Demented

[Niklas]

"Welcome to Dawn's Light Mental Institution!", blared a loud, horrid Droid voice.

Erik was stunned. For all he knew, he just woke up here. He felt the draining effect of drugs still in his system. His clothes were gone. Hefound himself to be wearing some grey prison-style uniform.His vision was blurred, but he was still aware enough to get a glimpse of his new surroundings.

As he did so, he felt a fear. A fear so horrid, it sickened him to even think of it. He heard the droid's voice once more.

"Patient Number 6512.0 : Specter, Erik. Phase One Treatment. Confirm?

"I don't understand...?"

"'"Information Confirmed."

A small dish passed through a gap in the door. The rotten remains upon the plate were unappetizing to him.

"What the hell am I doing here?"

 

[Allu'rah Danan]

"Ma'am, the patient is not allowed any visitors right now. He's highly unstable and any surprise visitors could upset his treatment," the Zeltron nurse objected.

"Well I need to see him at the very least!" the Togruta growled back at her. "I don't know what's happened to him that he's been locked up here, but I do remember what he's like. And I know I can comfort him! Please, if you just let me see him so that I know he's alright, I'll leave quietly, I promise."

The nurse at the desk rubbed her eyes, pondering the Togruta's request. She finally entered a code into the com and turned away once her call was answered. She spoke quietly, and it was a tense few minutes before she turned her attention back to the Togruta that was pacing the grungy reception area. "Dr. Quanera will escort you to the patient's room. He'll be here momentarily Miss... Okun was it?"

"Olan."

"Yes, well please take a seat, the doctor will be here shortly."




Shortly apparently meant in an hour's time, but the tall male Arkanian did finally appear. "So many patients to rehabilitate, and just to little time," he chided as he came through one of the doors that led deeper into the center. He spotted the Togruta anxiously biting her fingernails as she continued to pace the lobby. "Ah, you must be the one who requested to visit with patient 6512.0..."

"If you mean Erik Specter, than yes, I do want to see him," she snapped at him. The Arkanian's blank white eyes disturbed the already quite distressed young woman, and his cold, condescending demeanor did nothing to instill confidence about Erik's well-being. "Please doctor, if you have a heart, let me see him. I know he needs me right now."

"That's awfully presumptuous of you, and typically I would call such a statement laughable. Often, people who make such claims need the patient more than the patient needs them. But, given the circumstances...." Dr. Quanera shook his head, looking a little dumbfounded beneath his arrogant facade. "Mr. Specter has been resisting treatment so far, and we're having trouble making any progress with him."

"Then release him into my care," she said bluntly, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Miss, that is entirely out of the question! I don't know who you think you are, but I can tell you that even if I did release Mr. Specter, you would bring him right back to us in weeks! Mr. Specter is here because he is highly unstable, dangerously so in fact. And Dawn's Light is a highly secure facility, somewhere you can be sure he won't hurt himself or others."

"Well why not put my mind at ease by showing me this secure facility then?"

The doctor scowled, but finally granted her request. "Fine, you can have a brief visit with Mr. Specter, but you will do so under my surveillance. If I feel that he is going to break, I will have him sedated and you will be escorted off the premises. Is that clear?"

"Perfectly. Now take me to Erik."




Nothing could have prepared Daesha for the sight before her when the doctor pulled back the slider over the small window in Erik's door. Not the dingy halls, or the rodents, or the cold doctor. She didn't know whether to cry for joy that he really was alive, or for heartbreak over what had become of the boy. Had she passed him in the street, she probably would not have recognized him. He looked far older than Daesha remembered, as though significantly more than four years had passed since their last meaning. His face was thin and gaunt, and his eyes looked sunken, although that may have been because of the dark circles underneath them. He looked so pale and sickly, it made her gasp. "By the stars Erik, what have these years done to you?" Daesha whispered under her breath.

The Arkanian doctor swiped a key card at the security console by the door, and entered an access code that made the heavy locking mechanisms released. "You have five minutes," said the doctor as he pulled the thick door open. Daesha nodded and stepped inside, and the door quickly closed and sealed behind her. She stood there awkwardly for a moment, not knowing what to say. He wasn't even looking in her direction.

"Hi Erik," the Togruta croaked, her voice constricted by a large lump in her throat. "It's Daesha. You remember me, right buddy?" Please, please remember me.

 

[Niklas]

Erik looked up with fright. The expression of confusion and terror was inescapable. He tried to speak, but he could not. The pleading look on his face brought his visitor to tears.

