"Don't tell me how to live, sign!"
The Monsignor looked up at hearing the words in the hallway nearby. He got up, walked to the door of his office and opened it. A few feet away, a red-haired girl with a short haircut, was waving her fist at a sign. The sign told the inmates to move in a slow and docile pace, as to not cause a ruckus in the hallways. The Monsignor was more than surprised. He had never seen this girl before, she was obviously not an inmate. On top of that she seemed highly out of place. Her hair for starters, almost none of the women had short hair here. And her clothing….she was wearing a pair of pants, instead of a skirt. And on her shirt was a little yellow man with a pair of large glasses, dressed in a blue overall. The girl felt that someone was staring at her and she turned around, letting out a relieved sigh.
"Oh good, sir, can you help me? This goddamn door won't open! And could you tell me where I am?"
The Monsignor frowned, he did not like it that this strange and forward girl used the name of the lord in vain. "Young lady, this is a mental institution, Briarcliff to be exact. I would like for you to explain how you came to be here. In decent language." The last part was spoken rather firmly but instead of meekly agreeing like all the sisters and most of the patients, the girl crossed her arms in front of her chest and scoffed.
"I'll talk however I want. Anyway, I don't think you'd believe me if I told you. One moment I was tinkering with a machine in my lab, the next I roll out of this closet and the door shuts behind me. I want to go home." To emphasize her words, she bangs on the door 3 times with her fist. "Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice!" She growled frustrated and the again the man gave her an utterly confused look.
"I beg your pardon?" The girl looked back at him and sighed. "You don't have TV here? Nevermind, it's a reference. So Briarcliff huh? And where is Briarcliff exactly?"
The Monsignor was still trying to comprehend everything she just told him. Tinkering in a lab…with a machine? It sounded like something out of the movies and like she predicted, he indeed did not believe her. "Are you one of Shelly's friends? I will not tolerate that girl's malarkey anymore!"
The girl shook her head and rolled her eyes. "I knew you wouldn't believe me. Let me see if I have pictures on my phone." Her hand went into the pocket of her pants and she fished out her mobile phone. When she saw the man eye the object with a frown, she got confused herself. "You know what a phone is right? Here, take a look." The small object was shown to the clergy man and the girl swiped over the screen to unlock it. Her background picture would be considered graphic, a bare-chested man holding a crucifix. When the Monsignor gave her a stern look, she let out a shy chuckle. "Yeah eh…well…you know. Oh, here it is." She mumbled as she opened her picture file. "See, this is the machine. It wasn't working well and I wanted to fix it. Should have waited for my partner but hey, I'm neurotic like that."
"You are…mentally ill?" The Monsignor asked her and she got a spooked look on her face.
"No man, nothing like that, just eh..anxious, that's all. Don't get any ideas, alright?" There was no way she was staying here.
"And that contraption, what is it exactly? I have to say this is all very strange." The man replied and the girl nodded.
"I understand, didn't mean to just bust in here like that. It's a time machine, at least that's what it's supposed to be but…" Then her jaw dropped and her eyes grew wide. "Oh no…no, no, no…what year is this?" Either this girl was the worlds best actress, or the Monsignor needed to lie down for a few moments.
"It's 1964, young lady. But you don't expect me to believe that.." But before the man could finish his sentence, the girl banged on the door with her fist once more.
"Fuck! I'm such an idiot!" She cried out, causing the man to jump back in shock. "And where are we? I know it's Briarcliff but I mean.." She was visibly upset now, her hands trembling and her eyes filled with tears. The Monsignor felt sorry for her, he was even going to excuse her cursing again.
"Massachusetts." She facepalmed. "Great. The spirit of America."
"Pardon me?" He asked and she let out a frustrated growl. "From Family Guy, you know..oh never mind." But the Monsignor was getting impatient. He needed to know what was going on here.
"Look here, young lady, we are going to introduce ourselves to one another, then we will visit doctor Arden. He is a very good doctor and.." She wanted to interrupt him but he held up his hand. "..and scientist. He may be able to clear up a few things here. I am prone not to believe your words, but your strange technology is something that needs to be researched. In the meantime I suggest you stay by my side and take the rules of this institution to heart." Not very eager to follow all these rules, the girl leaned against the wall with a sigh. But she realized she didn't have much of a choice here.
"You could just give me the key to this door, you know?" She tried to persuade him, but he shook his head. "No. I want to know what we are dealing with first. Now, I am Monsignor Timothy Howard, the one in charge at this institution." He said as he extended his hand. The girl shook it reluctantly. "So you're a guy from the church? In charge here? Shouldn't there be a doctor in charge or something?" The Monsignor glared at her and squeezed her hand.
"Your name, child." He ordered and the girl pulled her hand back.
