Trapped

Chapter Two

Between the rocks, bothersome ruts, and uneven terrain in general, I am at my wits end. Just as I am seriously entertaining the thought of requesting a moment to get out and stretch my legs, a big fancy building with beautiful green grass, and well-kept flower beds come into view. A black iron fence surrounds the giant property, and two burly uniformed guards stand on each side of the gate. "Howdy, Sheriff. Can I help you?" the guard on the left asks.

"Hey there, Jim. I've got two patients here with me today."

Jim grins, showing a significant gap between his two front teeth. "You've been busy this week, haven't you?"

Sheriff McGovern dabs his neck with his handkerchief, "Just doing my job. You wanna let us in now?"

Jim holds his hands up defensively, and the two guards set to work opening the gate. The dirt road we were traveling on turns to cobblestone and we bounce our way down the long front drive. As nice as the cobblestone looks, I sure am thankful not all roads are paved with it.

The sheriff parks in front of the building, "I'm going in to let them know we're here. I'll be right back."

As soon as he's inside, I ask Anna, "What kind of hospital is this?"

She shrugs, "Sheriff McGovern said it was top notch. The best of the best. I'm sure they will take excellent care of you and Irene."

Something about this just doesn't sit right with me. The hospital looks absolutely dreamy, but in a looming, Gothic kind of way. I would think such a fine place would be bustling with people, but it's  dead silent. The only movement I see is Jim back up by the gate moving his hands wildly as if telling the other guard a thrilling story. It's almost eerie, and I want nothing more than to just go home, climb into bed, and sleep a whole week away. Then, maybe when I wake, I will have discovered all this to be just a horrible, horrible nightmare. "I don't think I want to stay. The doctor is town would do just as well. He's never let us down before," I insist.

"We have made Sheriff McGovern drive us all the way out here. It would be impolite to change our minds now," Anna crossly says while attempting to fan herself with her hand.

"It's not like I had a say in the matter," I mumble.

Anna whips around and gives me an icy stare, putting an end to the conversation. Sighing, I look up at the pretty blue sky and daydream about the last time I went horseback riding with Robert through the woods. The sky turns blurry, and I wipe tears away with the sleeve of my raggedy, bloodstained dress. The image of Robert's limp body just laying there in the yard with a pool of dark, sticky blood around his head won't leave my mind. 

The sheriff emerges from the building followed by two men with gurneys. One of the men scoops Mother up and buckles her in tightly. The other man comes to grab me, but I jump back. "I can walk," I scowl.

"Sorry, miss, but I have to," the man says in a  deep voice.

Climbing out of the wagon, I huff, "Fine, but I don't need help." I hoist myself onto the gurney and gasp when the man buckles me in so tightly I can hardly breathe. Anna waves to me as I'm wheeled away with Mother, but I'm strapped in too tightly to wave back. Why doesn't she come inside with us? Doesn't she care whether Mother will be all right or not?

I gaze at the big blue sky one last time before being pushed through the front door into a dark foyer. We're pushed across the room and through a door that leads to a long corridor with a few doors on each side. The two men stop in front of a door to the right labeled F Wing, and the man in charge of pushing my gurney takes out a big ring of keys and unlocks it.

This door brings us to a short, dark passageway of sorts that ends at a door labeled C Ward. This door is unlocked and leads to another corridor, this one lined with a bunch of doors on either side with numbers stenciled on each one. Light streams in through several windows to the left overlooking the front of the building. Suddenly I'm glad we're being accompanied by these two because I know I would get lost for sure if left to figure this out alone.

It's here that Mother and I are split up. She's taken through a door labeled 104, and I'm wheeled farther down the corridor. Looking around wildly, I demand, "What's going on? I want to stay with Mother!"

"Doctors are seeing to her immediately. Your case is less urgent," the man replies coolly.

I feel dizzy as the hall splits into two different directions. Everything goes by in a blur. We go to the right, then through another locked door labeled G Ward, up another short passageway, through an unlocked door, down another long corridor identical to the one we left Mother, up another locked passageway, and stop at the closed door at the end of it. The other passageway doors have been unlocked once inside, but this door, marked Ward N, has to be unlocked. What's so special about whatever is behind this door that it needs to be locked twice?

As soon as the door is pushed open, my ears are accosted with a symphony of the most horrendous noises I have ever heard in my entire life. Echos of screams, cries, laughs, coughs, sneezes, and many other sounds I can't immediately identify bounce throughout the corridor. Once inside, it takes a minute for my eyes to adjust. There are no windows in here, making everything dark. As my eyes get used to the dimness, I'm able to see a corridor just like the others, but this time instead of doors lining either side, it's cells. As we pass them, I notice that each one contains a person.

My heart stops beating, and I feel like I'm about to vomit at any second. "What is this place?" I choke.

A shiver runs down my spine as a woman somewhere off to my left snorts, "Hell."