Room 303

Chapter 17

                                   Patrick

  After everybody had gone to sleep, the asylum was quiet. Echoes of faint owls' hoot had filled the air of this miserable place. Patrick slowly shut the staffroom's door as he made it towards the window. He slid it open slowly trying not make it creak loudly. He reached out for a hidden bottle of wine that he had bought some days earlier. Drinking wasn't permitted by anyone in the asylum. Staff were required to stay focused all the time. A little drink on such a miserable day won't hurt. He gently raised the bottle to his lips and took a sip after the other. He was drowning his sorrows, and what a better way to do so than with the company of wine.

  Many thoughts crossed his mind. Thoughts about days when everything was just right. Days when he could recall his mother beaming around the house. There was a time though when she wasn't as happy. Patrick could remember that time very well. It was shortly before the incident. He knew something was wrong. He had asked her on several occasions if she was alright, but she always responded with a faint smile assuring him that she was fine. Even her faint smile was a forced one. Despite her being a hard worker, she always found time for family. She believed that family came first, and that was what she'd passed on to Patrick. Her precious beliefs. He stood back on his feet firmly closing the bottle of wine and keeping it away where it was. He was definitely going to need it later on. Checking that there was no one in the corridor, he made his way towards the basement and into the secret room.

  "Hey there," he whispered gently. "I am back." He pulled a chair and sat down next to the white bed. The tiny hidden room looked like one of the rooms in the asylum. He made sure all the necessary machines and medications were there. He was good at sneaking, so nobody ever sensed his visits downstairs. Nobody ever suspected the loss or disappearance of any of the medical supplies. He knew the time to sneak things around. The time when no one would pay any attention. The guy that was previously responsible for the pharmacy was a douche according to Patrick. He was fired andMaria was the one to take over his job in addition to whatever it was she does around the asylum. Her job wasn't known exactly. All that they knew, was that she was Doctor Steven's right hand, and that was enough to give her access and authority to do as she pleases. Not that their way was the right way, but it was the only way. It was either their way or the high way.

  "How are you feeling today?" He asked planting a kiss on the woman's forehead. "You know Andrew the guy from the third floor had another seizure today? He is getting worse by the day and there is nothing we can do to help."
  He checked the setting making sure everything is working properly before planting another kiss on her forehead.
  "Sleep tight mother. I'll be back tomorrow," he slowly shut the door and made his way back upstairs.
  "It's about time don't you think?"
Jumping in his skin, Patrick noticed Stella standing by the end of the corridor watching him as he shut the basement's door.
  "You startled me! What are you doing here?" He asked.

  "I can ask you the same question. Care to explain what you were doing at such a late hour in the basement?" Stella asked suspiciously.
  "Nothing really. I was just-" he bit his tongue. "I was just looking for something. I dropped my key chain earlier and was looking for it."
  "You dropped your keychain in the basement?"
  "Yes."
  "Why would you be in the basement anyways?"
  "Why are you asking too many questions?" He said as he tried to push his way past her.
  "Not this time!" She stood blocking his way.
  "Get out of my way."
  "I will, but not until I know what you are up to."
  "I told you I drop-"
  "Oh cut the crap Patrick!" She snapped. "We both know that was not what you were doing down there. Look, I am sure whatever you were doing down there, you had a very good reason for it, or else why the hell would you be in that creepy place by this time." She indicated pointing at the late hour on her watch.
  "Fine, let us get out of here and talk somewhere else," he said.