Fear Asylum

First Words (Ch. 4)

Ch. 3 

"Demolition Lovers." I blinked.  

"What?" I asked, pausing the music.  

"The song. It's Demolition Lovers." He said quietly. His voice was just like his eyes; filled with pain, but disguised as exhaustion.  

"I know. I love My Chem." I said. His eyes lit up and he turned to me.  

"Y-you do?" He asked and I nodded. He stood and walked over to his closet. He dug into the back of a bag that laid in the corner of the closet. He pulled out a black shirt and held it up for me too see it. It was a "Black Parade" shirt. "They wouldn't let me take it with me, so I snuck it my bag." He said.  

"Didn't they check it though?" I asked.  

"Metal detector. Uh, c-could you please play the music again? I haven't heard them in years. How are they? Any new albums? I've kinda been here for four years." He asked, excitedly.  

"Uh, new albums? There's 'Danger Days' and 'Conventional Weapons', but you didn't hear about it, did you?" 

"What?" 

"They," I took a deep breath. "They broke up."  

"No." He said slowly. "No! That's not fair; they couldn't have broken up!" He sat cross-legged on the ground and put his face in his hands. His red hair fell on both sides of his face. I got up and sat next to him.  

"It's not the band, it's the idea." I said. I picked up my phone, scrolled down to "L", and played "The Light Behind Your Eyes".  

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When the song ended, Graham smiled and thanked me. He had calmed down a bit, which was good, 'cuz people do crazy things when they're mad.  

"Graham?" I asked.  

"You can call me Gray. My brother used to." He smiled at the fading memory. I smiled, and continued.  

"Gray, can you tell me about what happened? I mean, you seem fine to me, why are you here?" I asked.  

"What happened to my file that's 'growing thicker by the second'?" He said using air quotes.  

"I don't believe it. And what do you mean by that?" 

"The warden guy, Caulfield, that's what he said 'cuz I wouldn't talk to anyone." He said and a knock came at the door.  

"DINNER!" Came the voice through the door. Gray sighed and rose. He held out his hand and helped me up. I tied my black hair back into a ponytail, letting my bangs dangle on the side of my face. I opened the door, and the guard that called out for dinner was ready to escort him to the hall by grabbing his wrist and dragging him down the stairs. Not being able to see me, the guard yanked him to the other side, slamming him into a railing as we walked down the stairs.  

"That's for being late." He said gruffly.  

As Gray cried out, I exploded.  

"HEY! He's goddamned person! Treat him like one!" I yelled. The guard stopped, shocked.  

"Who the hell are you?" He asked, squinting at me, trying to figure out who I was.  

"I'm the new psychologist who's gonna kick your ass if you don't mind your own business and get out of here." I replied. He leaned in.  

"I dare you to try it, hon'. " He smirked. Gray moved back, watching the scene. I moved in, kicking his shin. As he moved back, I placed my foot behind his ankle, and pulled it forward, causing him to stumble backwards. I used my knee to slam into the bottom of his chin, making his brain smash into his skull. My final move made him black out, and fall unconscious. I walked down the stairs with Graham.  

"Gray, who is that?" I asked.  

"Matt. He does that almost everyday. I don't know why he hates me so much." He said in his soft voice.  

"I have no idea why anyone could hate you, Graham Stockholm." I said and he grinned the most amazing grin ever. "I just meant you, and I think you're awesome! Who could hate a person like that?"  

"Everyone here." He said, the grin gone and a depressed tone sliding into his voice.  

"Not everyone." I said. When we arrived at the mess hall, the odor of tasteless food infiltrated my senses. I wrinkled my nose and looked around. There were no doctors, just the patients and guards. "Gray, where are the doctors?" 

"Most of 'em stay for a few hours, and leave. None of 'em come down here. Hardly any of them actually stay in the same room as us. They act like we're gonna kill them, or something." He said as the food lady dropped pasta on our plates. We thanked her, got a mumble in return, found an empty table, and sat down.  

"How do you eat this stuff?" I asked sniffing the so-called pasta.  

"After eating this shit for 4 years straight, I'm kinda used it." He said and I laughed.  

"Hey," I whispered to him. "Tomorrow I'll being you some real food."  

"Thanks." He smiled. While I was eating I thought about asking him again how he was being treated, but rejected the idea. I didn't want to make him uncomfortable, so I finished my food and when he was ready, we walked back up to his room.  

"Are there any nurses?" I asked.  

"No, the doctors act like nurses." He answered.  

"Okay. Well, I hate to say it, Gray, but I have to go. It's getting pretty late, and I'm not that good at driving in the dark." I said and Gray sighed.  

"I loved driving. But, of course, I'm not allowed off this place." He said. Feeling badly for him, I decided to change the topic.  

"I'll be back tomorrow around 8, okay?" I asked and he nodded. 

"Wait!" He said, getting to his feet.  

"What's your name?" He asked awkwardly.  

"Icelynn Donnermay." I smiled, and so did he. He waved and I left his room. I walked into the other room. I picked up my purse, bag, and folder. I walked down to the lobby and stopped to talk to Nancy.  

"Hey, uh y'know the guard Matt?" I asked.  

"Yes, what about him?"  

"When I was going down to the mess hall with Graham, he slammed Graham into the rail, and was treating him horribly. I would really appreciate it if you could do something about that." 

"Why yes. Of course. Is Graham alright?" 

"Yeah, he's ok. Well, have a good night." I said. She smiled as I walked out to my car. As I got into my car, I realized what an odd day I had had. Somehow I knew tomorrow was going to be weirder.