Lockdown

Lockdown

“Edgar got out. Oh, Jesus, oh, Fuck, what are we going to do?” Everyone was safely back in their rooms, but Jason hadn’t been in all day. They needed to relieve their daytime security guard and let Allen, the night shift security guard, come back on, but how were they going to do that on lockdown?

Never, in all his years, had he needed to use the lockdown function. It scared him, being trapped in this place with all these crazies. What if something happened?

Just as the thought entered his mind, the fire alarm started blaring. White strobes flashed throughout the sanitarium for those who couldn’t hear the siren.

“Shit!” He ran from his room. Another shot of Valium might do his nerves some good, but he wouldn’t do that again. He’d woken up several hours after his initial dose with his pants around his ankles unaware of what had happened or where he was. He couldn’t remember, for a brief moment but a scary one nonetheless, that he’d taken the Valium so he could sleep.

No, he needed to be alert. Dark. So dark in the day. Not supposed to be dark. All the windows were shuttered by heavy metal slabs. All exits sealed. If Edgar was loose, it would be better if he killed everyone in this building than if he escaped to murder innocent people. At least for the people in this place, society had given up on most of them. Sure, they had their short-termers, like the guy who was obsessed with electricity. With a bit of help, these people would function normally without any problems…but some of these people…well…there was almost no hope.

Trapped. People screamed in their rooms not used to the confinement, not used to the loud noise. Not good for crazy people.

Nurse Claire ran past him, heading toward the west wing.

“Is there a fire? Or did some jackass pull the alarm?”

“I don’t know. I’m checking the west wing. Harvey’s checking the east wing.”

“I’ll go with you.” They went into the west wing together and knew right away they were heading in the right direction. Smoke billowed from under the door marked “Authorized Personnel Only.” Covering their mouths, they pushed through.

At the end of the hall, they found the source of the flames. No good calling fire fighters. They couldn’t come in anyway. And he couldn’t risk losing Edgar to the outside world for this. The fire was already dying down and wouldn’t spread beyond the padded room. The two of them stood shoulder to shoulder staring through the square window in the door, watching the room burn.

“Oh, God,” Nurse Claire said and pointed.

He looked. Two charred bodies huddled on the floor.

“Do a headcount,” he said. “See who else is missing. For now, we aren’t going to burn to the ground. Thank God for stone walls.”

Once back in his office, he sat in his chair and rifled through his files. It calmed him to feel like he was doing something constructive. Who was he to see today? Ah. Gabriel. One of his favorite clients. Obsessed with some doll he called Shelly. Nice guy. Into himself and a clean freak, but nice. Very polite all the time. The only time he’d gotten rude was when Dr. Michaels had tried to talk over him to make a point.

“See, that’s the problem with real people,” he’d said. “They don’t know when to shut up.”

Taken aback, Dr. Michaels did shut up and continued to listen to Gabriel’s story for the umpteenth time.

Needing to relieve the pressure, Dr. Michaels went back into his apartment and locked the door. Nurse Claire had everything handled for the time being. In his room, he popped an unmarked video into his old VCR and pushed play. A black and white, stationary image of Nurse Claire came into focus. One of few times he’d caught her masturbating in the shower.

He made it a point to monitor her. Not for perverted reasons, though. No. He just wanted to make sure she wasn’t doing things that weren’t allowed, like taking patients back to her room or stealing supplies. She didn’t know he watched her, but he couldn’t just trust her. At least, this was the story he told himself. But this footage was golden. He’d copied the tape to an unmarked tape then recorded over the surveillance footage with the next day’s surveillance of her room like he always did. Only one Tape for Nurse Claire. Except his secret tape.

As she played with herself in black and white, the water cascading over her tattooed butterfly wings, he played with himself, easing the day’s pressures, releasing his years of pent up frustration in three spastic splashes on his carpet. With a sigh, he sat back, taking deep breaths to calm himself.

“I’ll destroy the tape tomorrow,” he said, and not for the first or last time. “I shouldn’t have this. It’s wrong. Tomorrow, when we aren’t on lockdown, I’ll destroy it.”

Dr. Michaels curled up on his couch and closed his mind to the screaming on the other side of the walls. A quick nap, and then he’d meet with Gabriel and listen to him talk about himself for an hour.