My mind was a dangerous tool, and if I let it control me from the inside out, I could lose all of my humanity in just one second. At least that's what the doctors at Ridgward Psych treatment kept telling me. My family gets murdered and I end up in an insane asylum for trouble youth. No extended relatives and constant night terrors lead me here, in a bare white room, with one bed, a desk and an open barred window. Some people think being seventeen is hard, but in my case it's true.

I sat at my window, looking out on to the forest. So dark you think it was always night inside those woods. The clouds shrouded the sky, making the weather colder than usual, but the straight jacket helped keep me warm. Most people might think a strait jacket is unbearable, but this being my fourth time in one its only irritating. Hugging myself felt nice, rather than withering on my bed trying to get comfortable.

I could hear the manic laughter and screams outside my door, the other patients going about their day, the nurses doing their daily checks on the rooms. The locks on my door made clicking metal sounds as it opened. Nurse Katie walked in and set the tray of dinner on my desk. She gave me a sad smile.

"What happened this time?" she asked

"Medication" I said. I felt too ill today to be stuffing those things down my throat just turn myself into a zombie. Katie sighed, coming behind me to undo the knots. I yanked the thing off my body and hugged my knees to my chest.

I heard her hiss, touching the skin at my neck.

"I always feel pain when I see that scar. Did it hurt?" she asked. I jerked away from her touch. The brand on the back of my neck was nothing compared to what I witnessed before its cause. Katie walked from me towards the door

"You have visitors" she told me as Diane and Bobby came in my room.

They shyly walked in and sat on my bed, most of the residents were agitated by me. I couldn't help but be aggressive, but inside I still felt fragile and lonely. Most days I thought of my parents. Their faces in my mind would sometimes create waterworks. But they would all end by the last grim night I saw them.

Loud crashes in my parent's room woke me. I sat up rubbing my eyes. Another dump and something being drag echoed in our quiet home. I got out of bed with my bear and tip toed down the hall. The sound of my mom whimpering and dad grunting had me clutching tightly to my stuff animal, still I walked to their room. When I got to the door I heard stranger's voices and a dark chuckle that sent shivers down my spine. I peeked through the key hole, bright light shining out.

"You gave Nurse Roger a black eye" Diane said, bring back to the present. She was twelve but very smart for her age. With brown hair she hacked off with whatever she found. She was brought in a little before me with Obsessive–compulsive disorder, she normally freaked out over tiny things. A few times she itched her hand, her head, and her nose, then repeated the process over again.

Bobby was rocking back and forth, flexing his hands over and over again. They were the closet thing I had to friends but the farthest thing I was to insanity.

"You know, they'll put you in the room if you keep this up."

I shrugged, nothing mattering, not consequences or punishments. My life has been a consent downward spiral since my foster parents sent me to this place two years back. You think they would be more sympathetic to a kid who lost their parents at age six. But they were just a suburban couple who couldn't put up with the entire outburst, the fighting, the never ending nights of me screaming "there is someone coming for me".

"Denis got sent to the room today, after your incident. I think it was because he didn't have any cigarettes" Bobby told, probably trying to comfort me. After an hour and thirty seven minutes, Diane and Bobby left when it was lights out.

The place turned quiet like a grave, some pounding and frolicking from Karen, the psychopath who like attention drawn to her.

My eyelids closed without warning and the dream world took me. But my dream world held only blackness. The pills suppress all from my head.

A chilly breeze crawled over my shoulders, a light feather feeling made me open my eyes as I felt a touch on my shoulder.

I looked up and saw a figure standing over me, being heavily medicated I didn't think to scream or shout for help. Who would come? It wouldn't be something new here. The dark covered my visitors face, but I could see he was shirtless by the moonlight, shining upon his muscled back.

I was much too tired to think right when I talked.

"Finally" I muttered, turning on my back "kill me already" and then I sunk back in delusion.

There was such loud talking; it was hard to keep on sleeping.

"How did she act? Did she attack you and you had to knock her out?"

"Don't be stupid, Dawn. She was too deep asleep to do anything."

"I thought she be more threatening looking, major disappointment."

"Now guys, remember what Jillian said. Sara doesn't know anything, she hasn't learned or been told a thing about us or her blood line. To her this could be a nightmare."

"Way to think positive, Rollie. Gezz, you can such a buzz kill."

"Hey! Can everyone just shut up?"

"Take the stick out of your butt, Nicholas. Try to be happy we have a surviving heir of the Cypher family. We're all dying off, at least with her; the elders will have some hope."

"Lay off, Lindsey, you know how tense things are right….she….she moved!"

I worked my mouth, with the taste of ash, my muscles felt dense as I stretched on a hard floor. But soon it came flooding back of an unknown person over me and that the smell of cinnamon and nutmeg wasn't the natural scents of my ward.

A part of my head warned me not to open my eyes, but I disobeyed.

Five faces were staring down at me. That's all it took for a scream to escape my lips. They all jumped back, startled. I backed myself into a far corner till my back hit the wall. My heart pounded like a jack hammer, the faces of the people in the room with me looked like teenagers, maybe a year or so over twenty but no more. They had shocked expressions and sort of in awe at the sight of me. This took a toll on my fear, sure this was a surprise but I didn't feel any danger.

Suddenly, the door of the room swung open and in walked more strangers. A woman led them, she was beautiful and held a strong depend posture. She looked at every one of the five kids then leveled her fierce gaze at me.

"Welcome, Sara Cypher. We've been waiting for you."