I don't understand!?! Who are you, who are these people?!?!

Just then, the pleasant figure became a nightmare. Maggots had begun to crawl from her mouth, flies from the nose. Blood leaked out from the ears, as she became a decomposed swamp body. Her eyes oozed bile.

Erik screamed and kicked/crawled away. He screamed with sheer terror.

"What the KRIFF!"
"STAY THE KRIFF AWAY FROM ME!"
"SOMEBODY PLEASE HELP!!!!"

 

[Veritas et Lux]

The screams of horror could be heard throughout the compound. At least there was a new voice here, the selkath thought, crawling to the other end of the room to press his ear against the wall. The man must have just had his medications too-

"Squeamish, huh? Must be one of those nutsos again. Heh." he said aloud to himself before rolling over onto his back.

"Shut up! He's an annoying gammorean pig-man!" he spoke back to himself aloud once more.

The door to his cell made a loud klaxon before the hinges swept across allowing the flourescent lights to fill the room. It was time for Rashesh to have his medication as well. A black spherical droid equipped with a syringe floated towards him, looming over the room.

"Me'sa know, me'sa know. It's time for my meds...
Drug me up, baby!" he pornounced to the droid which continued floating his way.

As the droid aimed for the selkath's bicep, Dr.Rashesh swiftly placed in front of the needle his last scrap of fish. As the needle began to slowly inject 'him' with the medicine, he groaned in euphoria of the syringe.
He than continued on to hear the bellowing cries of another maniac.

 

[Allu'rah Danan]

"Erik! Erik please calm down!" Daesha begged. She continued to advance, and he backed himself into a corner. He would probably attack her but she had to try to get through to him. She knelt in front of him, and tried to pin his wrists above his head. "Erik, you know me. Look into my face. I know you're seeing things. The doctor told me so. But I know you have the strength in you. You can make the bad things go away if you want to. See me for what I am Erik. I am your friend."

Images flashed to her. She remembered screaming and lashing out, attacking a figure who towered over her. She remembered a strong pair of arms wrapping around her, pinning her arms to her sides as she panted and weeped and shrieked. Daesha tried to do the same to Erik, attempting to hug him to her bosom just as Shale had done that night when she was trapped in a drug-induced hallucination.

Dr. Quanera just shook his head at the futility of her effort. He had anticipated such a reaction on the patient's part. Still, he observed coldly, keeping an eye on his watch. She had three more minutes. Less if things turned particularly ugly, which he presumed they would. Reaching into his pocket, he retrieved a syringe of potent sedative to subdue the patient in case he turned violent. It seemed likely, since the foolish Togruta had backed the madman into a corner when he obviously wanted nothing to do with her, and to make matters worse, was trying to touch him, and reason with him. He would be ready to eat his boots if she actually managed to reason with the patient.

 

[Niklas]

Erik's fear gradually declined. His arms being pinned above his head just induced the struggling. He was scared indeed. Perhaps he was even suicidal scared.

The odd pin/hug Erik received seemed to make him struggle. He was trembling more than a cheap hyperdrive. The horrid face had come back to its original tranquil form. He seemed to be soothed by it.

I know this will only work for seconds. Its gonna come back. It'll all turn to shit.

He started to cry. Emotionally breaking down would be natural at this point. The fear, though, it still remained with him.

He looked up at Daesha, and shook his head. As she spoke, her seemed to glide peacfully into his ears.

Just then, he saw another horror.

A large bipedal molerat was carrying a syringe of a green fluid and a cleaver.
It seemed to smile, but then it walked away.

Erik let his head down again. It would never end.

 

[Allu'rah Danan]

Daesha winced a bit as Erik continued to grapple with her for a few moments, but she kept her hold as firmly as she could while trying to be gentle with him. She took a deep breath when his struggling subsided, and was relieved when she noticed a hint of recognition in his eyes. But then he looked over her shoulder and he became just as horrified as before.

"Erik, ignore everything here," the Togruta said firmly, hoping to calm him. "You and I are the only people here. Look at me. Don't look at anything else. Just look into my eyes. I will not hurt you. You don't need to be afraid of me. I am here for you." She let go of him with one arm but still held him firmly with the other. With her free hand, she tried to wipe away some of his tears. Krath, he may have been a man by age, but he was so like a frightened child and just as fragile. He was shaking so badly, and was just so afraid. Daesha desperately hoped she could help him piece his fractured mind back together. It took tremendous effort on her part not to cry with him.

