Insanity's Fear
Picking up the file Dr. Lewis began to read over the police report of the latest patient that Brookhaven was about to receive. Cassie was the only name listed for the nineteen-year old girl who had been caught rummaging around some garbage for food. The enclosed picture showed a pale girl with raggedy brown hair and dark circled eyes. She looked as though she hadn't eaten a thing in years, or gotten any rest either for that matter. Though she had committed no real crime the police chief thought it best to place her in Brookhaven for two simple facts. First of all she was an obvious runaway and refused to say where she came from. Second, the way she talked gave apparent signs that she had paranoid delusions. Lewis sighed for a moment on that thought. Brookhaven used to be such a respectable hospital. How had it become the last refuge of the town's insane? No matter though because he was being paid for his jailing service.
It was a few hours later when a police officer by the name of Simmons finally arrived with the girl. Dr. Lewis had decided to meet them right at the front office so they wouldn't have to be lead past any of the hospital's other residents. At first sight the girl appeared to be in horrible shape. Wearing a muddied white t-shirt and black sweat pants she just sat in the office's only guest chair. It wasn't until Dr. Lewis approached her did he notice several cuts and bruises along her wiry arms.
"Did you do this to her" Dr. Lewis asked first eyeing the marks then the officer.
"No sir" replied the officer with a note of annoyance in his voice. "Those were already on her when we picked her up."
Bending down Lewis looked at the girl's face before asking"Why did you do this to yourself"
Cassie lifted her gaze from the ground and looked at Dr. Lewis for a moment. A look of something between terror and anger washed across her worn face and she would do nothing save for stare at the doctor until he finally relented on getting the question answered.
"She's been quiet like that ever since we first picked her up. Sides for muttering a few words under her breath she hasn't made a noise."
"Words" Suddenly Lewis' interest was piqued. "Do you know what words those would be"
"Something about how she was going to die or something. Honestly, no one's paid much attention to her. We rarely do when we pick up a nut job like her."
Lewis cringed at the insulting term. The patients at Brookhaven may have been mentally unstable, but that didn't mean they had no rights. To treat them so poorly and to call them such names served no purpose at all, and Lewis had grown sick of it.
"Thank you Officer Simmons. I think we can take it from here." With that Lewis had hoped to get rid of the man quickly.
"Anytime doc'. You let us know if she gives you any trouble." After a tip of his hat and placing a toothpick in his mouth he slowly turned and walked out of the hospital.
"Let's go and find you a room. Then you and I can have a nice chat. How does that sound Cassie" Lewis flashed a smile to try and reassure the girl, but he was met only with the same faraway expression she had worn earlier.
Lewis got up and walked across the small room to where a secretary was filling papers. "Leslie, do you have the papers ready for our new patient" he asked of the young assistant.
"Of course I do Dr. Lewis." After a moment of rifling through a stack of folders Leslie produced the right one and handed it to Lewis.
After taking a hold of the folder and quickly glancing through it he gestured for Cassie to follow. For a moment she didn't move. All she would do is sit there and blankly stare at Lewis as if trying to figure him out. Finally after a few more coaxing words from Lewis Cassie slowly rose from her chair and stumbled her way forward.
Once they left the reception office Lewis lead the young girl down a hallway and into an elevator. As the doors closed Lewis reached over and tapped the '3' button before speaking. "We'll be going up to the third floor. That's where most of the patient rooms are." He turned his gaze and looked down at the handcuffs and anklets the girl still wore from the police station. "After we settle you into a nice room then we can take those off. How would you like that Cassie"
A momentary stillness ensued before Cassie slowly turned her head and looked at Dr. Lewis once more. For an instant the doctor thought he might finally be able to get a reaction from the girl. Dismay soon filled him though as Cassie turned her gaze back onto the elevator doors without muttering a word.
The remainder of the trip to Cassie's room became void of anything. Dead silence filled the small elevator only to be replaced by various shoutings and screams once they finally reached the third floor. There were fourteen patient rooms set along one side of the hallway, and all but one was filled with raving mental patients. Lewis knew that nothing would be done to try and quiet the raucous the patients made; nothing ever was. Short of keeping them all on a constant sedative drip there was no easy way to calm them down. So it had been elected to leave them to their own minds inside of the cramped rooms they called home.
