Asylum - you underestimated me

Chapter 1

I remember the day I got here. The day that my life in the normal world ended and my experience at Darkwood Asylum started. That morning I woke up to the smell of my favourite baked beans on toast. It was a Monday, so I hurried up as I brushed my teeth, showered and then yanked on my school uniform before sliding down the handrail on the stairs and then wolfing down my breakfast. I had bolted through my door with barely enough time to say goodbye to my mother as I made my way to the bus stop.

I remember my frustration as I reached the empty stop, and during my moment of anger which involved me kicking the lamppost and shouting and screaming at the sky, a white van pulled up and two men hopped out of the back door. One was so thin I couldn't tell the difference between him and the bus stop pole, and the other was so fat he made me wonder how he was able to fit in the van in the first place. While I was pondering the odd existence of the opposing characteristics of these two men, they grabbed me roughly by the arms and bundled me into the back of the van. When they tried to climb in behind me, Fatty failed his attempt to squeeze in through the gap between the double doors, while Stick Insect hopped in so easily that I was surprised that he didn't just whip out a carrot and start nibbling on it like all his other bunny friends. If he has any, that is.

I remember thinking, I wasn't going to go down without a fight. I bit and punched and scratched them frantically until Fatty clamped one hand over my mouth and used the other to pin my arms behind my back. I struggled, trying to get free until Stick Insect took a syringe out of his pocket. I froze, afraid. I was stuck there for about an hour before they dragged me back out of the van. I took notice of my surroundings. As far as I could tell, we were in the middle of a forest, in what seemed like a ghost town, with abandoned houses, office blocks and even a few shops dotted around the place, but what really caught my attention was the large building in front of me. It looked like a box, mostly due to the lack of any windows. Prisoners would have more daylight than anyone in there.

I remember the men tightening their grip on my shoulders as they marched me through the double doors. The room we entered was empty except for a bored receptionist, her tawny brown hair swept up in a messy bun and her wire-rimmed glasses sliding down her nose in a way that only meant she was half asleep. Seeing no security in the area, I twisted myself out of Fatty and Stick Insect's grip before making a break for freedom. What I didn't anticipate was how surprisingly fast Fatty could be. He grabbed my wrist before I reached the door as Stick Insect jabbed the needle into my arm. Not long after that I fell unconscious.