The Ward

Chapter 1

I've been working in this old psychiatric ward for the past three weeks. It's called Haven Brook. It's not much of a haven if you ask me, though. I started working here because I'm living with my Aunt and her boyfriend and I need to start paying my own way around the house. I started living with her after my parents died last fall. Well, "died" doesn't really sum it up, they were brutally murdered, and I witnessed the whole thing. Well, most of it. I walked into my house just in time to see the killer torturing my parents, burning them, sprinkling some sort of liquid that melted their flesh, and he was even cutting them open very carefully so the could watch him take out their intestines. It was really, really horrible. I vomited and ran for the door. He never came after me so I had called the police and when they got there, there had been no trace of the man, just my parents.

A nurse tapped on my shoulder, making me jump and drop the broom I was sweeping with, which brought me out of my thoughts. I turned around to face her, "Hello Amy." Amy smiled warmly at me and took me by the arm, "Can I introdude you to someone?" I nodded slowly and she walked me down the corridor and to the patients' rooms. We walked through the door to room 12 E which has been vacant for a while. Once we walked inside there was a little girl, probably 12 or 13. Amy smiled at the girl and pulled me forward as the little girl continued to look at the floor solemly. Amy cleared her throat and spoke, "Micha, this is Rose." I smiled and waved even though her eyes remained fixiated on the floor. Amy whispered in my ear that Micha was 13 and no one really knew why she was in the ward, she kind of just showed up.

She left and I stood awkwardly and cleared my throat. "Hey, Micha. If there is anything I can do for you please let me know. I'm not a nurse here or anything I'm pretty much just a janitor, but I can try my best to help you." She looked at me and she just looked so familiar. I couldn't place where I had seen her before. She smiled a sad, small, smile and nodded. I gave her a reassuring smile and left the room, a feeling of nostalgia over coming me. That's weird. I thought nurse Amy quit last week. Well, quit isn't really the word. She was badly hurt by a patient wasn't she? I shrugged it off and went back to collect my broom and get ready for my lunch break.

I didn't see much of Micha for the first few days, or Amy for that matter. Eventually I got assigned to the rooming section of the ward and I saw more of Micha. I'd talk to her every now and again seeing how she's doing and seeing if she ever needed anything. She'd just politely listen and shake her head yes or no. There wasn't really anything that strange about her. I couldn't ever figure out why she would need to be in a place like this. Especially since there weren't very many patients below the age of 20. And by not very many I mean none. She was the youngest one in the ward, which made it even more odd.

One day after a long shift at the ward I had clelaned up my supplies and clocked out. I got into my car and looked for my keys. Weird, where could they be, I thought I had them in my pocket... Well, I did put them in there after I clocked out... Maybe I missed my pocket and dropped them and I just wasn't paying attention. I shook my head at my lack of observation and got out of the car and went back into the building. One of the night nurses quickly hung up the phone and looked me dead in the eye, never had I seen so much fear in someone's gaze before. Confused I looked around and then back at the nurse, not seeing anything out of the ordinary. "What?" was all I said before I heard the distant sound of police sirens and saw the flashing red and blue lights reflect off of the wall. I turned around and looked out the window. Quietly, I heard the nurse say "Sorry, Rose, I saw something move behind you in your car. I thought it might've just been a shadow but then I saw the glint of a knife just as you got out..."

I took a couple of days off from working at the ward. The guy in my car turned out to be an escaped patient from the ward across town. After the police had gotten him and allowed me in my car, I found my keys on the floor board. I stayed at home in my aunt's house durring the few days I took off work. Her boyfriend was gone on a business thing and she stayed up in her room most of the time so I basically had the whole house to myself. I called in to by boss to tell him I would, in fact, be in for work tomorrow. He asked if I was doing better and I told him I was just fine and we hung up. I looked at the clock and it was only 5 so i popped in a movie and ordered a pizza.