"Amber! Come on, you've gotta wake up! There's somebody watching us!" A voice said quickly. Amber groaned and rolled over. "Amber! Come on! They're pointing at you now!" Amber slowly recognized the voice as belonging to Anna, and sat up groggily.
"I dunno! That hot guy who was in here last night, and an old guy, oh, and there's a really tall chick out there too!" Anna replied quickly.
"Well that's descriptive. What does the girl look like?" Amber got up slowly and walked over to the door. To her surprise, her editor and the psychiatrist that she was working with on her article were standing outside. Amber felt overjoyed, she could finally go home. Surely they would release her; especially with Dr. Elanor being with Mark. She had to have an examination before the doctor would help her with Crane.
"I think that they've came to get you." Anna said.
"I hope so. It's been awful here. But maybe they'll feed me once more before they release me." Amber replied hopefully. She saw the people standing outside shake their heads, and start to walk down the hall. "Hey, where are they going? No, don't leave me! COME BACK!" She screamed through the door. They must just be going to fill out paperwork to release me… Amber thought hopefully.
"What's going on here, Dr. Crane? When I examined her, she certainly wasn't showing any signs of schizophrenia." Dr. Elanor said carefully. The editor, Mark, was apprehensive as well.
"I must say that I agree with the doctor; she's never been delusional before…" He said.
"Symptoms can be hidden well to close friends and colleagues."
"That's a usually rare case." She replied stiffly. Jonathan narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Well, I'm sure you saw her in there, she certainly wasn't faking." Jonathan replied coolly. Dr. Elanor nodded, frowning.
"Well, Dr. Crane, when do you think that she can get out of there?" Mark asked him.
"Oh, it will be a few weeks at least. Ms. Larks was first admitted for suspected suicide, as you know, but with this new development…" Jonathan trailed off in thought. "Who knows?" He said finally. Dr. Elanor was still eyeing him suspiciously. "Well, I'm quite sorry Dr. Elanor and Mr. Alexander, but I do have another appointment with a potential client's family that is due in any time now." Mark nodded, and they walked out the front doors. Jonathan breathed a sigh of relief as soon as they left. Mark wasn't terribly bright, but the woman could certainly catch onto his plot. He would have to be careful from now on. He walked calmly down the halls, noting with pleasure at how quite the soundproof walls made it in the asylum; at most others, the screams of the irrevocably insane resonated throughout the facility.
"Amber? Would you like something to eat?" He asked though the small speaker on the door.
"Bastard." A cold voice said through the speaker back.
"Well, I suppose that you can just go the rest of the night without food then." He said offhandedly. He heard a sigh that sounded like a gush of static through the speaker.
"I really don't want anything, but Anna's hungry."
"Really? And what would Anna like to eat?"
"Why do you act like that whenever you're talking about her? It's not like she can't hear you…"
"Please just answer my question." He said with a frown. He knew that the medication would have the desired effect of hallucinations, but he didn't think that it would drive her all the way to invent an entire persona in her mind's eye. It would usually be quite fascinating to observe, but he wasn't sure what kinds of effects it would have on her true mental health if she continued speaking to a figment of her imagination. And that would ruin most of the fun I could have with her, Crane thought with slight disappointment.
"She says that she wants some kind of salad. She's mostly vegetarian, but she says that she'll eat some chicken and turkey, and that's it. But you had to have known that from your files." She replied stiffly.
"Of course. I'll be back soon." He heard another sigh on the other end, and shut off the radio. Usually the food in the asylum wouldn't be very good, especially in the medium security ward, where there was a limited selection of foods available for the patients to consume. The food always had to be able to be eaten without the use of silverware, even spoons, and furthermore, had to be easy to clean up when one had a tantrum and threw it all over. Jonathan walked into the kitchen at the end of the hall. He had brought some things from his home pantry to fix for Amber, hoping to practice his culinary skills.
Jonathan was thrilled when he heard her speaking to Anna about wanting some more of the food before she left. His father and mother had always discouraged him from the kitchen, as it was the work of the chefs and other servants in the house. But the head chef took pity on him and let him into the kitchen without his parent's knowledge.
