nightshift //minizerk//

25

Josh's POV:

''Simon!'' I shriek. Or I would, if my throat didn't feel as though it was closing up. I close my eyes and brace myself, waiting for the sound. But it doesn't come. No gunshot. Nothing. I look up. And he's there. Very much alive. Not dead. What?

''Fuck. I was really hoping those could be my last words.''

I glare at Simon, gun at his feet, grinning sheepishly as a guard handcuffs him once more. I whip my head around as the woman speaks up again. ''Of course we weren't going to knowingly give an insane patient a gun. Nor were we going to allow him to injure you in any way, Mr Bradley,'' she says. I switch my cold glare to her. ''I really am sorry you had to experience that. No one was ever in any real danger,'' she adds, walking up to me. I stare at her in disbelief as I feel the handcuffs come loose around my wrists. I slide my hands out and wring them together, still wallowing in confusion. I mumble slight protest as I'm pulled to my feet. I stagger backwards, but the woman catches me and holds me upright. ''What...'' I mutter, looking around. Simon is now manned once more by both guards. I look to the woman, waiting for further explanation.

''We do this with every patient. Mr Minter is hardly one of a kind. Most patients either try to shoot whoever is in my position or whoever is in your position,'' she nods to me. I shake my head. ''This is...'' I try to form a sentence, but nothing gives. I run a hand through my hair, waiting for the woman to go on. ''Mr Minter, you will stay at your current asylum until further notice. I'm impressed. Mr Brad-'' I punch her. As hard as my shaking hands will allow me. I notice one of the guards take a step away from Simon and towards me, but the woman waves him off. ''It's okay, this is to be expected,'' she says, wiping her bleeding nose. ''Listen. Joshua. I honestly am sor-'' I punch her again. Harder, now that my fists aren't trembling so much. ''Your apologies mean nothing to me, and you have no right to call me that,'' I snap, wiping my bloodied fist on my uniform. As the woman regains her balance once more, cupping her probably broken nose, I take a step forward. She takes many steps back, and I'm confident that I've done enough.

Somehow, I find myself sat in an office, facing the woman I now hate with a passion. I am still beyond confused, but comforted by the fact that when I last saw Simon he was grinning. I stare down at my hands in my lap, my left knuckles bruises and still tinted crimson. I can't say I enjoyed punching that lady. But I'm going to anyway. ''Well, that was fun, wasn't it?'' I speak up, keeping my eyes fixed on my hands. I hear the woman let out a dry laugh. ''I understand you're angry and confused, but you really do need to hear me out,'' she says. I snort, but I bring my eyes up to meet hers. ''I promise you, neither you nor Mr Minter were in any danger,'' she tells me. ''Comforting,'' I snap, dropping my gaze to my hands once more. ''Just move on and explain to me why you did what you did.''

''I won't waste time explaining the scientific side behind it, but offering someone a gun and telling them to shoot someone does reveal a lot about said person, depending on what they do,'' she says. I shake my head. ''Bullshit. What's going to happen to Simon?'' I ask, no longer interested in motives. The woman smiles kindly, and it looks so out of place. ''Providing he gets through other, much less demanding tests alright, his sentence may be shortened, and he may even be released.'' I smile at my hands. ''What's going to happen to me?'' I ask, as an afterthought. The woman doesn't speak for a moment, and I feel nerves creeping up on me again. ''You may return to your job as normal. I believe your boss has many things to discuss with you, though,'' she starts, ''and I only know this because I'm his boss.'' I roll my eyes. ''Because I really fell for that whole, 'ruler of every crack house in the United Kingdom' shit...'' I sigh. ''Yes... I am only in charge of one 'crack house'. And even then, there are many people in charge of me,'' she says. And I do regret it, but I let out a slight laugh.

 I glance at the placard on her desk. It reads 'Amelia Dowe'. I rise to my feet. ''Well... Amelia. Thank you for... emotionally scarring me. I'm going to go and dry heave for a while. Good day...'' I mutter, pushing my chair in and turning to leave. Amelia speaks up one more time. ''Speak to Tobi. Again, I'm really sorry you had to go through that, but-'' I walk out and slam the door behind me. All I want is to see Simon.