It was nearly nine o'clock by now and most of the staff had gone home for the evening. Aside from a guard posted right outside of the elevator the hallway appeared to be a very dark and abandoned place. A place where the mind was free to create any monstrosity it chose. Lewis was starting to feel a bit creeped out by the atmosphere before they finally arrived at a room labeled 'S3'; Cassie's new residence.
Quickly the good doctor opened the small room's door and gestured Cassie in. Dragging her feet she crossed the threshold and made her way into the cramped room. After taking a look around Cassie finally chose to say something. It was barely a something though, just a slightly audible muttering. All that Dr. Lewis was able to make out was the phrase 'Red Demon' though. With that he closed the door behind him and sat in a chair next to Cassie's bed, intent on learning more about Brookhaven's latest resident.
"All right Cassie, let's get to know each other a little better shall we" Lewis waited a moment for some sort of response to come from the girl but all she would do is look at him. "Why don't you begin by telling me where you're from"
After standing perfectly still for a moment Cassie sat down on the room's small bed and leaned forward. Her thin body and withdrawn look made her look as though life should be long gone from her. Life may still be beating in her but there was definitely something missing in the girl.
Suddenly she thrusted her arms at the doctor, startling him so much he almost fell out of his chair. He looked at her arms for a moment, trying to see why she had done such a thing. Then he remembered her still worn shackles.
"I'll tell you what Cassie. If you tell me a little information about yourself then I'll have the guard come and remove those. How does that sound to you"
The girl simply sat there completely motionless. Not a thing about her changed and she had the look of some sick man's idea of art for a second before Cassie finally decided to react.
"Sinner" she yelled at him. "You are just like the rest of them. Foul and tainted by your own lusts. On the day of reckoning your soul will be eternally damned just like the rest of them" A near fanatic look shown on her face as she spoke. Once she was done though her bony face smoothened and she resumed her withdrawn look.
Dr. Lewis was completely taken back for a second. Such an outburst was hardly what he had expected to get from the girl. Knowing her state though the words did nothing but to lay a touch of confusion in his mind. Or maybe he just pitied the girl. Whatever he felt he knew he should press on.
"Can you tell me anything about your family Cassie" he asked trying to change the subject. "Do they live here in Silent Hill"
"They live no where" Cassie murmured. "Their bodies are already laying in rot. The Red Demon has already claimed their souls."
"The Red Demon? Who is that"
"He is the judge of the accused, the bringer of atonement, and the slayer of the damned."
Lewis slipped back into his thoughts for a moment. From somewhere deep in his mind a sort of familiarity with what Cassie was saying was found. He could almost remember where he had heard the term 'Red Demon',but suddenly his mind wandered and he was lost once more.
"Cassie, can you tell me what this Red Demon looks like"
A small and creepy smile found its way onto Cassie's face. "You will know His face soon enough doctor. When He comes to claim your soul as His own then you will know."
"Well why don't you describe him for me so I know who he is when he comes to claim my soul" Lewis said hoping to get something tangible from their discussion.
"Describe Him? You fool, you cannot describe a god" she spat back.
"I thought he was a demon, not a god."
"Demons, gods, they are one in the same. Mankind has come to fear what they both do and what they both represent."
It was at this point that Dr. Lewis realized that he wouldn't be able to get any helpful information out of her. Never wanting to leave a job undone though he decided to once more get her to speak about her family.
"All right Cassie" he said in a jovial manner that seemed to be an impossibility in such a depressing and downtrodden place. "Tell me where you lived before you became a runaway."
Cassie replied back with a look of puzzlement and Lewis thought that she had once again regained her mute status. Finally though she said"Where I lived before? I lived in the same world you inhabit now Dr. Lewis. The one of misguided hope and false realities. The realm of a once grand paradise that has been despoiled by the hand of mankind."
Frustrated by his lack of progress with the girl Lewis decided it best to call it a night. His watch told him it was nearly ten and he knew that his wife would surely have a fit were he to come home later. Besides the fact that he was doubtful of what exactly he could get out of Cassie. Though he was a psychologist by profession he was hesitant to give an official reason for Cassie's behavior. She obviously had paranoid delusions with maybe a touch of schizophrenia as well. He didn't want to dwell on it though. After all there really wasn't a point to it this early in the game. A few days was all that Cassie would need before she would speak to him Lewis believed. She just needed time to acclimate to her new environment.
