Sequel: For Better or Worse
Status: Complete. Thank you for reading. :)

For the Best

The End of the Line

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^*Matt’s POV*^
“Luke, where’s Shannon?” I walked up one of my co-workers after I emerged from the hallway that Shannon was supposed to be in.

“Oh, last night she went berserk.” He answered, and I followed him down another hallway.

“What do you mean? What did she do?” I asked, concerned now.

“She ripped the bed clean off of the wall.” My jaw dropped at his words. Those beds are bolted in the wall. I couldn’t even tear one from the wall. “Yea, I know.” He answered my expression. “She ripped her calf open in the process, and then ripped the vent off and started screaming for Jimmy, and that she was going to kill him. We had to remove Jimmy from his room because none of us could get near her without getting knocked out or hurt.”

“Did she hurt anyone?” I asked as we stopped at the end of his hall.

“She broke Mark’s arm in three different places, bit Cheryl’s ear nearly clean off, and she didn’t even go down with morphine. We had to call a vet and have him come in and put her to sleep with a fucking horse tranquilizer, Matt. You should have been here, we needed you.” Luke sounded pissed off when he said this.

“Well I’m sorry, but if you don’t remember, she nearly killed Saylee yesterday, and I had to get her rushed to the hospital, and I stayed up there with her all night.” I said, getting mad that he was mad at me. “I had to make sure she was safe, and she didn’t want me to leave, so I couldn’t. I would’ve been here if I could have, but I couldn’t.” I said, calming down.

“Saylee…” He said thoughtfully. “Is that the girl that comes and visits Shannon every day?”

“Yea, she had to have two pints of blood after Shannon ripped her arm up and dislocated her shoulder.” I explained quickly, and he nodded.

“She’s really lost herself, but she can’t have any more visitors, so...” He shrugged, sitting down, but quickly looking back up at me before I could walk away. “Oh, and they’ve relocated you down to watch her cell, because you seem to really be the only one that can actually talk to her.”

“Alright.” I said, nodding slightly. “I’ll see you around.” I said, and he said his goodbye as I walked back down the hall, and made a left, making my way towards Shannon’s new cage.

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^*Saylee’s POV*^
After the breakfast that didn’t go as planned was over, I contemplated going to see Shannon for a while. After I got out of the shower and got dressed with a little help from Benji since my arm was in a sling for the next week, I sided against it, that lurking fear in my mind getting its way.

“Feel like coming out to the lake with me today?” Benji asked as we made our way down the stairs.

“Oh god, more fishy smells!” I groaned and he laughed.

“But that’s the best part!” He argued as we reached the bottom and I nodded.

“I guess.” I said with a sigh.

“Great.” He grinned. There was nothing Benji loved more than a fishing buddy when Larry was tied up at the shop.

“When do we leave?”

“Now.” He answered and walked over, grabbing my coat from the rack and tossing it at me. “C’mon now, hurry up, I don’t want to get out there late.” He urged and I put my jacket on before going over and slipping my shoes on. I really was dreading this, but maybe it was what I needed to get away for a while before I had to go face my parents this afternoon.

“But let’s get one thing straight.” I said as Benji opened the door.

“What?”

“I am not fishing. And if you even think about trying to drop a fish down my shirt, then I will shove you out of the boat.” I told him and he nodded, ruffling my hair and causing me to cringe as he did so.

“Whatever you say, kiddo.”

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^*Matt’s POV*^
I had been staring at Shannon’s door for hours, contemplating if I should check on her or not. I was actually kind of afraid. Not of her, but of the condition I’d find her in. I didn’t want to go in and find her all beat up and torn up from a fight with herself. I really didn’t want that image to be in my head, but it got me worried enough to stand up and walk over. I hadn’t noticed I was shaking so bad until I looked down to unlock the door. I finally got the key turned, and I slowly opened the door, and looked in. I couldn’t see her, so I opened the door the rest of the way, and as it slowly swung open I saw her sitting in the corner, looking at the wall. She wasn’t curled up, she wasn’t screaming at invisible beings, she was just sitting there, staring at the wall.

“S-Shannon?” I questioned, not liking how my voice was so shaky. She didn’t answer. “Shannon?” I asked once more. No response. “Are you alright?” I leaned back and looked both ways down the hall before I hesitantly stepped in. She was in a straightjacket, so I should be safe. When she didn’t pounce at me, or tell me to leave, I slowly made my way over to her to where I was standing above her. “Shannon,” I said softly, hoping she’d at least acknowledge me.

“They put me in here because they thought I was a danger to myself, didn’t they?” She finally spoke, her voice so quiet I was almost alarmed. “They put me in here because I tried to kill myself. And because I tried to get to him.”

“W-”

“To Jimmy. I needed comfort, and he was there, and we had it all planned.” I was slightly shocked at her words, because they sent a chill through me. They had it planned… “We sat there over a few nights, and we had it all down. But I lost myself. I lost control of my body again, and I let one of them take me, and they did it all.” She sniffed, her voice becoming strained. “They’re not so hostile towards Jimmy like they are with everyone else, so that’s good I guess, but they think I deserve to be here. They didn’t want him to help me break out. Jimmy…he kept whatever little string of sanity I had intact, and now I’m alone, and there’s no one to help me, no one to keep them at bay for short amounts of time…no one to at least try to make me feel better.” She slowly stood up, and I took a step back as she did, slightly afraid. She fell into me, and I flinched, but as she started crying I couldn’t just not comfort her. I slowly wrapped my arms around her, rubbing her back.

