People Storage
This is a short story I made, inspired by my poem 'people storage'. Feel free to tell me what you think.
"All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream"-Edgar Allen Poe
I entered a nightmare I couldn't wake up from, in a place I could never dream of entering. The padded walls of the room had shades of gray as if by age, but the musky smell suggested water might have been the cause. There is a cool chill in the air that penetrates even the toughest of wool; it was as if the room itself was alive and breathing. No door was visible to plain sight, no indent in the walls to show a way out and yet I could hear faint screams of mans suffering in every corner. I attempted to pick myself up off the ground but ended up falling on my face. The padding felt more like sand paper rather than cotton on my skin. My cheek burned from the impact but it was the least of my worries. Until now I haven't realized the chains that bound my arms to my chest; the white cloth-like the walls-that the chains adorn and the belts that were fastened at my back. It was too tight to move my arms, almost like a painful embrace. I squirmed pathetically on the floor, trying to reach a sitting position without the use of my hands. Who knew it would be so complicated without them. "Hello?" I shouted but I fear my voice is lost in screams. The wall in the far left corner caved in and with the sound of turning gears it slid behind the neighboring wall. A nurse stepped into the room. Her white dress was stained with a coppery red in splotches and splatters around her chest. Her skin was pale as if she drowned and the water was still locked in her lungs. Her hair has lost its golden hue and was replaced with a dull yellow. The short strands dipped what could only be blood. Wait…lost its golden hue. There was a sharp pain in my temple as the image of the nurse flashed through my mind. Her name was Rose. She was the one who fastened my straight jacket. But what was standing in front of me was not the person from memory. She was and yet now…She smiled at me as if reading my mind-or what is left of it. Her red lips chapped from the movement like a ripple on the surface of water, only it didn't stop at her mouth. The side of her cheeks split open and widened her already eerie grin, "Time for your medicine." She nearly sang the words while blood seeped from the cuts on her face. She raised her hands as if she was about to catch a frightened animal and it was only then I realized that between steady fingers, she was holding a scalpel, "Since when was death ever a medicine?" I tried to come across as someone brave but my voice betrayed me by shaking. I didn't think her broken smile could get any wider. She stepped closer and I stepped back, "Everything is not what it used to be." She said as her voice cracked with hysterics and she launched herself at me. If you've seen a camel spider taking a man down by the neck that is what she looks like. I dropped to the floor and rolled myself out of the way in time to dodge her scalpel which was now piercing the wall. It didn't stay there for long. She took it with an angry wail but her arm lowered slowly to her side. Adrenaline was pumping through my system, but by how slow she was turning to face me my heart could have torn from my chest and escaped already. I heard an electronic buzz above me and ignorantly risked a glance. I almost didn't see the camera if it wasn't for the small red beam that watched my every move. It was camouflaged by the same material that covered the room. "They are always watching you Vivian because you're such a 'special' case." Rose nearly spat out the words. I turned my attention to her and regretted it. She was making small cuts on her tongue. Maybe this is her straight jacket and she was the damned patient, "Who are 'they'?" I inched toward the door while keeping my eyes trained on her, she didn't seem to notice. Rose narrowed her eyes, "The ones with money." She slurred, no doubt the aftermath of what she was cutting into. Then with one twitch of her wrist the scalpel sliced through the tip of her tongue in one clean ripping motion. I didn't notice I was screaming obscenities at her until I was out the door and running down a dimly lit corridor. On both sides were metal doors with a keypad and beyond them was the sound of pounding. Ahead of me was two paths-the right had doors with small windows in the middle, where the eyes of the mad met with mine. To the left was another corridor with lights that flickered on and off. Great, I thought, back to the loony bin or straight into a cliche horror movie scene? Something tugged on the back of my jacket and I could feel my arms dropping to my side. They felt like Jell-O but I was relieved to have them back in my command. A small child emerged from behind me. She held a dirty teddy bear by the paw with one small hand lined with scraped knuckles. The bear's left eye was missing and stuffing threatened to spill out of its fabric head. It seemed familiar; there was a pull in me that longed to grasp that bear. Then the girl spoke, soft and innocent, "If you go right, you'll never know what is right. If you go left you'll never accept what is left."
Just what I need a Cheshire cat. "Can you smile and disappear too?" I asked sharply, I didn't have time for this. I stepped towards the right. "You don't remember Vi?" Her voice was so frail, so sad, that I turned back. Now looking at her she and I were almost the same, "You don't remember what they did, the price that was paid?" With every word she spilled into the air, my head throbbed and a new voice rang through my ears.
"Just make her forget, whatever it takes." The voice was frantic and yet there was bitterness beneath her concern. Anger filled every fiber of my being and yet washed away as the voice began to fade. The child smiled at me, understanding plastered to her face. Without saying a word she handed me the bear. As soon as I grasped it I knew what it meant to me. The longing turned into sorrow and sorrow into hate. We had named him Rolo, partly because of its chocolate color and because it was our favorite candy. The bear represented himself when he couldn't be there and now it was nothing but ashes in my grasp- "Vi!" A strangled cry from a mad woman snapped me back to my surrounding. The little girl was gone as if the walls had devoured her, or worse, fabricated her. At the opposite end of the corridor, Rose stumbled towards me. Blood leaked from her mouth which was still fresh from her tongue incident. I grimaced and ran down the path I could only regret later. I went left.
