Ten years ago
Zachary Giovanni Manning
Status: Unstable
Admittance: 3:27 am
Cause of Admittance: A danger to self, others
Diagnosis: Bipolar 1 disorder, psychosis
Duration: Unknown
"Is this all we have on him?" Doctor Kelvin Yates, a psychiatrist over at Belle Reeve Psychiatric Hospital, asked his colleague, Melanie Ta.
She nodded, flipping through the short file. "For now, yes. More should be faxed over by morning". They watched the young boy through the small window. "Apparently, this isn't his first incident. Not even close".
Doctor Yates looked on curiously at the boy who was boredly scoping out the completely white room, looking slightly agitated with his restraints.
"What exactly did he do?" The file didn't say.
"He tried to kill his parents". Doctor Ta shakes her head in disbelief. She couldn't see someone seemingly so innocent doing something so vile. Then again, looks can be deceiving. "He set his house on fire. They were sleeping".
Doctor Yates' eyes widen in shock. "Are they alright?"
"I don't know the severity," she says, sullen. "But they're both in the hospital as we speak".
He takes a deep breath and twists the knob. "Are you ready?"
"As I'll ever be," she replies, walking in first when he opens the door.
Zachary's head snaps to the door, squinting curiously at the two doctors that came in.
For a moment, they just stood there. Partially because they were slightly afraid and also because they'd much rather be literally anywhere else.
The young teen smirked, amusement dancing in his features. "I don't bite". He was sat criss-cross on a twin sized bed on the opposite end of the room.
Doctor Ta steps forward first, fiddling with the red file in her grasp. "Hello Zachary," she introduces herself. "My name is Doctor Ta. This is my colleague, Doctor Yates".
"I'd shake your hand, but..." Zachary gestures to his strait jacket. "Y'know".
"Right. Well," Doctor Yates clears his throat and pulls up two chairs, gesturing for Doctor Ta to take one. "We just want to ask you a few questions".
Zachary cocks his head to the side. "Why?"
"Just to break the ice. Get a bit more understanding on the situation".
"The situation?" Zachary raises a brow. "Tell me, Kelvin. Do you always beat around the bush?"
Doctor Yates shifts uncomfortably in his chair. "I don't recall telling you my first name".
"I guess you don't recall wearing a name tag either".
"We're getting off track here," Doctor Ta cuts in.
"I agree," her colleague nods. "We need you to tell us what happened, Zachary. Exactly as you remember it".
"Isn't that what your little file is for? A bit redundant, don't you think Doc?" Zachary's smile widened as he saw the man's eye twitch in irritation.
"Please stop," Doctor Ta said sternly. "Your file tells us next to nothing," she admits in a softer tone. "Which is why we were hoping you'd help us fill in the blanks".
Zachary looks to her, no longer paying Doctor Yates any mind. "Why?" He asks again.
"I'm not too sure, almost everything about you is blacked out". It was uncommon for medical history, but certainly not rare. She readjusts her falling round glasses that were a little too big for her face.
He hums in thought. "Tell Kelvin to leave and I'll answer whatever you want," Zachary bargains.
"Absolutely not".
"Okay".
Doctor Yates looks over at his colleague in shock. "You've lost your mind if you think I'm leaving you with him," he harshly whispers to her.
"We've been in here almost thirty minutes and have learned absolutely nothing. If you leaving will get him to cooperate, then we should do it," Doctor Ta reasoned.
"She's right, Kelvin," Zachary chimes in.
Doctor Yates glares at the young boy before huffing and storming out the room.
Zachary laughs at his retreating figure. "How mature". He sets his sights back on Doctor Ta, sitting up a bit straighter. "Now, where were we?" Zachary sends her a charming smile.
"Um," Doctor Ta suddenly wishes she didn't agree to let him leave. "We know you set your house on fire. Can you tell me why?"
He shrugs as best as he can in his confines. "I was cold".
"Care to elaborate?"
Zachary shakes his head. "Not particularly". He sighs. "But I know you'll bother me until I do".
She gives him a slight smile, "you're not wrong".
He chuckles. "This isn't my first go-round. I know how you guys operate".
Doctor Ta's brows furrow in confusion. "You've been here before?"
"Not here," he seems pained. "I've literally been everywhere but here".
Now it was her turn to ask "why?"
He answers her question with a question. "What'll the neighbours think?" He asks with a wry smile.
She was starting to understand. "Keeping up with the Joneses?"
