Imaginary

Imaginary Chapter One

Lily swallowed the large orange pills reluctantly. The bitter taste of cranberry juice coated her tongue. The taste brought back memories of getting drunk with her sisters.
"Next!" The med nurse said loudly, "Y'all better swallow these damn things. We will be checking under your tongue."
Nurse Janice was the only kind nurse here at the behavioral hospital and she wasn't there tonight. Tonight they had nurse Butch. She was a tall masculine lady who tolerated no shit from any of the patients. She had a mole on her right cheek and short dull brown hair to her chin. Standing at six feet with bulky shoulders, she scared everyone but Lily. She actually reminded Lily of her father.
Lily moved out of the way for the best patient so he could take his medicine as well. She began walking to the sitting area to sit in one of the very uncomfortable chairs that's legs were nailed into the floor when four nurses dragged someone into the unit through the double doors that were usually locked.
The new patient was in a straight jacket but kept kicking and squirming and screaming. It was a girl with super long black hair and a tattoo on her neck. She spat in the male nurse's face. But this wasn't what Lily was paying attention to. The double doors were not still and locked, but swinging and open.
Lily had been bored out of her mind on the unit, completely cut off from the outside world. Excitement ran through her veins, the lithium had not kicked in yet. She turned away from the sitting room and slowly made her way past the struggling new patient. All the nurses and techs weren't even paying attention, all eyes on the crazy bitch who bit nurse Butch. Giving the cameras a glance and the bird, Lily ran out the double doors.
"I'm going on an adventure!" Lily thought to herself, "I'm free!"
She didn't know where she was going and she didn't know her way around the hospital but she took off as fast as her feet would carry her. Lily laughed out loud. She saw some random staff in the hall way, two of them wheeling food on a cart from the cafeteria to the physically disabled unit. Another was in a small office on the phone arguing. And finally, security.
A security officer spoke into his walkie talkie, "code blue, patient out of bounds." He repeated himself twice before a panicked staff member announced it on the intercom. Lily laughed when she made eye contact with the security officer and ran even faster down a hall way to her left.
Lily felt like the queen of the earth. No one could stop her. Her hair was flopping around, strands getting in her mouth. Her feet and muscles ached but she didn't stop and soon, three staff members were chasing her.
"CODE BLUE" the announcer said, "CODE BLUE"
Lily felt as if she were flying, free from all nurses and physiatrists but eventually reality caught up with her and she was tackled to the ground and booty juiced. After a few seconds her body went limp and she was carried back to the unit to her room.