Out of Their Minds

Gregor leaned in. "Haven't you ever wondered why, except for Jerold, I have never been violent? Gregor Handel was supposed to have killed nearly a hundred people. Does that sound like the person you have treated all these years? Put aside Jerold for the moment - I don't think you really need any more shocks today. ANswer me this. If you had treated me, without ever seeing my file, would you think I was capable of Gregor's crimes?"

 

Velvet turned away, feeling a lurch inside of her.
"I...I don't know. we only gave her the medications Dr. Brenda asked us to. I have no idea what they did to her...but she looked very horrible."
Avoiding any more confrontation, she finished:
"I have work to do. I think they went to the playroom."

 

I looked around. Everything was spinning. The headache was coming back. The nausea was returning.
"I...I don't know. I just want to be safe, that's all. I'm just a schizophrenic psychiatrist who wants to see her mother die happy, her brother safe and successful and her little sister able to touch the skies with her autism. I want to marry, have kids, grandkids...like anyone else. I just want God to suffice me. Is it too much to ask, in face of what Calipto may want from his centuries of life?"
My voice harshened as I finished. I got up to leave. Maybe I should give it a rest.

 

She stood there, eyes intently watching Velvet leave. Then one eyebrow raised itself and she turned on her heel towards the playroom. She didn't need to talk to Francine, she just needed to know she was okay. Come to think of it, although she needed to, she didn't exactly want to talk to Gregor, and as strange as it seemed, the one her heart wanted to hear . . . was Klesps.

 

Glenny watched carefully out the door of the playroom, craning to hear what events were unfolding. It sounded like screaming, or laughing. Whatever it was, it was weird. He went back in and sat down, dropping his head onto the card table.

 

Gregor watched Francine walk.

It isn't your fault Belleth. Klesps' voice was barely a whisper.

"If I hadn't come here ..."

This would have happened no matter what. You saved her life!

"But at what cost?"

 

I took a leave from the hospital (the receptionist was not letting me go home without one, seeing my terrible condition), and ran back home. It was silent, and the lock was still there from two nights' back. I looked for the spare key in the potted plant outside and then opened it up.

I looked in the mirror and almost freaked out. My eyes were red while my lips were blackish. All my hair was blown up and dirty, with dirt and blood patches all over my ragged clothes. I jumped into the shower the next moment, making up my mind to burn the clothes as soon as possible. There should be no memory of this unmentionable torture.

Out of the shower, I worked an hour over my face and hair, making sure I would be looking human by tomorrow. Any sound or squeak caused me to shiver like before, and Calipto's face haunted me every other moment. Finally done with it, I decided to sleep. Yes, sleep. Something I missed so much for so long. Even though my head and limbs ached, and I felt like puking anytime now, I lay down on my bed and stretched my muscles. I could give up anything for this nap, even life.

Sweat made way down my forehead and I twisted and turned. I was dreaming, I told myself. It was so hard to believe, though. I could feel him, I could hear him.
"There, there Francine...this is not going to be painful. Well, not as painful as that one attempt."
I blocked my breathing and fell flat, trying to act dead. Please, please believe I'm dead.
"Don't you try to fool me, I know you're alive."
As though he were reading my mind! I spun around in my bed, and then screamed for my life. Calipto stood there, his legs like a gooey mass of black cells. He raised a huge syringe and injected my forehead, at which I felt stung in every corner of my body.

"Help!"
I screamed, and got up my bed. My forehead hurt for real, but there was no one there.
"Just a dream. Just a dream."
I murmured to myself as I tried to wander off to sleep once more.

 

Skye watched as she left and quickly got to work, in quick hits she managed to get all the cement out that she needed. She went down only 5 inches, and left portions of the cement to hold the tiles up. She quickly put the items into the crevice, and put the tiles over their new hiding spot. She quickly pulled herself onto her wheelchair, her arm tired from the work. Her stumps seemed to throb with it. She quickly took a gulp of the ibuprofen and struggled to wheel herself out the door. The sweat seemed to drip off of her. She touched her forehead, noticing a slight temperature.

Her hand reached down touching her arm stump. She yelled out in pain, as it throbbed painfully. She gently loosened her bandage, pulling it up gradually. She looked at it in disgust. Infection. She began to yell for the nurses. Jason ran towards her as he looked at her unwrapped stump with wide eyes. He picked her up, holding her over his shoulders as he ran to the nurses station.

