Gomorrah

2.Pain

Levi woke up at around eight in the morning. Evan was curled up on his bed snoring away.Every so often his tongue would poke out and flick. He heard the orderlies outside in the hall "WAKE UP! BREAKFAST TIME!". This set of a chorus of screams, moans and murmuring in response. Evan groaned and sat up in bed "Well you survived one night in Gomorrah. Breakfast is chaotic considering we mostly get the same thing: watery coffee, oatmeal, toast and an egg. It all tastes like shit but you need to eat it. Stick with me". The entire ward of disturbed men were lined up and shuffled down to the cafeteria. The moaning and screaming from the cafeteria was almost deafening to Levi. He grabbed a tray, accepted the food and nearly ran to Evan's table. With them was a Golden Retriever called Tick and a Bengal cat named Patches. Tick got his name because he always twitched and Patches was named that because of his fur. They called Evan "Dragon" because he thought he was a dragon. Tick shook Levi's hand rather awkwardly because he was twitching the entire time "Well well well, a new guy joins the cool kids table" Tick joked, causing Patches to just roll his eyes. Evan whispered "Patches is here because he has bipolar depression. Tick just can't fucking sit still". True to his nature Tick started fiddling with his oatmeal. "Hey Tick, could you just fucking eat your slop? Honestly you're such a damn fucking child" Patches said in an irritated tone to Tick, who just shrugged and had some oatmeal. 

"Don't look now but Satan's Mistress is about." Tick said as Dr. Angela came into the cafeteria. The table snickered including Levi.  She heard them and walked over to the table with a mad look. "What the hell did you say you little shit?" she said slapping Tick. She glared at the others in the group and stopped at Levi. "In my office when you finish your meal" she said through clenched teeth. Levi thought nothing of it and finished his breakfast. He ignored the wide eyed looks of his new friends. He made his way up to her office after he finished eating. Dr. Angela was sitting at her desk with her chair reclined back and feet on the table. A cigarette smoldered in an ash tray and a cup of coffee sat next to it. She smiled and motioned for him to sit. She sipped her coffee and spoke calmly "You know it is rude to laugh at such inappropriate jokes, especially jokes aimed at such respected figures like me?". Levi started to apologize only for a punch to the face to interrupt him.  He fell backwards and hit his head on the floor. His vision trembled and doubled for a second. He saw Angela get up, tail wagging and her fur standing on end. She hissed at him saying "Sorry? Sorry doesn't fucking cut it you little shit" before punching him in the stomach. She punched him a few times in his face ad stomach before she calmed down enough. She looked up from her work and shouted "ORDERLY! TAKE HIM BACK TO HIS ROOM!". The orderly from intake arrived, picked Levi up and escorted him to his room. "You were a bad pup huh? She beat the shit out of you huh? Bad dog!"he said slapping Levi first in the face and then on his ass. This caused Levi to growl at the orderly who only laughed. "Oh shut your face and lay down. Fucking crazy" he said shoving Levi onto his bed. He laughed as he left him. Levi sighed and took to wiping his blood off his face. Luckily his jaw, nose and teeth were intact but he had a wicked nose bleed and a black eye. His head was hurting him.

Evan came back a few minutes later and saw Levi bleeding onto his bed. "Holy shit. She really unloaded on you. Fuck I am so sorry that happened to you". He was interrupted by Sgt. John, a cop and a nurse carrying a needle. Levi knew this meant trouble so he backed away from them saying "No..please no..I'm sorry..I'm..". He was cut off by the two cops shoving him down and the nurse sticking him with the needle. He saw out of the corner of his eye that Evan was being restrained and was struggling "GET OFF ME DAMN YOU! I WILL FUCKING ROAST YOU ALL!" he shouted as the straps were tightened around Evan's waist. Levi suddenly felt weak and drowsy. The nurse and one officer laid him on his bed and worked on restraining him. After they were both tied down they were left alone. Levi fell into a drug induced sleep as Evan struggled against the straps. 

An hour later Levi awoke to Sgt. John undoing the straps to his legs. Evan had worn himself out to the point he had passed out from exhaustion. His straps were already off. Sgt. John looked up and shook his head sadly said "She's a real bitch that doctor. No respect for anyone that's damaged. Call her sadistic..I'm sorry". He undid his waist and his wrists before leaving them alone. Levi sat up,  took a few breaths and felt around his face. It was a little swollen and his eye was bruised. Luckily he could still see out of it and more importantly he was alive for now. He pulled off his necklace that also doubled as a prayer rope, a gift from his grandfather who was a priest. He fingered the individual little knots on the necklace while taking breathes, a technique his grandfather taught him whenever he would get nervous or sad. He could hear his gruff yet kind voice in his head as he calmed down "Levi, just breathe. If you can do that then what was bothering you no longer matters. God gave you breath to live". He teared up when he remembered that as his grandfather was the only one who paid him any mind. He used to take Levi out of his home and on trips to the mountains that he called "Insanity Retreats". It had been about five years since he died and it never got easier.

Evan stirred and woke up. "Huh I guess John undid us...Man's the only good guy here. Are you alright?" Evan asked rubbing his eyes. Levi wiped away the single tear and looked up "Huh oh I'm alright. Just hurting a bit". Evan narrowed his eyes, no way was the beating hurting that much he shed a tear. Something was wrong but what could he do? He was in the same situation. He saw Levi with his necklace thing and saw the little knots, a prayer rope of some sorts. He tapped against the mattress and bed to make sure his project was safe, it was. "I guess I'm sorry about that back there..Tick can be a loudmouth..He was slapped around a bit by one of the guards". He was interrupted by a nurse delivering their medications, Lithium. Levi swallowed the two white tablets with water. He immediately started to feel queasy  and his vision started to tremble. "Nurse, more water please" he asked feeling thirsty. No sooner did he finish his water he started feeling worse. He laid on his side and held his stomach while groaning in pain. Evan sat across from him and patted his shoulder. He started vomiting on himself and then on the floor. Once he started he immediately felt better. The nurse cringed and said he could go shower as his mattress was cleaned. 

He stumbled to the shower room/bathroom and vomited again in a toilet. The showers were dirty with mold, lime stains and urine corrosion. He gagged from the stench and vomited again. He removed his vomit stained clothes and took a freezing cold shower. He felt like he was being watched and turned around, no one. "Calm down, stop being paranoid" he said to himself. He found a change of clothes outside the stall, changed and went back to his room. The mattress was cleaned and flipped along with a new blanket and pillow. "The orderly decided to give you a new pillow and blanket. You must have gotten on Carl's good side..The orderly". Levi shrugged and laid on his bed.