"Hey Thornwood! No napping on the job man, I know these crazies are boring but if boss catches you doing that you're gonna be in deep shit."
I look around and the first thing I realize is I'm laying on a couch. Where the hell am I? I look at the man who spoke.
"What?" I ask.
He's a relatively young looking guy. Built. Dressed in white scrubs. And he's chuckling at me.
"I said, you can't be sleeping on the job. You've only been here a few months, you haven't earned that kind of slack. Now come on...it's your turn to give out meds on D hall."
I get to my feet and walk over to him. The name tag on his shirt says Patterson. Then I look down at my own clothes and realize I'm wearing the similar white hospital scrubs.
"D hall?" I ask.
"Look I know it's a lot to take in but if you don't remember anything else, remember that the patients on D hall are the real certified looney's. At least these other zombies around here are pretty mellow with the proper meds. But those on that hall...just don't let them grab you when you give them meds through the door. Last week poor John got his finger bitten off by this one guy who swears he's a vampire," Patterson explains as we walk down a white hallway. People in plain grey sweatpants and others dressed like me pass us by.
"So...this is a mental asylum?" I ask. He looks at me and laughs.
"Yeah...that's the proper name for good old Sunny Reef. Although, why they would name a dump like this that I will never know," he says.
We turn down another hall and come to a stop outside a checkpoint of sorts separating where we were from the Hall labeled D. A guard stands on both sides and smile when they see us.
"What's up guys? Feeding time already?" The guard on our side asks. Patterson chuckles.
"Not quite. Even better. Meds. How are they today?"
The guard whose nametag says Mitchell shrugs.
"A little rowdy. You think you could slip them a little something extra to keep them quite. I got a headache today and I'm not up for all the racket they'll make the rest of my shift," Mitchell asks.
Patterson pats his shoulder. "I'll see what I can do, this here is Thornwood. He's new."
I nod to the officers on both sides.
"First time working D hall?" Mitchell asks.
"Yeah," I say. He chuckles. "Oh man you're in for a treat."
I watch as he pulls a keycard from his pocket and swipe it on the wall. The door buzzes for a second then a green light appears on the keypad and the door pops open.
Patterson pats my shoulder before walking through the door. The other guard nods at me.
"Good luck and keep your hands away from the slots in the door."
I look at him. "I'll remember that."
Patterson and I head into the first door on the left. I step in and see rows of medicine. Patterson grabs a clipboard off of the wall and then begins to put medicine in number labeled cups.
He looks at me when he realizes I'm not helping.
"Right, you don't know...okay so it's real easy, come here and look at this chart."
I move over to him and take the offered clipboard. There are room numbers, names and medicines.
"All you gotta do is find the medicine's each crazy needs and put it in the medicine cup with their room number on it," he explains.
"Doesn't sound too hard," I say.
"Yeah this is the easy part. The hard part is getting these bastards to take their meds," he laughs as he continues to distribute medicine into cups. I follow his lead and start putting medicine in cups as well.
I get through nearly half a page of names before I get to room 117. Alev Winters. Risperidone, Perphenazine, and Quetiapine.
My heart races as I read the name. I look at Patterson.
"What can you tell me about room 117?"
He looks up from the medicine cups and smirks. "You see her prescriptions?"
"Yeah?"
"Well first off those mean she's not just crazy, she's full blown lost in her hallucinations. Rumor has it she's always raving about being a werewolf or some shit. Docs keep her on the medz to help keep her calm. It's taken weeks for them to find the right medicine combination to tame her. It's like her body was fighting the doses," he explains and I feel my blood boil.
"Is she dangerous?" I ask.
"Let's just say, she's a violent desire. If she wasn't so unpredictable, I woulda tapped that weeks ago," he says. I have to hold my wolf back from coming to the surface. We may not be bonded anymore but my wolf still remembers what a mate is supposed to mean to him. Just the idea alone that someone would touch her…I take a deep breath to calm down before speaking.
"What do you mean?"
He bumps my shoulder lightly and grins.
"You know...have a little fun. A lot of these crazies are surprisingly hot. The guards and us have an agreement. We drug a few of them every now and then for them and they turn a blind eye to any screams. Your girl in room 117. She's on everybody's hit list but her meds are just now starting to work. Matter of fact, I think Mitchell is planning to test the waters later on tonight. I'll let you know how it goes for him and make sure you get next hit," he grins.
