Screams. Nothing but screams echoed through the halls. They were empty, and yet there was a feeling of utter pain and fear rushing through the building. Lights flickered on and off, obviously a sign of electrical problems. The light, and quiet footsteps made a small sound through the halls, somehow still audible through the wailing and screams of pain and agony. Rattling on the gates beside the dainty, small person walking through the seemingly endless hallway, forced a quiver to be sent down their spine. "You're next... YOU'RE NEXT. YOU. ARE. NEXT." The former shell of a man screamed at the person walking past. More screams of threats and upcoming torture awaited the person but they continued to walk on until finally reaching the last cell. Inside, there was one person sitting in the corner of the room. The scared person just put their hands on the railing, trying to see inside at the person facing the other way from them. Waiting for a reply, a scream, a simple movement from the unwilling figure inside, one single word escaped the prisoner's lips. "Darling..."
…
She woke up, gasping for air, her lungs practically on fire and yet no air would fill them. Finally, the girl jumped up from her bed and looked around her room in fear. "Wha... I..." she mumbled unintelligible words that she didn't even understand. She put her hand to her forehead, sweeping the long, black, straight hair away from her head, her eyes widened and gasps escaping her lips. "It was just a dream, Angelina... just a dream..." the obviously startled girl spoke to herself. She sighed once more and looked around the very bland, and tasteless room. And yet, it was her room. Whether she wanted it to be was not her choice at this point. Angelina gently threw the covers off of her legs and stood up off of her bed. She walked into the bathroom and washed her face with cold, running water. It seemed to wake her up enough.
The tan, raven-haired woman stared at herself in the mirror with her deep brown eyes for some time as she contemplated her odd dream. Why had she dreamed something like that? It was so strange... sure, living in a place like this, things could get to you, but she had never had a dream like that. She splashed water on herself one more time before drying her face off with a washcloth. She looked over her shoulder to see the clock that read 5:42 A.M. It seemed her body was waking her up before her alarm even went off to go to work. She turned back around to the bathroom sink and wet her toothbrush and brushed her teeth. After that, she walked back into the room and threw her loose and rather ugly pajamas on the ground as she changed into her scrubs. They were a bland, blue color. She sighed as she put them on herself and put her hair up into a messy ponytail. Just how she liked it. She finally put her work badge that read: "Murkoff Employee #397: Angela G. Hope. Level Two Clearance. Nurse."
After getting ready for her day, she shut her eyes and took a deep breath. "Today will be good. Nothing will go wrong, I'll do my job well and be treated well. It will all be OK." She encouraged herself. She had no other choice but to motivate herself this way, lest she go insane. She had no true friends there. Even the more friendly people there would never be considered her friends. She would never go out for drinks with them, never invite them to a neighborhood barbecue, and certainly never spend any extra unnecessary free time with them outside of work. And goodness knows, family was no option. She scanned the tag eyes before finally deciding it was time to walk out. She grabbed her files and schedule that was all held in a manilla folder, then out she went, opening the door from her room, straight to her job. Yes, she worked at home, in a way. More like work WAS her home. She lived at her job. That was part of the job requirements, but she accepted it. She had gone through years of nursing classes, medical training, and psychiatric classes that she never finished only to have nothing to show for it except a few papers and school loan debts up to her chin. She saw an ad sent to her e-mail that her friend, Miles Upsher, had sent her a link to. "You've heard all sorts of rumors about that place! If you go for the interview then get the job, you could help me get the details on that place. Not to mention, it'll be a good paying job, from what I've heard." she could hear his voice echoing in her mind. She wondered if she would ever hear that voice again.
Well, she seemed to be a perfect fit. No family, so no one to miss her when she was told she had to live there to do her job fully and properly. She was willing and able to do almost any new job that was offered. She was a perfect victim. Especially for her hiring boss, Jeremy Blaire, who seemed so kind and inviting at the time, though a hint of distrust flowed through Angela every time she spoke to him. She knew there was something wrong with a job that forced her to offer so much of her time and essentially her own life. But she took it. And regret had filled her mind since the day she started. But she decided since there was no leaving the company allowed EVER, she decided not to be too negative lest she go insane like the people inside. Besides, she had people she needed to help. People who depended on her.
Angelina walked outside through the cream-colored halls down to the medical area. She sighed, remembering she had never wanted to be a nurse. She had always wanted to be a psychiatrist for the criminally insane, but her friends convinced her it was a stupid idea, so she gave up. She continued through the eerie, horrifying halls until an all too familiar face showed up. "Ahhh, Miss Hope. How are you?" the obviously fake friendly voice greeted her. She backed up a bit at the sound of his voice. It was Jeremy Blaire. "Oh, Mr. Blaire. I... hello. I'm umm... I'm fine." she stated meekly. He seemed amused by her timidness. "Good to hear! So," Jeremy stated, not actually interested in her well being or how she really was. "I actually have something very important to tell you that I think you'll be happy to hear." he stated, smiling a smile that only a fool would fall for and believe was genuine. Before she could reply, he decided to go ahead and tell her this great news. "You're being promoted!" her eyes widened and she was so shocked and confused she wasn't sure what to say. "What... What do you mean, sir?" she asked curiously. "I mean, I did some studying up on your files and background and I saw that you did some psychiatric classes a few years back in school and it just so happens that our psychiatrist... well... let's just say they won't be able to make it back to their job currently so until we find a replacement, you'll be filling in their place, Miss Hope!" he stated as if this was a good thing.
"Sir, I don't have the qualifications to be filling in for a professional psychiatrist. I didn't finish the classes. And the patients here need professional help." Angelina replied. Jeremy seemed to know exactly how to take advantage of her shy nature. "Well, we have several others, but we want you! I see potential and I think you'll do fine. We chose you for a reason." he said, a sort of malice in his voice on the last few words. "So just do the Murkoff Corporation and everyone in it a favor and go get dressed in some professional clothes, take this schedule, and report to Dr. Hutchins' office immediately. Is that understood?" his friendly facade not changing for a moment despite the hate that was hidden in his words. She took the manilla folder from his hands and nodded, "Yes, Sir." she replied. He nodded, "Good. We're glad to have you as our Mount Massive Asylum Psychiatrist." he replied in a cheery tone.
"Oh, and one more thing." he started. "It's your lucky day, Miss Hope! You get a double promotion. We've decided that we want you to witness our great leaps in scientific studies for yourself. You're being given a Level Three Clearance card soon and your first day at the labs will start as soon as you get down with your work I assigned to you. Have a lovely day." he finished. Her throat dried up as he spoke those words. The labs? Why her? She decided not to question it and just lightly nodded. She managed a small smile and watched him walk away. She looked down at the folder and skimmed through it for a moment or two. She was actually going to use her psychiatric knowledge of the criminally insane today as an actual psychiatrist. She couldn't tell if this was a good or bad thing. Then she remembered the labs. She was going to go down there today. Barely anyone who just worked on the regular staff knew anything about Murkoff Corporation, let alone what happened downstairs. Her whole body tensed up at the thought of going down there because if the rumors were true, only the best of the best scientists were allowed clearance in the labs... and the test subjects.
