The walls were a gray shade with splashes of crimson, but had once been the solid color of white. There were four walls that all connected to form a small room. At the corner on the left, was a rather tiny, scrawny bed. The frame was a rusted metal, most likely compiled of elements such as brass or iron. The mattress itself was thin and completely flat. There were no bed sheets or pillows, mostly because the institute feared their patients would attempt suicide with what little tools they had. But even taking away these few items did not stop some inmates from attempting to do so. The mattress suggested that the previous patients who were quartered here had attempted to commit suicide because of the crusted blood that stuck to it. In some areas of the mattress, the blood clearly penetrated the mattress's first layer, and seemed to seep into it. To the right end of the tiny room, was the metal door. It had no slits or knobs, only scratches and yet again, blood.
There are about one hundred of these rooms, or cells, as many would call them, in this very building. The building was called Ward D or the "HRPU", short for High Risk Patients Unit. There were three other wards: Ward A, for strictly males and Ward B, for strictly females, both of which were "Low Risk Patient Units," Then of course there was the "Middle Risk Patients Unit", or Ward C, which housed both male, and female patients in separate cells.
Ward D, which also housed both male and female patients, was completely constructed with walls of cement blocks and thick metal. For every fifteen feet, there was a blockade; a prison like cell wall. To pass one, you had to have a special key. A ten-foot tall wall of cement two blocks thick surrounded the entire ward itself.
Only a few had ever managed to escape Ward D, but they never survived. After passing the ten-foot tall wall, there was nothing but a vast forest. The nearest civilized community was sixteen miles away. So, theoretically, if someone did manage to escape, his or her chance of surviving in the wilderness was slim. Even if they did somehow travel sixteen miles in ragged shoes, they'd have to jump off a huge cliff, into a river.
She fiddled with her wrist chains when the metal door opened with such urgency it alarmed her. Edward, her personal guard, called to her in a hurried tone. She got up and padded her feet in a melancholy manner. Edward pressed her arms together behind her back and walked her down the hall.
Edward released his grip on her and shoved her into a gloomy room. She stumbled in and another hand reached to her. A man sat her into a stiff chair. He then proceeded to restrain her by pressing her arms against the arms of the chair. Then he strapped a leather belt to both wrists. After he did so, he tightened a belt around her torso, ankles, and head. When he finished, he backed away and stood by the doorway.
"Good evening." A silky voice blanketed over the seemingly heavy air. She didn't reply, she only continued to stare straight ahead. Doctor Stiege leaned back in his fancy chair and awaited a response, but it never came. He clasped his hands defeated. "There is someone to see you today, his name is Jim Daniels. He's just going to ask a few questions. He'll be here for a week or so too." Doctor Stiege paused, curiously watching her reaction. She continued to stare. "Come in please." Doctor Stiege called out. A few seconds later, a man entered the door.
"Hello." The gentleman nodded to Doctor Stiege.
"This is Selina. Selina, this is Doctor Daniels." Selina turned her head mechanically towards Doctor Jim Daniels.
Selina's skin tone dawned a beautiful, flawless color to compliment her marvelous brown eyes. Her hair was short and brown as well. At a first glance, Selina would have been suspected to be a model. She was five foot seven and her weight was one hundred and twenty pounds. With a second, more dedicated glance, one would have noticed the ragged cuts melted into her skin and her fingernails chomped down to a literal nothing. Her hands shook violently and her mysterious eyes darted at every movement. She had an ability to stare straight ahead for minutes on end without moving any part of her body while doing so.
On the other hand, Jack "Jim" Daniels was completely organized. He had a solid foundation, which he had built himself upon for years. He was a white man, about the age of thirty-five, with dark hair and brown eyes. He was known for his outstanding expertise in the psychology field and his remarkable knowledge of how to "tame" a patient, as he would call it. Doctor Daniels had been critically acclaimed as "clearly the most notable psychologist in the history of the world." His legendary work had ultimately created an entirely new look at how the brain worked.
He had gone out of his way to visit Armhedy and had traveled by car and ship just to arrive at Armhedy Asylum: One of the world's most dangerous insane asylum, which was infested with the world's most demented and delirious inhabitants. Amongst the world's most mentally unstable people was Selina. She was the reason for which Doctor Daniels had come back to this bedlam institute. As he had once stated "Armhedy Asylum for the Criminally Insane has for years held the world's most difficult puzzles. The patients hold such a pandemonium as their first weapon, and their last defense. The exhaust that has been expressed by each doctor here has never-the-less demonstrated the effects of these patients."