She was sat on the counter as they cleaned and redressed her wounds. She bit her lip, as she endured the pain. They quickly gave her two injections, one for the pain and one for the infections.

“You should stay in the hospital for a few days Skye.” Ordered Jason as he put her back into the wheelchair.

“I’ll just get away if you make me. I’ll fight you the entire way. I won’t stay.” She snapped. Her eye gave a violent twitch, sending her stump forward.

“I’ll f**king kill you!” she bellowed.

He looked down at her with concern.

“Fine.” He said, as he pushed her forward, “Playroom?” he asked.

“Yes.” She muttered. He nodded and pushed her towards the playroom.

 

She turned around quickly as she heard the wheels. She felt a wave of regret - she knew she should've been more clear, but she wasn't sure if she was capable of that. Why didn't you call me? she thought, but waved off such a thought and half-ran to the door.
"Skye, I" she stopped to think, loosing the rest of her words as the first escape. "I'm sorry I left."

 

Skye gave her a weak smile, trying to ignore the constant throbbing from her stumps. She hoped the medications would start working soon, or even she wouldn't be able to handle staying out of bed for long.

“It doesn’t matter, Jason came for me.” She said. She pulled a piece of cement from her pouch.

“We’ve got to find a place to get rid of this stuff.” She said in a whisper, “I can’t keep it in my pouch forever. And I need to show you where that certain thing is that I need moved.”

Jason looked down at her with suspicious eyes.

“Jason, go read your book. Olena and I need some time alone.”

Jason started to speak, but she quickly put her hand over his mouth.

“Please?” she said, giving him the infamous puppy dog look. He sighed and walked into the playroom, pulling his book out.

 

"Vira will get rid of it soon. No one will have a clue. Listen, Skye, I -" She looked around, and saw that no one was paying any attention - of course, there was no proving that. "I need to talk to you sometime soon. I'll tell you a lot of things, but I'd rather no one else heard." She spoke in a voice barely audible, but then her voice returned to normal. "As for the time being, why don't you show me to it?"

 

Skye looked up at Olena with concern in her eyes. She hadn’t had much contact with anyone but Jason and Olena for a while now. Though, she didn’t count Neil and Brenda… those had been different circumstances. She hoped Neil wouldn’t think less of her, she hadn’t been able to explain her actions to him. She sighed sadly.

“To my room.” She said finally, as she was soon pushed as a steady back towards her room. Once she was in, she quickly closed her door behind her.

“It’s best to get to it from my room.” She said as she pointed at her vent, “It was tough for me getting up there in the first place…”

Her body shivered as she thought of crawling through there. She had been in so much pain as she struggled to go down the long vent. So much pain and such discomfort. She didn’t want to have to do it again.

She then whispered to her, telling her the exact directions to her hiding spot. She felt a pang of worry, wishing she could do it herself.

 

You went up there yourself!? It was screamed in Olena's mind, but she kept her mouth shut. At least she knew what was happening for once. She nodded.
"I won't be too long," she said, with a smile, and she began to climb.
It was dark in the vent, but it wasn't pitch dark, and Olena could see quite well with the light from the small flashlight in her teeth. She followed Skye's directions carefully, and finally came to her destination. It took her a while to find it, she brushed away dust, took away false vent pieces, and held the flashlight in her hand, but eventually she uncovered the gun. She put the flashlight in her pocket, and the gun in her teeth, and then she began to crawl back, feeling her way.

 

Skye looked up as Olena came down from the vent. She landed on the ground, steadily on her feet. She quickly grabbed the gun, sliding it in her pouch with the concrete.

“We should take this to our spot…” she said, “Then we need to get rid of this concrete.”

Her eye gave a violent twitch, sending her stump flying forward. She screamed out in pain as it hit the handle. She gently rubbed it as a single tear fell down her face.

“Thanks, by the way.” She muttered.

 

Olena winced as Skye cried out.
"You're welcome, anything." She replied, quietly. Then her eyes brightened. "Hey, why don't I put some padding on your chair after we've taken care of the concrete? That way if you won't get hurt."

 

Skye gave a smile as Olena pushed them back to the room.

