Escapism - A Fantasy Romance

Chapter 26: A Not So Happy Alternative Ending (Read at your own risk)

Helen stood looking at the teenage girl through the glass. She was playing with the multi-level doll house that she had gotten her for her birthday 5 years ago. She was slightly distracted from watching her daughter by the voices she could hear getting closer as two men came down the stairway.

"On this level, we have our isolated patients. These patients are either put here for a period of time due to a violent outburst or have been found to not be able to be safely integrated back into the general population."

The workers move closer to Helen as the seasoned worker shows the floor to the new hire. The worker, Bill as his name tag says, nods toward her, moving past her daughter's room. The new hire follows, his eyes taking in the small teenage girl in one of the isolation rooms.

"They're allowed toys?" he asks.

Bill pauses on the tour. "Well, for certain long-term isolation patients we found that giving them some sort of entertainment helps to reduce violent behavior and self-harming."

Bill turned to quickly move on, but the new guy did not take the hint.

"She seems harmless. She's the size of a twig. Why is she in long-term isolation?"

Bill sighs, glancing at Helen. Before he can begin to answer, Helen speaks up. "My daughter is extremely delusional. She believes that she has supernatural abilities and that she needs to feed on the energy of those around her." With a wry grin she continues, "However, this 'feeding' she claims that she needs to do is really her killing the person. Her little brother James died in his sleep, the doctors said that it was SIDS. But then, my husband, Byron, died in her room with a slashed throat. I had no choice at that point."

She paused for a second watching her little girl mumble lines with her dolls to a story she made in her head. "The judge found Lily extremely mentally unstable and assigned her to be a patient at this institution. After a couple months of therapy the doctor, Luther, believed that she was no longer suffering from delusions and allowed her into the general population." Helen paused as if remembering the details. "She killed her two roommates that night, Alex and Leo. She was sent back into isolation for a couple years. Then her new therapist, Dr. Raya, determined that she was no longer a danger and that she was remorseful for those she had killed."

Helen huffed through her nose, shaking her head. "Again, she killed some of the other patients, Valen, Bane, and Aiden. She also injured two workers, Andrew and Josh. One is still on disability to this day." Helen looked away from the new hire, watching her daughter.

"She is so immersed in her delusion that she doesn't eat. She truly believes that she survives off the energy of others. Every couple weeks, they have to knock her out and pump her full of nutrients and give her an IV drip. She is wasting away right in front of my eyes."

She stared at her daughters back. "The worst thing is that I am hoping for the day she finally leaves this earth. When she will no longer be entrapped in her sick mind and no longer locked in a cage for the protection of others. Maybe that makes me a horrible mother, but I don't see any other solution at this point."

The two workers were silent watching Helen stare at her daughter. Helen stepped forward, pressing a small intercom on the glass. "Bye honey, I'll see you later." She continued to hold her finger on the intercom button to see if Lily would respond. A soft muttering met their ears. "No more babies Valen, three is more than enough." There was a slight pause and then she continued, "Leo please talk some sense into this guy. I can't deal with him."

Helen moved her finger off the intercom button, stopping the sound. With a soft smile and sad eyes, she looked towards the workers. "At least, she can entertain herself and try to forget."

She then turned, heading towards the stairs. She did not look back.