The Whispers in the Walls

Chapter 2

An hour had passed since Serena was left there wondering about her choices. Everything was eerily quiet but that quiet would be broken on occasion by passing orderlies with a few patients or Nurses making their rounds. A set of Elevators behind the couch they sat at would occasionally open and spew out a group of patients tagging behind someone wearing scrubs. They all looked to be having fits and Serena thought back to what her mother had said the night before. 

'So should I bring my laptop and clothes? Or just come without anything? Underwear?'- Serena
'I'm not sure, honey. They may not even take you in.'-Serena's Mother
'What do you mean 'they might not take you in'? We don't even have a for sure guarantee?'-Serena

It had worried Serena since she would be having to exit her 'safe haven' to venture outside and it wasn't even a sure thing that the Facility would accept her. How embarassing would it be if they told her she wasn't 'disabled' enough to stay with them and she had come looking as though she were moving in? Her anxieties began to skyrocket again. It wasn't that she wanted to stay at the damned place but she was beginning to have a panic attack because it was taking so long. Did that mean she wasn't 'broken' enough to be accepted. 

It felt as though she were back in the School Yard waiting to be picked and finding out that she was the last person but both teams were even and she would need to sit out. The air in her lungs faltered as she choked on her breath and her heart began to pound. Visibly she looked unchanged, aside from her slight shaking. 

A hand came to rest on her knee and it jerked her out of her anxieties. She looked over to see her Mother giving her worried eyes. 

"Are you okay," her mother asked softly.

"Sure. What's there to worry about? Not like I'm locked inside of a fuckin' crazy hospital with unknown people and the people I feel safe with will leave me in their 'care' for an undetermined amount of time. No worries. I'm feelin' spec-fuckin-tacular. A-Okay, Momma-Jay," she began to mumble quickly and erratically. Everytime her anxieties picked up she'd begin talking rapidly and nonsensical things. Her mother had gotten used to this peculiar quirk. And if the occasional curse word was featured spasmodically throughout her speeches she didn't cringe. 

Her mother huffed at her daughter's ramblings but rubbed a hand on Serena's leg to ease some of her tension. 

"Serena?"

A voice called from a set of double doors across the room. Two women stood together, one holding a clipboard and the other a Blood Pressure Machine. 

Serena stood and walked towards the two, not realizing her mother hadn't followed. By the time she was already behind signature locked doors it was already to late. The two women led her through a door after one swiped her badge against the magnetic bar; it beeped allowing them entrance. 

"We just need to go over a few questions and take your vitals," said the woman with the clipboard. She was an older lady with slightly greying hair and her badge said Marge. Serena sat down and gave a little nod in acceptance. 

"Do you have Tuberculosis?" "No." "Heart Problems?" "No." "Asthma?" "No." "Any known Allergies?" "No." At this point Serena was feeling like a broken record and felt like shouting 'No to all your questions' instead of sitting through this nonsense. The other woman was a plump short lady with her black hair pulled back in a bun and a badge that read Monique. Monique strapped the cuff to her arm and began the process of taking her blood pressure and temperature as the questions were fired off. 

Once the interrogation was finished and her arm felt as though someone had just squeezed the ever living fuck out of her, they released her back to the waiting room with a parting 'Charles will come talk to you in a second'. 

Wasn't one interrogation enough?! She didn't care, she was bringing her mother with her next time. It was fifteen minutes later that a slightly balding male came to collect her. They entered the same room but this time Serena had dragged her mother along. 

"Serena, I just need to go over what you wrote on the sheet given to you by the Receptionist, Joy, and then we can get you settled in."

"So, I am being admitted?"

"Yes. We have a 48 hour evaluation period and then the Doctor's will have the jurisdiction to give you a release date. First, are you having suicidal thoughts?"

Serena's Mother sat quietly next to her daughter and Serena wondered if it would've been better to leave her mom out in the waiting room. Then again she'd probably have a panic attack alone with this Charles guy. 

"Yes and No. Yes, I would like to cease to exist. No, I'm too afraid to kill myself so no need to fear that I'll go harming myself. However, if there was an End button... I'd click it."

"Thoughts of hurting or harming other people?"

"Yes and No. No, I don't feel like harming strangers but I would definitely punch someone in the face if they pissed me the hell off."

"I'm sure anyone would punch someone in that case," the balding man chuckled as he continued staring at the paper in front of him.

He continued listing off various other things that she had already answered but the bottom line was that they were putting her in the Facility on 24 hour watch. Everything seemed to speed up from there. She was rushed from the room and said her goodbyes to her parents which merely made her mother cry. She watched their backs walk through that locked door as the Elevator doors shut closed with her inside. 

The nurse walked her towards a set of double doors colored pitch black and gained access before ushering her inside. Everything blurred to her. She was having a panic attack. There was no safety here. Glancing briefly she could vaguely make out that there were numerous other patients, perhaps worse than her. Maybe even killers. 

It suddenly came crashing down on her how wrong it was to be here. She wasn't this bad. Serena didn't need to be here. Twisting her head around she looked at those locked doors and then glanced to a female patient sitting on a blue chair opposite a phone placed for the patients. She was shaking with full body shivers but no chattering teeth. It almost seemed she was on vibrate. Her skin glistened a bit under the fluorescent lights a dark brown. Serena noted that her belly was shaped as though pregnant and she wondered what someone like that was doing here. 

Her eyes averted and stared at the Nurse's back as he led her down the hall. Some bedroom doors were open and others shut. There were the occasional patients that walked by with odd mutterings but others were heading for the 'Day Room' to watch a tv. 

Inside the room she was led to, a female was removing the bed coverings of a bed. 

"What are you doing, Samantha? Those aren't yours," the Nurse said as they walked inside.

"I know that, obviously. I was removing it since she's gone," the girl snarked back.

Serena was worried about whether her new roommate was a mean person or she just didn't like the nurse. The room was bare except for two beds that were drilled to the floor, two desks and two large chairs in front of the desks. Serena sat on the chair as the Nurse took over collecting the sheets from the previous 'tenant'.

'Samantha' , as the nurse called the fair skin girl, walked to the corner of the room and watched the nurse warily as he bundled all the things into his arms.

"I'll be right back with your stuff."

Serena merely nodded as she stared at her belongings that had been left for her. All the things were gone except some clothes. All the journals, writing utensils, laptop, they were just gone. She felt bereft. Her roommate was studying her and she just stared at the wall in front of her. It was probably proper for her to introduce herself.

"I'm Serena. Sorry, I'm not good with talking. I'm here because I'm scared to leave my house," she murmered as she gave a quick glance to the girl before looking away. Serena felt like vomiting at having to introduce herself out loud.

The other girl didn't talk but chose to walk out of the room. Serena slumped a bit to rest her forehead to the desk and waited. It was merely the first ten minutes and she was already feeling as though her heart detached and her lungs took a hike. This was hell.