My hands grip the table as I fight the urge to kill him. I don't know what this place is but it's full of sick bastards. And she's here. This can't be where she came from. After all, I still have my wolf. The Norm said magic couldn't exist in Alev's world. Just where the hell did that old witch send her?
He grabs the trays of medicine and put them on a push cart.
"Come on newbie...time to sedate these animals."
I grit my teeth and take another breath before following after him.
I sit a cup on medicine in the doorway of room 116 and it takes all of my restraint not to rush to the next door. I pick up the cup of medicine's meant for her door and look at them. Then look at Patterson who is a few doors down passing out medz.
I empty the cup of pills into my hand and slide them into my shirt pocket before putting the cup on the door.
Then I finally look into the room through the glass cut out in the top of the door and my breath hitches. A tiny figure sits curled up on the padded floor in the far right corner of the room. It's hard to make out any of her features with her wild locks covering her face.
I take a deep breath and her scent finally reaches me. I'd know that smell anywhere.
"Alev?"
She twitches at the sound of my voice but doesn't look at me. I'm just about to call out to her again when a hand touches my shoulder.
"Aww she's being shy today...don't worry my friend, she may look a little untamed but she is quite the looker," Patterson says before tapping the window. She jumps at the sound. I curve the impulse to hit him.
"How we doing today Alev?! Listen...I got a new friend for you to meet, names Thornwood but if you're a good girl he may even let you call him Dyson," Patterson says. I tense as he says my name. Then I watch wide eyed as she scrambles to her feet and makes her way closer to the door. She pushes some of the hair from her face and that's when I finally see her face.
Her eyes stare at me and I almost think she recognizes me then they get a far off look to them.
"Dyson...Dyson...Dyson...all the best wolves are named Dyson," she mumbles.
"Oh great...she's having an episode. Did you give her the meds?" Patterson asks and I nod, never taking my eyes off of her as she continues to ramble off names and things. Some I recognize, like my own and others I don't.
Oh god baby, what have they done to you?
"Hey Alev, hope those pills kick in soon. Mitchell and you have a date in a few hours," Patterson laughs. She doesn't even react to his words. I bite my tongue to keep from snapping at him. I'll kill anyone that thinks of touching her. She's mine.
I frown at the possessiveness my wolf still has for her. It's not the same as before but the feeling is growing stronger in her presence. The warm sensation in my chest grows stronger as well. What the hell is going on?
I school my features as Patterson motions for me to follow him to the next set of rooms. I give her one last look before following after him. I need to figure out a plan. Trick got me here, but I have no clue of how to get out of here. Wherever here is.
I spend the next half an hour mindlessly helping him pass out the rest of the meds. We head back up the hall and I pause to look into Alev's room. She's laying curled up in the corner again. I listen harder and pick up the sound of her light snores.
I hate letting her out of my sight but I reluctantly follow Patterson back up the hall. He puts the medicine cart away and then the guard opens the gate for us.
Once we're on the other side we're greeted by Mitchell.
"So...how was it?"
Patterson grins at the officer. "Pretty damn interesting. I slipped our troublemakers some extra pills so they should be quiet soon...but man Thornwood here gives room 117 her medicine right...I mention his name and then she gets up and walks over to us and starts her crazy rambles."
I look from Patterson to Mitchell who is always smiling. "Well...hopefully the new round of meds kick in tonight. I been waiting months to get my hands on that hot piece of ass. Peep this...had to go with one of the female workers to the showers when they cleaned her up. Man...underneath all that crazy is definitely a piece of chocolate cake I can't want to have a piece of," Mitchell laughs and Patterson joins in.
I bawl my fist at my sides and fight the urge to punch him in the face. He'd seen her naked. Someone that belongs to a part of my pack.
He's as good as dead.
"Listen….Thornwood. Since you seem so interested in 117, why don't you meet me back here in an hour. We can tag team her. That way we don't have to worry about her biting or attacking one of us," Mitchell suggest. I fight down the bile threatening to rise up at the thought.
I take a deep breath then give him what I hope is a believable smile.
"Sure man...I'll be here."
Author's Note:
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