“That would be nice.” She said. He looked down at her stump, wiggling it up and down. It still intrigued her. New feelings. She could swear sometimes it felt like her legs were still there. Though she thought maybe they were dreaming. Maybe her body was reminissing.

They got into the room, and Skye bent over, placing the gun in their hiding spot next to the rest of their items.

“You know, I don’t think our plan will work.” She muttered, “I think, we’ll end up using those items for something else… I don’t think we have a chance.” She hated to make the situation seem hopeless, but she knew it was. The chances of them being able to do it at the right time, and doing it right… was limited.

“But it’s worth a shot I suppose.” She felt the cement in her pouch, “Where do you suspect we should put this?” she ended in a whisper.

 

Olena looked down - she'd felt hopeless from the beginning. NO IT ISN'T! Tell her that. She jumped when she heard the yell.
"No, Skye, we can do this." She held out her hand. "I'll take that, if you like. I know what to do."

 

Skye managed a smile as she looked up. She dumped the concrete from her pouch, onto her gown in a scoop. She dumped the scooped cement into Olena’s hands.

“Thanks.” She smiled. She started to push herself out the door, stopping in front of the room. She took a rest, leaning back on her seat.

“I’ll just wait here.” She said with a smile.

 

Chaos continues to search the internet on the computer in Brenda's office. He couldn't find anything on Belleth or Calipto. He decided it was useless and went back to his room. He took the knife and pen out of his hiding spot and placed them into his pocket with his paperclip. After leaving his room he thinks to himself, "Another knife could come in handy."

He heads towards the kitchen. Luckly no one was standing gaurd. He picks the lock to the door and opens it. Apperantly they replaced the knives that he took earlier. He opens one of the drawers and takes out a small knife. He places the knife in his right pocket, on the opposite side of his other items.

After leaving the kitchen, he enters the playroom. He goes to the corner and sits down. Looking out the window, he thinks to himself "Niel can you feel it? Something big is going to happen and its going to happen soon. We better be ready."

After a little while he leaves the playroom. While walking through the hallway, he comes across Skye. "How are you doing, miss Skye?"

 

"Are you sure?" Olena asked, concerned. "I can push you to the caffeteria or the playroom, or someplace," she offered.

 

Skye gave a smile at Olena, and then back at Neil.

“I think, I’ll have a little chat with Neil, I’ll be all right.” She leaned in, and gave Olena a quick hug. She looked back at Neil.

“Been better, kind of feeling like one of those hangmen at the moment.” She said with giggle. Her eye gave a violent twitch.

“Oral Enthusiast!” she yelled. She blushed, and looked away.

“What about you, have you heard anything about Gregor lately?” Her eye gave a little twitch as she pushed back the tears. She missed Gregor and Klesps dearly, and her plan to set them free had failed miserably.

 

Chaos watched as Vira left. "Sorry but no. I tried to get some information out of Brenda before your little riot, but she got away. Though I don't think we need to worry too much about him. His....friend has probably taken care of things for him. So what are you upto, planning another riot?" says Chaos.

 

Skye furrowed her brow, trying to push her worry about Gregor away. She looked up at Neil with a half-smile. Her stumps greatly hurt her, and she could feel the fever coming back.

“No…” she said with a sigh, “My plans aren’t going so well. And I lost my knife in the last riot. I’m screwed if something goes wrong.”

She cursed under her breath as she remembered the knife she had left with that other patient.

“Do you happen to know where I could get another, though something smaller would be nice. Something I can keep on me. I’d find a way to pay you back.”

 

Olena walked carefully to her room, where she took a sweater from her closet and poured the cement into it. She carried the sweater, and went outside the back door, getting a nurse to let her out. She was one of the few that was let out at all, because although she was far from sane, she wouldn't try to run away. She knew it was Vira's job, and frankly, she didn't know what to do with the concrete. She knew Vira was fire, at least to Chloris, and so she pictured a match striking - the match was fueled by air and it spread and spread untill . . .

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Vira poured the concrete out on the ground, and then she took the small hammer from her pocket. She smashed, ground, pulverized the cement until it was as fine as dust, which she spread around in the dirt, and then no one could prove a thing.

 

Chaos reaches into his right pocket and pulls out a small knife. "Here, you can use this one." he says "I hope your ready to use it. Whatever Gregor is planning is likely to happen soon. From this point onward, don't let your gaurd down."