A/04 - The Beginning

A/04 - Three (3)

I stare at the shredded walls before me, at the limp wallpaper bending like a bridge on to the pure white floor. My eyes fixate themselves to the beginning of the paper, watching as they curl backwards in to the wall once more. The wall restores itself to its original form only in a moment’s time.

I sigh and lay my head back down on to my pillow, awaiting the alarm that is sure to call me to the great hall. The chair opposite me still faces the direction Doctor Solomon left it in when he left the room. I screamed after him, ramming myself up against the white wall with no seams. That’s when I clawed at the walls. Any blood from my now decrepit fingernails has been cleared by the anonymous force that generates the room’s constant pristine state. I crumbled, hitting myself for not trying to gain any more information through him. Eventually I managed to climb back in to the bed, trusting in its comfort and falling asleep. Briefly, though.

I think of all of the movies I watched as a child, and how I screamed at the television whenever someone kidnapped didn't do the obvious. I'd watch as they panic about the time, whether they'd ever find a way out of wherever they were that made them feel so alienated and how they'd scream as the situation suddenly would turn macabre. I'd think about what I'd of done in the same situation, how easy I'd thought it was to escape such a loosely guarded prison. But now I look back at myself and wonder about what they would've done.  I don’t care what time it is. As selfish as it sounds at the moment all I care about is myself. I just want to get myself out of this white room or wherever I am and return to my life, despite its dreadful and grueling routine.

I fidget with my shirt, scrunching it out of boredom. I create small zig zag like creases as I think of something to do. I don’t believe in God, so that eliminates praying off my list, so I scream. I scream and I shout at the guards outside my room, taunting them with every insult that comes to mind. I curse them, then their families. Their mothers. I have no idea what to say, just a reaction is anything and everything I need. Quickly my voice becomes hoarse, still suffering from my fit earlier and I am reduced to a slight whimper;

“Please,” I beg hopelessly, “I just want to know why I’m here,” I mumble at last. As if answering my thoughts, a door opens and a guard appears along with a horrifying screech. That must be the alarm, I think, as I’m ripped off of my bed and shoved in to the hall ways. The guards grip remains like a strong iron vice on my arm. I allow my eyes to wander and see 6 other patients in the exact same situation as me all being pushed in two precise lines towards a large steel door adorned with many bolts on its edges. My head cocks in interest but is soon snapped back in to place by the guard standing directly behind my back, almost tripping on my heels. I wince and tempted to rub my neck from the sudden pain, then realize I am in handcuffs. I'm unable to name what exactly they’re made of, but it’s definitely not a metal. I decide not to struggle with my handcuffs, knowing that death is only a split second away if I do. A boy next to me begins to tug and pull at his handcuffs, but I ignore him, unable to snap my head around that tiny bit. My eyes drift to the girl in front of me, and I watch as her long red hair swishes silently behind her neck. I used to have long hair. 

A zap draws my attention to the left again and opposite me lays the boy, still … Almost paralysed. I scan my eyes over his body before I’m forced in to the hall and see the red burn marks around his wrists. So, that’s what the handcuffs are made from. Electricity.

When I come in to the hall, we are all presented with a large black wall, which immediately turns on. We all sit down on the 7 chairs set for us. One is to be empty, though. The screen displays a large white building sitting in a heavy blanket of snow. The building is completely blank, but after the camera zooms in a small black door is shown. The door opens and a woman in precisely cut uniform greets us with a wide smile, walking forward to an elevator. After she is carried down the elevator, she begins to explain what the building is.

“This building, commonly and formally known as Asylum 04 has been established by the government to inspect human behaviours and conditions. As you may or may not know, the government has signed a treaty with the planet Osiris in order to restore peace to our home; Earth. For this to be allowed, the Osiris have requested a study of the Homo sapiens way of life. Every three months, or every quarter, homo sapiens of a young age are taken to Asylum 04, just like you,” she pauses as the camera pans over a room full of laughing children, but soon continuing in her overly enthusiastic voice, “This facility is purely based on the study of human evolution, and each day, we will provide you with new stimulus in order to examine you. At the end of the quarter, you will be released. We hope you enjoy your stay at Asylum 04, and remember, there is nothing to be afraid of! We’re here to help,” she finishes, once again smiling cheerily in to the camera. I glance at everyone around me – expressionless.

“And now, a message from the President himself,” a voice says, the screen flicking to a man in his mid-30s, dressed in a black tailored suit. He sits rigid and straight at an old wooden desk, adorned with much American propaganda and a banner lined with gold thread with the American flag on it. I open my ears to what he has to say.

“Dear Americans, I welcome you in to the newly established Asylum 04, where you will be assessed on your mental stability, capability and current position. Many questions will be asked and many games will be played, but this only temporary and I assure you, that you will be cared for and tended to, because without you, we all would not be here. Thank you, and may God be by your side,” he finishes and the screen turns black. We all sit there for a few minutes, digesting what we’ve only just heard. Not before long the screen flicks back on to what looks like a home video dated 5 months ago to the day, almost 2 months after this had all started. I watch as a man dressed in a white lab coat smiles brightly in to the lens as he holds a thin sharp strip of metal with hat looks like a hook on the top of it … Almost like a slim hammer. He laughs loudly and slowly turns towards the back of a chair, strutting to the front of it and smiling cheerfully. The camera adjusts itself to the new scene in front of it. 

I see her hands, then. I see her hands strapped to the chair and I see him tilt her head back. I hear her voice struggle through the thick fabric of the gag that must be stuffed inside her mouth and how she is almost choking on it, her arms thrusting heavily up in to the air, so desperate to get rid of the belts and straps restraining her. I see the Doctor position the slim metal hammer horizontally on an angle to the left of her head. I see, hear him chuckle along with whoever holds the camera and how he positions another and thicker hammer above the other. I know where that hammer is going. I know what operation that is.

I wince as the doctor finally says;

"It's going to be OK, sweetie, just hold tight,". And with that, slams the hammer in to the womans head. It doesn't take long for me to speak after the screen once again turns black.

“A lobotomy,” I squeeze out, “They’re going to give us a lobotomy,” I gasp.