Purgatory

Meeting The Shape

"Bond's always formed in the most unlikely of places. And sometimes? Scar's came with them. But, what didn't I expect, is when I became attached to a silent killer, all those years ago."

___

When I was nine, I was sent to Smith's Grove Sanitarium. Day's prior, I'd been admitted to the local emergency room, after a rather traumatic event. The doctor's had declared my case to be too severe for them to handle.   

  It had taken a lot to convince them. I don't remember how many professionals I had to tearfully break down to, for someone to finally realize that I needed more help than they were able to give. 



 I arrived late evening. The transfer had been terrible, as I was constantly reminded of the incident and asked how it affected me. I just wanted to forget, to calm my mind for a few minutes. But, the questions needed answers, no one but myself could provide them.



___

 At the crack of dawn, maybe a bit before, a doctor had come to assess my overall health. Blood tests were run, my blood pressure was taken, checked to see if I had a fever, that sort of thing.



The psychiatrist who'd been treating me at the hospital came by, discussing medications I had been on, what I could take, what I shouldn't. Warning the doctor and the staff that I had tried to take my own life, swallowing pills, even with my young age.   



My medicine had been drastically changed, and any medication changes could be unpleasant, dealing with possible side effects, meaning I would be kept under watch, though I was told the side effects weren't dangerous. As if I even cared back then...



The first day had been even worse than the transport there. I was kept in a private room overnight, while they evaluated me, seeing if I'd continue to be a threat to myself, or if I'd threaten the others.

Four days had passed before I would be transferred to the shared room.



I'd been woken up by a nurse shaking me, yelling at me to get breakfast in the common room. She told me about the girl's I'd been sharing a room with tonight.



Two other girl's were there, they were older than me. Samantha, a 13 year-old, ebony haired girl, who suffered from delusions, and Chelsea, a 17 year-old brunette, she was obsessive and had a severe drug addiction. I heard Chelsea had been recovering for a few years, since she was 13.



She'd made a quick recovery and was released about a year and a half, just to be readmitted recently, just after her 16th birthday. And there was a third girl, named Nancy, currently, she was in solitary confinement as punishment for mocking and bullying other patients. 

I wasn't told much about the boys, just given a couple names. James, Roger, Michael, Anthony and Mason. The nurse told me that Michael and Roger were both troubled children and though, they were behaved enough to spend time in the common room, I should stay away from them. 

___ 

My vision was spotty and blurred at moments. Upon telling the nurse, she told me not to worry and that it was just a side effect. She hadn't been very nice, and honestly seemed as if I'd disrupted her whole life by telling her about my condition.



I stayed quiet after that. Kept to myself. Samantha sat next to me, she started warning me of one of the troublesome boys, Michael, told me he was bad news, to stay away from him. He'd killed three boys within the past five years and Roger had killed one himself. Of course, I didn't believe her. They were allowed in the common room. If he was attacking people, he would be locked up with the other inmates in the building instead of the juvenile ward.



Right? 




That evening, I hadn't really settled into the shared room. Chelsea wept whenever the lights were shut off, it sounded awful. She scared me. If I didn't know better, I would have thought she was being tortured, being forced to beg for whoever was hurting her to stop. Those were cries I was very familiar with.



Samantha had been talking to herself, seemingly having a full conversation. Whenever she fell asleep, her mumbling continued and her dreams seemed pretty violent. The night shift nurse didn't seem to care, she checked the room once and wasn't seen from again.



I didn't feel safe. It was hard to sleep.