Zachary snorts. "Melanie, we are the Joneses". He thinks for a moment. "Or rather, the Joneses keep up with us".
"So, any time you're having a manic episode they just," she does some weird hand gestures, "ship you off to the farthest facility?"
"Now, you're getting it Melanie," Zachary cheers.
Doctor Ta thought it was best not to voice her thoughts on the matter. She decided to put a pin in it for the time being.
"Let's get back to our original topic," she opens up his file. "Explain to me what you meant by 'I was cold'".
"Riccardo wouldn't let me put up the heat". Zachary rolled his eyes. "He's always been so aggro about the thermostat. Not like he can't afford it".
Doctor Ta pulls a pen out her breast pocket and begins writing notes in the blank spaces of his file. "And, Riccardo is..."
"My sperm donor".
Her hand stills. "Wait, so let me get this straight. Because your father— "
Zachary glares at her.
"My apologies. Your sperm donor. Because your sperm donor refused to let you turn up the heat, you decided to set your house on fire".
He scowls. "Don't say it like that".
"Like what?"
"Like I'm crazy or summat".
"That wasn't my intention," she immediately apologizes. "I'm sorry it came out that way. But I'm just reiterating what you've told me so far".
"I suppose".
"What did you use?" Doctor Ta asks, picking up her pen again.
"Pardon?"
"To start the fire," she clarifies, pushing up her glasses. "What did you use?"
"Gasoline," he simply states. When he sees the look on her face, he sighs and begrudgingly continues. "I went to the gas station and filled up a jug. When I got home, I told all the live-in maids to get out".
"Because you didn't want them hurt," she fills in.
"Because I didn't want them dead".
Doctor Ta gets visibly uncomfortable, noticeably shifting a bit further away from him. She quietly curses when her chair makes a noise against the marble floors.
"Did I say something wrong?" He asked, worried. In that moment he seemed so small, like a little kid who was just heavily reprimanded.
"No," she's quick to deny. "Not at all. I want you to say what's on your mind, no matter how you think it sounds".
Zachary visibly relaxes.
"Continue".
He chews at his bottom lip, reluctant to keep speaking but eventually did. "I poured it in a line — many lines. Any route that led to an exit. Then, I poured the rest on him".
His eyes fall to his lap the more he speaks.
"I went outside after I lit a match. It started from the door. I sat in my car and watched". His voice was so low, she was almost straining to hear him. "My mom was screaming so loud".
Doctor Ta makes note of how he calls her mom, unlike his father. He clearly feels some type of love towards his mother. "You didn't want her hurt, did you?"
"I didn't want her dead," he once again corrects.
"And, your fath— " he grunts. "Riccardo. What about him? What did you want for him?"
Zachary doesn't answer her.
"Do you regret what you did?"
His head snaps up and she's met with a steely gaze. "Not for a second".
_________________✍🏾
It's been seventeen days since Zachary was checked into Belle Reeve Psychiatric Hospital and he was still the only thing any member of staff could talk about.
The Manning Mansion Fire made the local news, the whole town abuzz with theories about the young and deranged Manning boy.
Doctor Ta came in one day with the morning paper, telling him his parents were the cover story. The front shot was a photo of his father's half charred face, his forehead wrapped in bandages, and his arm in a cast.
His wife, Zena, was by his side with minor burn scars on her arms. Zachary took the paper and ripped it to pieces after reading their words.
Mentally unstable, they called him.
They said he was crazy.
Several times throughout his stay, Doctor Ta would come in seeming agitated and kind of scared. Whenever he'd ask her what was wrong, she'd simply wave him off and say "protesters".
Some days, they were so loud, he could hear them from his room. They shouted all sorts of hateful words, wishing him dead for his actions.
Those days would leave him numb and unresponsive to anyone.
Other days...
"I can hear them," Zachary says quietly with a frown as he lays flat on his bed, staring up at the ceiling.
"I know. I'm sorry," Doctor Ta sighs. "We can't make them leave. As long as they're not being physically violent, they have a right to protest".
She had officially been assigned as his primary doctor at Belle Reeve seeing as he stubbornly refuses to speak a word to anyone else.
"Not them, Melanie".
Her brows raise in surprise. "Oh?"
"The ones up here," he taps the side of his head. "They're a lot louder than the guys outside".
"How long have you been hearing them?"
"Let's see," he starts and begins drawing shapes in the air. "Take the two, carry the one..."
"Zach," she lightly scolded.
