Welcome to a Nightmare

Chapter 6: Broken Swan

Henry follows Archie and Pongo along the dimly lit street, towards where he said his mom was now staying. He wasn't sure what was going to happen, but he remains silent. He knew that if he talked any more about the curse, Archie would set up an appointment for him. It was like going back to the beginning again, where he believed in something and no one else did. At least this time around he knew for sure that the curse was real and everything that was in his storybook was too. He knew he just had to find his mom, try, and convince her that they needed to break the curse again... if she even remembered him.

The two of them come up to a great big, green building, that reached up into the gray sky. He notices immediately that all the windows have bars on them and the front doors have security codes. This wasn't the Storybrooke prison, he knew that; his mom, Regina usually locked the villains up in the psychiatric ward below the hospital anyways. What could his mom, Emma have done to end up in a place like this?

The building has gardens surrounding it that looked like they were dying or overgrown, there were fences on all sides of the place to keep people in, and large black letters hanging above the doorway reading:

Stygian Mental Ward

How did my mom end up here? He thinks to himself. What happened? Why did The Black Fairy do this to her? To keep her trapped? He needs answers and he needs them now.

"I'm just going to tie Pongo up," Archie says, standing next to Henry at the heavy, almost metal doors. "But I'll punch the code in to let you through."

Henry stands back as the former cricket and conscience punches in several numbers on the keypad. There is a loud buzzing, followed by a heavy thunk, indicating the door has been unlocked. The teenager opens the door with reluctance and enters. He is forced to walk through a security x-ray before going to the front desk. The area is piled high with papers and folders with brown coffee rings staining them and dust covering the old and clunky looking computer. Henry can see a water cooler in the nearby corner filled with green looking liquid and mousetraps in the corners of the hall. An old fan tied with bits of paper blows just behind the desk, pushing further dirt and dust into the heavy air. The place could hardly be described as clean, or even safe for that matter. He couldn't believe that his mother is in here.

There is a face he does recognize behind the desk, Nurse Ratchet, her hair still in the familiar two bun hairstyle and her face looking as sullen and bitter as before.

Henry clears his throat and the tired woman looks up at him.

"Nurse Ratchet..." he says.

"Hello Henry, let me guess you're here to see your mother?"

"Y-Yes,"

"Well I can't say that this it isn't a surprise, you spend more time here than you do at school. It's not healthy kid..."

Neither is this place; the young author thinks to himself.

"But I did have to deal with a phone call at three o'clock this morning from your adopted mother accusing me of hiding him. Your running away routine is getting very old kid..."

"I...I'm sorry if my..." he swallows, wanting to not say the word. "Mom bothered you, but I didn't run away this time... honest."

"Yep, I've heard that one before," the nurse snorts. She gets up with her cold cup of coffee and stares at the kid for a long moment. "Shouldn't you be in school?"

"My mom kept me out, I was nearly mugged this morning."

"Shocker, if I had a quarter for every time I was mugged, I wouldn't have any because they'd steal it all from me. She's just in art therapy right now. You can go to the Visitors' Room down the hall."