Lyssa laid unmoving on the floor of the white padded cell that she now called home. A home that she didn't like or want. Her family -more accurately part of her family- used to come and see her. Erika, on one of her first visits, informed Lyssa on how everyone took Anton's decision. In the days after Lyssa's mind shattered, Anton pushed to send Lyssa to a mental institution. He was certain that Lyssa was a danger to herself, others, and most importantly his reputation. Liam thought that it would be for the best; As long as she was sent to a place that would care for her. Erika didn't like it at all. She insisted that, if Anton wanted to get rid of Lyssa that badly, she would take Lyssa to one of her many safe houses. Anton declined, saying that somehow Lyssa would escape Erika and bodies would drop soon after. Selene was livid, mostly because Anton didn't tell her at all until the deed was done. Things were thrown, priceless vases shattered, and furniture smashed to pieces. Selene was never allowed to know of Lyssa's location. Anton knew that, if Selene ever found where Lyssa was imprisoned, Selene would slaughter anyone who dared to get in her way of saving her daughter. Erika and Liam stopped visiting months after Lyssa harshly expressed her hate for them because they 'left her in here'. Kai was still missing, but everyone wrote it off as him just getting in trouble again. Lyssa knew better.
The metal door of her padded box squeaked as it was pulled open. A tall, heavy muscled man stepped through. His white orderly uniform stretched tight around his muscles. He picked Lyssa up with ease and threw her over his shoulder. It wasn't like Lyssa could fight back much anyway, her arms were bound closely to her by the straitjacket that made her arms hurt if she moved the wrong way. As she was carried like a sack of potatoes down the asylum hallway, her Vampire hearing allowed her to eavesdrop on some of the other 'patients'. She heard howling from one cell, incoherent witch chanting from another, and a new sound drifted to her ears; Hissing.
Lyssa was too busy theorizing about what creature the hissing could belong to, that she didn't even realize when the brute roughly threw Lyssa onto a metal chair. She guessed that he was still upset over the small dick comment she made the last week. Large white paneled walls boxed her in. A two-way mirror, that spanned the length of the entire left wall, displayed Lyssa's reflection. She looked terrible, felt worse. Even though her father paid off the head 'doctor' to keep her fed, she was always hungry. A metal table stood in front of her, a silver metal chair on the other side. Empty. Minutes passed like hours, and Lyssa wondered how long he would keep her waiting. A faint boom was heard by Lyssa, followed by the slight flickering of the fluorescent lights in the ceiling. Thunder? Lyssa thought.
The door behind her opened once more, it was him. Dr. Roman Fairhope.
His hands were occupied with a clipboard and a file was placed on top of it. Her file. He looked upset as he sat in the chair across from Lyssa. He hadn't gotten the answers he was looking for from her yet, and he was getting impatient. Dr. Fairhope opened Lyssa's file on the table, opened the clip of the clipboard, and clicked the pen he retrieved from it, ready to write any notes on the paper on the board. He looked at Lyssa,
"Shall we begin with our normal questions?" He said more than asked, as he flipped through the pages of the file.
"What is your full name?"
"Lyssa Maniae Kavian."
"Where did you live?"
"5660 crimson heights rd redwood Minnesota 55331."
"Where are you now?"
"Osawatomie State Hospital, Kansas."
"What are you?"
Lyssa raised a questioning eyebrow at this question, that was a new one. "Vampire."
Dr. Roman Fairhope gritted his teeth slightly. "What kind?" He stressed.
Oh, that's what this is about. "Malkavian."
He pulled out the notes from one of their previous sessions, along with a checklist he made of Lyssa's derangements.
"In our last talks, you mentioned a 'Great Wolf''. Would you like to elaborate?"
Lyssa felt a tingling in the back of her mind. "The Great Wolf? The Great Wolf is coming, but she's not here yet. No, not yet." Lyssa's eyes moved from side to side, searching for the answers in the sea of voices. "I wonder, does anyone know about the monsters you keep?"
"Yes. Some know about what I keep here. But that's not what I'm-"
"What about the ones down in the House of Horrors? I hear the Echoes."
"How do you know about that?" Dr. Fairhope asked, irritated that Lyssa always knew about things she shouldn't.
"The voices. Duh. You should really get out of the Horror House. There's something there, hidden. In the darkness. Something bad, really bad." Lyssa said, her words trailing off into silence.
"Lyssa?" Dr. Fairhope half-yelled.
"When is a door not a door?"
"Lyssa, can we get back on track?" He sighed, annoyed at Lyssa's antics as he checked the box for schizotypal speech patterns.
