“You don’t need to worry; we know her,” One of the stout officers said as he pushed past James and walked over to Trish.
“Get the fuck away from me!” She wailed.
The officer sighed. “The paramedics will be here in less than a minute to get you bandaged up.”
“Then what?” she barked.
“Then we’re taking you to the county hospital and letting them look after you for a while.” The other officer said.
“For how long?”
“Until the doctors deem you fit to leave. You’re obviously a danger to yourself and others. We need you out of this town until you can learn to behave. We don’t want a repeat of last time,” the older, stout officer said as sweat glistened off of his bald head.
“This isn’t like last time! I’m being haunted, and I just need help getting rid of it!”
“Sure, dear, sure,” he said. Two paramedics walked into the home and over to Trish. She stood up and glanced at the officers and paramedics.
“Don’t you fucking think about it!” The younger officer barked.
Trish screamed and turned to run into the kitchen. The officers bolted towards her, and the younger of them grabbed her around the stomach and lifted her into the air. Trish yelled and leaned over to try to bite him the arm. He dodged it and squeezed her tighter. She flung her body back in an attempt to headbutt him but missed. She kicked at the air, screaming obscenities and flailing around.
“I’m sorry, Trish, please stop. They just want to help you,” James begged.
“Leave me alone, I hate you!” she wailed back at him.
“We need to get her to the hospital. We’re going to sedate her,” the paramedics said to the lanky officer. He nodded and held her tighter. She gasped for air, her vision going dark and her body shaking. She felt the needle prick into her neck. Her muscles loosened, and the officer released his grip on her. He leaned over and laid her onto the ground with a thunk. A paramedic rushed over to her and cut her shirt and bra off. They treated her wounds delicately; Trish fell into the void.
Chapter Fourteen
T
rish floated in and out as if she was a cloud drifting above the bright blue ocean. She could feel her body shaking around in a vehicle but couldn’t organize her thought’s in a way that would be productive. She whimpered quietly and tried to lift her arm; it was tied down against the gurney.
“Help,” she mumbled as her eyes flickered.
“Don’t worry dear, we’re taking good care of you,” a disembodied female voice floated in and out of her ears. She couldn’t hold her eyes open, and she felt numb all over.
The ambulance came to a stop, and the doors flew open. The bright late afternoon winter sun beat down onto Trish’s pale skin. She couldn’t feel it and didn’t know whether it was day or night.
“We have an attempted suicide or an extreme cutter. She butchered her torso and chest. She has numerous fresh scars as well as scabbed cuts.” A paramedic said to a nurse who was greeted by the ambulance at the hospital’s door.
“Got it, thanks, Adam,” the nurse said. Trish tried to decipher their conversation, but the words floated around in her head haphazardly.
Trish’s gurney wheeled into the cool hospital. The fluorescent lights blinded her. Her eyes hurt, and her head pounded. “Where am I?” she mumbled.
“The hospital,” a male nurse said. Trish couldn’t figure out what he looked like. She squinted her eyes, but it was all just a blur.
“Get Dr. McCarthy out here; she needs to be seen pronto!” a nurse yelled.
“3…2…1…lift.” A nurse said as several hands were underneath her and lifted her onto a hospital bed.
“Paramedics said she’s a fighter, so make sure to strap her down,” a woman said. They then tied her down with heather straps. One on her forehead, another across her chest, another across her abdomen where she wasn’t actively bleeding from, and they cuffed her feet to the metal bed. She tried to move her arms, but it felt as if the weight of a thousand moons was holding her down.
“No, please…” she mumbled.
“Don’t worry, we’re going to fix you right up,” a nurse said as she wiped Trish’s dark hair out of her face.
“Why?” she whispered.
The nurse didn’t respond. Dr. McCarthy walked into the room, his steps loud.
“What do we have here?” he asked. Some papers ruffled in the distance, and some nurses responded.
