The plain white halls seem to go on forever as I rush to the director's office. I would have been early if I hadn't of gotten lost on the way here.
I've just gotten a new job as a Forensic Psychologist at Exodus HQ, which from what I've heard, is a prison that holds particularly unstable patients. I'm nervous to say the least, but I'm sure it's nothing I can't handle.
I find the director's office and knock three times before standing back and waiting for someone to answer.
"Come in." A deep voice calls from inside the room.
I walk through the door and into the room. Bookshelves line the walls and a fireplace stands behind the desk which is placed in line with the door. Seated at it is a tall, old man with slicked back white hair and glasses. His face shows his age well, however his body seems well-built and muscly for his age.
"Dr Chapman, welcome. Sorry for the mess, I was expecting you earlier." He chuckles with a kind smile.
"My apologies, I got lost on the way here." I'm trying to sound as professional as I can, but I'm struggling to keep my voice from shaking with anxiousness.
"No no it's fine, however let's get you started right away to make up for lost time. The first patient you'll be interviewing is #21," he places a file on the desk in front of me as I sit down.
I open the it and begin memorising the patients information.
'Patient #21
Name: Kim Jong dae
Other names: Chen
Age: 24
Nationality: Korean
Height: 173cm
Ability: lightning
Notes: patients of this group are known to be manipulative. Be wary of any advances or sudden willingness to cooperate.'
Alright, this shouldn't be too hard.
"Everything okay?" The director smiles.
"Oh yes, everything should be fine." I smile back. I'm nervous, but I can't let that show. Especially on the first day.
"Well then, shall we go down to the patients?" The director gets up from his chair and I follow him out the door and down the hall to the elevator. Once we're in he presses the button with no number on it. All I know is that we're going down.
"We keep the worst of the worst down here. Coincidentally, they're all from the same group." The director comments. I nod at this and think about what kind of people I'm about to meet.
"Will I just be working with the one today?" I inquire
"Ah yes, we'll introduce you to the individually on different days. We done want you to feel overwhelmed or anything. The last person we had working with them is now in one of our sanitariums."
I chuckle awkwardly at this and look away from him. Surely the job can't be that bad.
We finally reach the floor after what feels like forever. I stand back and let the director exit first before following him down the hall to a guarded door. The guards nod at him and unlock the door, which opens to reveal a dark room with 6 cells on each side. Each cell has bars at the front and thick brick walls on the side, as if they were designed to tease whatever they were holding with a glimpse at what goes past.
Looking into the cells as we past them, I find out that each has a man in it. These must be the 12 I'll be working with.
They're all bound in straight jackets and tied to chairs, and a few of them are blind folded. The ones that aren't stare intensely at us as we walk past as if they're going to eat us alive at any given chance.
We reach a door at the end of the room. The cell to my left is empty, and the man in the cell to my right has some sort of contraption on his head.
"That one can read minds. It's for our protection." The director says, seeing my confusion.
"Gotta keep the pretty lady safe now!" A voice from one of the cells laughs maniacally.
The director simply scoffs and opens the door in front of us.
Inside there is a table in the middle of the room and a man in a straight jacket seated at the chair across facing the door. His torso is bound to the back of the chair and his feet have been tied to the legs.
His expression portrays curiosity as the director motions for me to sit across from the patient.
"This is our new doctor. Be nice." He warns before exiting the room and leaving me alone with the man across from me.
I pull out his file that I have brought with me and place it on the table in front of me.
"So, Kim Jongdae, how are you today?"
"Please, call me Chen."