"Back on track?" Lyssa slightly rocked her body left and right, she found it hard to keep still while trying to sift through the voices.
"Yes, Lyssa. The Great Wolf?"
"Oh, her!" Lyssa giggled, "Like I said she's not here yet, not ready."
"Ready for what?" Dr. Fairhope pressed.
"The battle, duh. With the other."
The Dr. jotted her words down, this was something new. He kept his pen ready as Lyssa began to speak.
"That doesn't matter now. Not now...Not yet..." Lyssa's words trailed off, she was silent for a moment, then suddenly jerked her head to the right.
"I see..." Lyssa was pulled words from the static in her head. "The Demon Wolf."
Dr. Fairhope's eyes widened, "Demon Wolf, do you mean... Him?" It couldn't be, the Dr. tried to reason with himself. He'd heard the stories, saw the destruction that wolf could cause.
"Him?" Lyssa looked at the Dr. and tilted her head in confusion. Her brows then furrowed in frustration. "No! Not him, silly! That blind old wolf!" Lyssa let out a laugh, "The first Demon Wolf, she is much older than him. Stupid wolf took her name. She's mad."
"At him?"
"No, not him. Her anger goes back farther in time. Much farther. In the times of dragons and Daedra. The Great Wolf stole something that the Demon Wolf cherished greatly."
"What did the Great Wolf steal?" Dr. Fairhope leaned forward in his seat.
"Hmm... don't know." Lyssa shrugged her shoulders, as the Dr. slumped back in his seat.
"Concentrate, Lyssa."
"I am! And I told you I don't know!" Lyssa said with a bratty tone.
A sigh escaped the Dr.'s lips.
"You know, Doc, you look like you need something to take the edge off."
"And what would that be Lyssa?" Dr. Fairhope's disinterest clear in his words. He was certain that he had hit a roadblock with Lyssa's information.
"A little bit of madness always helps me in tough times. Just a little bit of madness, that's all you need. I promise it won't hurt."
The Dr. marked the Plague Bride's Contagion box, then gathered up his papers, and left the room. The brute from before entered the room as Dr. Fairhope left.
"Give her the vervain when she gets back to her cell." The doctor looked back at Lyssa. "She needs rest, maybe that will clear her mind. "
Lyssa was thrown over the brute's oversized shoulder and carried down the hallways to her cell. She noticed that the light flickers and thudding booms were happening more often. She was laid on the floor of her padded cell, and the brute was reaching into his pocket for the vervain syringe.
Now was the time, Lyssa thought. She had been sneaking blood from an intern that she tempt into helping her. She would be strong enough now.
Swiftly Lyssa rose from the floor and stared into the brute's eyes; She felt the blood rousing within her.
"You don't want to do that." She started slowly, "You want to release me from this cage and let me fly."
He blinked once, dropped the syringe and undid the straps of Lyssa's straitjacket. Lyssa stretched, arching her back like a cat, and sighed blissfully. "Much better."
"All I need now is a little jump start." Lyssa pounced and knocked the brute to the ground. She slid her fangs in his neck and drained him dry. When she finished her meal, she got up, threw the body into a corner, and covered it with a thin white sheet that was meant to be a blanket for Lyssa. Not anymore.
She left the cell, closed the door behind her and blended into the shadows. Lyssa silently made her way down the hallways, and tried to recall the path to the stairs. From what Lyssa could remember, her cell -along with many others- was located on the lowest floors of the asylum. Based on the information from her intern 'friend' her best bet was to steal a key card from the locker rooms on the 4th floor. She turned the corner and the sight of a figure standing in front of a cell made her retreat a few steps. Slowly, she peeked around the corner and recognized the man. Phillip Madoxx, the timid intern she had tempted. He made a few notes on the clipboard he was holding, then went down the row of cells in the opposite direction of Lyssa. She used her Vampire speed and snuck up on the unsuspecting intern.
"Hello, lover." She whispered in his ear.
He let out a small yelp and spun round quickly, holding his ear. "Lyssa!" He whisper-yelled. "What are you doing here? How did you-"
"Shh." Lyssa lightly pressed her finger on his lips. "Now is not the time for stupid questions that you already know the answer to. As you can see I'm in need of some clothes." She gestured to her regulation white tank top and shorts. "Oh, and I need a way to the locker rooms. I'm breaking out."
Phillip couldn't stop the bewildered look from appearing on his face.
"Phillip?" Lyssa snapped her fingers in his face.
