Killing Chris

Trial by fire

the tension in the interview room was high, no one wanted to go to prison for something they didn't do...trust me I would know. Dr. Green sat silently at the head of the table waiting for a confession that never came. For the first time since I'd been admitted here, I was scared. Of course, I didn't know this at the time but I was literally in the room with the person who killed my friends and ruined my life.

I scoured the room searching for a sign of guilt. If I got blamed for this my plan for justice would fail. I had to do something to make sure the hammer didn't fall on my head.

"Vaun did it" Cayetana blurted our finally standing up

"Take him to prison now he belongs there anyway" She added smirking.

"Moe did it," Rhys said in a flat tone calm as ever.

"Enough! Don't you all understand the severity of the situation? A young woman is dead. A mother is dead and you all sitting in. here acting like it's a stolen lunchbox. You all wanna do this the hard way then... I'll interview you one by one, everyone but Moe out now!" Dr. Green yelled.

I shuttered... I was so caught up in the moment I forgot to think about the dead nurse. Has my sensitivity to death been worn down that much? Who am I? Why am I here? I took a break from the existential questions and sat down in the hallway outside the interview room. The light above my flickering and the windows in the hall were covered with grates. 

The bad thing about the psychiatric hospital is it was hidden from the public eye, they did whatever they wanted here and got away with it. If a person gets out and comes forward it's just an accusation from an ex-crazy person. 

There were the remnant stains of blood on the tile next to me and scratch marks on the wall. It really makes you wonder the driving factor of the mentally ill, are they driven by something a sane person could never understand or simply a failed experiment in human evolution. 

As I sat with my head down in my knees I heard a scream coming from down the hall. I looked around to see if anyone else noticed, no one moved. Maybe it was a normal thing to hear in this place but it sounded like it was caused by pain. I peaked my head around the corner. The source of the screams was coming from a woman at the end of the hall.

She was in a white gown and all I could see was the backside of her body. I took a step towards her hugging the wall. As I passed by occupied rooms people lined the small window on the door peering out at me. Some made noises, some spoke words I didn't understand. 

"Are you okay?" I asked the woman 

Suddenly she dropped to her knees and cried out. The scream was pure pain and suffering like when someone losses a loved one. I looked back to see if any of my group had a similar curiosity I had but no one followed. I Inched closer to the women step by step. 

"Maam do you need help?" I asked

She was about fifteen feet from me now and I noticed blood on the floor under her. 

"Guards! I think someones hurt" I called out but no reply

As I walked past the final cell before reaching the women I felt a yank on the back of the shirt. I slammed into the cell door and a man's face was pressed up against the window of the cell his eyes were bloodshot and his teeth were rotted. The arm reaching from the food door gripped me with his nails piercing my arm.

"You let me out of here right now before they do the same thing to me" He yelled at me, his voice raspy and deep. 

I put my foot on the door and kicked off freeing my arm from the clutches of the rotting old man.  I covered the nail punctures with my hand and looked back at the woman. My arm stung but I was worried the woman needed help so I shuffled toward her. I reached out for her placing my hand on her shoulder.