Death and All His Friends

I

-"Is it alright if I sit up."
"We have already had this discussion before. Please lie back."

"Thank you. As I was saying, I will be asking you a series of questions. You are to answer them truthfully. In the event that you do not, your session will last as long as it takes until you comply. Is that understood?"

-"... Yes."
"Very good. Can you tell me your name?"

"..."

"Please answer the question."
-"I do not understand why I would relay information to you that you already know."
"This is for your sake, not mine."
-"... Aradia Megido."
"Thank you. Can you recite the date?"

"..."

"Aradia. Do I need to ask you again?"
-".. October 4th."
"Can you be more specific?"
-"October 4th 1916."
"October... 4th... 1916.."
-"Is it necessary for you to write that down."
"Yes... Ms. Megido. Do you know where you are?"
-"... West Virginia."
"West... Virginia...So why is it that you are so quiet all of a sudden?"

"..."

"You always seem so talkative when talking to them."
"... what."
"Oh, it would seem that I have caught your attention. Ms. Megido... do you know why you are here?"
-"... I was sent here."
"Yes. I can see that. Please, elaborate.
-".. My parents sent me here."
"States... that her parents sent.. her here, uh huh. So tell me, why exactly would your parents send you to West Virginia?"

"..."

"Don't tell me you've grown shy, Aradia."
-"I don't know."
"You don't kno- Ms. Megido. Please look at me when I'm talking to you- thank you. States she does not know... avoidance of eye contact."
-"Can you please stop speaking out lo-"
"Shall we pull your file?"
-"No."
"I think we should."
-"Why are you doing this."
"Let's see, ah! Here it is. Let's take a look. Aradia Megido, age 19. Height 5'-
-"Please stop."
"Ms. Megido please do not interrupt me again. As I was saying, height 5'7, blonde hair, brown eyes. Hmmm... comes from wealthy family... your mother is pregnant with your 1st sibling."

"..."

"How do you feel about this development?"
-"All of your questions are irrelevant."
"... Are they now? Fine, we shall skip ahead some. Hmm.. right here, it says that your parents said that you enjoy archaeology. Can you tell me about this?"
-"... I used to."
"... used to enjoy archaeology..."
-"What does it matter."
"Let's see... ah this is what I was looking for. Early June.. fell off bridge on family trip... almost drowned... thinks herself to be dea-"
-"Stop."
"So. You believe that you're dead? Let's talk a little bit about that."
-"Why do you think this is a game."
"Answer the question, Ms. Megido."
-"... I am dead."
"How can you be dead if you're clearly sitting in front of me?"
-"... There are things in this world we cannot explain."
"Why don't you try?"
-"... No."
"Ms. Megido."
-"... What is there to explain. I fell off a bridge. I drowned."
"Written here, it says that you were easily revived and recovered within a week. Your house doctor was kind enough to give us his notes on the matter. A few scrapes... no broken bones.. a full recovery."
-"Obviously not."
"Can you tell me about the hallucinations?"
-"... I don't have hallucinations."
"Our staff has noted that you talk to yourself frequently."
-"... I'm not the only dead person around, you know."
"... Is that so? Claims to not be the only... dead person.. around alright well... at least we are getting somewhere with this."

"..."

"So, what you are saying is that... you talk to-"
-"Ghosts."
"Alright... ghosts... So tell me what IS it that you talk ab-"
-"That's none of your business."
"... None of my business is it? Ar- where do you think you are going? Sit back down."
-"I don't have to deal with this, Dr. Lalonde."
"Aradia, return to the couch this instant! The session is not over yet. Ms. Megido! Shit."

"David! Dav- there you are." Lalonde crossed her arms across her coat as her younger brother heard the commotion and approached the scene. Running a hand through the light blonde hair he shared with his sister, he yawned and gave her a small nod.
"What's wrong this time?" he smirked, knowing how easily frustrated she got with new patients.

"You certainly took your time getting here. Tell me, what is wrong with this picture?" Rose sighed, gesturing to Aradia who was already halfway down the hallway.

"Wow what did you do to scare her off. What's her name anyways, don't think I've seen her before." Dave said as he lowered the tinted, circular frames covering his eyes. "I'm pretty sure I'd remember someone like that if you know what I mean."

