Dinner was impressive, to say the least. It was buffet style, with lots of great food that you probably wouldn’t expect in a mental hospital. There was sliced ham, stuffing, two different kinds of salad, some brownies for dessert, and we even got soda if we so chose. I half-figured I’d just stay in here so I could get fed on a regular basis. Life just wasn’t that easy at the moment though.
Christian.
You don’t have to remind me.
I grabbed every bit of food that I could fit on my tray and settled down in a seat next to Darc. He was at a table with two middle-aged women who both looked quite normal, except that they were both dressed in what looked to be pajamas. I guess if you’re not going anywhere, why change?
“Any room at the inn?” I asked with a smile on my face.
“Sure, homes. Make yourself comfortable. This is Adelaide.” He motioned to the woman on his right. She couldn’t have been over thirty. She had shoulder length brown hair that was haphazardly done up in a bun. She managed a weak smile and then turned back to her food. “And this dynamo over here is Mary.” Mary didn’t take her eyes off her food. She didn’t even acknowledge my existence. I looked at Darc and he just shrugged and motioned for me to sit down.
“I can’t believe the food in here. I haven’t eaten this well in a looooong time.”
“You should visit more often. The food is always grubbin in here,” Darc replied.
I started to dig in to my ham. As I chewed, I looked around the room. Every big room in this place had these huge white doors that were activated when our attendants swiped a card through a little magnetic area near the door. The doors themselves also worked via powerful electric magnets. There were no locks or keys or anything. Everything was magnetized around here. I found it amusing, but on to more important matters.
“So when do the kids eat?” I asked in my most inconspicuous voice.
“Dude, I don’t know. Why would you care? You don’t seem like the pedophile type,” Darc replied while stuffing a brownie in to his mouth.
“Just wondering what the situation is like in here. I actually find this place to be quite efficient. Almost as if it’s a business and not a hospital.” Adelaide looked at me. I looked back and she sheepishly returned to her food.
“Yeah, they’ve got the system down pat in this place. Everything moves pretty smoothly. In and out, in and out.”
“What do you mean, in and out?”
“Dude, once you’ve been here, you’re pretty much cursed to return,” Darc wiped his mouth.
“Why?” I asked, truly curious.
“You ever been to one of these places?”
“Yes.”
“And you’re questioning me…why?” Darc returned to his food, as did I, sensing this conversation wasn’t going anywhere.
After dinner, we were treated to a movie. Half of us fell asleep, myself included. I didn’t know what exactly was behind that image on the tv, but man was it relaxing. After a few minutes of the movie, I was sawing logs. That’s when he came in to my thoughts.
---------------
Kevin.
What?
You have work to do.
I’m well aware of that. I’m doing the best I can.
No, you’re not. You’re not understanding.
What is there to understand?
Look deeper.
Look at what deeper? Myself? Other people?
Look deeper.
Look deeper…I don’t understand.
Look deeper.
Someone shook me on the shoulder. It was Thomas.
“C’mon, Kevin, time for an outside break.” He walked in the direction of the break yard. Look deeper, what could that mean? It probably meant quite a bit more than I was interpreting. I would have to work on that. In the meantime, I would do my best to figure out what part of this place Christian was being held in.
What is this place?
Oh, Kevin…
Christian.
You don’t have to remind me.
I grabbed every bit of food that I could fit on my tray and settled down in a seat next to Darc. He was at a table with two middle-aged women who both looked quite normal, except that they were both dressed in what looked to be pajamas. I guess if you’re not going anywhere, why change?
“Any room at the inn?” I asked with a smile on my face.
“Sure, homes. Make yourself comfortable. This is Adelaide.” He motioned to the woman on his right. She couldn’t have been over thirty. She had shoulder length brown hair that was haphazardly done up in a bun. She managed a weak smile and then turned back to her food. “And this dynamo over here is Mary.” Mary didn’t take her eyes off her food. She didn’t even acknowledge my existence. I looked at Darc and he just shrugged and motioned for me to sit down.
“I can’t believe the food in here. I haven’t eaten this well in a looooong time.”
“You should visit more often. The food is always grubbin in here,” Darc replied.
I started to dig in to my ham. As I chewed, I looked around the room. Every big room in this place had these huge white doors that were activated when our attendants swiped a card through a little magnetic area near the door. The doors themselves also worked via powerful electric magnets. There were no locks or keys or anything. Everything was magnetized around here. I found it amusing, but on to more important matters.
“So when do the kids eat?” I asked in my most inconspicuous voice.
“Dude, I don’t know. Why would you care? You don’t seem like the pedophile type,” Darc replied while stuffing a brownie in to his mouth.
“Just wondering what the situation is like in here. I actually find this place to be quite efficient. Almost as if it’s a business and not a hospital.” Adelaide looked at me. I looked back and she sheepishly returned to her food.
“Yeah, they’ve got the system down pat in this place. Everything moves pretty smoothly. In and out, in and out.”
“What do you mean, in and out?”
“Dude, once you’ve been here, you’re pretty much cursed to return,” Darc wiped his mouth.
“Why?” I asked, truly curious.
“You ever been to one of these places?”
“Yes.”
“And you’re questioning me…why?” Darc returned to his food, as did I, sensing this conversation wasn’t going anywhere.
After dinner, we were treated to a movie. Half of us fell asleep, myself included. I didn’t know what exactly was behind that image on the tv, but man was it relaxing. After a few minutes of the movie, I was sawing logs. That’s when he came in to my thoughts.
---------------
Kevin.
What?
You have work to do.
I’m well aware of that. I’m doing the best I can.
No, you’re not. You’re not understanding.
What is there to understand?
Look deeper.
Look at what deeper? Myself? Other people?
Look deeper.
Look deeper…I don’t understand.
Look deeper.
Someone shook me on the shoulder. It was Thomas.
“C’mon, Kevin, time for an outside break.” He walked in the direction of the break yard. Look deeper, what could that mean? It probably meant quite a bit more than I was interpreting. I would have to work on that. In the meantime, I would do my best to figure out what part of this place Christian was being held in.
What is this place?
Oh, Kevin…