"Were you coming to see me?" The deep voice didn't match the body. There was a very frail looking man standing there. His skin was pale, but for some reason, his neck and hands up to his forearms were pitch black. His hands gripped the sides of the bars. A very toothy, very crooked grin was on his face. That kind of smile that made people uncomfortable.
Josh stood himself up and gulped. "Ty-Tyler Joseph?" He asked quickly, briefly scanning over his clipboard. He was afraid.
"Take another guess." His smile only grew as he slid his hands up and down on the bars. It left black goop on them. Josh silently wondered if it were actually blood, and that he couldn't see the red because of the poor lighting.
"My paper says you're Tyler...Am I in the wr-wrong ward?"
"My name's Blurryface." His voice was almost a hum. "Tyler is gone right now."
Josh nearly slapped himself with his own clipboard. God, he was an idiot. Multiple Personality Disorder, he knew this.
'Blurryface' only smiled wider at Josh's realization. "Can you come closer?"
"Absolutely not." Josh stated quickly, shaking his head. "Nope, I've seen movies. Nope."
"Aww, But Joshy," He started, hissing the other's name.
"How do you know my name?!" He was about to turn and high-tail it out of there, quit his job, change his name, and move to Mexico.
"Nametag." Blurryface let out a dark laugh. "I know they only allow nurses and doctors to come in when I'm Tyler. So come back later, yeah?"
Josh observed him and gave a slow nod. "Um, alright. Yeah." He turned and began to swiftly walk away, thinking about what he'd experienced. Blurryface only laughed and turned back, shrinking away into the darkness of the cell.
It was now dinner time. It was Josh's duty to bring Tyler his food and get him to take his medication. He headed down the winding, dark hall again, plate in hand. He paused in front of the bars, trying to peer in. He squinted, eyes starting to adjust. There the other man sat, Indian-style on the floor, his skinny frame easily twisting to sit that way. Josh silently observed him and slid the plate through the slot on the door.
"There you go."
"Will you sit with me?" His voice wasn't like how it was earlier that day. It was raspy, faint. The blackness still covered part of him, and his eyes were wide, innocent looking. He looked straight into the nurse's eyes.
"I um, I don't know." Josh replied, nervously threading his fingers through his dyed pink hair. "I guess I'll have to come in eventually to give you your meds and stuff, right?" With that thought being spoken out loud, he decided to use the key in his pocket to open up the door. He stepped inside and closed the door behind himself, sitting across from Tyler at his small table.
"Thanks, we get lonely. At least, I do, I guess." Tyler muttered softly. He ate his food slowly, grimacing at the taste. "Not as good as mom's, that's for sure..." He commented, cracking a small smile that seemed genuine. Much unlike the grin Josh had witnessed earlier.
"I see...How long have you been here?" Josh asked curiously, watching him eat.
Tyler pushed a bit of the food around with his plastic fork. "Only about a month, I think." His dark hands were shaking, it looked like it was hard for him to even get the food in his mouth.
"Why do you have that black stuff on you?" He questioned, leaning forward a little to inspect it.
"It's paint. B-Blurry stole it from the art room. He wanted to uh, hide my scars." Tyler almost seemed shameful at that, and avoided eye contact while shoveling another forkful into his mouth. Josh's mouth hung open a little in realization.
"Sorry for asking. I was just uh, wondering...Since earlier when I saw you."
"I didn't see you earlier. I don't think I've ever seen you." Tyler responded with a fringed brow. "I like you though. Your hair reminds me of cotton candy."
"Oh, thanks." Josh chuckled. "Right then, I think I saw, eh, Blurryface? He told me that name."
Tyler looked up, eyes wide like saucers. "Don't ever do what he says. Please."
Josh nodded quietly, understanding. He stood up. "Hey, my shift is over in a few minutes take care." He stood up, patting him on the back. Tyler tensed up and swiftly bit down on Josh's arm before retracting himself as he heard the yelp.
