A/N: Hello and welcome to Desolation Row: MCR Asylum. For those of you who just decided to read this and have not ready any previous FF's of mine. This story is an idea I came up with after writing my Killjoy fics. The year is 1940 and the War has just started. Frank Iero has been sent to Desolation Row, an insane asylum for the mentally disturbed. There he discovers four unlikely friends. Disclaimer I do not own MCR, their names, songs or any affiliation to them. Also the Character personalities are in very little way based off of their actual human personalities. This story is only meant to entertain. There will be mild language and violent/ dark scenes and a few references to my previous fics so if you like you can read those to get in on the jokes. Enjoy :D
Frank rested his head on the cold glass of the police car. His back and neck ached from the long drive. He tried to reach his hands up to rub the back of his neck but the chain that linked his feet to his cuffs around his wrists stopped short with a clang.
"Yo, how much longer is this gonna be?" He asked tapping on the screen between him and the two police officers.
"Keep your shirt on!" The cop bashed his baton at the cage. "We're nearly there." He added.
Frank sighed and leaned his head on the glass again. Though summer had started it was still cold and wet, even for New Jersey. Rain trickled down the window. They sky was a dark gray. It was hard to tell what time of day it was through the thick clouds. He watched as he passed a small town. He missed the name on the sign as the rolled through the Main Street. There wasn't much to it. A few shops here and there. The only thing that stuck out was the train station. He'd give anything just to crack open the door and roll out, book it for that train and get the hell out of Dodge. He sighed again as he looked at the car door. No handle. Looking up again something bright yellow in the sea of gray caught his eye. Blinking again he saw a tall thin woman in a bright red dress walking along the side-walk. She brushed back her blonde hair as she looked up at the police car. She stuck out like a beacon of color in the dull gray town. He tried to raise his hand to wave but again the chain caught. The car took a sharp turn and the town as well as the tall blonde was quickly out of sight. The cruiser drove up a dirt road and that's when he saw the sign. His heart instantly felt cold as his eyes fell upon the iron letters.
"DESOLATION ROW HOME FOR THE MENTALY DISTURBED."
Two tall thin men with black hair and paper white suits emerged from a guard shed. Looking at the police car they nodded in a robotic unison. They each stepped up to the large iron gate and pulled. The gate doors creaked as they opened. The police officer nodded and drove forward.
I don't belong here. He thought to himself. The car rolled up the driveway and the gates shut. Frank looked behind him as the creepy pale men in white suits starred back at him with expressionless faces. Looking back his eyes fell upon the building. Desolation Row. It was a large gray brick building with white bricks lining the outside. It had large stain glass window with bars over them. A tall steeple stood in the center with a weathervane sticking out the top. The letters DR were twisted into the metal.
The car stopped. Frank looked up as the cops got out and opened his door. He said nothing as they forced him from the vehicle. He knew it was pointless to resist. Though it took all his will power not to. He didn't belong here. He wasn't crazy! Sure he screwed up big time but he wasn't mental!
The cops pulled him along. Just as they reached the steps his heart pound in his chest. He hesitated for only a second before the cop jerked him forward.
"Come on you loon! Keep walking!" The cop forced. He jerked back out of the cops grip.
"I'm not a fucking loon!" Frank shouted as he stumbled back. "This is a mistake. I shouldn't be here!"
"You fat-head little shit!" The cop shouted and lifted his arm. His baton was raised high ready to swing. The other cop gripped Frank by the shoulders and pinned him as the other pulled back. Frank winced, getting ready for the pain when a bony gray hand shot up and gripped the officer by the arm.
"Now, now Officer O'Brian, there is no need for force." Frank looked up to see a tall bald man with beady black eyes. He was sharply dressed in a white ruffled shirt, an expensive looking brown vest, tailored black pants, perfectly shined black shoes, and a long gray wool coat. The officer's hand fell. Frank could already see the fear in the officer's eyes. Two more pale guards in the similar white suits stood beside the tall man. Again their faces expressionless.
"Y-yes…o-of course Dr. Korse." The officer stuttered. Both officers backed several feet away. Dr. Korse kept his eyes on Frank but extended his hand towards the police.
"His key?" Dr. Korse smiled. Frank noticed a hint of an accent on Dr. Korse's words. It was faint but sounded like a mix of English and American, allowing only a few words to accent.
The officer's hand shook as he placed the key in Dr. Korse's hand. His fingers curled around it.
"Thank you. You may go." His smile creased further. The officers nodded and hurried back into the car. Frank wasn't sure what it was about the man but the very presence of him made his blood run cold. Dr. Korse handed the key to the guard on his right.
