Psychopathic Instincts

Chapter 3

Jane woke with a start, sweating all over. Her sheets, hair and clothes were all soaking wet. It was 06:01. A half an hour earlier than when she normally woke up, but she got up nevertheless. She went to the bathroom and looked at her face. She was pale and looked drained. She got into the shower and washed her hair. After she was done in the bathroom, she put on a white shirt with a black formal pants and black high heels. She tied her hair in a messy ponytail and went downstairs to make coffee. The sun was just rising and the only people outside were joggers and dog walkers. She put on the kettle and turned on the morning news. Nothing exciting except the increase in gas prices. Sipping her coffee, she sat on the chair on her porch. It was a quiet morning and the air was so cold, you could actually see your breath but the sun shone in the partly clouded sky. She got up and took her bag and her coat, locked her door and got in her car to drive to work. If only she had known how much trouble that day would cause her...

She pulled up in front of the institution to a door guarded by six guards she did not recognise as hospital guards. She approached them arching an eyebrow. "What's going on here?" She asked. They, however, just looked. The lead guard waved her off dismissively and told her she had no business there. Glaring at him, she told them she happened to be a psychiatrist at the hospital. They just laughed at her. "I have never met such ignorant, simpleminded fools in my life. Do you know what that means, or do I need to explain?" She asked indignantly. The lead guard wanted to reply but he was interrupted by a voice from the doorway. It was Nicole asking what was going on. "Wait, so this is the real Jane Clarke?" The lead guard asked, going pale. "I prefer if you called me Dr. Clarke, thank you." She said seriously to the guard. He then cleared his throat to start apologising but Jane held up her hand to silence him saying she didn't have time to listen to excuses. She followed Nicole up the stairs asking what was going on, but Nicole just shook her head, frowning. Now that Jane could see her properly, Nicole's hair wasn't its usual glamour. It was standing up in strange ways and her clothes were ruffled. Her eyes were wide open on alert. Jane said her name but Nicole silenced her by saying, "Wait until we're in the kitchen, Jane. "This shut Jane up because she knew this was serious.

When they walked into the kitchen Jane was shocked to see other hospital staff in the and, to her surprise, a handsome blonde haired man named Paul Jetter, who was Jane's boss. "Good morning , Jane. Sit down. Would you like a cup of tea?" Paul asked and smiled. Jane arched her eyebrow and sat by the table, saying she was fine. Jane looked straight at Paul with a meaningful look but he guiltily avoided her gaze. The room was quiet but she kept looking straight at Paul. He finally gave up and massaged his temples. He told her that someone had been transferred to the HJ Mental Istitution but he had not planned on telling them so soon. "He's going to be one of your patients." He finished. With a questioning look on her face she asked, "So you called me here to tell me I'm getting a new patient?" Everyone shifted uncomfortably. "Well the man is... Markus Clang." It seemed as the entire hospital was holding their breathe. Jane sat for a few moments to register what he had just said. Markus Clang was the 14 year old boy that had killed his parents. She was still very young then so she did not know all the details of that murder but Markus Clang murdered many more people over the next years as he was in and out of juvenile detention and prison. Paul quietly asked her what she was thinking. She stared back at him, not sure what to say. Then she told Paul, quietly and calmly, "I don't think I'm experienced enough for that just yet."  After a few moments silence he said, "Let's go to my office." And jerked his head towards the door.

She followed him out and neither of them spoke until they had closed his office door behind them. Then she turned to him and started shouting at him, asking what he was thinking giving such a difficult patient when she was just out of university. He winced as if her shouting was hurting him. "Look Jane, I've spoken to a lot of our patients already. They all love talking to you. You're really good. You can handle him and we've got guards all around." He said, trying to make her sit down but she shook him off. She sighed because it wasn't just that. "My father was busy for months on that case. I barely saw him." But that was not all. She just had a bad feeling about him. The stories she heard, the sick way his murders were committed like gouging someone's eyes out. It was disgusting and it made her scared. That was also the time her mother was very sick. She was close to death but by some miracle she recovered. She wasn't prepared to tell him all this however, so she left it at that. "Having him as a patient will just bring back bad memories and all his murders... They make me sick to my stomach." She said and sighed. They looked at each other for a long time before Paul finally said, "Just give it a try. If it's too much, I'll see what I can do." She sat and thought, then finally said yes.

She left his office feeling nervous and slightly scared. She went back to her office and sat down behind her desk with the file Paul had just given her. It was the file of Markus Clang. He stabbed his mother 32 times and his father 48 times. He admitted 23 known murders in total and when asked why he did it, he said because he was ordered to. When questioned about the order Markus merely laughed. He laughed in detectives faces and even laughed in court. He was so proud and said he had fulfilled his master's wishes. That was all that mattered to him. Jane started to feel a little sick in her stomach. Then there was a knock at the door and a guard asked if she was ready to see Markus Clang. She steadied herself, took the folder and a tape recorder and followed the guard toward the basement interview rooms. This was for the most dangerous patients because it had a one-sided mirror for guards to keep you safe. As they descended the stairs of the basement, it became darker and they air became more sterile. Walking to the very last room in the corridor, the entered a dark room only lit by the light coming from the other side of the window. The man sitting at the table in the room looked like the devil himself. His clothes were tattered and his face unshaven, he looked like a savage. Yet he was grinning broadly and creepily, making her hair stand on end. Taking a deep breath, Jane walked through the door into the brightly lit room. She addressed him politely, though she did not smile. "Mr Markus Clang, welcome to the HJ Mental Institution. I'm Dr. Clarke, your new psychiatrist."