The Deep Dark Web | lrh

[1] Michael

"Sophie! That skirt's a little short now, don't you think?"

When Sadie makes the gesture towards my uniform, my eyes widen. My hands shoot out to briskly pull the material down, a slight blush creeping onto my cheeks as she puts a hand up to her mouth; muffling a giggle.

"Kidding," she says, tying an apron around her waist. We're on different degrees at this hospital, different levels of importance, and it shows through the colours of our uniform; hers is a standard white and blue. It looks much more appealing than my own, but I have to remember- she's been working her for a little over three years now.

"Wow. You are wild," I say, fastening the cap on my head as she laughs some more.

Sadie Harris is only a few years older than me, but the way her face has aged from the countless smoked cigarettes and injected drugs she used to do (that she's thankfully now strayed away from) makes her look much more than what she is.

"You know," she says, adjusting her walk so that it's in sync mine. I only have to push a large metal cart from one end of the hospital to the other, offering out cups of tea and whatever I can to the patients who are entitled one hour of freedom out of their cell, but having the extra company is nice. "I hear they're thinking of opening the gates,"

"The gates?"

"Mhm," when we pass a large window, she gestures outside of it, and my eyes come into contact with the one thing that separates this building from the outside world.

Beyond the tall metal chainlink is a large field, filled with shrubbery and trees and enough green grass to last the people here a lifetime. It's beautiful, but to us, it's also fake; a taster of a world far better than this.

"They say they might have to reinforce another fence and add a few more security cameras, but they're willing to make it work work," Sadie carries on, "They want to let them wander the plains outside. Maybe get some fresh air. All this staying inside can never be good for a person," she brushes a lock of her sand coloured hair behind her ear, eyes twinkling at me in suggestion, "What do you think?"

I shrug, subconsciously snaking my fingers around my waist to make sure that the knot of my nurse's apron is tied tightly at the back, "Doesn't matter what I think,"

"Of course it matters. We're a unit here," she says, and although her words sound forced, I decide not to acknowledge them.

Instead, I smile at one of the guards who walks past.

Being a unit here is very important, from what I've been told. You can't have a team without some sort of collective effort. If you don't carry your weight, you're of no use; understandable, if you think about it. The only problem is that that preliminary attitude often isn't carried out by the people in here, and it does more bad than good.

Sigh. It's a lot. Sometimes I have to sit back and appreciate the woman in front of you- she's been doing this for much longer than I have. I have absolutely no idea how she's coped.

"Hello, ladies," the guard says, his voice low, his accent even stronger than what it was the first few days of him working here. The black hard hat that's supposed to be on his head dangles precariously backwards from his neck; resting on his upper back, fastened by a strong type of material and Velcro.

"Hello, Michael," Sadie nods curtly. They're roughly the same age; twenty four and twenty five, I believe, and I can't help but feel a little intimidated by both of their older authority.

"Tea?" I ask politely, holding up one of the many white mugs on the cart.

Michael purses his lips slightly, a finger tapping comically against his chin as his eyes scan the porcelain, "What flavour?"

"Earl grey," I answer politely, amused at the way he makes an exaggerated retching sound, "What?"

"Nobody likes earl grey, Soph," he notes, raising an eyebrow.

I roll my eyes, "I do,"

"Heh. That's what makes you special," he says, before leaning in towards me. His hot breath tickles against my cheek; hushed, playful voice creeping into my ear, "Maybe they should lock you up in a cell of your own. Join the other loonies,"

"For liking a certain type of tea?" I ask, obviously entertained, and he smirks as he pulls back.

"Mhm. It's the biggest crime there is."

"Oh, please,"

"Alright, you two. Quit the flirting, i'm feelin' a little uncomfortable," Sadie says, chuckling a little as my cheeks flush. "Run along now, Mike. We have some tea to dish out,"

"You could join us," I say, giving him a small smile, "It's just from the east wing to the west. Wards one to fifteen,"

"Huh? Why aren't you allowed to check in on any after?" Sadie asks, eyebrows furrowing, "I know you're not allowed to, but it's just tea,"

Again, I shrug. "Something about newcomers. I'm not allowed to see them until the doctors say they're fit enough to walk through the halls,"

"Mhm. I, however, can," Michael says, smirking again. He's one of the cockiest guards here, for sure- in a way, that comforts me. It means that he's strong-willed. A trait that somebody needs if they're willing to work in a place like Indigo Sanitarium.

It's also a trait that I, unfortunately, don't possess. But that's okay.

I'm only a healthcare assistant here, anyway. A volunteer, just so I have a summer job before I go off to college to experience the real world. I don't get that close to many of the patients, regardless of the errands I have to run; but when I do, it's almost always been nothing but pleasant.

I try not to let this phase me, though, because the people I've been exposed to are only a fraction of the patients in here.

Sadie, an actual trained nurse qualified to work in this place, has seen much worse. The tales she tells me in the staffroom, of broken-hearted boyfriends with obsessions to do vile things to their partners and psycho ex-girlfriends who have gone on more killing sprees than my fingers can count, leave very little to the imagination.

"You know what, I'll come with you," he says, placing his hands on his belt. I try not to stare too much, but it's hard when I can see a small handgun and a leather pouch holding a taser right next to the buckle. "See ward sixteen myself. I wanna know what's up,"

"Will they let you in?" Sadie asks, walking as I slowly begin to roll the cart.

Michael shrugs.

"They should. I wanna see who the new guy is."