"Now, let us do away with these nasty chains." He nodded to the guard. Quickly the guard gripped the chains and quickly unlocked the cuffs. The second guard unlocked the ones around his feet. The chain jingled as it dropped to the dirt.
Dr. Korse placed an ice cold hand on Frank's back and pressed him forward. The only reason Frank continued to walk was to get away from Dr. Korse's dead like hand. The guards pulled open the doors with great effort and stepped inside. Once Frank was in they quickly shut it. Several locks clicked as the door shut.
"Now…" Dr. Korse spoke as he led Frank down the dimly lit hall with elaborate wallpaper and a few lamps here and there. "I am Dr. Korse, but you can call me Korse if you wish. I want you to know that Desolation Row is a safe place for the mentally ill. My hope is to rehabilitate you with mental exercises." Korse continued down the hall.
It grew darker and darker. They stopped at the end of the hall in front of a large white wooden door. As Korse opened it, it was as if the entire atmosphere of the large building drastically altered. They stepped into a hospital like hall way. They approached a large cage like door. Frank noticed the same two guards that worked the iron gates. They saw Korse and hit a large buzzer.
"For your safety I lock all of the patients to this section of the house." Korse said pushing him forwards. "Not that you would, but it would be impossible to escape. Every window from this point on is locked and barred on the outside. You will be allowed scheduled visitation rights to any friends or families though."
Frank cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his shaved head.
"I don't have any family." He mumbled. For a fraction of a second he could have sworn he saw Korse grin at this.
"No matter. I'm sure you will make many friends here at Desolation Row." Korse rubbed his hands together as they walked. The hall began to shrink as they went on. They began to pass several doors. Frank peeked inside and saw several hospital beds and testing equipment beside them. The lights above his head flickered and a loud blood curdling scream emitted from one of the doors. It sounded like a woman. Frank stopped.
"That's just one of our more eccentric patients. We've been working on electric shock therapy on some of our more…severe patients. But now worries. I'm sure we will have no troubles from you." Korse said it as if it were a warning.
Finally they stopped to another door and Korse lifted a ring of keys from his pocket. Unlocking the door he opened it up into a large room.
"This is the Wreck Room. Here you will have free time to watch television, play games, make friends, anything you like." Korse closed and locked the door behind him.
It was a large white room with bright florescent lights that dangled from the ceiling. Several people sat in chairs at small card tables or half on and off of a beat up couches as they stared blankly at a black and white TV. A guy with jet black hair sat with his feet hanging off of the arm of a torn up brown couch. The TV was nothing but white noise. Another guy, much thinner with long hair in front of his face and large round glasses, tried to get up to change the station.
"Hey! This is my favorite show!" The guy with black hair shouted and tossed a pillow at him. The guy with glasses just rolled his eyes and sat back in his chair.
Frank was lead to a table where a guy with long frizzy light brown hair sat by himself at a card table with a chessboard. The guy was mumbling to himself as they walked up.
"Frank I would like to introduce you to Ray." Korse said stopping. The guy looked up and smiled.
"Hey, doc? Got us some fresh meat?" He snickered eyeing up Frank. Frank could feel several other eyes on his back but knew better than to look around.
"Now Ray, that's now way to start off a friendship. Frank is going to be your new roommate and I want you to help him adjust to Desolation Row. Introduce him to your…friends." Korse glared over at the couch where the two guys sat.
Ray pulled out a cigarette and lit it up.
"Whatever you say Doc." Ray winked as he puffed out a cloud of smoke. Korse pretended to smile and then turned around.
Frank watched as Korse walked off with his hands balled into fists. The guy with black hair looked up from the couch and whipped a pillow at the back of Korse's head.
"BOMB THE ENEMY!" The black haired guy shouted and stood on the couch loading up with more pillows. Korse flipped around with vicious speed. Within seconds the two guards from before had him pinned and disarmed from his deadly pillows of death. Korse was inches from his face.
"God damn it! When are you going to stop acting like a child!" Korse gritted his teeth as he grabbed the guy by the collar of his white cotton shirt. The guy grinned.
"When are you going to stop acting like such Bluenose?" He spat in Korse's face.
"So help me god I will…" Korse stopped short.
"You'll what? Give me a good old shock to my brain? Or is that only for family?" The guy's expression darkened.
Korse snarled and violently slapped him across the face. The guards dropped him and he fell the ground. Korse turned satisfied and quickly exited the wreck room.
"Shouldn't we like help that guy?" Frank said in amazement. Ray shook his head.
"Nah, he's alright. He always likes to start shit with the Doc."
Frank took a seat and looked at the chess board.
"So who's winning? You or the board?" Frank said sarcastically. Ray chuckled.
