Asylum

My eyes fluttered open slowly, taking a minutes to adjust as my surroundings slowly came into focus. I was laying on a rather uncomfortable bed in a plain white room. There was a sink and a toilet in the corner and a tiny window with bars on both the inside and out. I sat up slowly as I looked around. The last thing I could remember clearly was being stabbed in the neck with something sharp, a needle possibly. I had no clue as to where I was or how I even got here. Had there been an accident? Did I do something wrong? A million questions were running through my mind as I covered my face with my hands, letting out a sigh as I tried to think back to what happened before I got here. . .nothing, just. . .nothing.

I'd somehow managed to think so hard that I didn't even hear the metal door to the room I was in swing open until it crashed into the wall and I was yanked from my spot on the bed I'd woken up on. Upon snapping out of my daze and looking up I found what looked to be a male nurse who had a firm grip on my arm. I whimpered slightly as his grip tightened around my arm. 'That's gonna bruise.' I thought as I trailed alongside the strange man, keeping quiet, to afraid to ask any questions. Suddenly we rounded a corner and stopped at an elevator. He pushed the down button until the doors to opened and he shoved me forward, my arm still locked in his vice like grip. The ride was short and before I knew it I was being dragged down another series of hallways until we reached what looked like an office door. The man knocked several times before opening the door and shoving me inside.

"Please, sit down." A middle aged man, probably in his mid 50's, stated from behind a large desk that sat in the middle of the room I was currently standing in. I obeyed and sat in one of the chairs in front of the mans desk, not wanting to be dragged around by that male nurse again. I rubbed my arm absentmindedly as I stared at the man in front of me. "It says here that your name is Zoey," He glanced up at me and I nodded. "Last name?" He asked impatiently.

"Matthews." I replied, noticing my voice was hoarse as I spoke. The man nodded as he wrote something down on a piece of paper in the folder he held on his lap.

"Do you know why you're here Zoey?" He asked looking up at me, I simply shook my head. He returned to writing, making a slight 'Mhm' noise as he did so. He then proceeded to ask me more pointless questions like what my age was and if I knew what year it was. But he refused to tell me why I was here when I finally managed to ask. Completely ignoring me and signaling to the nurse that we were done and he could remove me from his office.

The nurse grabbed my arm as he drug me down another series of hallways before pushing open one of two large wooden double doors, shoving me into a large cafeteria. "You get thirty minutes." He stated before leaving me to stand there awkwardly in a room full of well, crazy people. I wrapped my arms around my waist as I looked around the room, I was more than a little scared at this point. There were people in straight-jackets screaming randomly, other people shuffling around staring off into space and muttering to themselves, people sitting in their chairs rocking back and forth. Then there were people who looked to be completely normal like me. I also noticed that everyone was dressed in white, including myself. Seemed a bit cliche if you ask me, but who am I to judge.

I shuffled towards the lunch line slowly, grabbing a tray from a large stack and holding it out in front of me. The food looked absolutely repulsive, but I went about excepting it quietly until I reached the end of the line, where I looked around the room for an empty place to sit. There weren't many to choose from, so I just stood there lost and confused. Until someone bumped into me.

"Sorry!" The man apologized quickly as he steadied me, which kept me from falling over, and made sure my tray didn't hit the ground. "I really didn't mean too, please don't like freak out or anything!"

I just stared up at him with a puzzled look as it appeared he was talking more so to himself than to me.

"Why would I freak out?" I asked, watching as his eyes widened and his expression changed from worried to something else I couldn't quite read.

"Oh god, you're normal!" He said quickly before taking me by the shoulders and shoving me forward towards a table with four other guys around it. All while muttering to himself quietly.

"Jimmy, where the hell have you-" The largest of the men started to chew the man who had run into me out but stopped when he saw he wasn't alone. "Who's the chick?" He asked bluntly, pointing his spoon at me and looking me over like I was about to be his next meal. I swallowed hard but didn't answer.

"Uh, I don't know." The man behind me, Jimmy as the other man called him, replied truthfully. "I almost knocked her over and I was worried she was gonna flip out like they normally do but she didn't...and she talks and I pretty positive she's normal." He added as he looked down at me. "Right?" I nodded in response.

"Well, what's your name then sweetheart?" Another man spoke as he looked up at me expectantly.

"Zoey." I answered back quietly, averting my gaze away from his piercing chocolate brown eyes. He chuckled slightly as I stared at the ground.

"Nice to meet you Zoey." He smiled. "Welcome to hell."