Chapter 1
Melissa Lewis paced back and forth inside her small white room with her hands covering both her ears. The sound of the Judge’s gavel slamming down, “BAM! BAM! BAM!” echoed in her head.
“STOP IT!” she screamed as she opened her eyes then looked at the floor. Everything became calm and quiet for the time being, but nothing ever stays quiet for long here in this place. There is too much noise and too much commotion that seems to go on constantly. There is never any silence unless you are put in the rooms down toward the basement which she has heard some of the patients refer to those rooms as the dark rooms. Rooms that you never want to be put into, especially all alone and no freedom.
She exhaled and went to the door with the small window that leads to freedom, or so she thought anyway. As she peers out of the small window, many sounds can be heard; crying, hysterical laughing, screaming and moaning just to name a few. As Melissa stands on her tiptoes looking out of the window, she sees the orderlies and nurses making their rounds to the other patient’s rooms. There were a few of the patients that were going to wild and needed to be medicated so that they wouldn’t be a danger to themselves or to others. They say it’s a safety precaution, “Yeah ok,” Melissa thinks to herself, “Just another way to control us.”
“This window is inconveniently too high. It needs to be lower, so we can look out and see what all is going on out there,” A female voice said with a sigh. The window was indeed small but too high up on the door to see out into the hall. It is not their concern with the patients whether they can see out or not. Melissa thinks that maybe it is just because the patient feels closed in and trapped like rats in a cage. Maybe that is the whole point. They have the power to isolate and dominate anyone they choose, and they will do it.
“Yeah, I know right,” Melissa replied as she lowered herself down and slowly turned around to see that she was in an empty room all by herself. So where did the girl’s voice come from if no one else was in the room with her? Melissa turned toward the door when she heard voices coming from the other side along with a “Click, Click” of the doorknob. She stepped back as the door opened, and the orderly, John stood there with one of the nurses, holding a green tray with some little white cups filled with a medication of all different kinds of colors, shapes, and sizes.
“Medication time Lewis,” Orderly John said while the nurse walked past him was watching Melissa with a close eye. Melissa just stood there and stared with her hands on her hips while rocking back and forth from one foot to the other. This is a nervous habit.
“Here, you need to take these,” The nurse said while handing Melissa one of the cups. Melissa looked at the cup with pills inside and looked back at the nurse. She crossed her arms across the top of her stomach and stepped backward, trying to keep a distance.
“I don’t need these. Why do I need medicine, I am just fine,” Melissa said with evil in her eyes and a sharp tone in her voice?
“Just take the meds, Lewis,” John said firmly as he stepped forward. “There’s the easy way or the hard way.” Melissa started thinking devious thoughts as she stared hatefully at John.
“Fine then, give me the damn pills.” Melissa snatched the little cup from the tray, dumped the pills in her mouth and swallowed.
“Lift your tongue up Lewis,” John said to her. He checked the inside of her mouth to be sure she had indeed swallowed the pills, and she did, at least from what he could see anyway.
“She’s good,” John said to the nurse as he turned toward away.
“That’s a good girl,” The nurse said with a smile as she headed out of the room and on to the next patient. Melissa stood there staring at John with her eyes fixed and an angered look on her face.
“Well, can I leave my room now or anytime soon,” Melissa asked while placing her hands on each hip and shifting her weight back and forth from one foot to the other in a continuous movement.
“Yes, you need a shower. I’ll call for someone to come and get you,” John replied as he closed the door behind him.
“Hey!” Melissa screamed out as she stood by the door waiting.
“Well, are they going to come and get us or not. We really need a bath because somebody in here really stinks,” A female voice said.
“Yeah, I think your right,” Melissa said while sniffing her armpits and having a look of satisfaction and amusement that there was no funky smell coming from her so her next thought was to turn toward the female voice and stare at her with a look of disgust.
“Eeeww, don’t do that, someone might see you,” A little girl’s voice said. Melissa looked in the direction of the voice and saw a little girl standing there with her nose all crinkled up as if what Melissa did was the grossest thing ever.
“SHUT UP, don’t tell me what to do,” Melissa said sharply as she looked around with an angry look. “Click, Click,” went the door and two nurses then came into the room. One with a blank look and the other with the look of uncertainty, gee she must be new.
“Melissa, who were you talking too?” A nurse asked her.
“What do you mean? Does there look like there’s someone else in here? Uh-No,” Melissa said sarcastically while tilting her head.
“Come on its bath time, let’s go,” The heavier nurse said. As the nurses walked Melissa to the shower room, one nurse looked at the other nurse with a strange look on her face.
“You did hear her talking right?” The nurse in training asked as she carried a clean set of clothes for Melissa for when she got done showering.
“Yes, indeed I heard,” The head nurse said. “I overheard the doctor’s talking when they brought her in, that she needed a psych evaluation. She has been here for about a year now and I don’t really see her getting out anytime soon. She needs to be observed some more apparently. They should maybe move her to an observation room, which would make it easier to keep an eye on her. That is in case she starts chatting with herself again in thin air.”
“Why is she here?” The second nurse asked while switching her clipboard from arm to the other as they walked toward the shower room. They got to the shower room and got Melissa ready for her shower. While Melissa was busy, the nurses stood in the doorway keeping a watch to be sure Melissa would not harm herself.
“Did you hear about the murders at Bear Lake about a year ago,” The first nurse said while looking at the second nurse. She was one who did like to gossip, which on late nights kept things interesting.
“Oh sheesh, so that’s who that is. That is terrible about what happened to those girls,” The second nurse said while hanging Melissa’s towel on a rack for her to use to dry off with once she was done showering herself, along with the clean clothes too.
“Yeah, it was and also the boy that got into trouble too, uh...what was his name again? Uh...oh Eric Sweet that is his name. He was just released. They say due to time served and for good behavior,” The first nurse said to the other while snapping her fingers and waiting for Melissa to finish. The second nurses eyes grew large at the information, then became quiet while looking around the room. Among all of the other gossip she has heard since she has been there at the Institute, this makes her feel uneasy.
“Ok, Melissa you are free to go to the recreation room for some TV time and relaxation,” The first nurse said with a fake smile, while the second nurse headed to the pharmacy room, to help fill up more of the small pink-colored medicine cups to be dispensed out.
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Hey all, here it is...the first chapter of The Craziness Within-Return to Bear Lake. I hope all read and enjoy.