"Um- I could lead you to the stairs. T-There's just a small problem though, a security gate before you get to the stairs to exit this level."
"Hmm." Lyssa pondered, her hand on her chin. "Do they drink vervain?"
"Yes."
Lyssa let out a huff, "I'll just have to figure out a way around that pesky plant. And before I forget, I'm going to need my daylight ring. You get that while I get the key card. Ok?"
"Y-you want me to get it?" He stuttered.
"Do you see anyone else here, Silly? You know where it is, so get it for-."
Another round of thunder and flickering lights interrupted Lyssa.
"We're wasting time, let's go." She said, walking off without Phillip.
He caught up to her and went ahead, then whispered a warning about the gate as they turned the final corner.
A woman in a security uniform sat in a worn leather chair, a small metal table stood in front of her. Various documents were pushed aside to a corner of the table, making way for the woman's feet that were propped up on said table. Her phone screen lit up her face as she scrolled through social media. She only lifted her head for a second to acknowledge the perspiring man in front of her.
"Checking out for the night, Madoxx?"
"Yes." He nervously said, rubbing his hands together. "Just me, no one else. Just good ol' Phillip."
Lyssa silently facepalmed. This idiot.
"Right." The guard mumbled, "Go on up."
Phillip took hesitant steps toward the stairs, and looked behind him for a second. In that second Lyssa moved from the shadows, rushed the guard and snapped her neck with an audible crack.
"Ok. Key card." Lyssa said pointing to herself. "Ring." She pointed at Phillip. "Got it?"
"You just-"
"Good! 4th floor, right?" Lyssa ran off up the stairs, not waiting for his answer.
Lyssa sped through the hallways of the 4th floor. Luckily, for her, the looming thunder storm had messed with the electricity in the building and in turn the security systems. She came to a stop at the locker room, which was more like a slightly large storage closet with grey lockers stuffed inside. She slipped inside and opened each locker until she found the locker of Dr. Heidy Gale, who's choice of fashion was not to Lyssa's liking. Lyssa begrudgingly took Dr. Gale's bright blue tracksuit and sneakers and put them on. Lyssa also took Dr. Gale's white Dr. coat and wrapped it around her small form. She shoved her hands in the pockets, and if she was lucky...
"Yes!" Lyssa exclaimed before quickly covering her mouth with her free hand. A key card occupied her other one. A sudden knock on the door, made Lyssa's heart jump. She moved to a corner of the room and readied herself for a fight.
The door squeaked open and Phillip stepped inside, a small box in his hands. Lyssa approached him, "You have my things?"
He nodded and opened the box. Inside laid Lyssa's daylight ring, her sliver knife- it's ruby on the hilt shined brightly-, and a piece of broken glass wrapped carefully in a black cloth.
Lyssa slipped her daylight ring on her finger, kissed it affectionally, then took the other items and put them in the white coat pockets.
"Now what?" Phillip asked.
Lyssa gripped him by his shoulders, and stared deeply into his eyes. "You are going to go out of this room and check to see if they are looking for me. If they are, I want you to claim that you saw me on the second floor."
Phillip nodded and left the room. It didn't take long before Lyssa heard the shouting. "Dr. Fairhope wants everyone on the lookout for Lyssa Kavian. Female, 5'4, black hair with white ends. She's a highly dangerous Vampire."
Lyssa felt a grin cross her face, this was her favorite part. The chase. She walked out of the locker room as calm as possible. She was careful and hid the ends of her long hair under the collar of the white Dr. coat. She made it down the 4th floor, and it's various keycard locked doors, to the 3rd floor before someone called out from behind her.
"Dr. we need to get you somewhere safe. A highly dangerous patient is on the loose."
When he didn't get an answer, Lyssa could hear him reach for his side arm and flip off the safety. Lyssa broke out in a sprint, dodging the bullets that flew at her. She was getting close now, the voices told her, just a little more. She wove through the halls and ended up in front of a large window. Rain pounded the glass from the outside and lightning flashed. Lyssa heard the heavy footsteps getting closer, there were more chasing her now, At least 5. She took a few steps back and then rammed herself at the window, shattering the glass. She landed on her feet, with a thud on the wet grass below and lifted her face to the sky, letting the rain cleanse all of the bad things that happened to her in that horrid place. Lyssa turned back to look at the prison that held her for so long and spotted Dr. Fairhope's familiar scowl in the -now broken- window. With one final F-you, Lyssa flipped Dr. Fairhope her middle fingers and fled down the streets of Kansas toward a new home. One that her sister had told her about a long time ago. Santa Monica.