"Well Cassie, I think we should call it a night. It's almost ten and I have to be getting home. Plus I'm sure you want to get more familiar with your new home."
Cassie just sort of sat there for a moment looking confused before she brought her arms up once more and offered her shackled wrists, hoping to now have them be set free.
"I'm sorry Cassie, but the shackles have to stay on. It'll be much safer with them on you..."
"Safer for you maybe" Cassie near silently interjected.
"Well no matter Cassie, it's what is done. This is the best thing for everyone, believe me." With that Dr. Lewis stood up and walked over to the small room's door. Cassie sat there motionless, just staring at the doctor. It wasn't until after he had closed the door did she finally react.
"No" she screamed as she flung herself into the door. "You cannot lock me in here. Don't you understand? My doom awaits me this night if you force me to stay"
Dr. Lewis looked in the room through a small window on the door. Cassie looked genuinely terrified of something, of what Lewis had no clue. "Don't worry Cassie. You're in one of the safest places in the world. The door will be double locked and there will be a guard just down the hallway the whole night. Nothing bad will happen."
"You blind fool! Neither locks nor guards can prevent death's arrival. Both are immaterial to it. I escaped the Red Demon's clutches when He claimed my family, and have only continued to do so by keeping my movement a constant. If you lock me in this dank box then He will claim my soul before the sun's rays can embrace my being" The panic and fear in the fragile girl's voice made the threat seem real. It made everything she had said of the Red Demon seem almost plausible, but only for a moment.
"Cassie there is no such thing as the Red Demon, so you needn't fear him. Now just close your eyes and get some rest. I'll be here first thing in the morning and we can talk some more." Once said Dr. Lewis started back down the hallway towards the elevator. Before stepping onto the elevator he uttered the words 'Good Luck' to the night watchman before departing Brookhaven.
It was several hours later, nearly four in the morning to be precise, when he got the call. It was another doctor who had called him and urged him to come to the hospital as quickly as possible. The caller had refused to give a reason why, only that it involved his new patient and that it absolutely couldn't wait until morning.
When he pulled up in front of the building he could hardly believe his eyes for a moment. What should have been a desolate parking lot was filled with many vehicles, including an ambulance and several police cars.
Dr. Lewis rushed into the hospital and through a crowd of frantic co-workers. He had no idea what was going on, what could have possibly caused the need for so much drama, but he didn't hesitate in his determination to get some answers.
The elevator trip up to the third floor seemed to take far too long and Lewis nearly began to pace across the small room to try and calm his nerves. Finally the elevator stopped though and its doors opened onto another crowd of people. Lewis immediately recognized the night watchman and noticed that he was talking over something with the officer that had brought Cassie in earlier.
"Anyone mind telling me what the hell is going on here" Lewis demanded of the watchman as he approached the two men.
"You had better take a look for yourself doctor" Officer Simmons replied.
As the three made their way down the crowded hallway Lewis saw the looks on the faces of those around him. They all seemed to be displaying the same look; a combination of both shock and fear. Nearing room 'S3' the watchman explained to the doctor what had happened after he had left. Of how Cassie continued to plea for help for a number of hours after Lewis' departure until she had suddenly gone silent. It wasn't until nearly an hour later did he discover why.
Looking a bit confused on what the watchman had related to him Lewis finally made his way through the crowd and to the doorway of Cassie's room. The scene stopped him dead in his tracks. At first he didn't know whether he should be physically sick and vomit at what he saw or to simply go with the same confused look that seemed to be popular among those present.
What he saw, what they had all saw, was Cassie lying on the bed soaked in her own blood. Her still shackled hands were held above her head and her face displayed a look of absolute terror. Her stomach had been turned into a gaping wound where it looked like she had been skewered by some object.
Lewis could find no logic in anything that he saw, but the scene wasn't completely revealed just yet. The last thing he saw completed to him what was an insane nightmare. Written in blood, Cassie's blood, above her head on the wall was a simple message: Be all sins remembered.