The corridor was probably the same as any other in this place, creepy as hell with an unknown destination. There was a turn up ahead and I threw a glance over my shoulder to see the lights flickering off at an unusually fast pace. I quickly turned the corner, almost sliding on the linoleum with my bare feet. "Are you ready?" The small, innocent voice echoed through the hall. I stopped and the darkness enveloped me, suffocated me until all I have is cruel reality. A vibrant red glow lit what seemed to be a dead end. The silhouette of the child beneath looked as if her soul was stained with crimson. I hesitated to take a step toward her, "Ready for what?" my voice came out as a whisper and I was surprised she heard me as if the darkness had carried my words. She raised her arm, "The end of the path you chose." She answered with an outstretched hand. I took one step and something grabbed my ankle. All the blood in my veins seemed to freeze until it hurt to pump it through my heart.
Rose dug her nails into my bone and opened her mouth to sink her teeth into my skin. I screamed in pain and whimpered at the feel of her severed tongue squirm, like a worm trying to breach the skin of an apple. I dropped my fists down on her skull until she loosened her grip. A mixture of saliva and blood dripped from my wound which now made my foot look like a drumstick that was bitten into. Now if I ever do make it out of here, I'll have an infection. She lifted her face from the floor with a series of blood filled coughs and chuckles "You can't leave!" She slurred. I glared at her. What gives her the right to tell me what I can and can't do? It was my turn to laugh, "Watch me." My foot crashed into her face repeatedly with the sound of snapping bones and squishy things. She stopped talking and for a moment I felt at peace. Did I kill her? It doesn't matter.
I already knew the child would be gone as soon as I turned to the door. I wonder where this place is, how far is home. Where is home…? As I limped close enough to take the handle the child stepped beside me as if she had always been there to support me. "You will never accept what is left." She whispered sadly. I shrugged, "I'll take my chances." Then I opened the door.
Light poured into the room with such brightness I closed my eyes until I could adjust. The air was humid. It made me sweat beneath my jacket but I made no move to remove it or wipe the fresh perspiration running from my brow. I was too busy staring at the dreadful scene before me. I did not escape…I don't think I ever will. Before me was a small courtyard surrounded by buildings- buildings that seemed more like skyscrapers rather than an asylum. At the top I could barely see the loops of a barbed wire fence, as if they had taken an unnecessary precaution in case a patient trying to escape could survive the fall. This place was a spider web, its strings spun by the very fear of human kind and kept to hold the flaws of man. In its center was a pit filled to the brim with ice and water. Two pillars stood at opposite sides with chains that dropped into the icy depths. A nurse turned a wheel and the chain began to draw out a body that has withered into a skeleton with flesh. It was as blue as the sky and yet as white as the snow. I could tell she noticed me by the way her shoulders shifted like my presence had a foul and malicious effect on everything around me. As if I was the monster here. I took a step toward her but a sharp pain in the back of my head made me drop to my knees, "That was close. Let us bring her to the chair." I heard someone say. It seemed to be a man's voice. The stranger fastened my jacket roughly as he rambled to himself, "I can't believe you loosened this yourself." He muttered in disapproval. That's not right I had help, but I wasn't going to correct him and I was losing consciousness. "It's time."
When I opened my eyes I found myself strapped to a chair. My bear arms looked pale and alien to the rest of me. I wonder what I look like. How strange that I don't recall ever seeing my own face. The room I'm in is small, with walls that were painted a rotten green. The only decoration, if at all, was a metal table next to the seat that kept me. Atop this table are a small hammer and an overly large needle made of steel- "Hello Vivian." It was the man. He was tall and slender with eyes as black as night and a face tainted with a mustache that reminded me of an earth spider. His skin might have been white once, now woven with a cancerous brown, "I believe it's time we end this." His voice was layered with emotions but the one that stood out was pity for a reason I don't know, "Why am I here?"
The man ran his fingers down the length of his mustache as if debating whether to tell me or not. Instead he neared the table and grabbed the needle, examining its point before finally clearing his throat to speak, "I don't know why she wanted you to forget him, maybe because you and your boyfriend were planning against her will. So she came to us with an offer." He paused to pick up the hammer. "Who is she?" I asked a question my heart knew the answer to. "Your mother", he scoffed at this then resumed talking, "or step mother, if you will. She gave us money and I took your memories. A fair trade I'd say. Memories are so easily forgotten either way." He grinned at me like I would agree. Yes I remember. She will never have a place in my father's heart. All she wanted was my father's name and the money that came with it. Chase was going to help me gather proof for him but she caught us. Then I woke up here, "That leech belongs here not me!" I shouted. "Does she? All we did was take your memories and send you back. I guess it's only right to have side effects from such a procedure." He looks at me apologetically and I suddenly found it hard to breathe.
"You were a stubborn one Vivian. You couldn't remember the people around you and that frustrated you so much you filled the void the only way you could."
He lifted my chin but I couldn't stop him, I was too numb from my past to turn back now, "I killed him. I killed Chase." My voice held no emotion as I confessed this recent and hideous memory.
"Yes. And his mother accused your parents which in turn paid your way right back here." He raised the needle to my right eye. Rose wasn't a psycho; she never raised a hand against herself, who would? I hurt her. I killed her just like I killed Chase, slow and in an agonizingly painful matter. I almost laughed when I recalled why the child looked so similar to me but the needle pierced my retina and through my pupil.
I was right. I'd never accept what is left.