There, he learned fine culinary arts quietly, and after his parents' mysterious disappearance, was taken in by the chef and eventually with the money that his parents had intended for his education in a business related field to study culinary arts. He wondered what had happened after he left home for so long as he sliced chicken into fine pieces. When he had returned to the house, it had been abandoned by the many servants. But that was a bit too painful to think about before he was going to face Amber. She was certainly an admirable foe; bright yet a bit naive. He liked that aspect of her. He wondered how much longer he should keep her in the ward. There would be no stopping her from publishing the article now that he had failed to end her life on the busy street.
He smiled as he finished, feeling proud of his Asian style creation. It was certainly one of his better chicken dishes, the chicken being cooked perfectly, and then he had added a sauce on top that had a distinct taste of citrus. On the side was steaming vegetables added to brown rice. He carried it carefully out of the kitchen and into the elevator, narrowing his eyes at an orderly who was watching him pointedly from the office as the doors closed with a swoosh of cool air.
He walked out on the seventh floor, and down to Amber's cell. He heard her having a conversation with the illusion, and knocked on the thick door to alert her of his presence. He opened the door quickly. "I hope that this will be to Anna's liking…?" He asked, watching Amber carefully.
"Yeah." She replied in a bored tone. She hadn't even bothered to get up from her bed this time. "Can you go?"
Jonathan was a bit taken back at this new change in Amber's attitude, and was slightly worried. He wondered just what Anna had been telling Amber. He walked out the door after carefully setting his food on the table.
"Aren't you going to eat that?" Amber asked Anna curiously after Crane had left.
"I dunno. Maybe later; I don't like to eat in front of other people." Anna replied. Amber nodded. "Amber, I'm leaving later tonight. I'm not going to be here when you wake up. But I want you to remember one thing: You were not meant to be caged up in here like this. I want you to get out of this place, before that Crane guy poisons your mind worse than it already is." Amber frowned at this statement, but didn't interrupt Anna as she went on. "Now, look at your clothes, they are the key to getting out of here. They will be coming sometime soon for the laundry, but do not let them take your clothing. I know how gross that must sound, you've probably been in them for a while now, but that is one thing that separates you from the true crazies in here. And have you noticed how much trust Crane has put in you? You can use it well…" Anna said with a flick of her blue hair. Amber listened intently as Anna described what seemed like the perfect plan.
"I'll stay up tonight, I should say good bye when they take you, after you've helped me so much." Amber said after they were done discussing the plans. Anna smiled sadly and shrugged.
"Your choice." She said. They chatted for a while, and Amber looked out the window and found that it was late at night when she and Anna had finally run out of things to discuss. Amber yawned loudly, and tried to fight off drowsiness, but in the end it was no avail when Anna stopped speaking, and she drifted into sleep.
"I want you to leave, Annabel." Jonathan said to his girlfriend when she was sitting on the couch, looking slightly dazed the next morning. Annabel was never at her brightest during the morning, but Jonathan seriously wondered how he would know when Annabel was feeling clever.
It was a strange relationship to begin with. Crane hated the feeling of being so fake as to have to date her, but in order for Annabel's father to sponsor the building of the new asylum, he had to do something. Crane felt a bit guilty about leading Annabel's father on, and making it look like he might be interested in a serious relationship with her, but he needed this new facility built.
"What?" She asked him in disbelief.
"I want you to leave." He repeated very slowly for her. She frowned in confusion. Jonathan imagined that it would probably be very hard for her to understand; most guys in his position would be begging her to stay, but he just couldn't stand it anymore. Not only did she have the relative intelligence of a goldfish, she was also starting to be rather impolite to the maids. Once his words had sunk in, Annabel looked perfectly horrified and tears started to form in her eyes.
"You're breaking up with me? But why Jon? I love you!" She whimpered. Jonathan felt rather nauseous at her display.
"Take your things; I would prefer if you were gone by the time that I come home." He replied to her. Tears started to fall down her perfect skin. He decided that he should probably get his coffee quickly from the kitchen, and leave before the shock and sadness that Annabel was feeling turned to anger. He strode briskly into the kitchen and grabbed the mug that was waiting for him on the counter quickly. Jonathan felt slightly guilty about leaving the maids to deal with Annabel's tantrum, but he was sure that they would find someway to handle her.
"Now, why did you do that? Couldn't you have done something like, send her off to Hawaii and then call her to break up? You're lucky Mr. Crane; you won't have to put up with her all day." The head maid said to him quietly. They looked up quickly at the sound of something shattering against the wall. "Ten bucks says that was the crystal vase." The maid said dryly. Jonathan sighed and nodded. "You might want to take this; that girl might not have that many brains, no offense meant Mr. Crane, but she can throw." The maid said as she handed him a large skillet.