 

[Niklas]

Erik's attempt to calm down was slow but effective. Daesha succeeded in calming him with her words and actions. Despite her efforts however, Erik a bit creeped out.
His movements were varied, yet he still trembled with continuity. His arms were still wrapped around her, as if there was some maternal bond.

Its going to comeback, I know it will.

He felt the evil within the facility deepen. It would continue to grow, its long dark tendrils wrapping them around him wherever he went. It would forever haunt him, it seemed. As if there was no escape.

"Help me", he said quietly, with such desperation and sorrow.

 

[Allu'rah Danan]

Daesha tilted her head back a bit to help blink some tears away. The lump in her throat was excruciating, and she had to wait for it to relax a bit before she could say anything else. Even when she did speak, it sounded as though her voice was threatening to break. "I will Erik. I'm going to help you," she promised. "I won't always be here, but I promise I'll come back to see you. You're going to have to be brave for me when I'm not here. I know you can do it. I know you're brave." She had to stop for a moment and compose herself. The Togruta wiped her eyes, but still tried to force herself to smile at the boy reassuringly. She was careful not to show her teeth though. The last thing she wanted was for Erik to panic if he thought she was baring her fangs. "This place seems scary," she said to him, lowering her voice slightly, "and some of the people here seem scary too. But you don't need to fear them. They want to help you get better, okay? So do what they ask. Be good for them. Make sure you eat, and take your medicine. It'll help you get better. And when you're all better, I will come and take you home. I know you're scared Erik. But I know you're strong, too. Now I need you to promise me you'll be brave. And I need you to promise you'll be good for the doctors. They won't let me visit you on days when you aren't being good. But if you're brave, and if you behave yourself, I can come back to be with you, and I can make sure you're safe. Can you make me that promise Erik?"

 

[Niklas]

Erik knew that he had to promise her. He knew that he had to make this sacrifice. Despite the fact that the doctors were untrustworthy, cruel, and harsh butchers in lab coats, he knew he had to promise.

Despite the fact the the butchers were giving him unnescessary medication that were for the wrong symptoms, or the fact they induced the horrific episodes of terror, fear, and grotesque hallucinations, he still had to promise her.

He really didn't want to do this.

I don't promise.

"I... promise", he said reluctantly.

 

[Allu'rah Danan]

"Your five minutes are over," said the Arkanian doctor looming in the doorway. "Time to wrap it up."

Daesha looked around at the doctor and gave him a glare. She was just starting to get through to him too. Still, she gave him a tight hug and placed a quick kiss on his cheek. "Don't be afraid Erik. You're going to be alright. I'll make sure of it. I'll come by again tomorrow and try to visit you. Try to be brave for me until then, okay?"

"Miss Olan! Now!"

"I'm coming!" she hissed back at the man. She forced another smile for Erik and tousled his hair playfully. "I'll be back. Don't worry." She pulled herself away from him reluctantly. She wish she could still his shaking, and banish his wild-eyed fear. As soon as she was outside of Erik's cell and the door slammed shut behind her, she cracked. One of the male nurses, a tall Firrerreo, had to be called over to escort the sobbing Togruta from the premises.

Daesha was overwhelmed with guilt. Maybe if she hadn't abandoned them on that mission four and a half years ago, Burc'ya would still be alive and Erik's mind would be in tact. She could scarcely even remember what it was they had been bickering over that had made her throw that tantrum and leave. It was probably something so trivial, but her damned pride had gotten in the way. Why does wisdom only ever come through suffering? she wondered. Why must these lessons be so painful to learn?

 

[Veritas et Lux]

(ooc: my apologies but i have been very busy lately- i joined before shit hit the fan at my house but i suppose maybe later i could rejoin again. i am not sure. anyways sorry for polluting your nice thread.)

 

[Ender]

Shale was waiting outside the place on a bench when Daesha came out with tear stains on her face. A large Firrerreo had escorted her out, rather roughly. He gave him a dark look, and he physically recoiled. Shale just had that effect on people, then he turned to look at Daesha. "What happened?"

 

[Allu'rah Danan]

The Togruta just threw her arms around the android, crying into his chest for several minutes before she could compose herself enough to answer him. "So much of him... so much of him is wrong..." she finally managed to choke out. "He barely recognized me... He tried to attack me and... and when he finally knew it was me... he just pleaded with me... he asked me to help him..." Daesha broke off on a few strangled sobs, and her hug tightened. "He's just so frightened... He looks like he's been through hell... He's thin and pale and shaking... I just want to bring him home!" She continued to cry, her own shoulders shaking and heaving with the force of her sobbing.