Insane Doesn't Even Begin to Cover It...

Insane Doesn't Even Begin to Cover It... Chapter 13

When I wake up the next day, I glance over at Caden’s bed and see that he’s already awake, lying on his back with his hands under his head and staring up at the ceiling. Quietly, as always, I get up and fix my clothes, going over to the door and pulling it open, walking out.

I can hear Caden get up and follow me.

Going down all of the stairs and to the cafeteria, I don’t bother grabbing food, and go over to sit at my normal seat.

To my surprise, Caden comes and sits right in front of me, with the ‘food’ on his tray. Looking at him, he looks back and smiles.

“I only know you, so…” Shrugging, he starts eating the ‘food’.

I want to tell him that his pills are probably crushed up in there, but I can’t. That’s what the doctors are doing now. Crushing up the patient’s pills and putting them in their food, then coming around and handing out more, so the patients get a double dosage.

Isn’t it lovely?

***

CADEN’S POV:

The minute I saw Senna, I knew that she was…different from everyone else here. When I first was dragged into this building, I noticed how all of the patients acted like they’d been drugged and sedated.

But she was different.

Her eyes weren’t dull, or lifeless. They held a certain spark that made me think that she didn’t take any crap, was headstrong, and defiant.

Then I realized that she didn’t talk. But I had to be sure so I asked her. Judging by the way she didn’t say anything and walked carefully by me, I guess I was right.

And then, right before she went to sleep she gave me this look.

The words were stated loud and clear, as if she had spoken them out loud.

Don’t. Touch. Me.

So now I’m guessing she doesn’t want to be touched either.

All I could do was promise that I wouldn’t touch her, then go to sleep.

***

In the morning when I woke up, I looked over at her to see that she was still asleep. I stared at her for a minute, taking in how peaceful she looked, then I diverted my gaze to the ceiling, coming up with reasons as to why she is the way she is.

Coming up with a few that didn’t seem just right, I wait until she wakes up.

When she does, she gets up and leaves the room, and I get up quickly to follow her. She leads me down lots of stairs, to the bottom floor, and through some double doors. We enter what I assume to be a cafeteria, and she goes to sit at a table by herself, without any food while I go up to get a tray.

After looking at the food, I can already tell it’s going to be gross. But this is going to be my only source of nourishment while here, so I guess I better accept it and move on.

After getting the food, I go over and sit across from Senna, and she gives me a strange look. I guess people don’t sit with her often.

“I only know you, so…” I trail off, and shrug. She looks down at the food and a frown graces her face for a moment, before her face is again clean of emotion.

I start eating, and although the food tastes somewhat normal, I can taste something…different. Frowning, I try to think of what it could be.

Only after I’m done eating do I realize…

That food was drugged.

And that’s when the doctors come around, handing out our separate cups of pills. I’ve been to other institutions before this, and the routine was the same. After breakfast you get your pills. After lunch you get your pills. After dinner you get your pills. If you act up during the day, you get way more pills, and some of them aren’t even prescribed for you, but they’re just pills that the ‘doctors’ think are good enough to ‘control’ the problem.

I look around the room and realize that everyone else has only got about three or four pills in their cups, while I have almost three little cups full.

Then I look over at Senna.

Two little cups are sitting in front of her, filled with pills of all different colors. Another cup is next to those full ones, and that one is halfway full.

We have something in common, I see.

Her eyes lock with mine, in astonishment, and then I see another flicker of emotion: relief. I know how she feels. It’s hard to go day by day, different than everyone else. It’s hard to face those looks from the other patients, and the looks from the doctors.

Glancing around the room, I see that the doctors are stationed at different places around the perimeter, watching to make sure everyone swallows their pills.

Staring down at my cups, then at hers, I frown.

I don’t want to take the pills. If I were at one of the institutions I went to before this, I would just dump them when no one was looking, as I had done on many occasions, but these doctors were like hawks, staring everyone down if they hesitated.

The pills don’t just make you feel like you’re high, it gives you this feeling. Like you don’t care about anything anymore, and everything’s always all right and nothing can go wrong. Your eyes glaze over and everything looks sort of blurred, or shiny, it all depends on what combination of pills you take.

But with the amounts of pills Senna and I have, it’s even worse. The feeling is horrible. My pills make me dizzy, for a few moments, then my muscles relax and I feel like jell-o. Whenever I try to move, it feels like the floor is a cloud and I’m about to fall through, and I eventually end up collapsing in a heap on the floor.

Nothing is worse than the feeling of being helpless without a way to defend yourself.