and you had never felt loved until you met-"

"I get it, you've read my file." I snapped, angrily cutting him off.

"You believe you possess the ability to communicate with the dead, correct?"