A/N: This is my hand at a one-shot story. It's based off this really grim, scary dream I had last night. The names and story are made up, but what happens in the end in my best comprehension of the frightening dream I had. I hope you enjoy!

…

I woke up, disoriented with how my leg felt. Yesterday, one of the crazies damn-neared ripped it off when I checked on his room. We had to sedate him to get him to calm down.

"Son of a bitch." I thought, grabbing my knee. It felt like it was on fire.

I'm an orderly on the Asylum Station Atlantis. We keep all the crazy people here, in space, where they can't hurt anyone. I just recently got a job here two weeks ago, and it's already off to a "great" start.

There was only one other person here that I knew personally. She was a Quarian named Mali'lok, or Mal as I always called her. She never told me what her ship name was, though. We met on the Citadel. I found her down on her luck, having been shot. I helped get her back on her feet, and taught her medicine. She eventually got a job on Atlantis, becoming the chief medical officer.

The place I was working for went out of business, leaving me without a job. She got me a job here as an orderly. The pay is good, but it's nerve-wracking having to be around these kinds of people all day. It doesn't help that we have to live on the station as well.

I jumped out of bed, limping on my leg.

"Dammit, I can't work like this." I said to myself, walking over to my terminal. I opened up a line to my shift supervisor.

"Mark, I can't work today. My leg is still screwed up after what happened yesterday." I said in through the pain.

"It's alright Kate, I'll get someone to cover for you. In the meantime, go to the Infirmary and get your leg checked. If it's broken, I'll have to arrange for you to go to a real hospital." Mark responded in his understanding tone.

"Thanks, Mark. I'll get back to you later." I said, closing the line. I forced myself to get up, walking out of the Commons and down to the Infirmary. I walked in, seeing Mal was on her console.

"Hi Kate!" She welcomed me in her warm tone. "What do you need?"

"Hey Mal. One of the crazies messed up my leg yesterday. Could you look at it for me?" I asked, rubbing my knee once more.

"Do you think it's broken?" She asked, walking me to one on the beds.

"I don't know. It ached yesterday after the incident, but it felt like it was burning when I woke up this morning." I said, sitting on the bed.

"Here, I'll run the scanner over your leg. Just sit back." She said, taking a scanner and placing it over my leg. It started up, humming softly.

"So, how's this place been treating you, Mal?" I asked with a smile.

"It's alright. There was some resentment over me getting this position at first, but things seem to be warming up." She said, sitting on the chair next to the bed. "I like it here. It's quiet."

"Even with all the crazies in here? How can you be comfortable?" I asked, giving her a quizzing look.

"I don't know. I guess it's just one of those gut feelings, I suppose." She said, crossing her fingers on her lap. "How about you?"

"Take one look at my leg and you know what I think so far." I said, looking at my leg one more time.

"Yeah, not the best first impression." She said, adjusting the scanner. "I'm sure you'll be alright."

"Let's hope so. I only started working here two weeks ago. Be a shame to lose my job so quickly." I said, looking up at the ceiling.

"Especially after pulling so many strings to get you here." Mal added with some humor in her voice.

"Yeah." I said, looking back at Mal. "How did you do that anyway?"

"I heard there was an opening for an orderly in Delta Sector, so I put your name up." She said with some satisfaction in her voice. "They said OK."

"Well I can't thank you enough." I said, looking back at the scanner. "It's job pays really well. It's worth it, even with the risk."

"Well, that's what friends are for, right?" She said, standing up.

By now, the scanner was finished. Mal ran over to her terminal to check the results.

"Well, it appears you have torn three muscles in your leg. It's going to heal up in time." She said, standing up and bringing me some pills. "In the meantime, take one of these. It should help heal it faster."

She was helping me out of bed, when the lights suddenly went out, and the red emergency lights turned on.

"Uh Oh. That wasn't a good noise." I said, looking around. Everything was bathed in a dark red light.

Mal opened up her Omni-tool, checking something. Her eyes widened, and she started urging me towards the other side of the room.

"Quick!" She said, pushing me.

"What's going on?" I asked, trying to stop.

"The main power is out, and the back-up generators are being replaced. You need to hide before they get here!" She said, taking off the vent cover and shoving me inside.

"What about you? I can't just let you die!" I said, urging her towards the vent.

"I can't fit in there. I'm too big." She said in a exhausted tone, grabbing a pistol from one of the cabinets. "You stay there and don't make a peep."

"But I-"

"Stay there. You saved my life, now it's time to return the favor." She said, moving a table in front of the vent, leaving only a small slit to look through.

There was a long moment of silence. The screaming grew louder as the inmates got closer to the medical bay. They eventually got here, eight of them, walking into the room. They had blunt, bloody objects they has stolen. Mal kept on shouting for them to stand back, but they kept moving closer and closer, causing Mal to back into the corner.

"I said STAND BACK!" She yelled, shooting the man closest to her. It was then they all jumped her. I covered my eyes, trying to block out what was happening. I heard the sounds of the men grunting as they swung their weapons, beating Mal into submission. Every time they would stop and she would make a noise, they would start hitting her again. She kept on screaming.

"Oh god, oh god, oh god..." I thought when I heard her gurgling in her own blood. I heard a hissing sound, and opened my eyes. I couldn't see Mal, but I could see them beating her, and that they had ripped off her helmet, tossing it on the other side of the room.

Eventually the noises stopped, and I heard the men leave, laughing insanely. I felt my chest tighten up. I felt like crying, but I couldn't.

I didn't want to leave. I didn't want to see what they had done to the nicest person I had ever known. My best friend was dead, and I couldn't do a single thing to help her.

…

A/N: Well, there you have it. My dream was the part where they beat her to death. Don't ask me why I had a dream like that. I have no idea. I woke up, chest pounding, the dream still fresh in my mind. There is no true way to describe it, only that what made it scary was how real it felt to me. I was disturbed to say the least. As Inception would put it, it was "true inspiration".

This is GIR, signing out.