Chapter 1: Amy
November 1984
7:30 AM
The little girl came down to the breakfast table.
"Good morning, Daddy" she said, smiling.
It was the smile more than the words that warmed Ernest's heart. Six years ago, he had viewed her birth with doubt and uncertainty. But with time, that had all been replaced with unadulterated love for the child he had been forced to raise on his own. Post natal difficulties had taken away her mother, and now Amy was all he had. The only thing that saddened Ernest was that he had to be at the hospital so much. It hurt him to have to leave Amy for much of the day, but the housekeeper could see to her well being. Fighting the darkness his father talked about was too important.
"Will you be back after school today? I want to be awake when you get home, this time."
Ernest had forgotten it was his birthday. Working long hours was clearly taking its toll.
"I'll try, sweetie. But let's make a deal: I'll tell Mrs. Kramer that you can wait up for me, and sing Happy Birthday when I get home."
"Thanks Daddy." She got up from her seat and hugged him.
"Happy Birthday, Daddy!" The words rang in his ears and made him smile as he left for work.
-
5:15 PM
Ernest was putting finishing up his last bit of paperwork and putting everything order before he went home. It was early for him to leave,but he meant to keep his promise to Amy. Brookhaven Hospital was a dreary building, filled with many hopeless cases. When he first took the job as director, Ernest resolved to do everything in his power to cure these wretches. As the years went by, and he had been forced to give up on many patients, a little bit of himself died, and he lost faith in his power to heal illness. At first his wife, and then only Amy, allowed gave him the ability to believe in himself. That was why he had to make it back tonight, because Amy meant sanity.
He was about to leave when a sound of screaming from down the hall caught his attention. He could her the sound of a man yelling and a woman screaming, followed by the sound of a struggle. A nurse ran into the room.
"It's Wolf!"
Leonard Wolf was one of the incurables. He had been admitted to the hospital four years before after stabbing another person in an argument over religion. Wolf was as fanatical as they came. If he even so much as suspected a less than respectful attitude towards his beliefs, he would lash out with brutal violence. However, he was normally not a problem for the staff as long he wasn't provoked.
"What happened?", Ernest yelled as they left his office.
"His daughter came to visit him today, and he managed to throw himself over the table at her. Daniel intervened, and Wolf tried to bite his throat out!"
Christ, he thought. His best orderly was probably bleeding to death as they spoke.
"If the police haven't been called, call them!"
-
7:45 PM
Daniel had been killed, and it took six men to wrestle Wolf to the ground and get him back up to his room. He kept screaming at his daughter the whole time, calling her a "heretic" and a "dirty whore." The girl was too shaken to talk to the police when they arrived. That was probably why they kept Ernest so long. When they were finally done asking him questions, it was after seven. Ernest had to get all his paperwork back in order, and it was another twenty minutes before he was ready to leave.
The phone rang. It was Mrs. Kramer.
"Mr. Baldwin, there's been an accident. Amy-" He slammed the phone down and ran out the door.
No, no, NO!
The mansion wasn't far from the hospital, but Ernest sped all the way there. His thoughts were chaotic, and he could feel his world collapsing around him.
He only saw a body bag, but it was enough. The police told him that Amy had fallen, apparently from the attic window. But it didn't make sense, Amy had no reason to be up there.
I should have been home. I should have been home.