"It's Rio. Rio Taylor." Timothy nodded. "Nice to meet you, Rio. What a peculiar name, if I may say so." Rio raised her brow at this level of politeness, she was used to much gruffer language.
"Thanks, my mom was a Duran Duran fan." She explained with a chuckle but again facepalmed when she saw his confused face. "Never mind, let's just find your doctor pal." As the Monsignor led Rio down the hallway, in the direction of the common room, he glanced at her.
"The sign…earlier on you told it not to order you around…was it speaking to you?" He asked in a calm manner, still trying to test if she was mentally ill or not. If he found her to be unstable, he would keep her here, magic machine or no magic machine.
"I was telling it not to tell me how to live." Rio explained, trying to find a better way to say what she meant. "See, there was an instruction on it. And I was so upset I didn't want to follow the instruction. It's..sort of a common expression where I am from." Again the man glanced her way. "Over here we do as we are told." Those words made her grin wide. "Oh yeah? Not really my style." She retorted and gave him a saucy wink that caused him to blush a little.
Rio chuckled as they walked through the large hallways but her jaw dropped as she saw the situation in the common room. Inmates were crying, hitting their heads against the walls and obviously in pain but all of it was being ignored. "What the.." The girl mumbled and wanted to go inside to help where she could. Timothy grabbed her arm firmly and pulled her back into the hallway.
"I believe we were finding doctor Arden." He told her in a stern tone, making the girl frown and glare.
"Those people need help! Look at them! And let go of me or be sorry." She told him, with a nod to her arm. Not being used to strong and assertive women, the Monsignor indeed let go of her and took a step back to regroup. Rio huffed and adjusted her shirt a bit. This made Timothy notice the little yellow fellow again.
"That deformed man on your eh…shirt…who is he?" Rio looked at her shirt and then back to him, with a grin on her face.
"That's Dave, the minion. He's not deformed. That's just how he looks." She explained with a shrug, figuring it wouldn't make much sense to explain he worked for Gru and made bombs for him. She didn't want to end up in a straightjacket like the rest. "I don't like what I see here, Timothy." The girl told him with a frown on her face, pointing at the inmates. The look on his face got dark, for more than one reason.
"Young lady, you shall address me by my proper title, which is Monsignor. Furthermore I assure you that these patients are getting the best of care. They are in the hands of God. He shall provide." Rio gave him a bored stare and rolled her eyes.
"They are in –your- care, Monsignor." She told him sternly, pronouncing the last word in a mocking tone. "And no god is going to save them from it." The girl added in a mumble as she went on her way. The Monsignor followed after her, not wanting her to wander off without him. There was no answer from his side, since his mind drifted off. How was he going to make sure this girl wouldn't make too many rapid changes during her stay? He wanted Briarcliff to move into the future, as he and sister Jude discussed many times before, but not the future this girl was from. He led her past the office of sister Jude, who was just coming out for a small break from her duties.
"Monsignor…who is this?" She asked him with a worried tone in her voice. Instantly, the strict nun smelled trouble. Also, she did not like to see the Monsignor in female company other than herself. It was her sin, among the other ones she kept from everyone.
But Rio saw. She saw the love and need for this man clear on the nun's face. And to know that it would never be, due to both their statuses, Rio wept inside. The girl extended her hand and the nun reluctantly shook it.
"Hey, name's Rio. Rio Taylor. I can tell you how I got here, but it's kind of a strange story." Rio warned her, also glancing at father Howard.
"Sister Jude. Charmed, I'm sure." Jude told her and then raised a brow. "I hear strange stories here all the time, miss Taylor. But I am sure we will take good care of you here. Do make yourself at home." Rio got a scared look on her face.
"No! I eh..I'm not a patient! I-I…please tell her?" She asked the Monsignor who nodded and put a hand on her shoulder.
"Calm, child. Sister Jude, Rio is not a patient of Briarcliff, she eh…well…rolled out of a closet. She claims to be from the future. There she build a time machine and eh…" Sister Jude started to chuckle.
"How kind of the Monsignor to indulge in your little game. But please. You cannot expect me to believe that." With a huff, Rio got out her phone and swiped over the screen to unlock the object.
Likewise the Monsignor, sister Jude gave the girl a scared look at first, when she investigated the item, but a stern and disapproving look second when she saw the half-naked man holding a crucifix. "Yeah uh..well..oh look, the picture!" Rio mumbled as she made the picture pop up on screen. Sister Jude and the Monsignor exchanged looks but Rio didn't notice. She held up her phone so Jude could see the picture of her and the time machine and it made the jaw of the nun drop.
"What…what is this sorcery…" The woman whispered and look at Timothy for some sort of explanation. But the man merely shrugged.