“Okay, we’ll stitch her up and send her to the mental health unit. There’s nothing we can do here except give her more sedatives after we address her self-inflicted wounds,” the doctor said. Trish tried to listen more, but she felt a pinprick and was out like a light.
~~~
Trish awoke in a small white-walled room. She was laying on a stiff twin-sized bed. She sat up and groaned, her head pounding with every pump of her heart. After she sat up, Trish stood up to stretch; her body creaking and moaning in delight. Her room was dark except for a sliver of light coming in through a crack beneath her steel door.
“Oh no,” she whispered. Trish knew exactly where she was.
Trish paced around the room, unable to sleep, her mind wandering around what exactly they planned to do to her in here and what their game plan was to save her from Xavier. She knew that if Xavier came to visit her here, they would have to believe her. The doctors would be forced to let her leave, and Xavier would be banished from ever tormenting her again.
Several hours of pacing later, her feet were sore, and her body was tired. Trish was determined to not let the hospital and her parents win. She knew Xavier would end up killing her eventually, and then people would finally believe her. I need to find Xavier once I get out of here and end this for all, she thought to herself.
The rusted door handle to her room wiggled, a key being inserted into the lock. “Time to wake up,” a man with a deep voice bellowed.
“I’m already awake,” Trish groaned.
The man walked in wearing white scrubs. He was tall and had to duck his head underneath the doorframe to walk into the room. “Good! How did you sleep?”
“I didn’t,” she answered, biting her lip.
“Today is going to suck for you then. Hopefully, you’ll be able to get some sleep tonight,” he said. He stepped aside and motioned with one arm for her to leave the room. She walked out and was followed closely with him and another guard that she didn’t see earlier. They showed her where the bathroom was and told her to go ahead and use it if she needed to. She shook her head.
“Breakfast will be served in thirty minutes. You will then have quiet time, physical activity, recreation time, lunch, group therapy, individual therapy, dinner, quiet time, and bed. That is generally how the day is structured for you here. If you have any questions, feel free to ask any of the guards, nurses, or secretaries,” the other guard said, a shorter man with tan skin. Trish didn’t respond.
~~~
Her day passed by in a haze. Trish couldn’t eat anything as her stomach didn’t want food. She thought she would end up throwing up if she ate. She spent her quiet time in her room, fighting for sleep that never came. Trish refused to do any physical activity or socialize with any of the crazies here. They were different than her, and she didn’t want any part of their issues. After lunch, group therapy went okay. Trish pretended like she was mute, and the counselor, a man of sixty, seemed annoyed by her, but she didn’t care.
After dinner, for which she ate none of, the nurses forced her to take the pills in the same way that her mother did. They wouldn’t let her take the pills on her own because apparently someone told the hospital that she was non-compliant with her medication. If I ever find out who the fuck did that, they’re dead, she thought. Trish was a burning hot inferno waiting for someone to say the wrong thing so she could attack them with no remorse.
The new medication, ones that she had never heard of nor taken before, made her extremely drowsy. Trish had to be dragged back to her room that n
ight when she fell asleep in the common area with the other rubbish. A guard dumped her onto her bed, shutting and locking the door behind him. Trish was in a deep sleep when Xavier visited her.
“How are you feeling?” he asked, his voice deep and melancholy.
“Tired,” she said.
A dark cloud floated across the room, the black never-ending and concealed everything it touched. “Why did you take your medication? You know that only inhibits you from doing my bidding, but not from seeing me,” he said.
Trish groaned and sat up, “Yeah, I know. Can you just leave me alone while I’m in here? Or are you ready to be caught and banished from my life?”
Xavier laughed. “They are never going to catch me, Patricia. Those doctors, police officers, your friend James, and your parents do not believe you. No one believes you. The only person…or being, if you will, that you can rely on is me. I am constant. I am never-ending. I am forever.”
“Not forever! I can get rid of you. I don’t need anyone at all. All I need is myself and animals, and I’m content. Once I get out of here, I’m going to go back to your cave and kill you!” Trish screamed.