"Mel," he responds in the same tone. Zachary sighs. "Five years". He sits up, letting his back rest against the wall. "The pills you guys give me are shitty. I haven't been able to hear my old friends this well since I was fifteen".
"What did you used to take?" She brings out her pen to write it down. "I can try and see if we have it".
"Paliperidone, clozapine, olanzapine, and my absolute favourite— " Now he was just taking the piss. "Ziprazidone". He kissed his fingers like a chef. "Felt like I was always high with that one".
"These voices," Doctor Ta flips to a fresh new sheet of paper. "What type of things do they say?"
"They tell me what to do".
"Do you listen?"
Zachary shrugs. "I have no choice".
"You always have a choice, Zachary".
He scoffs. "That's what you think. They don't like being ignored, Melanie". He crosses his arms over his chest. "Trust me, it does me no good".
Melanie clicks her pen closed and sets his file aside. "Are they speaking to you right now?"
He nods.
"What are they saying to you, Zachary?"
"I'd rather not say". He's uncomfortable, crossing and uncrossing his arms as if he can't decide.
"Is it bad?" She shakes her head, backtracking. "Do you think it's bad?"
Zachary shakes his head. "That's the problem".
"What are they saying, Zachary?" She repeats her words from earlier.
He mumbles something incoherent.
"What?"
"They want me to finish what I started".
_________________✍🏾
"I'm surprised I'm still here," Zachary says on day thirty.
"Why is that?" Doctor Ta asks as she comes in with a thick white binder and blue chest, the only pop of colour in that room other than her red file.
"Because it's here. I should be anywhere but".
She hums, coming to sit at her usual chair after dropping the items down. Zachary curiously looks over at them, but otherwise says nothing.
"Well, I remember when you told me your parents send you off to different locations because they didn't want anyone finding out".
"Yeah," he sits criss-cross on the bed. "What about it?"
"This time's different. Everyone knows". She opens the white binders and flits through a couple pages. "Your past actions weren't as...loud. No one knew. Shipping you off somewhere else would be a moot point".
"So, now what?" He picks at a loose piece of thread from his white clothes.
"Well, I have good news," she taps the top of the blue chest. "And I have bad news," she holds up the white binder. "Which do you want first?"
"The good news".
"Alright". Doctor Ta flips open the chest, Zachary's curious gaze turning confused at the contents inside.
He looks at her with a raised brow. "Toys, Mel?" He shakes his head with an amused laugh. "I'm not five".
"They're not toys," she denies. Zachary gives her a look. "Okay, fine. They're toys. But these are the only things they approved for me to bring you".
"Why did you?"
"I can tell you're bored," She simply replies. "Anyone in your situation would be. They don't let you leave the room. These four white walls are all you've seen in a month, Zachary".
"Yeah, but toys? C'mon Mel". Zachary reaches over and closes the chest. "The bad news?"
Doctor Ta takes a deep breath. "It took a while, but we finally managed to track down every file from every facility you've ever been to".
"Congrats," he says dryly.
"It dates back to four years ago," she flips the binder to a specific page. "The first time you were admitted, you messed with Riccardo's car engine, which caused him to get in a serious car accident. He was in the hospital for eight weeks". Doctor Ta flips to another page. "Your fifth time, you shot him with his own gun on his arm, mere centimeters away from his heart. Your sixth, you tried to run him over. Your eighth, you poisoned his food with anti-freeze. He almost died had your mother not found him when she did".
"But, he didn't". He blinks, completely unfazed. "He didn't die".
"I'm sensing a pattern here, Zachary".
Zachary gasps in mock shock. "Really? Please, do tell".
"Why do you hate your father so much?" She just wants to understand. "Was it one thing that caused such a rift or was it an amalgamation of many?"
He seems taken aback. "Hate? I don't hate him". Zachary is genuinely upset at the accusation. "Why would you think I hate him?"
"Oh, I don't know." Doctor Ta pretends to think. "Maybe a binder full of your failed attempts at ending his life".
"I don't hate Riccardo," his voice is hard, almost angry. "You've got it backwards, Mel. I don't hate him".
"Then why'd you do it?" She sounds so exasperated. "Not once, not twice, but nine times".
"I had no choice," he exclaims, now standing over Doctor Ta who was still sitting down. "They made me, Melanie". His shoulders slump as he slowly sinks back on the hard twin bed. "I didn't want him hurt".
"You didn't want him dead," she repeats his earlier words.
"They did".
_________________✍🏾
"How are you feeling? Is the new medication helping?"
