West Park Asylum

Rich and Ian are frozen in place as they gaze through the window at the destruction and chaos in the common room. Tables have been tipped over and chairs have been hurled outside, one of them drawing their attention to the outburst. One of the bookcases has been knocked over to block the main entrance while the exit to the garden has been locked. The bent key is still sticking out of the keyhole, forcing the staff to try and break the door down. An orderly is twitching on the ground after being zapped by his own stun gun, the sedative syringes having been broken in the scuffle. Two more attendants are struggling to keep a black-haired woman in the corner and tend to her battered face. Security is busy trying to catch Dawn, who is leaping over the couches and lashing out at anyone that gets too close. The uniformed men are limping from kicks to the groin and chairs to the knees. A high-pitched cry rings out from the largest of the guards when Dawn jabs him in the eye with an empty syringe.

“Stay away from me!” she screams, crawling onto a table and crouching. She leaps over the charging guards and lands on the heavy television, which wobbles beneath her weight. “Nobody feeds my unicorn without my permission! He’s on a very specific diet of grass, apples, and shrimp. So punish Jenny!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” the other woman cries while pressing gauze to the bite wound on her cheek. She curls into a ball when the television remote shatters against the wall above her head. “Please don’t hurt me. I won’t go near your unicorn again. I’ll be more careful. I didn’t even see him.”

“Him? My unicorn is a girl!” Dawn replies while she rocks her awkward perch. Security reaches for her, so she swiftly breaks one of their fingers and bites into the fleshy hand of another. “Gross. Wash up before work. I taste fear and sweat. Stop trying to catch me. You’re not in charge here!”

With a malicious grin, Dawn puts out her arms and shakes the television until it pitches forward. The heavy electronic crashes on top of the guards and pins them to the ground, broken glass surrounding them. Hitting one of the couches with her back, the brunette cackles like a little girl and flips over the furniture. Dawn does nothing to stop herself from slamming into the floor, her face leaving a bloody splotch on the tile. As if nothing happened, she hops to her feet and takes a deep breath through her broken nose. She spits out a tooth, which she casually reclaims and swallows.

“It’ll grow back,” Dawn claims while approaching the small group in the corner. As if seeing Rich and Ian for the first time, she spins around to blow them a kiss. “Nobody likes peeping toms, boys. Except the blonde who keeps trying to walk around naked. I don’t know if I like her. Now I forgot why I was mad. Where did my unicorn go? Did somebody scare him away?”

“You said that your unicorn ran into the forest because I gave her a piece of pineapple and that made her hyper,” Jenny replies, hoping that being helpful will get her out of trouble. The injured woman’s goes dry when she sees the rage aimed at her again. “I’m really sorry, Dawn. I didn’t know and . . . Jeremy told me it would make us friends. Yeah, he gave me the idea. I’ll do whatever it takes to make it up to you.”

“What would I ever want from something like you?” Dawn asks in utter disgust. She spits on the floor at the woman’s feet and raises her head like an arrogant ruler. “I rule Raven’s Hold with an iron fist and a kind touch. You may not realize it, but all of this is for me and my beloved King. If only I knew where I left him. So there is nothing I would ever need from a peasant that readily grovels at my feet. Always remember that you are in my kingdom and angering me is dangerous. Unless I’m in the right mood and then we’ll flip a coin to see what happens. I will consider the fact that you were tricked by Jeremy. After all, I am a benevolent Queen and nothing without my citizens. Maybe not nothing, but I’d definitely get bored. For now, be gone from my presence.”

“Be gone from your presence?”

“Run like a little bunny before I eat your eyeballs.”

“But the doors are blocked.”

“Then go out the hallway window.”

“Those don’t open.”

Frustrated with the difficult woman, Dawn grabs a chair that she uses to beat the remaining orderlies to the floor. Tossing the blood-dripping weapon aside, she grabs Jenny by the arm and flashes a chilling grin. Spinning on her toes, the brunette hurls the terrified woman at the window, but the weeping body only cracks the glass. Dawn cocks her head to the side and goes to poke at the damage while Jenny uses the couch to help her stand. Still wanting her victim to leave, she grabs her fellow patient by the hair and beats her against the window. She only stops when the doors to the garden are bashed open and she sees the reflection of Dr. Rutherford entering. Ten guards and orderlies are filing in with their boss, each one armed with a stun gun and making a wall at the back of the room.