“Oh, do tell exactly how you plan on doing that? I cannot wait for you to come home to me where you belong. Spending eternity in the cave with me, forever and always.”
Trish didn’t know what to say. She sat on the edge of her bed, watching the black hole circle and caress everything in her room. It hovered above her desk, swirling and churning. The more she stared at it, the more it seemed to sparkle. It was as though someone had dumped a bottle of silver glitter right onto the cloud, and now the cloud was mixing it up. Trish was entranced by the blackness. She had always avoided looking straight into it but, for some reason, decided that today was the day. She watched the swirls, and soon enough, she was transported back to the cave.
Trish was cold. It was winter in the cave, not summer-like before. She was still in her hospital scrubs and bare feet. The ground was frozen solid, and the rocks now seemingly shards of glass. The air smelled as it did before of death, decay, musk, and copper.
“Thank you for coming, Patricia. I knew I’d get you back here soon enough. Sadly, this is just a dream, but eventually, you will be here for real.”
Trish cried, her wet tears freezing to her face as they fell. “One day, I will end this.”
“I am confident you believe that. I am also confident that you are mine.”
“You keep saying that. Who are you trying to prove? You or me?” she asked.
“Ah, you and your attitude. I will love ripping that out of you and shredding it with my teeth. I bet you taste sour. You look like you would taste sweet, but once a bite is taken, your true self is displayed for the world to see: nasty, ignorant, wretched, and bitter,” Xavier said, his voice low and strong.
“If I’m so disgusting, why do you want me? Why not harass someone else?” Trish coughed, the air from her mouth clouding around her head.
“You solved my riddle. That is all that matters,” he said.
“Yeah, well, it was a stupid easy riddle. Only something as simple as you would think that you were so clever,” she barked.
“Simple? You think that I am simple?” Xavier laughed. The air seemed to be sucked from the cave as Trish struggled to breathe. A weight pressed down onto her, pushing her to the ground violently. She scrambled to get up; the weight pressed down onto her harder. It slammed her head into the solid cold ground. Trish whimpered as blood oozed from the back of her head slowly.
“Just you wait until you are here. You will find out just how simple I am.”
Trish awoke on the ground of her room, her head bleeding on the floor cold. She opened her eyes and blinked a few times, her head hammered and her hair sticky. There was a knock on the door. “Time to wake up!” A man shouted from the other side.
The doorknob wiggled when the metal key was inserted. Two guards walked into the room and found Trish on the floor in a puddle of blood. “Radio a nurse!” one guard screamed to the other.
“Nurses station, we have an injured patient. Profuse bleeding from the head. May have a concussion.”
“What happened?” a woman with a shrill of a voice asked.
“We’re not sure,” he answered. While one guard was speaking on the radio, the other one was leaning over Trish, checking for any additional wounds. A few seconds later, accompanied by loud stomping, two nurses ran into the room.
“Are you okay, honey?” the dark-haired one asked. The blonde pulled out a flashlight and opened Trish’s eyes.
“I’m fine, just fell off the bed,” she mumbled. Trish tried to pull her head away from the light but the nurses held her head steady. Her eyes watered.
You should bite the blonde, see what she tastes like. Xavier said to her. His black aura hovering above everyone, hanging out on the ceiling.
“Fuck off!” Trish yelled.
“Get a doctor. She’s combative,” one of the guards said into the radio.
“No…no…please, I wasn’t saying it to you. It was Xavier, he’s here!” she yelled.
“Who?” the blonde nurse asked, looking around the room.
I bet she tastes delicious. Like a juicy peach on a warm summer’s day or a fresh cut out lung. You want to eat her.
“No, stop! Please stop talking!” Trish said, flailing her arms around. A plump male doctor ran into the room, and the nurses stepped aside.
“Make him stop talking! He wants me to eat you!” Trish cried. The doctor mumbled something to the nurses that Trish couldn’t make out. The blonde nurse ran out of the room, and the doctor pulled out a vile full of clear liquid.
