Madhouse

The male nurse, Chase, shoved his key into the lock on the wall beside the door and turned it. I looked around at my new home. Behind the door that was now open, there was a counter that was short, but not short enough to reach or jump over. A woman sat behind the counter, and appeared to be doing paperwork. I noticed a door on the wall by the side of the counter. They must keep that locked too. If you were to walk out of that door, you'd be facing a long hallway with four doors on the left, five on the right. I'm betting that behind those doors are the kids that will be scrutinizing me tomorrow. There was a chair in the middle of the hallway, and another male nurse sat there with papers on a clipboard that he was flipping through. On the other side of the hallway to the left was a large room with chairs. I counted; thirteen, fourteen, fifteen big chairs, scattered throughout the room.

I looked back to behind the counter, and I rejoiced. There was a clock! I never thought I'd be so happy to see a simple clock. It read eleven o'clock sharp. Wow, is it that late already? "Hannah," Chase called to the woman behind the counter, causing her to look up at us. This Hannah woman smiled at me.

"You must be Tylinne," she said, standing and walking through the doorway. "We have to check you for scars, piercings and tattoos, so would you please come with me?" I nodded a little, and followed her to the first door on the right side of the hallway. It was a large bathroom. Actually, it's the biggest bathroom I've ever been in. Like she said she was going to do, Hannah checked me for scars, piercings and tattoos. Hannah had me strip down to my bra and panties, and had me identify each and every piercing, tattoo, and scar. It took forever because, as Hannah said, "You sure do have a lot of them." I'm still confused as to which one she was talking about, but I'm assuming it was all three.

When I was finished being inspected like a prisoner, Hannah let me dress and handed me a plastic cup with that was sealed shut. "You need to give a urine sample," she said. After I acknowledged that I had heard her, Hannah left me to give the sample. I knew she was standing on the other side of the bathroom door, I could see her shadow. That made me nervous, which made the whole process that much longer.

After handing Hannah the cup, she showed me to my room, which was the last one on the left side of the hallway. "They're almost finished checking your bags. When everything is cleared, I'll bring you your things," she said, leaving me in the dark room. There were three beds lined up, and two were already occupied. I took the bed in between the two sleeping bodies, and sat down. The bed was like a gym mat - hard and uncomfortable. I got one pillow that was flat and lumpy, and a blanket that was as thin as a sheet of paper. It was cold in the room, so I wrapped the paper blanket tightly around my small, shivering body. It did nothing but rub against my skin in an irritating manor.

Since it seemed like Hannah wasn't going to come back with my things, I listened to that male nurse with the clipboard when he told me to, "Get some rest." Well, I at least tried. I lied down on the hard bed, and closed my eyes. As soon as I did this, the door to my room opened, letting in the bright, fluorescent lighting from the hallway. I opened my eyes, seeing Hannah struggling to walk through the doorway with my bags. I got up to help her, and she said, "Thanks, Tylinne. You can just shove these under your bed." I set the bags on the floor beside my bed, and asked,

"Why did they have to inspect my clothes?"

"It's standard procedure. Drawstrings have to be cut out, and shirts can't have gore, violence, sexual graphics, or rude or derogatory words or sayings. We just have to make sure that you can't hurt or upset yourself or the other patients," she explained. That made sense. "It's almost midnight, I think you should try to get some sleep." I nodded and walked over to my bed, waiting for her to leave the room. Once she was gone, I went through my bags. The two suitcases had my clothes and a couple pairs of shoes in them. The only pair of sneakers that my mom packed had no laces. I thought back to what Hannah said.

We just have to make sure that you can't hurt or upset yourself or the other patients.

I was able to get over not having drawstrings or laces, so I moved on to check my duffel bag. Mom had packed a couple books, hair care products and a brush, and my makeup case. I was completely surprised that they let me keep those things. Maybe they just got lazy after checking the suitcases, and assumed the duffel contained clothes as well. I don't know, but I'm just going to be thankful. After yawning for the first time since I arrived at Hampton Hill, I decided to try to sleep. I shoved my bags under my bed and lied down, covering up with the paper blanket.

Something felt odd. I hadn't heard any of the voices since I arrived. It was like I was protected from them here. I smiled at the thought. It would be really nice, if only it were true. I'm never safe from them. Ever. I was a few seconds from being in a deep sleep when I heard them.

We're going to destroy you, girl. You can count on it.

Notes

Chapter two!