My new clothes felt good. I had been wearing the old ones for almost two days and even though I was used to wearing the same clothes for weeks at a time, I had quickly gotten spoiled. It was almost midnight, and I was sitting on the end of my bed in the Quiet Room. A nurse walked by.
“Ma'am, could I ask you a quick question?” She turned towards me. She was dressed in jeans and a white blouse. A silver cross hung from her neck. I thought she was pretty, but I’ve been on the street for over three years now, a woman with all her teeth looks pretty damn good to me.
“Sure, babe, what do you need? Maybe something to help you sleep?”
“In a little while, but I have a couple questions first.”
“I’ll do my best. What do you want to know?”
“How long will I be here?”
“Well, that depends on you. The sooner you react positively to the therapy and medication, the faster you’ll get out. Most people stay from about two weeks to a month.” I couldn’t believe what she said. In two weeks to a month my boy could be dead. I had no faith in his captors’ willingness to keep him alive. Although he was in the same hospital as I was, I got the feeling that his safety wasn’t quite as guaranteed as mine was.
Good assumption.
“When will I be able to talk to my doctor?” The doctor is the key. I had been in this position before, and the doctor is pretty much your savior to getting out of this kind of captivity.
“In the morning, around ten. Have you met him yet?”
“No. What’s he like?” I prayed for a sympathetic ear.
“You’ll like him. His name is Dr. Melcher. He’ll take good care of you.” She smiled. I smiled. I felt good. I didn’t know why, but her being there made me feel just a little bit better. I broke the silence.
“I could really go for some of those sleeping pills now.”
“No problem. I’ll be right back.” I settled back into the Quiet Room bed, determined to behave so well that this would be my last night in here. However, with the way things had gone in the last few days of my life, nothing was set in stone. The nurse returned with the pills and a cup of water. I downed them, looking forward to more sleep on a real mattress. I thanked her for her help.
“No problem. If you need anything else just ask for me, hon. My name is Mae.” I smiled at her as she walked away. She was a nice image to fall asleep to, and that I did.
---------------
I was awakened by the sounds of the unit coming to life. Most of it was coming from the recreation room down the hall. In it was an assortment of board games, a TV, and a refrigerator which was kept locked up most of the time. From my brush with the mental health game a few years back, I had learned that most TVs in these places ran a subliminal message behind the real image. It was usually something relaxing, meant to keep patients calm even if their brains were running a million miles an hour in every direction. Most patients’ free time was spent either in this room or in their own rooms. There were no single rooms, though, so everybody had a roommate. I wondered what mine would be like. I stood up and knocked on the window of the Quiet Room. A voice came on over the room’s intercom.
“What do you need, Kevin?”
“To start, some breakfast would be nice. I’d also like to see my doctor when its possible.” I emphasized the second request.
“Breakfast won’t be for another fifteen minutes or so. Your doctor will come get you when he’s ready.”
“I can’t get out of here until then?”
“I’m sorry, Kevin, but when you get out depends on how your talk with Dr. Melcher goes.”
The intercom buzzed off, and I got the feeling the conversation was over. I lay down on my bed to contemplate.
The vital facts were simple enough. I was in a mental institution. My son was in the same one. We had both arrived here in very different ways, however I was pretty sure we were both being held against our will. The necessities were simple, too. I needed to find a way to get to the section of the hospital where Christian was being held. If I could just do that one task, then the authorities could take care of the rest. My assets: myself and my own skills and abilities, and my dad.
Wow, you’re stocked.
I guess I’ve got you, too.
Priority one was to learn as much about this place as possible. I needed to know who everybody was, where everything was, and I also needed to make as many allies as I could. The idea of relying on mental patients for help wasn’t an appealing idea, but already I felt that I could rely on Darc and Mae. Hopefully Darc was still here. I heard a knock on my door and a moment later it opened.
“I knew that shit wouldn’t work, but it was worth a shot, eh?” Speak of the devil.
“Ma'am, could I ask you a quick question?” She turned towards me. She was dressed in jeans and a white blouse. A silver cross hung from her neck. I thought she was pretty, but I’ve been on the street for over three years now, a woman with all her teeth looks pretty damn good to me.
“Sure, babe, what do you need? Maybe something to help you sleep?”
“In a little while, but I have a couple questions first.”
“I’ll do my best. What do you want to know?”
“How long will I be here?”
“Well, that depends on you. The sooner you react positively to the therapy and medication, the faster you’ll get out. Most people stay from about two weeks to a month.” I couldn’t believe what she said. In two weeks to a month my boy could be dead. I had no faith in his captors’ willingness to keep him alive. Although he was in the same hospital as I was, I got the feeling that his safety wasn’t quite as guaranteed as mine was.
Good assumption.
“When will I be able to talk to my doctor?” The doctor is the key. I had been in this position before, and the doctor is pretty much your savior to getting out of this kind of captivity.
“In the morning, around ten. Have you met him yet?”
“No. What’s he like?” I prayed for a sympathetic ear.
“You’ll like him. His name is Dr. Melcher. He’ll take good care of you.” She smiled. I smiled. I felt good. I didn’t know why, but her being there made me feel just a little bit better. I broke the silence.
“I could really go for some of those sleeping pills now.”
“No problem. I’ll be right back.” I settled back into the Quiet Room bed, determined to behave so well that this would be my last night in here. However, with the way things had gone in the last few days of my life, nothing was set in stone. The nurse returned with the pills and a cup of water. I downed them, looking forward to more sleep on a real mattress. I thanked her for her help.
“No problem. If you need anything else just ask for me, hon. My name is Mae.” I smiled at her as she walked away. She was a nice image to fall asleep to, and that I did.
---------------
I was awakened by the sounds of the unit coming to life. Most of it was coming from the recreation room down the hall. In it was an assortment of board games, a TV, and a refrigerator which was kept locked up most of the time. From my brush with the mental health game a few years back, I had learned that most TVs in these places ran a subliminal message behind the real image. It was usually something relaxing, meant to keep patients calm even if their brains were running a million miles an hour in every direction. Most patients’ free time was spent either in this room or in their own rooms. There were no single rooms, though, so everybody had a roommate. I wondered what mine would be like. I stood up and knocked on the window of the Quiet Room. A voice came on over the room’s intercom.
“What do you need, Kevin?”
“To start, some breakfast would be nice. I’d also like to see my doctor when its possible.” I emphasized the second request.
“Breakfast won’t be for another fifteen minutes or so. Your doctor will come get you when he’s ready.”
“I can’t get out of here until then?”
“I’m sorry, Kevin, but when you get out depends on how your talk with Dr. Melcher goes.”
The intercom buzzed off, and I got the feeling the conversation was over. I lay down on my bed to contemplate.
The vital facts were simple enough. I was in a mental institution. My son was in the same one. We had both arrived here in very different ways, however I was pretty sure we were both being held against our will. The necessities were simple, too. I needed to find a way to get to the section of the hospital where Christian was being held. If I could just do that one task, then the authorities could take care of the rest. My assets: myself and my own skills and abilities, and my dad.
Wow, you’re stocked.
I guess I’ve got you, too.
Priority one was to learn as much about this place as possible. I needed to know who everybody was, where everything was, and I also needed to make as many allies as I could. The idea of relying on mental patients for help wasn’t an appealing idea, but already I felt that I could rely on Darc and Mae. Hopefully Darc was still here. I heard a knock on my door and a moment later it opened.
“I knew that shit wouldn’t work, but it was worth a shot, eh?” Speak of the devil.