“It’s okay, Shannon.” I whispered, still kind of tense in hopes that she wouldn’t attack me.

“Matt,” She started, her voice barely above a whisper.

“Yea?”

“Never get this close to a person in a straightjacket that’s stronger than you.” She said, and I quickly pushed her back as her voice got lower and more menacing. She pulled the arms of the jacket roughly, the buckles snapping, and the fabric of the arms tearing. I was frozen as she grinned, but just as she lurched forward at me, I turned and took off for the door, and she pushed me, making me fall into the door and close it.

“HELP!” I screamed, my fists beating furiously against the thick metal. “HELP! LUKE, OPEN THE DOOR! SOMEONE!”

“You fucking moron, these walls are memory foam, and the door’s five inches thick.” I turned, pressing myself back against the door as I realized what she was saying. No one would hear me. She just grinned at me, that sick grin that wasn’t Shannon. My hands went to my pockets, but I left the key in the door. I had to defend myself or she’d kill me. I hated the thought of hurting Shannon, but this wasn’t Shannon. Just her body. She wasn’t in her mind right now. “If she won’t kill you I will.” She growled, her voice low and not hers at all.

“I’m sorry Shannon.” I said, and drew my fist back before swinging it forward as hard as I could, but before it could hit her face she caught it with her left hand, and I tried to pull my hand from hers, but she wouldn’t let go.

“Now, you get us back to her cell,” She turned my fist, and I cringed, using all of my strength to keep my fist straight, but I couldn’t as she stepped forward, my wrist popping as I gritted my teeth against the pain. “Or we’ll break every single bone in your body.”

“No,” I growled, and pulled on my hand once more, but she let go, sending me back into the door.

“Yes!” She screamed, now pissed off if she weren’t already. She came forward, and I got up as she tried to grab my shirt, I pushed her, and she fell back. “Bad move, Matt.” A different voice was present now, and she quickly came forward, and grabbed my sides, the pain unbearable.

“Get off of me!” I screamed, trying to get her hands off of me before the internal bleeding began. “Please Shannon! Just stop!” I screamed, and she did. I fell to my knees, in so much pain I could hardly breathe as I hugged my sides, willing the pain to go away. I took a deep breath finally, and looked up at her. “What the-” She suddenly grabbed me by my shoulders, pulling me up onto my feet.

“Get us back in the cell, Matthew.” She hissed.

“Hell n-” I was cut off as she pressed her forearm tightly against my neck, the other on my chest, keeping me pinned against the metal door.

“Do it, Matt. If you don’t you won’t leave this room alive.” The male voice came back, more violent than before. I wouldn’t put it past…them, to kill me. I just kept trying to breathe while pushing on her arm, but each time I did it just tightened, and her expression hardened. “They’ll have to haul your body out in a body bag, so mangled and torn up that not even your own parents will recognize you, and they’ll have to identify you by your dental records. Saylee will be crushed, and you’ll never see her again. Do you want to do that to her, Matt?” She asked, her eyes narrowed as I squeezed mine shut, trying to concentrate on breathing. Her words hit me like a brick to the face. I shook my head, and when I did her arms was pressed even more forcefully against my throat, squeezing my wind pipe closed, and I couldn’t breathe at all as she lifted me off the ground a few inches. “That’s not an answer, Matt.”

“I-I’ll do- it.” I managed out, and as soon as the words left my lips she let go of me, and I fell back to the floor onto my hands and knees, gasping for air. I stared at the floor for a moment, getting my breath back as the dull aches in my body took over fully as my muscles relaxed for once. I knew I had broken ribs, there was no doubt. Breathing killed. I finally got up, and then looked up to see she was back in the corner. I sighed, and as I did that sharp pain sliced through me, forcing me to wrap an arm around my abdomen like it was going to help keep myself together. I turned back to the door, not sure at all how I’d get out. I twisted the doorknob, but it wouldn’t turn. Then I saw them; the keys had fallen out of the door in my escape attempt. I carefully bent down and picked them up, feeling the pain again. I put the correct key in the door and opened it.

“I’m sorry Matt.” I heard Shannon’s voice say softly, but I didn’t reply, I just walked on out, shutting the door behind me and locking it. I walked down the hall without another look at that hell. I couldn’t stay in this place anymore, I’d be killed by rather the insanity that seeps from the walls, or my worry over Shannon would get the best of me, and the next time I go in there I’d be killed. I knew that if anything bad ever happened to Shannon, Saylee would be a mess, and that’s what carried me into that room, I was just trying to make sure she was okay, but this…this is too much for even me to handle. I walked into the front of the hospital and over to the desk. You’re supposed to have a one day notice before quitting, but I didn’t give a damn at the moment.

“Rose,” I said, and she turned around in her chair as I unhook my badge from my shirt.

“Oh my god,” She sprung up. I knew I looked like hell. “What happened to you?! Are you alright?!” She said, and I shook my head.

“No, Shannon just nearly killed me. She needs to be put in solitary lockdown.” I slammed my badge and keys down on the desk and she looked down at them before looking back up at me.

“Matt don’t-”

“I quit.”
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xoxo, Saleigh