"Thanks." Jonathan accepted it and pushed open the door while holding the skillet up to shield his face. Just as the maid predicted, another piece of china shattered against it.
"HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME?" Annabel shrieked while she a teacup from the display hanging from the wall.
"I believe that I've already given you the reasons, Annabel." He said as he backed quickly out the door. She screamed and chased him down the hall. He saw that she had left all possible throwing items in the living room, and dropped the skillet while breaking into a sprint. Luckily, Annabel was anything but athletic, and she couldn't keep up with him easily. He spotted a car waiting for him in the long driveway, and tried to reach it before Annabel got out of the house. The keys were on the sitting on the hood. Quickly, he grabbed them and tried to force one in the door, but it wouldn't go in.
"Damn it!" He swore loudly after the second key wasn't working on the door either. That left one key, and it thankfully worked. Annabel grabbed him at the same moment that he opened the door. Despite his best efforts, she flung herself into the car and crawled into the backseat. He groaned when he saw her glaring at him. She would have usually presented a rather comical picture; makeup running down her perfect cheeks, making trails of black and dark brown. One of her heels had broken, and her skirt and shirt were torn from the effort of her running.
"What? Are you going to come with me to work?" He asked her sarcastically.
"Yes." She replied. He ignored her as he drove to the asylum. She let out a small scream when he slammed on the brakes to park the car in its usual spot, and got out. He didn't wait for Annabel as she climbed out rather ungracefully out of the backseat. "Jon!" She cried. He ignored her as he walked into the doors. She hurried to catch up with him. He straightened his hair as he walked past the receptionist, smiling at her. The woman looked at Annabel with a raised eyebrow, but made no comment as she opened the door for them.
Jonathan walked up to the office, walking quickly to try and lose Annabel, but it was hopeless.
"Dr. Crane, what is…?" Frank asked him curiously when he walked in, Annabel following closely.
"Please don't ask." Jonathan cut off his head orderly quickly. "There hasn't been any trouble here I hope?"
"No, although we believe that there was an attempted suicide in minimum security." Frank replied while eyeing Annabel. She glared profusely at him in response.
Jonathan walked out, and decided to try and tire Annabel out by pacing up and down all eight floors of the asylum. It was to no avail, and she was nearly in tears again when they reached the seventh floor.
Amber was disappointed the next morning when she awoke to find that what Anna had said was true. There was no sign that another person had even been here; the cot wasn't messy at all, and looked just as when Crane had brought it in. The salad was still untouched on the table, and Amber was munching the chicken half-heartedly when the sun arose in the distance. She recalled the plot that Anna had told her the previous night and decided that she would try it soon. She knew that Crane would probably arrive soon to torment her or to bring her a fresh breakfast.
She was looking out the window when she heard muffled voices out in the hall. Tilting her head to one side to listen, she found that she couldn't hear them very well and walked over to her door to listen. Amber opened the small slot on her door that was probably meant for food to be passed through and a woman's shrill voice sounded inside her room loudly.
"How could you do this to me? You're always gone and you never seem to want to talk to me anymore! Jon, I thought you loved me!" Amber smiled to herself, Jonathan Crane, actually having any emotions, especially love; now that was amusing. She wondered who the speaker was, and then remembered that Crane had been dating the British model, Annabel Lindor. From what she gathered from her sources inside the house, Annabel wasn't very bright.
"Annabel. I've been seeing you for a month. That usually consisted of you sitting in my house, or spending my money. Now if you don't leave, I will ask the orderlies to escort you out." Crane's voice replied coldly to her. There was a sob, and she heard someone running down the hall.
Amber felt badly. She found it hard to sympathize with girls like Annabel, but the poor model certainly didn't deserve this. She shut the opening on her door quietly and sighed when she heard the door slam at the end of the hall. If he had that much sympathy for his girlfriend, how much could she expect? She thought that she heard Crane pacing in the hall, but she wasn't sure and didn't feel like getting up to check. Soon, she heard a second slamming of the door. Amber ate more chicken while she brooded on the subject. She didn't expect that Crane would come to visit her today, thankfully, and she sat down to paint more things on the walls.