Chapter One: Admission

Salem's mouth throbbed painfully, and when she reached her index finger up, she was surprised to see blood. She must have bitten it sometime during the jarring car ride to the large Arkham Asylum. Her heart beat at a tempo not unlike a rabbit's as the car stopped, and the double doors in front of her were opened by two men dressed in grey scrubs. They pulled her out roughly and half-restrained, half-dragged her up the steps and through the doors.

"You do know I have perfectly functioning legs, right?" she said, earning her a glare from the burly man on her left, whose name tag read Alex.

"Don't play innocent with us, ma'am. You know why we have to do this." he responded, gripping her arm a little tighter than necessary.

"And why is that, exactly...Alex?" Salem asked, still trying to get her legs underneath her.

"You killed six people, remember?" he snarled angrily. She laughed softly in respnse.

"People keep saying that, you know, but I have no idea what they're talking about." She muttered as the orderlies fell silent again, began to drag her up a flight of steps to a large door, which Alex unlocked and threw her inside unceremoniously. She picked herself up and gave them a bright smile.

"Thanks, fellas, but I can manage the rest by myself." she said sarcastically as they slammed the door shut.

"I'm sorry about the orderlies, Ms. King, but they are accustomed to more...extreme personalities than yours, you see." a smooth voice reassured from behind her, and she whipped around to see a man there, leaning against the mahogany desk, arms crossed.

The man was tall and elegant in a tailored black suit that complimented his lean body. His eyes glowed prettily in the light, their color being what some would call the blue. His tie, dark green, constrasted against the bright, snowy whiteness of his shirt. His dark hair was gelled back away from his face and glasses, and he was smiling slightly, making him all the more attractive. He looked her over with his eyes, his brow furrowing in distaste.

"What happened there?" he asked, and it took Salem a minute to realize he meant her busted lip. She raised a hand to it and smiled.

"Bumpy car ride. You should really get the CrazyMobile wheels replaced, because I'm thinking they're a bit thin. Anyway, do you run this place?"

"Yes, I'm Dr. Crane, the psychiatrist overseeing your care while you reside here, Ms. King."

"Don't call me that, please. My name is Salem, so kindly refer to me as such." she retorted, still looking him up and down. He noticed and raised his eyebrows, smirking, making her avert her eyes in an effort to disguise the once-over.

"Of course, Ms., excuse me, I mean Salem. Shall we go to your room?" He asked, then gestured for her to go first. Dr. Crane followed her down the steps, but stood beside her while they walked down the hallway and into an elevator with beautifully carved wood doors. Silence overcame them both, unnerving Salem in the tiny, claustraphobic space. She took a few, small steps away from him, but his presence still seemed to overtake most of the elevator. She gave a silent sigh of relief when the doors opened, and they continued the small tour.

"I hope you know that we don't wish to harm you in any way, but we will use force if deemed necessary, Salem. I don't need to tell you that we expect you to behave here, do I?" She shook her headas they stopped in front of a steel door, which he unlocked and motioned for her to enter before him.

She took a few, cautious steps before checking the place out. There was a bed in one corner, stretching from grey padded wall to grey padded wall, with a blue blanket folded on top, and clean, grey sheets covering the mattress. Salem's shoulders sagged when she saw the walls. Since they were padded, that must mean she was a high priority here, so she wouldn't be able to have as much freedom as some of the others incarcirated.

A small opening in the wall showed her a small, lidless steel toilet and a steel sink with a small mirror bolted into the wall, most likley so she couldn't pry it off the wall and smash it to make a weapon.

She stood near the wall, feeling it hopefully for weakness, and discovered it was shiny and slick, most likley made out of flame-retardent fabric, which made her wonder…

"What's the point of this, doc?" she turned around to face him, arms crossed against her chest in a defensive posture.

Dr. Crane stepped into the room, an interested look on his face. "You really don't remember, do you?" Salem moved away from him. This guy was seriously giving her a weird feeling, and not a good one, the kind of feeling you get after watching a horror movie when you feel like there's a killer around every corner.

He seemed to shake himself, then the friendly smile was back in place. "Never mind that, Salem. We'll discuss that tomorrow at your first therapy session." His grin seemed more like a shark's mouth, now, instead of the kindness she first thought of. The man, Alex, appeared behind Crane, and handed him a folded stack of clothes, not sparing a glance at Salem except for a chilling glare. "Thank you, Alex. You may leave now." Crane said, well more like demanded, as he turned around and gave the stack to her.

"Please change out of those clothes, and into these. They're regulation for all patients here." He stepped out of the room, shutting the door behind him to give her privacy, thank God.

She stepped into the bathroom and changed as fast as she could into the blue tank top and grey scub bottoms, and knocked on the door to let him know she was finished. Crane unlocked it, and took the clothes from her, smiling as he did so, then moved to shut the door once more.

"I shall see you tomorrow, Salem. Sleep well." And with that, he was gone, leaving her only the empty little window space in the door so that people could see in. She peered through, and discovered a large, plain clock on the wall outside, which read 1:07 a.m.

She rubbed her eyes and sank onto the bed, feeling tired as hell from the little sleep she had had in the past few days. Salem slid under the sheets, which were surprisingly soft, and the comfy blanket. She closed her eyes, and was asleep in seconds.