“Don’t do this again! I don’t need that! I need ya’ll to get rid of Xavier!” Trish yelled as the needle sunk into her skin. Within seconds, she was out.
Chapter Fifteen
T
he days flowed past Trish like a waterfall; she couldn’t keep up with everything that was going on around her, let alone her own thoughts. Trish couldn’t remember how long she’d been at the hospital or how much longer she had. Her days consisted of waking up, eating breakfast, taking meds, activities, group therapy, lunch, more activities, individual therapy, dinner, quiet time, more meds, and sleep.
Xavier hasn’t visited her in what felt like a lifetime. Her memories of her trauma and of him floated away in the wind. Her parents came to visit about once a week. They always look happy to see her “progressing”, if progressing meant becoming a shell of your former self.
‘Wow, Trish, you look amazing!’ dad would say. ‘You’re healing up quite nicely. We don’t even recognize you. This is fantastic!’ mom would say. Trish nodded her head to everything, never volunteering any information herself. Trish thought they’d eventually notice that she hadn’t said a word to them since she was committed.
One early spring morning, a nurse interrupted Trish’s activity time, she was playing solitaire and told her that her parents had come to pick her up. “Patricia, it is time for you to check out and go home now. Your parents are here to pick you up.” The blonde nurse said, her blue eyes kind.
“Really? I get to leave today?”
“Of course. Your time here is up. Please come with me to the checkout desk. I already gave your parents all of your belongings,” she replied. The nurse gently grabbed Trish by the arm and helped her out of her uncomfortable plastic chair. Trish stretched and let the nurse lead her out of the common area and through three sets of two secured double metal doors. Trish waited patiently, not sure how she felt about going home, let alone seeing her parents. She’s really only missed Sausage and her job. I wonder if I’ll get to start up back at work soon? I need the animals as much as they need me, she thought to herself.
Her parents were standing by the check-in desk, large smiles smacked onto their faces. “Patricia!” her mother called out, waving erratically. Trish’s father stood behind her and waved slowly.
“Just sign these forms, and she can go,” the elderly secret
ary told them. Her mother grabbed the clipboard and didn’t read it before she started signing.
“I’m sure you’re ready to get out of here and back home with us. We can pick up some fast food on the way home if you’d like,” her father said.
Trish bit her lip and crinkled her large nose. Her mother finished signing all of the paperwork and tossed it at the secretary. It landed on the desk with a slap and startled her. The secretary gasped and tutted. Her mother glared at the secretary right back, daring her to say something.
“Well, we must be leaving now. Thanks for everything,” her father said to the nurse.
“It really is no problem.”
“Great. Let’s go,” her mother commanded. Trish’s parents both wrapped an arm around her back and led her out of the hospital. The sun was bright, and the grass was a mixture of green and brown, trying to revive after a long, cold winter. Trish took a deep breath and climbed into the backseat. She put on her seat belt and stared out the window.
“Are you happy to be coming home?” her mother asked. Trish shrugged.
“Are you in the mood for burgers, pizza, or Mexican?” her father asked. Trish shrugged.
“I have a hankering for a juicy burger myself,” her father commented with a chuckle.
“I’d like a burrito,” her mother said.
“This isn’t about you, dear,” her father replied. He started the car and pulled out of the parking lot. Trish watched as the world passed by her, ignoring her parent’s bickering. Maybe you should jump out of the car, an intrusive thought popped into her head. Trish shook her head and smacked it. Get out of my head!
“Are you okay, sweetheart?” her father asked. Trish nodded.
“I just want to say something—” her mother began. She turned around in the passenger seat and looked at Trish.
“Don’t fucking start,” her father commanded.
“I’m starting, and you’re both going to listen! We’re not doing this again, Patricia. You have one more episode, and you’re out on the streets on your own. We’ve stopped paying the rent on your apartment and have sold everything we decided you didn’t need anymore. You’re with us permanently until you can learn to be an adult. If you can’t, you’re out,” her mother’s voice shook.
The Cave Page 12