"Gah! What the hell?!" He stumbled back in an afraid way, immediately letting himself out and slamming the bars closed. He pulled up his walkie-talkie radio and mumbled into it. "Code 3." He examined his bitten arm, shaking madly. and hissing in pain
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! That wasn't me, I swear!" Soon, several nurses pooled into the room, a few leading Josh upstairs to the infirmary. Doctor Simillia exhaled and shook his head, looking in through the bars.
"Tyler," He sounded like a parent scolding a child. "Is that you?"
"Yes, sir." He mumbled in response, fidgeting a little bit. He nervously fiddled with the hem of his shirt.
"Did Blurry bite Nurse Josh?" His tone was condescending.
"Yes, sir..." Tyler covered his face with his sleeve.
"I'll go have a word with Josh." With that, the doctor walked out, his footsteps echoing.
Josh was cradling his now wrapped and disinfected arm. He felt like he just got bit by a zombie. Doctor Simillia entered and sat in a chair next to Josh. "He's usually harmless in the evening. Did you do something to trigger Blurryface to come out?"
"I just sat and talked to him a little. I patted him on the back and told him I'd-"
"No!" The doctor shook his head and brought a palm to his face. "You can't touch him! Weren't you told? Did you look through the notes we gave you?" Josh nervously shook his head. He sighed and stood up. "He can't handle contact if he doesn't initiate it himself. Sort of a stimulation overload, we're not sure right yet. But avoid it at all costs, you understand?"
"Yes, doctor." Josh nodded shortly, looking down at the floor.
"He really is a sweet kid, Dun. Don't let this discourage you." The doctor left, and Josh stood up, cringing at his slightly bloody scrubs. He clocked out of work and tiredly went home for the day.
Josh Dun happily walked to work, a Starbucks coffee in hand, and already donning fresh scrubs. He headed straight to Tyler's room, as he was supposed to, but he found the barred cell to be empty. He was confused by this, and turned on his heel to ask someone where he was, but as soon as he did so, he was met with quite a sight. A very displeased looking Tyler was strapped down in a wheel chair by his arms and legs, and two nurses were pushing him.
"This is fucking ridiculous! I can walk on my own!" He screamed at them, sending a sharp glare to each of them, so harsh that they both looked away. Josh observed him wiggling and yelling. He decided to help by opening the door to his room for them.
"Thanks..." A nurse muttered, wheeling in the screaming boy. Josh entered the room with them, staying near the door as they started taking the straps off him.
"Oh, hey Joshy! Wanna eat dinner with me again? Heheheh..." His laugh was dark, but loud. Obnoxious, even. The nurses must have seen Josh's concern, and one with blonde hair turned to him.
"He'll be Tyler again once he calms down a little. He's just riled up from the psychiatry evaluation." She told him, taking off the last strap. The two nurses rushed out as Blurryface stood. Obviously, Josh did the same. He didn't want to be bitten again. The lanky boy trotted over to the bars and reached a black arm through, so far that his face was pressed against them.
"Come closer, won't you? You weren't afraid of me yesterday." Blurry huffed, swatting his hand in the general direction of Josh, who only backed away further.
"Tyler told me to never listen to you. My only job today is," He held the last word of his sentence while checking his schedule on the clipboard. "-To take Tyler to the day room, and then give you dinner." Josh told him matter-o-factly. Blurryface scowled and shook the bars which made the door clank in a loud way.
"C'mon! I see the key in your pocket! I could just snatch it and let myself out! Pleeeaaaase!" His voice got louder in volume. "You're a coward!" He kept hitting the door, ramming himself into it, screaming, and finally, he tired out and allowed Tyler to take control. He slowly sunk down the side of the door, planting himself on the floor with his arms crossed in a closed off way.
"Sorry, Josh." His voice spoke up, soft and heartfelt. Josh smiled and walked over to him finally. He felt like Tyler was really a good guy.
"Ready to head to the day room, buddy?" He asked in a sweet way, unlocking and swinging open the barred door. Tyler quietly walked to him and gave a soft nod. He looked Josh up and down, he liked how kind he was to him. It seemed like he really cared. The two started walking the halls. The mental hospital was fairly large, and the day room happened to be on the other side, so it was a bit of a walk. Much to Josh's surprise, the boy reached out and poked him in his shoulder. It was a sign of affection in Tyler's mind. Contact was a very rare thing, and even the thought of sharing it with Josh meant a lot.
