I glanced around the brightly-lit room, enclosed entirely in walls surfaced with cream coloured padding. No windows, no ceiling, no life. Nothing but padding and a single door, barricaded by locks humanly impossible to ever untangle without a key, or a nuclear bomb. I struggled to free my arms as they were pinned to either side of me, an impossible fight but still worth a shot. Panic washed over my frail body when the reality of my current situation had finally kicked in- I was trapped.
"Please, I'm not mad!" I began to cry, hoping someone would hear me. I knew the events leading up to this were anything but crazy, but I wasn't. I loved him, I was trying to help him... this wasn't supposed to happen. I buried my feet into the padding and steadied my back on the wall behind me, pushing my body upwards and running towards the white metal door.
Flinging my knees hopelessly at it, I screamed louder. I needed them to let me go. This wasn't right at all. They've misinterpreted the situation. "For fuck sakes, I'm not crazy! I don't belong here! Let me go."
I felt the air knock out of me as my back collided with the padded floor. Looking up and trying to establish what had just happened, an unfamiliar figure approached me, closing the door behind him.
He was draped entirely in white and mint green and his glasses sat at the tip of his nose. He squatted down to my level, his piercing blue eyes staring into mine. "You're not crazy, ay?" He chuckled.
"No, I most certainly am not. You have been mistaken, you idiot!" I spat, the poision I felt towards this man spilled off my tongue before I could manage to stop it.
"Now, now, now. Who are you calling an idiot? After all, I am the doctor." He smirked, standing back up without breaking his gaze.
My eyes flooded with tears as I attempted to kick helplessly at the man's legs, repeatedly cursing the phrases "you're a jerk!", "I'm not crazy!" and "let me go, you fucking idiot!"
"Nurse, please bring in the anesthesia. I think Riley needs to take a little nap." The doctor spoke into the small pager he pulled out of his coat pocket.
I started to scream at the top of my lungs, my kicking becoming much more forceful and my tongue more abusive. "You can't fucking do this to me!"
"We're just trying to help you," he snarled as three nurses piled in through the door behind him.
He ruffled his brown curls as he took the needle out of the blonde nurse's grip whilst the other two proceeded to pin me down against the padding.
"No! Stop!" I violently kicked under their restraint, but my weakness overpowered my strength as I felt the needle prick my neck. My eyelids became heavy and my words muddled under my breath as I entered the darkness.
Tuesday, 23rd of April, 1983.
"Congratulations, you're hired!" the woman sitting opposite the large desk beamed at me.
"Thank you so much, you don't understand how much this is going to help me!" I smiled politely, trying to appear as interested in the most distasteful job imaginable.
"That's fine dear," she spoke whilst tucking the fallen golden lock behind her ear. "We're always happy to have more staff on board. This place sure does get lonely sometimes..."
"When should I start?" I ask eagerly. I want to start saving as soon as possible as the quicker I can get this job over with the faster I'll be getting the education I need in life.
"Come in tommorow morning around 8ish, your uniform and keys will be waiting at the front desk."
"Thank you again, really!"
"It's no problem at all."
I gathered my black leather handbag and paperwork and started heading towards the door of the cramped office.
"Riley, one more thing." The woman spoke as I stopped in my tracks, spinning around to face her.
"Yes?" I questioned.
"Here at The Broken Asylum, there are a lot of... quirky individuals," she says, carefully choosing her words, "so if you find yourself feeling any discomfort at all with any of the patients, just inform me and I will deal with it immediately."
"I will, thank you." I smile as she waves back at me, signalling for me to leave.
