Stridor

Stridor - The Last Breath

It was a dark, cold day in September, and the clocks were striking thirteen.

Sally Smithson came to town with dreams of children's feet and laughter in a wooden home built by her husband Andrew. Andrew worked as a lumberjack - a job with its perils. One day, Andrew's foreman had to pay Sally a visit, forever changing her life.

She was alone.

Without food on the table and no other option, Sally had to find a way, but the only employment she could get was at the Crotus Prenn Asylum. Nobody sought employment there unless they were in dire need. Just like Sally.

Crotus Prenn Asylum was originally a hospital, but as the need of storage grew, it was turned into an insane asylum. Crotus Prenn is a place riddled with tall tales that aren't even close to the reality that takes place within its walls. It was never the biggest asylum, but the one that held the most violent and warped minds the country had ever met.

Without any education, she started at the bottom, doing the hard night shift. Over the years, she witnessed things that no one soul should ever have witnessed.

"How long have you been here, Andrew?"

The boy sat fairly still, holding on to what Sally could only make out to be a pinecone in his hands. "Six months... March seventeenth." His words seemed to be a bit shaky, as if they were struggling to come out.

"And what brought you here?" Sally said, looking down to her clipboard. On it, was a report for the boy she sat in front of. Andrew Robinson, a catatonic schizophrenic nine-year-old boy. He had been acting up recently, so Sally was sent in to check up on him.

Andrew glanced around a bit, keeping his glossy eyes on the walls. "That's difficult to answer." he said, once more in an almost monotone voice.

"Well, could you give me some idea?" Sally spoke softly, beginning to cross her legs.

"Off-hand, I can't."

As he spoke, the door to Andrew's room opened. "Ah, Sally. I see you've already attended to Andrew."

Andrews eyes immediately adverted to a corner of the room rather than the door. Struggling to keep himself in place, he stroked the pinecone, which seemingly kept him calm.

"Yes, Doctor Kavanagh. Andrew doesn't seem to be showing any signs of deterrence. He's just fine." Sally said to the doctor. His name-tag hung loosely on his coat, which read 'Liam Kavanagh'.

"Heh, you say that, but the boy was damn near clawing out the bricks in the lunch room. Ignorant ass, he doesn't listen to a word-"

Kavanagh stopped in his place, looking at Andrew with a glare in his eye. His voice began to raise as he spoke, saying, "Haven't I already told you to stop grabbing things from outside? God damn it!"

He marched toward Andrew, practically shoving Sally out of the way to get to him. He snatched at the boys arms as Andrew began to scream, and the doctor yanked the pinecone from the child's fingers. Liam caused some blood to pour from his hand, having ripped the pinecone out so harshly. "Stupid fucking child, that's why you're in here! You don't know how to handle your damn self!" He screamed at Andrew.

The boy had already been crying, since the doctor came into the room, even more so now that his hand was bleeding. Andrew looked at Sally with a desperation unfathomable to most. Liam turned to Sally and said, "Deal with the kid's hand, I'm throwing this away. Again."

Liam stomped out of the room with the pinecone in hand, as Andrew began to lose control of himself. Rather than sitting still as he did, he began to rock back and forth, almost uncontrollably. He began scratching the back of his hands as if it were habitual to him. Sally looked on with despair in her eyes. She wanted to help him, but she knew that helping the child would only cause more issues among the doctors and patients.