But, Josh didn't know this, of course. The steady wave of pokes and prods into his side was starting to annoy him. After about the fiftieth jab, Josh returned the gesture and lightly gave Tyler a poke back. Tyler shivered and tensed up, looking down at the ground before spitting a quick hiss at him. "Don't touch me." He gripped his own arms roughly, as if he was cold and let out a dismal exhale.
"Okay, got it. Sorry." Josh replied, feeling rather dumb for making the same mistake twice in a row. The two were in violent silence for a bit before Tyler spoke up.
"I've never been to the day room. Is it nice?" He asked in a soft way.
"I think it's just where the patients go to socialize and make friends. I'm sure there are games and stuff." Josh answered, turning to him with a reassuring smile.
"You're my friend, right?" The question caught Josh off-guard, and he thought about it.
"Yeah, I guess. I'm actually your caretaker but..." He trailed off, shrugging. Tyler stuck out his bottom lip in a childish pout.
"Oh." Was all he said before they were both quiet once again. It didn't last long since they made it to the day room. Josh opened up the door with a keycard. This place was no joke when it came to security. Inside, it sounded like pure madness. There were maybe one or two other nurses, and what looked like about a hundred patients. The room was fairly spacious, but chaos insures in this sort of place. In one corner, there was a rather older man holding a coffee cup. It was black and stained, and the man was hitting his head against the wall between sips. There was a woman peering out the window, continuously asking the nurse accompanying her where her daughter was, but the nurse was busy playing Backgammon with another girl. And more noticeably in the corner near them, there was a young man, maybe in his teens, who was staring off at the others and rocking himself. Tyler felt rather overwhelmed by everything, it was so loud. His eyes darted around at everyone and he shrunk back behind Josh in an afraid way. "I don't like it."
"It'll be just fine, Tyler." Josh tried to comfort him. "That boy in the corner looks like he needs someone to talk to. Why don't you say hello?"
"Nuh uh. I wanna go back." Tyler insisted, tugging at Josh's scrubs.
"We can't go out now, we have to stay for the hour, Ty."
The yelling is what was throwing him out of whack the most. Patients ran around him, brushed passed him, touched him. It was too much. "Let me out, Josh." It was firm, he meant business. "Let me out, Josh! Let me out! Let me out! I need to get out!"
"Whoa, listen to me, okay? Breathe in for five seconds, out for five seconds. Shhh..." Josh cooed while demonstrating. "This is so you can learn control, relax..."
It was working at first. Tyler understood the reason behind everything, and he was calming himself down. But Josh just didn't know how to keep his hands to himself. Maybe it was because it was etched in his mind that patients normally liked to be comforted in a hands-on way. That's what he was taught. He pressed his hands on Tyler's shoulders in a kind way.
"No! Zack, stop!" Tyler shrieked, and in an instant, Josh was shoved onto a table, wide-eyed and mouth hanging open in fear. The smaller boy leapt onto him in a sort of tackle, which caused the table to topple over backwards, and the two were wrestling around on the ground. Tyler's hands were around Josh's throat, violently banging his head on the floor with each motion of his hands. No one really sprung to action, as if they weren't noticed at all. Josh tried to get his walkie-talkie, but he was more focused on trying to breathe, and his vision was fuzzy from his head being hit so many times. The boy who had been rocking in a corner stood up and pulled the alarm lever, making an ear-piercing ring radiate through the building. Tyler was of course long gone, his other self taking his place when the violence first started.
Blurryface sprung off of Josh to cover his ears. He shook his head frantically and screamed out, as if it would make the sound stop. By the time several nurses rushed to their aid, Blurry was in a corner, rocking and muttering to himself with his face covered. "Make it stop, make it stop, make it stop..."
Josh was escorted to the infirmary for the second time, choking on his own spit and trying to breathe again. The nurses tried to grab Blurry, but he kicked and screamed. It took three strong men to restrain him in a straightjacket before they could bring him to his room.
