Damned.

Jakob sat in a small room that smelled too clean, staring down at the floor. He had his things taken away almost immediately after he had arrived, and he had no way of knowing when he’d get them back. The doctor had told him it was to check to make sure he didn’t have anything to harm himself with and that he would likely get it back soon. There was a soft knock on the door, startling him out of his thoughts, and a nurse walked in.

“Good morning, Mr. Neilson,” she said cheerfully. “I have your things here along with your new uniform.” She passed him his bag along with a light blue uniform. “I’ll let you get changed. Come on outside when you’re ready,” she said with a smile. Jakob changed into his new uniform quickly and shoved his clothes into his bag, putting the bag on his shoulder.

He walked outside, closing the door softly behind him, and the nurse motioned for him to follow her. “Here’s the cafeteria,” she said, motioning toward the large room. It was filled with people wearing all kind of uniforms. “All patients are required to eat three meals a day to help keep your strength up. Now, just down the hall here,” she led him about halfway down the hallway, “is where we have group therapy sessions. At least once a week after group therapy, you’ll meet with your psychologist and have a one on one session with him.”

“Will it be the same person as the one who runs group therapy?” Jakob asked softly.

“Not in your case, no. The group therapist is Dr. De Clercq, and your therapist will be Dr. Larouse.” Jakob nodded, and they continued on the tour. Wherever they went, Jakob looked for exits to rooms so he had a general escape route for almost every situation that could arise.

Once the tour of the facility was done, Jakob was led to his room. He was told he’d be rooming with someone named Zeke and wondered if he was already there. Someone was being led out of their room and a door shut with a loud bang. Jakob flinched, fighting the urge to cry out. Images of being chased while being shot at flashed before his eyes. He was jolted out of his thoughts by the sounds of voices coming toward him.

Without thinking, his brain still in panic mode, he tried to find somewhere where he could hide from these men. He jumped when one of them put a hand on his shoulder. He was shaken out of his memories by the contact and found that he was shaking and there were tears on his face.

“You all right?” the guy asked. He realized it was another patient, not a doctor as he had first thought. He nodded, wiping his face with his hands. “You don’t seem all right to me,” the guy observed.

“I just had a bad memory,” Jakob said softly. The guy nodded sympathetically. “I’m all right now. Excuse me.” He went into the room, shutting the door softly behind him. He hurried to the empty bed, not even noticing that Zeke was in the room, and he put his bag on the ground under the bed.

He looked around the room at last, spotting his roommate. He waved, not really in the mood for introductions just yet. He lay back on his bed and stared at the ceiling, wondering what was going to happen next.