Chapter Three
Despite further behavior counseling the subject still shows no signs of change. She still seems completely unaware as to her real age or the real situation she is in. From her records it appears that her condition was onset sometime during her teenage years for reasons unknown. Whether it was caused by some sort of emotional or physical trauma is not stated, though it appears that neither had a part in her regression. Though the patient has shown little cause for concern I recommend further hospitalization until a full and proper diagnosis can be made.
Taking in a breath Lewis paused in his typing and read over what he had just typed for any errors there might be. Satisfied, he told the computer to save the latest update to Dana's file before stretching his fingers and resting in his chair.
Not much time had passed since he had come into work that morning and yet he had made additions to fourteen different patient files. While not all of those patients were on his regular duty list, he had been able to help their doctor's with a fresh insight. Sometimes it just helped to have a new pair of eyes take a look at something in order to make sure nothing had been overlooked. While this task had not always been a favorite of his, he was beginning to enjoy it more and more as it seemed to take some of the responsibility, and therefore some of the numbing stress, off of his shoulders.
As he looked over the names of the patient files which still needed his attention Lewis felt grateful that he had not been given any visitations today. He knew that visiting and diagnosing the patients at Brookhaven were the main reasons he had chosen his profession, but sometimes it helped to have a day off from all of that drama; to be given the chance to catch up in the piles of paperwork if for nothing else.
After his visit with Dana the day before Lewis had found it really hard to focus on his work. As such he had gotten very little done before calling it a day and going home. The only problem that anyone else would see is that it meant more work for him the next day, which he had been feverishly working to catch up as he didn't want to waste the free time given to him by the hospital's administrators. There was another problem though that had burrowed itself deep into his mind and refused to let go. Thoughts of Cassie still plagued his mind.
As Lewis thought about it in that instant it almost seemed crazy that he hadn't been able to bring some resolution to the matter. It had been over a month since Cassie's death and yet the whole thing haunted him as though it had happened only yesterday. "Everyone else seems to have put the matter aside," he thought to himself. Though deep in his being he knew that wasn't totally true. His conversation with both his assistant and Officer Simmons the other day had proven that fact.
Though he knew that they still held some reservations about what had happened with Cassie they couldn't nearly be as plagued about the matter as he was, could they? Of course he didn't even really know how much of himself had been consumed by the matter. He had thought himself well on the way to being able to put the incident behind him and move on, that is until he had received the mysterious note. The ominous presence of the note seemed as though it had torn down any walls Lewis had put up to shield himself away from the horrifying memory of Cassie. Now it all rushed back into his mind in an attempt to push him even further away from sanity's edge.
Leaning back, he stared up at the ceiling and the glow of the fluorescent light. His mind began to wander back down the familiar path that ended in the image of Cassie's terrified corpse being played over and over before he suddenly shook the images away. In times like these it was always important to keep one's mind busy on any task one could find. Keeping his mind busy on anything, no matter how small or insignificant, was becoming the only comfort that Lewis could find to keep the threat of the nightmare at bay.
Bringing his gaze away from the ceiling he stared at the list of files he still had to make additions to. The number was close to two-dozen, but for some reason it seemed like there were quite a bit more. As he read over the names to himself they suddenly began to blur and mix together and his eyes began to water as a sharp pain came to them. In response he closed his eyes and winced for a moment, not opening them again until several seconds had passed. When he did open them he looked at his computer monitor and the list that was displayed. "Time for a break," he said to himself before getting up from the chair and walking out of his office.
As he walked down the hallway Lewis set his focus on getting something to eat. It was well past noon and having been shut in his office all morning Lewis was ready for a well-deserved meal. Taking the elevator down to the first floor he made his way to the cafeteria in eager anticipation of whatever was offered.
The cafeteria itself was a small room. Only two or three people could come and pick out a meal without anyone feeling cramped. Its space had been lessened even more so by the large serving area where all the food had been placed. "What do we have to eat today?" Lewis asked as he spotted one of Brookhaven's two cooks as she worked behind the serving area.
"Well for lunch we have roast beef on rye." the kindly older woman said with a smile.
"Roast beef? That sounds like just what I could use." Taking a look over the sandwiches on display for a moment Lewis finally saw one that looked appetizing enough and reached for it. The moment he touched it his hand quickly recoiled and he looked at it for a moment to make sure he hadn't just imagined what he felt. After another touch he knew what was wrong; the bread had gone stale. "What's with the bread?" he asked of the older woman.
"Oh just the supply truck is late in coming. I've asked if we could just buy straight from one of the markets in town, but of course the administrators don't think that food's best for the patients. Has to be all calorie counted or some nonsense like that."
"Well," Lewis said as he looked at the woman then at the food displayed before him, "do you have anything else I can eat?"