"I know, sister Jude. Normally I'd give you my blessing to assume this girl was confused and needed our medical help.." Rio gave him an annoyed look and huffed. "But seeing as she has this strange device and a picture of an even stranger device, I am prone to at least hear her out." He continued while he ignored her silent protest. Sister Jude nodded, still in shock.
"I guess you are right, but what can we do to investigate this?" The question made the Monsignor a tad uncomfortable.
"My idea was to take her to doctor Arden, to see what he could make of all this." He answered and sister Jude's look became disapproving once more.
"I see. I see that my services are not needed here. Monsignor, miss Taylor, I wish you good luck on your quest. Greet your people from the future from me, miss Taylor." She told the girl in a bitter tone, but instead of being annoyed, Rio frowned with sympathy on her face.
"It was nice to meet you, thank you for your time." She told the nun before following Monsignor Howard into another hallway. Both Jude and the Monsignor gave her a curious look at her politeness and the girl shrugged as she looked at the man. "What? She obviously felt overlooked, I just wanted to be nice." She explained.
"Curious.." He told her softly. When he saw her confused face, he explained. "You have no problem with speaking your mind when things do not please you, when it comes to me. But with sister Jude you feel a certain sense of sympathy. She was not particularly nice to you." Rio shrugged.
"Maybe, but I could tell that had nothing to do with me. I think that had something to do with you. And as far as you go, I don't like to be told what to do. And yeah, I speak my mind. Sister Jude wasn't that nice, but she also didn't comment on what I had to say. If you can cut that out, I'll be nice to you too. Deal?" Rio gave him a smug grin and the Monsignor just glared at her, as he stopped at one of the doors and knocked on it.
"I suspect you did not learn many manners throughout your life, young lady." He chastised her but just when Rio wanted to object to this, an older gentleman opened the door the Monsignor just knocked on.
"Yes? Monsignor, how nice to see you. And who might this be?" The gentleman asked and Rio extended her hand.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Rio Taylor. You're doctor Arden? The Monsignor said you might be able to help me. But maybe it's best if he explains why I'm here. Or how." Rio rambled, getting a bit anxious since she felt like she was in the building for too long already. She wanted to go home and quick.
"Yes, I'm doctor Arthur Arden, nice to make your acquaintance."
The Monsignor watched them meet each other and then nodded as doctor Arden glanced at him.
"Yes eh…we are both aware that the story sounds more than strange, but miss Taylor found herself rolling out of the broom closet across from my office. She was eh..teleported there through her…time machine." It was too hard for the Monsignor to look doctor Arden straight in the eyes when he gave this explanation. The man looked at the young girl, back to the Monsignor and then back to the girl again with a chuckle.
"I eh…is this one of Shelly's pranks?" He asked a bit unsure at first and Rio sighed.
"I need to meet this girl, she sounds like loads of fun, but here. Look at this." As expected, the doctor was quite surprised when he saw her phone, but even more so when he saw the picture of the machine.
"Miss Taylor, I am highly intrigued, do you mind if I research your eh….what is it exactly?" The doctor asked her and Rio got a worried look on her face.
"As long as you don't take it apart. It's a phone. Like the ones you have here, only we have them without a cord, so we can take them everywhere." Arthur seemed disappointed that he wasn't allowed to take the phone apart, but he couldn't assure the girl he would be able to put it back together the way it was before, so he didn't argue with her.
"So, you believe what miss Taylor has to say?" The Monsignor reluctantly asked dr. Arden as he was still inspecting the phone. Again the half naked man background was seen and Rio avoided the disapproving glance from the older man. Why did she let her friend talk her into that background?
"I let you…why do I let you?" The girl mumbled to herself, but the men paid no attention to her at this point.
"Yes, I do, but I need to do research before I can make a definite statement. While that research is being done, I suggest that miss Taylor remains inside of the walls of the asylum and that the other inmates are kept from the truth. At least what we think is the truth. We cannot have her run amok by telling them she is from the future, their feeble minds couldn't take it. On the outside, we will not be able to protect her if she tells anyone. So keep her here and give her a believable backstory so the others won't get suspicious or unruly." Rio got more mad by the second, even more so when the Monsignor told doctor Arden that he made good points.
"Hey! What about what I want, is that important by any chance? I don't want to stay in this awful place! If you can't help me open up the door to that broom-closet, you can at least put me in a hotel so I can figure it out myself! I promise I wont say a word to anyone!" She protested but the Monsignor shook his head.
"Miss Taylor, we have to consider everyone's safety, not just your own. Doctor Arden raises some good points so I am sorry to say this…" Rio could have sworn that part of him turned a little smug when he said this. "But from now on, you are a patient at Briarcliff.." The smirk was unmistakable and insufferable and Rio felt a cold sting of fear in her heart.