"Let me tell you how things work around here." Ray said sitting back with a smile. "Now it's safe to assume you're not bat shit crazy. I don't see you shouting out numbers or names or drooling on yourself so my guess is you either killed a guy…or you fucked up big time."
Frank looked down at the board.
"Either way it doesn't matter. Now I see you've already met the Doctor. He might seem all warm and friendly but trust me. He deserves to be locked up in this place more than any of us. Guy's fucking nuts. Avoid him at all cost unless you want your brain fried in electric shock therapy. Now there are also several guards in the house. The biggest two you need to worry about are Korse's right hand men. They guard the main entrances as well as Korse. The taller one is Dracul. Guy's from Russia. He doesn't speak a word of English so don't expect much from him but the guy will knock your lights out first chance he gets. The other one is Lloyd. Guy's all bark but little bite. He just likes starting shit with the patients."
Frank looked to the guards standing at the door. The taller one just stood with his eyes staring straight forward. The shorter one pulled a six shooter gun from his pocket and started spinning the barrel. He looked up and lined the gun up with Frank's face. He quickly turned back to Ray.
"Don't worry. They're rubber bullets. Just a little something to keep us in line. Most of us aren't really crazy, just a little fucked up in the head." Ray tapped the side of his head. The frizzy hair didn't help his case.
"What did you do?" Frank asked nervously. Ray smirked.
"I was drafted for the war about two years ago. We were in basic training for about ten months when one night a few of the guys slipped something in my drink. I tweaked and started setting off grenades in the training course. When I tried to explain what happened the guys denied it and told my drill Sargent I went crazy. They sent me here." Ray moved a piece forward on the chess board.
"But nothing is wrong with you. Shouldn't you get like a psych evaluation and they know you're not crazy?" Frank was on the edge of his seat. Ray shook is head.
"No way, man. No one leaves Desolation Row."
"Unless it's in a body bag!" The guy with the large round glasses pulled a chair up and sat in it backwards.
"Come one, Mikey don't scare the kid!" Ray made a face.
"And who might this keen cat be?" Mikey asked. Frank put up his hand.
"Name's Frank." Mikey looked at his hand and swallowed as if it were a large spider.
"Sorry, man…I don't…shake hands."
Ray took a long drag from his cigarette.
"Mikey is a germaphobe. He doesn't touch hands or door knobs…" Ray turned to Mikey. "Or tables or dirty looking forks or toilets or—"
"OK! We get it!" Mikey shouted and carefully pulled a pack of gum from his hospital green cotton pants and stuffed a stick into his mouth. He turned back to Frank.
"I just don't like touching things other people have touched." He wiggled his fingers and scrunched up his nose. "But that's not why I'm in here. About twelve years ago my parents died in a fire and I went mental. They tried to split me and my brother up. They put me in a home with this church going Jesus family. They put my brother in an orphanage. Well I panicked and tried to set their house on fire. Been at the DR ever sense." Mikey leaned back and blew a bubble. It popped and he sucked it back in. "I didn't get the heeby-jeeby's from germs till this place. They never wash anything. Three people died from the flu in like four years. I keep myself clean!"
"What about your brother?" Frank tilted his head. "What happened to him? Where is he now?"
Mikey looked to Ray with a snicker. He blew another bubble. It popped loudly and was quickly back inside his mouth.
"My brother?" Mikey's eyes darted over Frank's shoulders. "He'd be right behind you…"
There was a strange smacking sound.
Frank turned quickly around. At first all he saw was white but as he looked up he saw the guy with black hair slamming a pack of cigarettes into the palm of his hand. He pulled a cigarette from the pack and placed it between his lips.
"Who the fuk's the kid?" He said through his cigarette.
"Gee, this is Frank. Frank this is Gerard" Ray said moving another piece on the board. He pulled up a chair and sat in it backwards.
"So are you like crazy kinda crazy or just fucked up?" Gerard said taking Ray's matches and light his cigarette.
"Excuse me?" Frank raised an eyebrow. Gerard ashed on the floor.
"Do you like little people in your head tell you things or did you just fuck up like the rest of us?" Gerard said simply and looked around to a few other people mindlessly sitting in chairs and staring into nothingness.
Frank looked at the table and started biting his nails.
"Come on man take it easy on the guy. It's his first day." Ray said sympathetically.
"I'm just making sure this guy doesn't try and shank me in the lunch line!" Gerard put his hands up in defense. "Come on. Just tell us what you did?"
Frank nervously looked up and then down again.