"There's plenty to eat," the woman said as she began to go back to whatever task Lewis had interrupted, "but nothing any fresher."
With reluctance Lewis took another look at the roast beef. Maybe if he just ate the meat then it would be enough to stave off his hunger until he could go home. As he looked at the beef though he suddenly realized how gray it looked and suddenly his lunch order was made up. "Thanks anyway," he said to the cook before exiting the cafeteria.
Walking across the hall to the first floor's day room his stomach chose to remind him that he hadn't eaten anything all day. With a shrug he told his stomach to be patient and that it was better off for the moment empty. Instead of trying to force down an obviously spoiled sandwich Lewis decided to go on his standby diet as he made his way over to the black coffee maker. Once he poured himself a cup of the steaming liquid and had put enough sugar in it to his liking he looked around the room and found an empty table to sit at.
For being lunchtime there were a surprisingly few number of people in the room. From what Lewis could see there were only four other people. Two nurses sat towards the middle of the room absorbed in a lively conversation as they picked at a salad whose lettuce was just shy of wilted. Towards the door he saw Dr. Hunt, one of Brookhaven's few female doctors. She appeared to be busy reading over some files as she slowly sipped away at her own cup of coffee. Lastly he noticed Brookhaven's janitor huddled in one corner apparently trying to enjoy a break as he braved a roast beef sandwich. The man was one of those eastern European types that one had a hard time remembering how to pronounce their name and always had come to the U.S. through way of fleeing their own nation. He imagined the roast beef was something more to what the man had been used to, but he pushed the thought away and almost immediately felt bad for having it.
Sipping on his cup of coffee Lewis' mind began to wander away. For the first time in the past month it didn't go to dwell on thoughts of Cassie, nor did it dwell on the mysterious note. Instead it rested on some of his patients and his career choice. Not all of his patients were as violent and disturbed as Cassie had been. No, in fact more of them were closer to what Dana was like than anything else. At one point he had enjoyed the challenge of playing psychologist to the town's most mentally unstable. Lately though that challenge was getting the best of him. The problem wasn't so much that his profession had lost any appeal, no the problem was he had seemed to hit a brick wall when it came to his patients. It seemed as though any thing he did or said was having no effect on any of them. No matter how hard he tried, no matter what school taught method he used, it seemed like nothing was working. None of his patients had improved in the slightest lately and that fact was frustrating him to exhaustion. On that thought he eased back into the plastic chair and tried to focus on nothing but the sweet coffee. He had begun to succeed when someone suddenly called his name.
The moment he entered the day room he spotted Dr. Lewis. Over the couple of years since he had come to work at Brookhaven Dr. Lewis had become one of his closest friends and most trusted confidants when it came to diagnosing patients. Since the mysterious death of one of Lewis' patients a strange and unsettling void had appeared between the two men. Today though he vowed to do his best to try and lessen that void and bring Lewis back into the place of his best friend. "Hey Terry," he said coming from just right of the doctor.
When Lewis heard his name he nearly jumped out of his seat. He hadn't expected anyone to need his attention, and the calming effect from his coffee had begun to make him feel drowsy. Sleep was just about to steal him away for a moment, but the sudden mention of his name rushed his mind back into reality.
After a small shake of his head and a yawn Lewis looked in the direction his name had come from. When he did he saw a man who was only a few years younger than him walking towards where he sat. The man was almost a head taller than Lewis, and his velvet black hair seemed to make Lewis' graying strands lighter by comparison. "Hi Randy," Lewis said when the man finished his approach of the table.
"So what are you up to Terry? Slacking off on the job it looks like," Randy said with a grin as he took a seat opposite of Lewis at the round lunch table.
"Just taking a break from the stack of paperwork I have to go through. Who knew that so many forms were required to look after the mentally ill?" Lewis said flatly before taking a long sip of his coffee.
"Yeah I know. They just keep tacking on more and more for me to do in evaluating my patients. If it gets any worse I'll have to spend all of my time filling out forms rather than the actual job I was hired to do!" Randy paused for a moment and looked at his colleague's face for any sign of reaction. When none came he just leaned back and continued on. "If that wasn't enough now they've added a new patient to my list to take care of. They must think I have a lot of free time on my hands or something."
"Oh?" was all Lewis barely muttered in response, not quite paying attention to his friend as his mind slowly drifted away from the present and back to the past.
"Yeah, I guess I just happened to be the lucky pick when they brought in our new resident. Some shopkeeper I believe they said by the name of Leiland." As the next moment ticked by Randy muttered to himself over the details surrounding his new patient before going back to talking with Lewis on the matter. "I guess he bludgeoned a man to death because he thought the man was a monster."