"Pleased to meet you." Doctor Daniels responded. "Doctor Stiege, is there a place where Selina and I can speak?"
"Yes, right this way." Doctor Stiege led Selina and Doctor Daniels out of the gloomy room and into the gray hallway. Selina dragged herself down the hall while Doctor Daniels lagged behind, taking notice of Selina's unusual behaviors. Once Doctor Daniels and Selina found themselves in the dusty room, a series of questions fired out of Jim Daniels' mouth.
"Selina, explain to me what you hear inside your head?" He started nonchalantly. Selina didn't answer. She simply sat in the chair. On the other side of a thick glass, Doctor Stiege watched. He took note of the session. Selina never answered any of Doctor Daniels' questions. She only sat in her chair uninterested at the slightest bit. She was in a different place: a world that revolved around fear and pain.
She was startled when Doctor Daniels's chair screeched against the solid ground. He stood up rapidly in a fierce manner and dismissed Selina to her cell. Edward was let into the room to take her away. Meanwhile, both doctors met. Doctor Stiege fixed his uneven glasses elegantly as Doctor Daniels ruffled his thick black hair in a casual way.
"Thank you Doctor Stiege." Doctor Daniels spoke. "Where is my room?"
"Follow me Doctor." Doctor Stiege led Jim down the hallway. "I take great pleasure that you have found the opportunity to visit Armhedy on such short notice. Thank you."
"I thank you for allowing my stay freely." Jim replied. Doctor Stiege stopped and opened the door to a small room. Inside, a desk sat lazily with a lamp on top of it. There was a comfortable looking mattress and a tiny closet. Doctor Daniels entered and nodded thankfully at Doctor Stiege.
That night, Selina lay awake. She stared at the ceiling for an uninterrupted ten minutes. It was intolerably cold in her cell. Down the hall, she could hear heavy footsteps and across the room, the metal door hinges squeaked terrifyingly. There was an air of paranormal-ness in the institute that night, but Selina didn't dare take her eyes off the ceiling.
That is, until she could hear someone outside her door. A shiver went up her spine and her eyes darted curiously at the door. She sat up in her bed with her back against the wall.
Suddenly, the door swung open with fierceness. She couldn't make out the figure until it was directly in front of her: Then she realized the obscure silhouette belonged to Doctor Stiege. He pulled her up carefully and held onto her, proceeding to walk her out of the room. Selina didn't revolt against Doctor Stiege, she pondered what the sudden action of Doctor Stiege bursting in was for. Silently, they traveled downstairs and into an unfamiliar room. It was bleach white and had a few seats inside it.
"What's happening?" Selina quietly whispered. A hint of horrified curiousness followed her question.
"It is no longer safe here Selina, I have to send you to a new asylum." His soft-spoken words lingered in Selina's mind.
"What if I don't want to go?" She questioned. As much as Selina hated to admit it, she had a fondness for Doctor Stiege. He was kind to her when no one else was. He was understanding when others blamed her. To leave so suddenly made her heart break. She spoke once more. "What's going on?"
"Selina, you have been my favorite patient ever of all my four-hundred patients. I want you to have a better life. Doctor Daniels just received word that the last three patients he had been working with here have just been murdered. They say it was just random, but I fear that it's quite ironic that they were all Doctor Daniel's patients. I don't want you to be next, you understand?" Doctor Stiege pulled Selina into a bear hug.
"Can you come with me?" She let go of him and fear took over her expression.
"I'm staying, I have too many patients here to leave. But I promise to visit you. Promise." He smiled and fixed his glasses. Then his face grew very dark and serious. "Doctor Daniels and I have decided to transport you to Arkham Asylum. It's not much better, but there is a psychologist there by the name of Doctor Crane who is quite advanced. Doctor Daniels will accompany you on your trip."
A hot tear rolled down Selina's cold, pale cheek. She gave him one last hug before Doctor Daniels entered and pulled her away. "Visit me, keep your promise." Doctor Daniels hurriedly scuttled her away.
In the hot summer night, Selina's skin burned red. Neither her nor Doctor Daniels spoke. They simply walked down a ragged path to the docks. Finally, Doctor Daniels spoke. "Your things have been packed. They're on the boat." Selina nodded kindly and walked onto the boat with Jim trailing behind.
They slept on bunk beds in the same cabin for the remainder of the night. In the morning, they were on shore. The smell of seaweed indicated they had gone down Armhedy River, through the ocean, and back into another river.
Selina gathered her luggage when Doctor Daniels directed her to, and they both exited the boat.
"We'll stop and eat breakfast, today's going to be a long day."