"Some," he nods. "They're quiet. Whispering".
It was day fifty three at Belle Reeve and Zachary was growing restless. This was by far the longest he'd ever been at a facility. Six weeks was always the maximum, on the dot. Then, the day of, some old man in a crisp suit would come and sign him out and put him on the first flight back home.
He was beginning to think his parents weren't sending anyone any time soon. Or, ever.
Maybe this was the last straw with their wayward son.
Zachary didn't want to believe it.
Doctor Ta tried as much as she could to talk to him, but he wouldn't respond. At one point in their session, he laid down on his bed, pulled the thin comforter up to his neck and fell asleep.
It went on like that for eight days.
He refused to talk or eat and always slept at all hours of the day. It quickly became apparent he was experiencing a depressive episode, which only increased her worry when she discovered he had been off his medication for the same amount of time.
One night, Zachary screamed so loud, it alerted the nearby staff members. They rushed to his room, watching in horror as he dug his fingers so deep in his arms, they bled. His white clothes and bed sheets were stained a nauseating red.
"I had to," Zachary murmurs as they tend to his wounds. As they secured him in a strait jacket, silent tears rolled down his cheeks. "They're angry at me".
He was forced in supervised isolation for seventy-two hours to ensure he wouldn't somehow cause any further damage to himself.
At hour sixty, Doctor Ta begged to speak with him. "An hour," she pleaded to her superior. "That's all I ask". He eventually said yes, mainly to get her to leave him be. "And his confines," she later remembers when he shoos her out his office. "Remove it while I'm with him".
The man begrudgingly agrees to her terms, watching in slight amusement as the satisfied psychologist practically skips out of his office.
Soon after, Doctor Ta walks into Zachary's room with two bulky men behind her who make quick work of releasing Zachary from the strait jacket.
He doesn't speak when they leave, nor when she takes her usual seat in front of his bed. It stays like that for almost twenty minutes until she just barely catches him say: "I hate this".
"What do you hate exactly?" She scoots forward in her chair.
"This," He stares at his bandaged arms. "I hate my life. I hate not having control over my own mind. I hate who I am," Zachary quietly admits, looking down at his lap.
Doctor Ta stands and walks closer, laying her hand on his shoulder. She squeezes it, trying to get his attention. It didn't work.
"Who do you want to be?" Her voice is equally as soft.
"Anybody else," he laughs, but it's void of all humour.
She takes a seat beside him and takes in the silence.
"How about a game, hm?"
"I'm not really in the mood, Melanie" Zachary turns down her offer.
Doctor Ta nudges him a bit. "I think you'll like this one. At least let me tell you what it is".
He huffs. "Fine. What is the game about?"
She smiles, getting up and quickly going over to his chest of toys. Doctor Ta opens them and retrieves a crown and a boa.
Doctor Ta sits back beside him, the smile on her face so infectious that Zachary couldn't help but give one back. "It's kind of like dress up. But with more than just clothes".
"As in?" His interest was piqued.
She wraps the boa around her neck. "The moment we put these on..." Doctor Ta pauses to gently set the silver crown on his head. "We become whoever we want".
Zachary chuckles. "This feels kind of childish".
"But, you've got to admit it's fun".
He shyly nods. "Yeah".
She clears her throat before sitting up straight. Doctor Ta dramatically whips her hair over her shoulder. "My name is Yasmine Wells, and I'm a world famous — uh — ballerina".
Zachary laughs at how ridiculous she looks.
"Now you try".
He playfully rolls his eyes but does as told. "My name is..." He thinks for a moment, pushing back up his falling crown. "I can't do this," he shakes his head. "This is so silly".
"It's not," Doctor Ta insists. "C'mon. You're the one who said you wanted to be someone else. Now's your chance".
Zachary says nothing and instead goes back to looking down at his lap.
Doctor Ta lifts up his chin, making him face her. "Think of any name".
She almost thinks he won't cooperate until he quietly mumbles, "I've always liked the name Elijah".
Her grin widens impossibly further. "That's a lovely name. How about a last name?"
Zachary shrugs. He didn't think that far ahead.
Doctor Ta's eyes trail up to his crown and taps at it with a hum. "King. Elijah King. Has a nice ring to it, don't you think?"
"I like it," he agrees.
"Good. Now, tell me," Doctor Ta urges. "Who are you?"
"My name is Elijah King and I'm— " he smiles at Doctor Ta. "And I'm in control".