At the mention of the word monster Lewis's attention was suddenly drawn back to the conversation his friend was trying to have. Suddenly he remembered the phone call he had received from Officer Simmons and wondered if there was any connection to the patient his friend was describing. "How did your new patient come here?" he asked with a touch of excitement and of hope that a piece of the tragic puzzle he had been through could be put together.
"Some police officer by the name of Simmons brought him in about an hour or so ago. Cocky bastard if I ever saw one. He muttered a few words to me about how bad the shape of the hospital is getting before he decided his time would be better spent flirting with Leslie. Didn't seem in a rush to get out of here, in fact I bet he's still talking over some intricate plan he has for getting her to go on a date with him."
With the mention of Simmons' name Lewis nearly shot up out of his chair. He didn't fully understand why, but suddenly he knew he had to speak with the officer. Maybe it was the fact that he had been there when Cassie had so mysteriously died and had seen for himself the gruesome scene. While everyone else had seemed to push out any memory of what happened he knew that Simmons hadn't done so completely. That fact gave Lewis a link back to a terrifying moment they had shared and knew that it couldn't have been a hoax. For this reason he felt directly connected to him and shot quickly out of his chair to go speak with him.
Leaving his friend to sit in a state of confusion Lewis rushed out of the day room without a word. Moving at a pace just faster than a walk he began to make his way down the hallway towards the reception office where he hoped Officer Simmons would still be. Thoughts of the officer's presence at Cassie's murder scene wrapped themselves around his mind and he knew that he needed the man's help in dealing with the situation. It wasn't until he had gone around the corner at the hallway's end did something hit him and he suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. That something was the question of what he was going to say to the officer. In his rush to get a chance to talk with Simmons he had completely forgotten the need to decide on what needed to be talked about. He paused for a moment and tried to string together a few bits of information he felt would be needed. After a moment though he decided just to go on instinct and say whatever came to mind in the moment as he continued back towards the reception area.
The moment he stepped through the reception office's doorway Lewis saw the police officer. Simmons was bent over Leslie's desk, saying something to her in a disgusting tone that was meant to be sweet. A wide grin shown on his face as he looked at the blonde haired assistant, trying to use his charm to win her over. Leslie on the other hand looked like she wasn't the slightest bit interested in the officer's advances. Trying to get back to work, she was doing everything she could to ignore the man and was subtly trying to get rid of him. After a moment of watching this scene unfold Lewis grew tired and slightly annoyed of it and he loudly cleared his throat, getting the officer's attention.
As he tried to convince the blonde receptionist to go out with him John was completely oblivious to anything else that was going on around him, including Dr. Lewis' entrance. When the doctor suddenly cleared his throat it startled the officer, but not enough for it to show. Not changing his attitude in the slightest John turned around and looked at Dr. Lewis as he stood in the doorway looking as though he had something to say. "Ah well hello there Dr. Lewis," John said as he kept up his grin. "I was wondering if I'd see you here today."
"Oh really?" Lewis asked with a hint of curiosity.
"Mhm. I thought that maybe you'd have some spooky new tale to pass along or something," John replied in a sarcastic tone. It was obvious that he was upset that the doctor might had just ruined any chance he had with the young receptionist, but that was just too bad.
"Actually there is something I'd like to talk to you about." Lewis said as he studied the officer, trying to get a better idea of what he was really about. After a moment of silence passed between the two Lewis decided that the reception area was far from the proper place for them to have their discussion. "How about we discuss it in my office and leave Leslie here to her work," he said as he gestured out of the door.
At the mention of the receptionist's name John's charming smile faltered and he looked like he had suddenly been insulted for a moment. Taking a quick look back at the young woman he gave a quick wink before he stood straight up. Once he had given his officer's uniform a quick tug he stepped out the door and waited for Lewis to lead the way.
During the trip to Lewis' officer neither man spoke a word, nor did they even look at each other. Their trip seemed almost dream-like as neither one felt fully in control of their movements but rather simply were led down a carefully laid out path. It wasn't until Dr. Lewis closed his office's door and the two sat down did they shake off the weird vibe that Brookhaven's walls had laid upon them.
"What can I do for you doctor?" John asked as he leaned back in the leather chair set on the other side of the desk.
With Simmons looking back at him Lewis suddenly felt the need for a more planned out idea of what needed to be said. Slowly he wetted his lips with his tongue and said the first thing that came to him. "Has anything else been figured out about Cassie's murder?" he asked intently.
"Not you too doctor." John said with disdain. When he looked back at the doctor and saw how serious he was he decided to give him a better answer. "No, we don't have anything new about her. But should we? The girl died. It was tragic, but how much resources should we waste on a case that has no clues and no clear explanations?"
