Institutionalized

Mac, Day 27

I was sitting in a bean bag watching Howie, who was ignoring me (I was trying to catch him looking up at me), when I smelled a human in the building somewhere. Many of the other patients noticed too, and the ones who didn't notice caught on that there was something going on.

"What?" asked Ali.

Her voice hadn't ceased to please the ear. I wondered what would happen if she let herself coax someone to bend to her will. It seemed like she didn't really need to be here though. There was something suspicious about her.

"A replacement, perhaps? " Julia suggested.

I nodded slowly.

"A girl, thank god." Mabel added.

"About time there were more female patients." Julia remarked.

I bit my lip. Rafael was training me to kill people I didn't know. I would kill her, I already knew.

I spent the next few hours thinking about her, waiting for her to emerge. Rafael was probably wiping her memory. My stomach growled. I knew I couldn't kill her. Rafael would kill me if I did. I would have to find a way to manage myself. Despite my suffering, I still had survival instinct.

A scrawny young woman with curly bleach blonde hair and curious blue eyes, emerged from the door to the check up office after lunch. I found myself in the opposite position i had been in when I was admitted; this time i was doing the staring. Rafael surveyed the room.

"Everyone, let's welcome Rory to SalusCare. Introduce yourselves. Mac, Howie, come with me for a moment?"

I got up, taking a last look at the new girl before following Howie into Rafael's office.

He closed the door and spoke quietly,

"You two had better behave. Try anything, and you will regret your decisions, I promise. I am talking especially to you, Mac. You have less control than Howie, and we made a deal. Neither of you have any idea what I am capable of. The goal is to keep her from finding out anything. Understood?"

"I'll do my best," I breathed.

"No, you will not hurt her."

I gulped,

"Okay."

"What exactly are the consequences?" Howie challenged.

Rafael raised an eyebrow,

"I could demonstrate on you if you would like." he suggested.

Howie huffed,

"Fine. I'll leave her alone."

"Very good. You are free to go."

I dragged my feet leaving the office, daunted by her. When I returned to the common room, it appeared that everyone was introducing themselves, except Keith, who was having a panic attack and being led out of the room. I swallowed, wishing my throat wasn't so dry. I sat down, keeping my distance from her. Howie aimed to sit away from me, but that put him closer to Rory.

"So how long have you guys been here for?" she inquired.

No one answered for a moment,

"The most recent admittances are mac and Howie, who were admitted a while ago. I'm not really sure how long, it's hard to keep track of the days."

"Keith keeps track in his notebook, but obviously he's a little upset right now.

"That kid does literally nothing but have panic attacks." Yosef rolled his eyes.