"Um…about a month ago….I was drafted for the war. I guess I freaked. I've seen what those guys are like after they come back. It does shit to you…Well I tried to board a train for Mexico but I chickened out. When I came back home my front door was kicked in. My mum lived with me so I ran to check on her." He stopped and cleared his throat. "We live in a rough neighborhood. One of the local gang kids tried to rob the house. They found her and shot her three times in the chest. The neighbor heard gun shots and called the cops. When they got there they found me holding her and the gun beside me. They saw the ticket for Mexico and put two and two together. I tried to explain what really happened but no one believed me. Dr. Korse was the one who did my psych evaluation. He told the court I wasn't mentally capable to live on my own and to have me come to Desolation Row."
It was quiet for a long time.
"Well….I'm sorry for you." Gerard said sincerely.
"How can Korse keep us here like this?" Frank said angrier now. "What does he get from it?"
Just then the door to the wreck room opened. All four of them turned. Frank was surprised to see a tall girl enter. She had the same green hospital pants and white shirt combination as them but her shirt was more fit and had a V-neck cut from it. She was very pale and sickly looking, however also very pretty. Her long brown hair flowed around her neck and down her shoulders. She sniffled as she brushed tears off of her high cheek bones.
"Who's that?" Frank asked with his mouth open. As he spoke she looked up as if she heard him. He could see red circles around her temple. She made eye contact with Frank and quickly dropped her gaze. Her hair covered her face and she wrapped her arms tightly around her waist revealing several bruises around her arms like bands. Frank looked back to see Gerard's hands tightly gripping his pack of cigarettes until they were a crumpled up pile of paper and tobacco.
"I'm goin' for a fuckin walk!" He said angrily and flipped over his chair. He stormed over to a large glass door and bolted out.
"Is he allowed to do that?" Frank quickly looked at the guards. They stood there unmoving.
"He'll be alright. He goes to the garden when he gets pissed off. The whole place is surrounded by a huge brick wall with barbed wire on top. No way of getting out." Ray said moving another chess piece.
"Well what happened? Why is he upset?" Frank looked back to the girl. She was sitting on the couch with her knees to her chest. She kept her eyes to the glass doors where Gerard had just left.
"Keep your voice down!" Mikey whispered and shot a quick look to the guards. "See that Dame over there?" Mikey waved his head over.
Frank nodded.
"She's Korse's Daughter. Victory." Mikey continued to whisper. "She's been in here her whole life."
"What's wrong with her?" Frank asked. Ray leaned in.
"Originally nothing. Supposedly when Korse was still a medical doctor he used to try experiments on his wife. One day he wanted to try them on Victory. His wife tried to stop him but he got angry and tried to stab her with a tranquilizer. He grabbed the wrong needle and ended up pumping her with an empty syringe. The air bubble went to her heart and she died of a heart attack. Unfortunately Victory saw the whole thing. That's when Korse opened the asylum. He keeps her in here, he keeps her quiet. She's a mute…or at least we think. Today she saw a boy through the fence and tried to wave to him. Korse saw her and sent her for electric shock therapy." Ray looked over to her. She still had her eyes on the glass door.
"Korse keeps as many patients as he can for as long as he can so the state allows him to keep the asylum open." Mikey continued.
"Ok…" Frank said looking from Victory back to the others. "That explains her but what about…" He pointed his thumb towards the door.
"You never asked why Gerard was here." Mikey stated. Frank leaned back.
"Well I just figured…"
Mikey shook his head.
"When they committed me He knew I wouldn't be able to handle this fucking place without him." Mikey said shamefully. Frank was taken back.
"Are you meaning to tell me he committed himself?"
Mikey nodded.
"Korse hates him and vice versa but he knows too much. If Korse lets him go he could just as easily have the cops here. They know what's going on but they need someone to come forward. Everyone is too afraid to and we're all trapped here." Ray said looking at the board on the table.
"After all these years and being probably the most sane, my brother's seen what Korse does to her." Mikey looked up. "He carries a bit of a torch for her."
Frank looked up to Victory. She made eye contact but then quickly darted behind the couch. There was a loud buzz from the speakers above them.
"Alright crazies!" Lloyd shouted and rolled the gun along his pant leg. "Time for bed!"
Ray and Mikey stood up.
"Come on." Ray said motioning. "I'll show you where our beds are."
As they walked Victory stood up slowly and then quickly walked past them. As she did she kept her eyes on Frank again and then quickly looked down. She bumped his shoulder as she filed in with the rest of the patients. A light sound tickled his left ear. Either he was really going crazy or in the faintest hint of a whisper he could have sworn she whispered.
"Welcome to Desolation Row."
A/N: There you have it! The first chapter. It cheers up I swear, but I warn you this is a more serous of a story as opposed to my more cheery Killjoy fics. Please Read and Review and let me know what you though.
Oh P.S. Disclaimer: I do infact own Victory. She is a creation of my own brain thoughts