"If you lock me in this dank box then He will claim my soul before the sun's rays can embrace my being!" screamed Cassie's voice inside Lewis' skull. A slight shake of his head brought Lewis to focus back on the officer that sat across from him. He knew that Simmons was right and yet he couldn't bring himself to accept that fact just yet. "Are you sure you have explored everything?" Lewis asked in a desperate plea for resolution, or at least hope of one.
John rubbed his hands together and looked back at the doctor before he spoke. "Honestly doctor, we might have overlooked something, but what's the point in digging any deeper? The girl had no family, none that cared about her at least. So there's no one that would demand an answer to this little mystery. The chief has lost interest in the case and even the newspapers have stopped asking questions. Everyone seems content to write off her death as an unexplainable mystery but you."
"But there has to be some logical reason for..." Lewis started but stopped mid-sentence as his argument began to lose its appeal.
"Strange stuff happens all the time here in Silent Hill, doctor. You of all people should know that."
On that note Lewis thought that he could finally put the whole matter to rest and bury it deep within his mind. His mind however had different plans as it suddenly reminded him of the scrawled out note. Shuffling through the stacks of papers that he had carelessly placed on his desk he looked for the note as Simmons looked on with confusion. After a few moments of frantic searching he had just about given up on finding the note, just as the corner of the small, crumpled piece of paper came into view. Pulling it out from under several sheets of paper he looked at it for a moment to make sure it was what he had been looking for before pushing it across the table to Simmons.
"What's this?" the officer asked as he carefully picked up the note and looked it over.
"That is the reason why I asked about Cassie. Apparently I'm not the only one who hasn't written off her death."
Once he had read over the note John put it back on Lewis' desk and looked back at the doctor with a questioning gaze. "And what exactly is that supposed to mean, doctor?"
Lewis quickly opened his mouth to reply, but left it there silent, as he couldn't think of what to say. The silent void lasted for a moment as Lewis tried to think of something to say, but all he could come up with was, "I don't know." which he said so quietly that Simmons almost missed it.
"Well then there isn't any reason to give it another thought, right?"
Question after question stacked up in the doctor's mind as he tried to think of the best one to ask the officer. What if Cassie had been right about this Red Demon creature? What if that was really what killed her? What if this note was some sort of warning that shouldn't be ignored? While all of these questions held merit, Lewis didn't feel like any of them could be asked of the officer yet. If Simmons was his one connection to reality in all of this then the last thing Lewis wanted to do was to alienate the man by having him think he was crazy. "If only I knew who wrote it," Lewis muttered to himself, but loudly enough that Simmons picked up on it.
"Ah it was probably just one of the nut jobs you got locked up in here with a few too many minutes of free time. I wouldn't give it a second thought." John said in a tone that almost seemed friendly.
"Even if it was one of them, I still should know which one."
"Well, what do you want me to do, have it analyzed?"
The officer's question sparked something in Lewis' mind. If he could have it analyzed then he might be able to tell who had written it. Then he could finally put some of the pieces to this terrible puzzle together. "Yes, that's a great idea," he said to the officer.
"I was just being sarcastic," John replied, trying to show that he wasn't serious about taking the note to be analyzed.
"Why not?" Lewis shot the question at Simmons as the volume of his voice increased and the tone grew frantic. "If you did then maybe I could figure this out."
"We're very busy down at HQ, doctor. We don't have the time to waste on the note of a madman." Though the term seemed to be pointed at whoever had written the note Simmons emphasized on it to show that it could also be applied to Lewis. "Now if you don't mind," John said as he started to get up to leave.
"No!" Lewis yelled as he dove across his desk and in front of the escaping officer. With the note tightly gripped in his hand he shoved it into the officer's face before saying, "You will take this and have your specialists look at it."
"Doctor!" John said as he looked at the seething man before him. The sudden movement from the older man had startled John, and as he looked at the doctor now he panicked at what he might do next. He hadn't planned on listening to another word Lewis might have to say, but the look that John saw made his mind whisper that he should change that opinion. "Okay okay," he said as he took the note. At that moment John still wasn't sure what he would do with the note, but he felt like he should say anything that might calm Lewis down. "I'll have our people downtown look at this for you." As John pocketed the note he looked at Lewis, hoping there wouldn't be anything else the doctor might want from him. When he saw the doctor begin to calm down he took his chance and quickly exited the room.
As the door to his office closed behind Simmons, Lewis felt all his energy drain from him. Slowly he dropped down onto the floor and onto a mess of papers that he had sent flying when he dove across his desk. Thinking of what had just happened Lewis couldn't understand what had come over him. Had the strain of everything really caused such a reaction to come from him? That reaction was common to those who were at Brookhaven, but not from the doctors but rather the patients. Was working and living with insanity all around him causing himself to go insane? With a tired sigh he leaned his back against his desk and simply wondered what was becoming of him.