by Amy Richie
Chapter 6
“Hey, Crazy.”
My eyes popped open at the sound of Toby’s voice. I hadn’t even realized I had fallen asleep. Last I knew, I was seeing a dragon on my ceiling. I looked up at the now shadowed ceiling, not able to make out any shapes through the darkness.
“What time is it?” I asked groggily.
“The night shift aides came on thirty minutes ago.”
I rubbed furiously at my gritty eyes. “Is it time to go?”
“Your shoes are in the hallway. I’m going to open the door; you put them on quickly and then do exactly as I say.”
My eyebrows furrowed to meet low on my forehead. When I laid down, my shoes were on. Why couldn’t I remember anyone coming in to take them off? My mind still felt fuzzy. And I was in my nightgown. “Why… I mean how…?”
“They gave you a sedative last night,” he sighed loudly. “In the late afternoon.”
“What?”
“There’s clothes in the bathroom; unless you’d rather go in that.”
I made my way to the bathroom slowly; my legs shaking dangerously the whole way. I could barely walk, how was I supposed to run?
“Come on, Crazy,” Toby called impatiently, “they’ll be doing their checks soon. It won’t look good if you’re up doing your hair.”
I pulled the drawstring tight on my pants and stumbled haphazardly through the doorway. “I’m ready,” I whispered, nerves and fear adding to the sedative and making me shake all over.
Toby took in my condition and shook his head. “We’ll never make it.”
“Yes we will.” Was that breathless declaration supposed to pass as confidence?
“Not if your legs won’t work.” His top lip snarled in disgust.
“I’m good.”
“Not even close.”
“Look,” my hand shot out between us, “Nona said you’re supposed to take me somewhere safe. You said you would. Either we’re going or we’re not. If not, let me go back to bed.”
His breath came out heavily through his nose as he regarded me through narrowed eyes. “Let’s go.”
He disappeared and a few seconds later, the door swung open. This was it. I squared my shoulders, trying to gather my determination, and stepped through the door.
The hallway was different at night- with no people in it. Not that the hospital was empty. That would be way too easy. The faint sounds of a TV came from the rec room where the nurses probably watched TV after all the crazies went to bed for the night.
“Wait,” Toby warned when we reached the end of the hall. The nurse’s desk loomed large just a few feet away. A tall woman with her dark hair piled high on her head sat with her back towards me; a phone stuck to her ear.
“No Randy, I can’t pick him up,” her high pitched voice carried to where we were hidden in the hall. “Because I don’t even get off work until 7:30.” Her voice rose the longer she talked to the unknown Randy.
“You’ll just have to be quiet,” Toby whispered.
“What?” I felt the blood drain from my face, leaving me feeling faint. Did he really expect me to just be able to walk right by her? If she didn’t hear my footsteps, she would definitely hear my heart hammering a million miles a minute. “No,” I shook my head quickly.
His finger flew to press against his lips. “Yes,” he nodded.
My eyes fluttered closed, defeat already settling in the pit of my stomach. “Well, you are just going to have to!” The nurse was practically screaming into her phone. Now or never.
Staying as close to the wall as possible, I crept out of the hall and past the nurses desk. The nurse never turned around. “No, Randy, you listen to me…”
The door to the stairwell opened easily, revealing several flights of stairs going in both directions. Careful not to make any noise, I only let go of the handle after the door clicked back into place. The tightening in my chest started to subside, but we were far from home free.
“This way,” Toby called from several steps down. “Hurry up.”
With only a little hesitation, I followed Toby down the steps. Since the day I came to Nine Crosses, I had never been off the Fourth floor. I wasn’t considered “sane” enough to go outside and we had everything we needed to be self sufficient.
It was more intimidating than I would have imagined to open the door and step out onto the smooth marble floor on the first level.
“We need to get to the front door,” Toby distracted my panic attack just before it fully blossomed.
“Wh…”
“Do you just take it black, Rod?” A female voice had me dropping to my knees and crawling behind a large grey desk.
“Yeah. What channel again?”
“I think seven.” The woman passed close by, but luckily didn’t look down as she walked like so many people did.
I stayed crouched in plain sight while the aide walked through a swinging door that I assumed was a kitchen. All she had to do was turn around and she would see me. Panic churned around in my chest, making it hard to breath.
“Over here,” Toby called loudly, only adding to my panic. He waved his arm wildly, pointing down a short dark hallway. Taking a deep gulp of stale air, I took off after him.
I felt my panic start to subside slightly when the huge grey door finally came into view. I lurched forward until Toby stopped me with an upraised hand.
“Wait a second,” he whispered. Why was he whispering? No one except me could even hear him. I nodded mutely, not even chancing a whisper. I could be heard.
I watched nervously as Toby crept forward without me to make sure no one was around. Freedom was so close, I could almost taste the fresh air just behind that door. Just a few feet and we were free.
Moisture beaded on my top lip and my mouth felt too dry. Should I just run for it? Even if one of the aides popped out, I would be able to make it to that door.
The sane part of my brain warned me that it would take more than just opening the door for me to be free. I had to actually get away. If one of the aides caught me now, I wouldn’t be able to get away. The other part of my brain told me to make a run for it, though.
I shifted forward slightly on my knees in an effort to see better. As far as I could tell, there was no one out there with us. Even the ghosts had fallen silent as if they too were anxious about my escape.
Toby stood silent and still by the front door, listening for what I could never hear over the pounding of my own heart. Finally, after too many agonizing minutes had passed by, he motioned me forward with one hand.
He nodded down towards the door handle as soon as I had scurried over to join him. Grasping the cold metal between two trembling hands, I took a deep breath and turned hard to the right. Nothing happened. The knob wouldn’t budge. Turning it to the left had the same affect.
My heart stopped and then sped back up. Of course the door would be locked. Had I really expected it to be that easy? How were we going to get out now?
“Try turning the lock, idiot.” Toby pointed to the thin metal locking mechanism in the middle of the handle.
The lock turned easily to the unlock position. I would have been relieved if I didn’t have to hear Toby’s dark chuckle. “Shut up,” I scowled. It wasn’t like I was a pro at breaking out of a mental hospital.
With a grunt of irritation, I pushed the tall door open. The second my skin made contact with the cool night breeze, a high pitched wail filled the air all around me.
“It’s an alarm,” I screeched.
“There is no alarm on this door.” Toby crowded close to me, scorching me with his bizarre heat. I wanted to sink into him, to savor in the protection I felt from that heat. “There,” he pointed upwards where a thin ghost man was circling close to the ceiling. His light brown pants billowed out from his legs, giving him a strange “flying squirrel” appearance. The man’s mouth was opened wide, emoting the high wailing.
I cowered close to the ground. “I didn’t know they could fly!” I shou
ted over the noise.
“He can’t hurt you, Ren.” Toby’s voice was intense as he watched the man circling above us like a vulture. “He can’t touch you.”
It might have been the first time Toby called me Ren.
“Hey!” We both turned to see the aide hurrying down the stairs at the same time. No doubt he had heard me screaming to no one. “What are you doing down here?”
“Go!” Toby ordered.
“What about you?”
“Just go. I’ll be right behind you.”
I didn’t want to go without Toby; not because I was worried about his safety, but because I knew the ghost would follow me. He said he would be there though, and he hadn’t let me down so far.
Besides, I thought as my feet sounded against the grass outside, what was the worst that could happen? The same thing that would happen if the aide caught me and locked me back up. At least this way I wasn’t just giving up.
“Go, go, go!” Toby shouted.
I ran. Faster than I ever had before. I ran away from the ghost, away from Nine Crosses, and away from my fate.
It was going to be a long night.