Chapter 1 - Insane is just a word

Adriana only woke up when a large, disgustingly sweaty hand was clamped tight over her mouth. She opened her eyes and instinctively grabbed the hairy forearm of the attacker that hovered over her in the white scrubs nurses usually wore. There was no way she could get out of the man's hold without pushing his arm away but he was obviously stronger than her. She glanced at the door out of the corner of her eye only to see the lightless hallway with no sign of people outside.

She was alone with this man who was trying to kill her, forced to think quick even with the reduced level of oxygen her system got with each second. If she could somehow get out of the bed it wouldn't be all that hard to stop him. The man wasn't muscular, he was simply overweight - this is why not only his hand but his face was sweating like crazy as well. Adriana let her nails dig into his skin, forcing them deep enough to shed his blood and make him yelp in pain.

Since he wasn't concentrating on keeping her down that hard anymore, Adriana kneed his side as hard as she could, and once he stumbled back, she rolled down to the ground on the other side of the bed. The door wasn't all that far, she could make it there in no time, but she could barely step out of the room before the man grabbed her neck and slammed her straight into the wall.

Her throat was burning but she resisted the urge to yell for help. No one would come and the less she struggled the sooner she could get rid of him. Adriana put her right hand on the wall, her nail scratching the dirty white surface to get his attention for a second so she could punch him in the neck with her left elbow. Just as she expected, he loosened his grip and she quickly maneuvered behind him and put her hands firmly on the back of his neck and his chin. One quick movement, there was no turning back now.

His neck broke and he fell on the floor like a ragdoll.

Adriana let out a long sigh, closing her eyes for a moment before she reached down to check his pockets. No IDs could be found but she wasn't surprised. She shrugged and slowly walked out to the nurse station, wiping her bleeding nose with her wrist on the way. The two women behind the desk gave her a weird and equally shocked look as she put her elbows on the wooden surface. "Yeah, hey, you know, there might be a big dead guy in front of my door and I can't really sleep knowing there's rotting a corpse out there," she said with a wide grin.

"A dead man?" asked one of the nurses.

"Yes, a pretty big one."

They looked at each other before rushing there to see it themselves, one of them even grabbing her phone to call the police. Adriana rested her forehead on the desk and let out a tired sigh.

"Miss Norton," said a man who had just stepped out of a room not far from where she stood, his voice echoing between the walls. "Can you tell us how he died?"

As he walked closer, Adriana noticed the syringe in his hand. He didn't even try to hide it from her. It was a trap. There was no way out. Panic rose inside her as she started to back away from him. "This is how they want to get rid of me for good?" she asked. "Sending a big guy to kill me in my sleep?"

"Nobody wants to kill you, Miss Norton, we have already discussed that."

"Oh, they do, Doc, trust me. This is the only reason why I'm in he-" She stopped when her back bumped against someone and the said person grabbed her arms to keep her in place. "Let me go!" The doctor didn't listen, though, just raised the syringe and tried to calm her down. "PUT THAT THING AWAY, YOU SON OF A BITCH! I'M NOT CRAZY, LET ME GO!"

"I can't believe that this woman could bring down a guy his size, that's all I'm saying," a man stated in a harsh whisper next to her bed.

"It's possible with the right technique, John," another replied. "You should know that."

"Thanks for waking me up," Adriana growled as she opened her eyes and sat up.

Her head hurt and her vision was a bit blurry but other than that, she was perfectly fine; well, at least she was better than the man who had attacked her the night before. Glancing at the man on her left, she noticed the gun holster he wore under his jacket. Cop. Great. Then she turned to look at the other one, but this time her lips formed an amused smile.

"Wow, a DRN. It's been a while since I last heard about them."

"Miss Norton," the man next to her spoke up, "I'm Detective John Kennex and he's Dorian. We need to ask you a few questions about the death of John Donahue."

Adriana let out a heartfelt laugh upon hearing the name. "John Donahue? Seriously? They didn't even try this time."

Kennex glanced at his partner for a second before asking, "What are you talking about?"

"What I'm talking about is that the guy's name is definitely not John Donahue," she replied. How could they be that stupid? John Donahue was a John Doe, simple as that. They used some poor troubled guy who was supposed to get a lot of money for doing them a favor. "First of all, he doesn't work here."

"Yesterday was his first day here," the DRN informed her, "maybe you hadn't met him yet."

She turned to him with a skeptic look on her face. "And he tried to kill me right away?"

Dorian furrowed his eyebrows as he glanced at his partner for a second. "We didn't find any evidence for that."

"Yeah, I guess the security cameras didn't work around that time. What a surprise. This is how they roll, Detectives," Adriana said with a shrug.

"Who are they?" asked Kennex.

"My previous employers," she replied without missing a beat.

She looked back at the DRN whose face was now full of bright blue lights. "According to your files you worked as a personal shopper before you were hospitalized," he stated after his blue eyes fell on her.

"Sure, I was a personal shopper. They definitely know how to break someone's neck," Adriana went on with an arrogant smile. "Actually, now that you've mentioned, this is the first thing they learn on the job. You know, it's an essential skill so you they can grab that one Prada bag th-"

"Cut the sarcasm," Detective Kennex interrupted her angrily, putting a hand on the bed next to her head so he could steady himself as he leaned down.

"Oh, trust me, I haven't even started."

"You really are crazy, aren't you?"

The DRN by the window cleared his throat. "John, don't."

"Listen to me, Detective," she said, completely ignoring the fact she was talking to a cop, "I'm not crazy."

"Yet here you are as a patient of a psychiatric institute," Kennex replied with a malicious smile.

"This is what happens when someone tries to get you out of the way," she hissed.

"You are clinically insane, Miss Norton."

"John, I'm serious, it's time to leave," the DRN warned him, but he didn't listen.

Adriana heard him walk out of the room, so she took the opportunity to go on, looking right into his hazel eyes. "Am I, Detective Kennex? Have you ever been locked up in a place like this against your own free will? Even if you arrive perfectly sane, you'll end up being just as crazy as everyone else. There's no escape."

"I read your files while you were knocked out. You are everything but sane."

"I killed that guy, yes, but only after he attacked me. You know what? Don't believe me. It's easier for all of you, believing I was only hallucinating. But do me a favor and find Angry Kenny Lexington for me."

Kennex straightened up with a confused expression. "Who?"

Before she could answer her doctor marched in with the DRN right behind. "Alright, Detective, that's enough," he said. "Miss Norton is obviously under the effect of the tranquilizer we gave her last night. Let her sleep it off then you can talk to her again."

The detective looked at him but eventually let out a sigh and put up his hands in defeat. "Alright, as you wish," he said before they turned to leave.

"Just find him!" Adriana yelled after them.

I'm so in love with Almost Human and John that I couldn't resist. Tell me what you think so far, I love reading reviews! :)