“You dare to challenge me, Grace?” Dawn asks while gently placing Jenny on the nearest chair. Without hesitation, she kicks the legs out from under the piece of furniture and sends the unconscious woman to the floor. “This peasant needs to pay for overstepping her bounds. She fed my unicorn, which you know is punishable by severe punishment. Now go back to your files and sessions. None of this concerns you.”

“I would be lying if I said I wasn’t angry and disappointed,” Grace states, her normally calm voice holding a subtle edge. She picks up a nearby chair and quietly sits, her glasses nearly slipping off her nose. “I understand that Ms. Cohl upset you and your pet has run away. Yet, that does not give you a right to injure others. All of these men and women need medical attention because of your actions. Justified as you may think you are, there is never a reason to cause so much brutality. You would be upset if you were on the receiving end of such actions. Please remember that you are here to get better and rejoin society without being a danger to others. I fear that I’m failing you, Ms. Addison, and for that I apologize. Now, what do you believe we should do here?”

Feeling slightly diffused, Dawn bites her lower lip and drums her bare toes on the sticky floor. As her anger fades, she picks up on the tension in the room and realizes that it is all directed at her. The sight of the stun guns and the doctor makes her sweat, her teeth slowly piercing her lip. Backing away, she glances out the window at the hallway and sees armored figures waiting with sword-sized syringes. Cat-faced bats hang upside down and press their noses against the glass, their tongues writing her name on the misty surface. Touching the doorknob, Dawn yanks her hand back when she feels the fangs of a spider strike her palm and the poison runs up her arm. Blue veins throbs beneath her skin and she grabs an edged piece of plastic to make a long cut around her bicep. She watches the toxin seep down to her fingers, tiny skulls laughing at her from the ichor.

For the first time in years, Dawn feels scared and weak, which drives her into a panic. When one of the guards shifts uncomfortably, she assumes they are about to rush her. Refusing to give up without a fight, the brunette grabs a book and throws it at Dr. Rutherford. The projectile knocks the blonde woman off the chair, causing one of the guards to bend down and check his boss. Dawn races for the opening in the wall and uses the crouched man to help her leap out one of the windows. She lands on the grass and races toward the distant woods, avoiding the few orderlies that try to catch her. Several patients leap in to help and tackle the staff to give their fellow patient a clear path to the wilderness. Unleashing a maddening scream and holding her head, Dawn plunges into the forest and disappears among the trees.

“Hurry up or we’ll lose her,” Ian whispers while backing away from the window. He watches those inside tend to the injured, none of them paying attention to him or Rich. “I don’t think she should be alone right now. Come on or she might do something foolish. Why aren’t you following?”

“Because it’s Dawn Addison,” Rich replies, catching his friend by the wrist. He crouches and takes Ian down with him, making sure they remain out of sight. “This is the woman who wrapped duct tape around your neck. She tries to make you eat your breakfast in a bowl on the floor every morning. I don’t have anything against her, but I’m not going out of my way to check on her. Besides, the idea of being in that forest gives me the creeps. They get worse when I imagine being alone with Dawn in there.”

“So she thinks I’m a dog and not person. She’s still one of us,” the younger man says, sighing at the eye roll he gets in return. Slipping his wrist free, Ian crawls backwards until he is out of reach. “Fine, she’s one of my people since you’re not supposed to be here. Haven’t you wanted to investigate the forest anyway? You’re always talking about the basement, but the source of the ghosts could be there too. If you really want to prove you’re not delusional then you need to check every lead.”

Rich clicks his camera a few times and watches as several patients are escorted back to the building. “I hope you realize that you’re a horrible person. If I was delusional then you’re only feeding my problems and making it harder for me to leave this place. Think about that while we check on Dawn and see if we can find an open grave or disturbed holy land. We’re only going out there for an hour though. Once the sun is over there, the mission is over and I’m coming back with or without you.”

“Deal, but I’ll take the lead.”

Ian begins to crawl along the ground, but stops when he realizes how suspicious that would be. Instead, he calmly walks toward the furthest tennis court that is only a few yards away from the edge of the forest. Rich remains a few steps behind, which makes his friend think he will retreat at any moment. Nobody pays any attention to the pair since there is already a group playing a game. Ian waves to the orderly and stretches his arms before breaking into a slow jog and gesturing for Rich to do the same. They make a few laps around the court, their circles gradually getting wider and wider. None of those inside the fenced area pay much attention to the pair and focus more on their game.

“Make a break for it now,” Ian hisses when they are on their seventh pass of the forest. He sprints for the trees and is happy to hear Rich is right behind him. The two men hear some yelling from the orderly and patients, but they have vanished into the shadowy forest before any of them can reach the fence’s door.