Chris woke up at 9am the next day, like usual. He stretched before pulling on yesterday's clothes and exiting the room to get his morning medication. The woman deposited the white pills in Chris' outstretched palm and he closed his hand around them, waiting to get a drink. He didn't like swallowing pills dry.

'Morning' he heard a voice say from behind him.

Chris turned around and saw Dan there, his eyes half closed and his dark hair ruffled. His brown eyes were ringed with dark circles.

'Morning' he replied. 'Bad night's sleep?' He asked sympathetically.

Dan nodded. 'Shit. Does it get better?'

Chris considered telling Dan the truth but he thought against it. 'Yeah, it does'.

'Good to hear' Dan replied. 'Alice coming again today?' He asked.

'She hasn't missed a day in seven years' Chris replied softly.

He waited for Dan to collect his medication and both boys walked to the dining hall. They sat down on the white seats after grabbing a glass of water. In silence, they swallowed the pills, Dan shuddered ever so slightly.

'So, what's there to do around here?' Dan asked, glancing around at the solitary hall, bar the two dark haired boys.

'Nothing' Chris replied.

'Nothing?' Dan echoed.

'Nothing' Chris repeated. 'You get used to it. In the end, you can barely distinguish between the days'.

Dan's eyes widened and Chris felt slightly bad at his blunt response.

'I have a meeting with Dr Fischer at 9:30am' Dan said. 'Do you know where his office is?'

Chris nodded in reply. 'Yeah, he's my doctor too. I'll take you there'.

'Thanks' Dan replied. 'Shall we go now?'

Both boys rose and exited the empty hall. There was never any breakfast on offer anyway. They walked down the baron halls, their feet thudding against the dirty floor.

'Do you get lonely here?' Dan suddenly questioned Chris.

Chris was silent for a moment. 'Nope' he shrugged. 'Like I said, you get used to it. And I have Alice'.

'She seems like a nice sister'.

'She's the best…' Chris trailed off as he stopped outside a green door. 'We're here'.

'Cheers' Dan thanked Chris. 'See you later?'

'See you' Chris said before he walked off.

Dan ran a hand through his messy hair before knocking on the door, its paint peeling off.

'Come in!' A voice boomed out and Dan pushed open the door. 'Daniel Howell, right?' A tall man with a trimmed beard said, glasses perched on the end of his slightly too-big nose.

'Yeah, that's me' Dan said awkwardly, wondering if he should sit or stand.

'Admitted here yesterday?' Dr Fischer questioned him. 'Have a seat' he gestured to the wooden chair behind his desk.

Dan sank gratefully into the seat. 'Yeah'.

'Who admitted you?'

'Um, well, my flatmate, Phil, sent me to a doctor's and they sent me here, I guess' Dan mumbled.

'Good good' Dr Fischer said. 'You had two bouts of medication this morning, am I right?'

'Yeah'. It seemed like Dan's vocabulary was only limited to this singular word.

'Well, we'll keep you on that for a while and see how you go. And if anything changes, good or bad, we'll alter it. Chances are we'll have to increase it, looking at your history'. The doctor says, staring at Dan's medical file in front of him.

'Alright, um, okay'. Dan mumbled. 'Am I allowed visitors?'

Dr Fischer shook his head. 'Not at first, Daniel. But if you progress, then yes'.

'How come?' He queried.

'Well, at first, it's difficult for the visitor to see a patient in this state, it can affect them too' Dan opened his mouth to speak but the doctor ignored him. 'It can also negatively affect the patient, which will set back their progress time'.

Dan was silent for a minute. 'Right' he said eventually.

'I'll see you this time next week, Daniel. But if you have any problems, then don't hesitate to come to me, understood?'

'Yeah' Dan replied, looking around the office. Like the rest of the hospital, it was basically empty. There was no photos hanging on the walls, no colour, no sign of life.

Dan rose and departed the office. He managed to find his way back to the bedrooms without too many mistakes and he found Chris in his room, lying on his bed with his hands behind his head.

'Chris?' Dan called out. 'Can I come in?'

He heard a grunt from Chris and he took that as a yes. He cautiously walked in and sat down on the end of his bed. Chris didn't seem to register Dan but continued to stare out of the barred window.

'Chris?' Dan asked and Chris blinked, finally registering Dan.

'Yeah?'

'How come you've been in here so long?' Dan began to twist the sheets in between his fingers, awaiting the reply.

Chris simply shrugged. 'I haven't been getting better, I guess. Alice is the only one getting me through this'.

'Chris?'

'What?'

'Am I mad? Is that why I'm here?'

'We're all mad here, Dan'.