Room 303

Chapter 3

                                    Rachel

   Rachel woke up to a couple of people chatting outside her room. She felt dizzy and weak. This was probably because she hadn't eaten anything since she woke up two days ago. She felt as if someone was trying to strangle her and suck out all the air from within her. I need to breathe. I need to relax. I can do this for my daughter. The sun was shining once more through the barred window. I need to get out of here. She stood up and moved closer to the door.

  "Hello? Is somebody there?"
  "What is it?"
  The voice of the man seemed familiar. He must be the one who came in with Stella two days ago and pinned her down.
  "May I use the bathroom please?"
  He eyed her suspiciously through the glass door. He could take her down easily. He was much stronger than she was, and of course much more built. She knew she wouldn't stand a chance against him.
  "You better make it quick."
   She stepped back as he unlocked the door. He entered the room and directed her out of it. There were many rooms that seemed similar to hers from the outside on both sides of the corridor. At least about ten rooms on each side. There were flickering florescent lights lining the ceiling of the corridor from end to end.
   "From here," he said as he pointed to the left side.

She followed him as he walked down the corridor. She could hear the cries and screams of other patients. One patient was crying then laughing hysterically. The other was pleading for somebody to help him. Another was urging for someone to find her baby girl. The last one on the right was the creepiest. As she passed by him, he pressed his face on the small glass part of the door. Their eyes locked together. He laughed hysterically as he exposed his decayed teeth to her. She froze in her ground gazing at him.

  "You are going to die. We all are going to die."
  He cried, laughed, hissed, and spat in her direction.
  "Enough Simon!" Said the man as he used a baton to hit the door making Simon retreat.
  "Now get back to sleep," he ordered.
  She was stuck in a mental institute with mental people.
  "There you are. Make it quick," said the man.
  "How about you unstrap me first? How can I use my hands if I am strapped?"
   He hesitated for a while then carefully came closer, unstrapped her from the straitjacket, and warned her not to do anything stupid.
She felt free. Her shoulders hurt and her elbows felt stiff from being stuck in a single position for three days. She twisted her hands glad that she could finally see them. She rubbed them together and wiggled her fingers to exercise them.
  "Make it quick. We don't have all day."

   She nodded as she entered the bathroom. It was a small bathroom with just a toilet seat and a sink. There was a soap bar and some tissue hanging down from the end of the sink. The bathroom was disgusting. She was about to puke. She stood there trying to look for a way out.

There was a small barred window similar to the one in her room located at the high end of the wall. She managed to balance herself on both ends of the toilet seat. She stood up to reach for the window. The bars were strong and couldn't be broken easily. She looked out of the window and the sun shone straight into her eyes. There was a long bed of grass covering all the ground. There were benches scattered all over the place for patients to sit on. Patients were roaming around talking to themselves. The institute was surrounded by a large wall topped by electric wires from end to end making it impossible for anyone to cross over without being electrocuted. This was made to keep the patients from escaping. She stared for a minute longer trying to find a way out. Any way out, but it was a dead end.

  "What is taking you so long?" Asked the man from behind the door.
  "Sorry, I'll be right out," she said.

   She slowly moved back down, and used the toilet quickly to empty her bladder. She washed her hands and face wanting to refresh. There was no mirror in the toilet, so she wasn't able to see how bad she looked. She straightened her hair with her fingers attempting to brush it. She opened the door and stepped outside.