Scoffing, Rose shoved him a bit and headed back into the wing of her office. "How blessed I am to have such an insufferable prick as a brother. That being said, go take her to her room. If she ever leaves mid-session again I swear-" she stopped as Dave approached, hands in his pockets. Putting a hand on her head, he ruffled her hair a bit and smiled.

"I know how you get, Lalonde. So what if she walked out? With your attitude I'd probably walk out too."

Smacking his hand away, she walked past him and grabbed the papers from the table in between the session recliner and her chair. Shuffling through them, she slowly walked back, rereading the comments she had made earlier. "Her name is Aradia Megido. She thinks she's dead." Rose pointed to the door. "We both have jobs to do, so why don't you go do yours?"

Rolling his eyes behind his shades, Dave headed out the door, hearing it close with a loud thud as soon as he exited. As each day passed, it seemed like his sister was in an even worse mood than the day before. Scoffing, he strolled down the hallway at his own pace, occasionally glancing down the corridors. Turning right, he noticed the fray of a dress turning a corner. "Hey!" he called, taking off into a slight jog as he tried to catch up. "Aradia, hey wait up where are you going." Taking the same right, he saw the girl once more. She was marching down the hallway in a fitted, red dress that fell to her ankles, the click of her heels echoing through the corridors. Her hair was long too, falling mid back in dark gold waves.

"Am I supposed to know you." she asked, maintaining her pace as she headed as far away from the study as possible. Slightly turning her head, she noticed the man. He stood about half a foot taller than herself, clad in a dark grey day wear suit, red tie, and tinted circle frames. She hadn't seen him before, but then again she had only been there for a few days.

"Yeah, well probably I don't know but hey where are you going?" he asked, keeping up with her pace.

"... I don't know where I'm going." Aradia stated, slowing down her speed. "I guess I'm just trying to get far away from that woman."

"That woman?" Dave laughed, rubbing his eyes under his shades. "Don't even worry about her that's just how she is. She's the type of broad that gets under your skin and sits there until you've lost your fucking mind."

"What a wonderful choice of wording." she said blankly as she turned another corner. "Is there a reason you're following me."

"Oh, what? Oh yeah just making sure you don't like flip your shit and get into trouble. That's pretty much all there is to say on the matter." he laughed as he continued to follow her.

Walking down the hallways, the walls were made of dark grey-brown bricks. The lighting was made up of the natural light coming from the windows. Unfortunately, the weather out at Cheat Lake was mostly cloudy and rainy, casting a grey tint across the rooms of the institution.

Smiling a tiny bit at his words, she decided he was probably just trying to get on her good side so she would cooperate. Sighing a bit, she turned the last corner as returned to her room in the west side living quarters. "At least you're honest." Reaching the door, she admired the peeling paint for a second and stared at the numbers that titled it.

"Room 1001." Dave said to himself as she creaked the door open. "Well hey before you go, my advice to you is try not to piss off Lalonde."

"Is that even possible." she retorted as she stepped inside the small room, creaking it shut. "... What is your name anyways." she spoke through the crack of the door.

"Oh. Dave, Dave Strider." Dave said as he rubbed the back of his neck.

Taking in his response, she paused before shutting the door. "... See you around Dave Strider."

Dave and Rose started working at the Cheat Lake Institution about 4 months ago, after the previous caretakers had quit. Both were in charge of maintaining the patients while Dr. Harley was away on travel. Rose focused on the psychological analysis while Dave focused on establishing and maintaining relations with the patients. It was an interesting life. The institution is pretty unusual in itself. Unlike a majority of other mental institutions, Cheat Lake is more experimental, than anything, letting all the patients roam around the grounds 3freely as long as they behave, take their medication, and attend their weekly sessions with Ms. Lalonde. Even so, there still are quite a few problem patients..

The door clicked with a soft thud and Dave continued to stand there for a few moments. Letting out a big sigh, he readjusted his glasses and pulled from his pocket the timepiece that never left his side. The glass was cracked, but it still continued to work even after all these years.

"Half past 6... shit." he spoke under his breath. Lalonde was really going to let him have it if he didn't have Ms. Pyrope in her office by 7. It usually was... quite the task to convince her to accompany him back to the institution.. considering she spends all her time in the woods.