Mind's Echo

Shelly

Shelly observed the newcomer, noticing he was none too pleased at introducing himself, never mind being there with the rest of them. I wonder what his story is, she thought. It hadn't escaped her notice that he wanted to be at the asylum, and she didn't think it was for ghost hunting. Who hunts ghosts with a gun? Is he a thief, or, worse yet, a murderer? I shall have to keep my eye on him for sure!

She listened to the others, while absentmindedly looking around the room, noting the decay of the furniture, the peeling paint, the smell. It really was awful and creepy. This was definitely a place she wanted to escape from and to forget!

She saw several pictures hanging on the wall across the room, and curiosity struck her. She picked up the lantern from where she had sat it earlier on the floor and walked over to get a better look. It wasn't like she had anything better to do. Alex was winding down from showing his ass, and shocking them all. Eva was pacing about the room anxiously, STILL talking about her fiancé leaving her here, and wanting Mark and Quincy to try their phones again, as well as their cars. Poor Mark; he was pretty much just standing there with a smile on his face looking lost ...

Reaching the pictures, she looked at the first one. It was an old photo of nursing staff. The date at the bottom read: Graduating Nursing Class, 1924. Oh, did that mean the asylum was also a school of nursing? She knew lots of psychiatric hospitals also doubled as nursing schools back then. How interesting! Moving to the next picture, she noticed a doctor performing a procedure on a patient, with several other physicians (or so she assumed) standing around observing. There appeared to be nurses and orderlies assisting, as well. The caption at the bottom read: Dr. George E. Lewis Performing Lobotomy, 1956. Shelly knew what a lobotomy was, and knew they were only performed on schizophrenics, usually those who were unsuccessfully treated with medications and therapy.

She looked at the people in the picture closer, and her eyes widened in shock.

"Guys come quick!" she yelled, almost fainting. "OMG!"

She could feel the blood rushing to her head, and her vision grew black for a few seconds.

As she placed a hand against the wall to steady herself, she asked the others as they rushed over, "Who do you see in that photo?"