Tales From the Asylum

I sat in a metallic box, oblivious to my surroundings. Blinking, I looked around. Where am I? Now seemed a good time to know. The walls surrounding me are metallic, and I'm shaking. I didn't feel scared at all. Gazing upwards, a small window illuminated the dark box. Flurries of pictures whizzed by, and it only took a moment for me to realize I was moving. Not of my own accord though. But as to where I was going was a mystery.

I got up, my legs trembling. How long was I asleep for? Or, was I even asleep at all? I couldn't remember a thing from before... Perhaps that was for good reason. When I tried to shuffle closer to the window, I was stopped. Glancing down, my ankles and wrists were chained together. Did I do something wrong? I could just be on my way to the police station, but this didn't look like a cops car. I sat down with a sigh, feeling defeated. All I could really do was wait. Closing my eyes, I attempted to sleep.

"You can still escape." A voice hissed in my ear like a snake, knocking me awake. I canned the box for a body to locate the voice with, but had no such luck. Then it came again.

"Don't you want to be free?" It, or perhaps, he spoke as if conversion with a small child.

"But I'm stuck. There's nothing I can do." I said bluntly. Hearing the sound of my own voice startled me, as though I had never heard it before.

"And I can fix that, little lady."

It was clear that this voice, who or whatever it was, wanted to strike a deal.

"Name your price." I spoke almost lazily. The voice chuckled.

"Why, I already have your payment, Karen."

"How do you know my name?"

Somehow I didn't feel surprised that the vice knew me, but I thought I should start a conversation. There wasn't anything else better to do.

"How could you forget? You told me yourself."

"Where are we going?"

Laughter. Psychotic, maniacal laughter screeched into my ears from all directions. I covered my ears with my hands, but couldn't drown out the noise.

Then, one of the walls opened. A well-built, bearded man greeted me with a stony face. The laughter had stopped as well as the box I was moving in. The man approached me, wearing only white. He cut my legs free from the shackles, but left my wrists untouched. When I held out t hands, motioning for him to free them as well, he just laughed as if I told a humorous joke.

"Think I'm mental, d'ya?! C'mon, lets go." And he grabbed me by the chain, half dragging me to a large, rectangular building. There were no windows aside from vents, and the only entrance and exit I could see was a thick, white door. Looking back, I saw the truck I had come out of, its walls casting a darkening shadow across the cobblestone pathway. The man grunted, pulling the door open. He tugged me along, down a narrow, dimly lit corridor. We came to a halt outside a door, similar to that of the entrance, only this door in particular had a small slot where food trays could be filtered through. The man shoved me into the cell roughly, and unlocked the handcuffs at last. I rubbed my wrists, looking the man in the eye.

"Where am I?" I asked. The man replied with a mischievous smirk before closing the door.

"Welcome to the asylum."