Lose Control

Chapter 1 - Can I be a Chai Guy?

June 10th

Berishkov Mental Institution

Finn gulped. "This can't be the hospital-"

"Oh, it is." Amy reassured him, locking the car with a pleasant sounding click.

The building itself was made of red brick, and a flat roof not visible from the ground. But the fact that it was completely surrounded by a fence topped with barbed wire gave it the illusion of a prison.

His best friend pulled him up some steps to a metal framed gate, and pressed a worn red button on an intercom.

A burst of static, before a crackling voice said: "Unlocking the gate now."

With a metallic rattle and a stiff creak, the gate opened, allowing them entry. From the sounds the gate made, people here didn't get a lot of visitors.

"Amy, are you sure we're in the right place?"

"Absolutely. It's the same place every Saturday, Finn!"

"Yeah, okay. Just... checking."

They reached the door, where Amy pressed another button and waited. The distant sound of the gate closing, and then the door swung open revealing an empty lobby.

The walls were painted a pale green, and there were brown leather chairs in the two corners on the left. On the right, there was a wooden desk and a bored receptionist rifling through papers, and scribbling signatures on seemingly random documents.

"Hi, this is Amy Johnson and Finn Fletcher, we're here to see Piper Deane?"

"Yes, yes. Sign in here."

A clipboard was thrust into his hands, where he wrote his name in one column, and the time in another. Amy did the same, and the receptionist waved them through another closed door, only this one opened from the outside.

"The password to get out is 4820." Came the call from behind them.

Finn didn't register the significance of that until he heard the door lock behind them. Amy, meanwhile, was typing the code into her notes, and stuffing it into her bag. She also removed her earrings and her ring, followed by her watch and the contents of her pockets.

"Amy, what are you doing?"

"Oh, you aren't allowed to bring certain stuff in. They've had incidents before." She explained, as they reached the end of the corridor. There was a large square hole in the side of the wall, in which a male nurse was sitting.

"Please hand over any personal belongings, including jewelry. Any sharp items on clothing must be removed or if removal is not possible, covered."

Finn's watch went into the bag, and the nurse stood up to look them both over.

"You can go through now, Amy."

"Thanks, Tom." Amy forced a smile at him, and the two went through.

"You know that guy by name?"

"We see each other every week, it's not uncommon to have a short conversation. Although he is a total pain."

"Oh."

Finn looked around the room they'd now entered. There was a piano at one end, and a bookcase with nothing on it. There was a table in the middle, in which a handful of people sat around in silence. Although there was one person trying to make polite conversation.

In the far corner, playing chess on her own, was a small figure, humming to herself as she moved the pieces around the board.

As they drew closer, Finn realized that she wasn't actually playing chess, she was making the pieces... dance?