Saint Fidelity

"Macie, love, can you come with us now?"

I stared, wide eyes and terrified at the unfamiliar nurse beckoning me out of my room. No, I can't. I can't, or I might die. I thought to myself as I silently followed her out. Devi was already out, waiting for myself and to other girls to join the pack. I was immediately right beside her, hoping maybe if I was with my friend it wouldn't be so bad.

"Okay girls, you're going to be in the common room for a little while until the rooms are finished being painted. It should only take the rest of the day at most, but you'll be spending the night in spare rooms in case the paint is still wet? Understand?"

There was a chorus of moans, and 'yes, I understand'. The nurse nodded happily, leading us along in a straight line towards the lounge.

The lounge would be a nice place if I could be there alone. It had a TV with an array of unoffending movies, mostly Disney, books, board games, music... Relaxing things. Fun things. Normal things.

The people that resided there on the other hand, were all quite the opposite. The other patients scared me, with their outbursts, and anger. Some were violent, I knew that very well. I'd seen brawls on more than one occasion, and I'd seen a lot of blood. Putting a group of people that had to put in a place like this together wasn't a good idea, and I couldn't believe they were doing it simply because they wanted the walls painted. This was supposed to be a treat, letting us socialize all day. It wasn't a treat at all, it was a god damn nightmare.

I felt saliva build up in my throat as we all trudged to my execution room. Saint Fidelity was a huge building, and no matter where you were going it usually took a few minutes to get there. We went up a flight of stairs, growing closer. I glanced over at Devilyn, and sighed.

"I can't believe this," she hissed, chewing frantically on her lip.

"Trust me, I know," I mumbled back, staring right back to the ground. "Are we going to have to go to the boys wing?"

She furrowed her brow, then shook her head. "No, I think someone else is bringing them. We're not allowed in the boys wing, remember?"

I nodded slowly, running my fingers through the knots in my hair. "Oh, yeah." Truth is, I didn't remember that rule. It made sense, though, seeing as there were more than a few freaks on the boys wing that would target the girls. It would be a double standard if the rule of not entering the opposite wing didn't apply to both. Besides, half the girls here were just as capable of doing damage as the men. Myself, I could never hurt a fly, but I was a minority in that aspect.

I could hear male chatter up ahead, and I looked up. We were quickly approaching the lounge, and my stomach was spinning circles inside of me. I tasted bile as the nurse opened the door, exposing me to at least five or six males, dressed in ratty hospital clothes. They were strewn all through out the lounge, one was just laughing at a blank TV, one was staring longingly out the window, one was playing solitaire... but my eyes fell on a blonde boy, with lifeless blue eyes. He sat at one of the tables, staring at something that didn't even appear to be there.

The rest of the girls except Devilyn and I scattered, finding their own place in the room, while I stood stock still, staring at this boy. He looked about my age, if not a tad older, though something about him held a wisdom beyond his years. His skin was pale, and his cheeks were hollow. His hands were occupied with frantic fidgeting, and his eyes were still fixed on an invisible subject. He made me nervous, the feeling becoming physical as it rose up my throat.

In an instant, his gaze flicked up to me, eyes burning almost painfully into mine. Slowly, a frightening smile crossed his face.

So, I did what I always did.

I tried to run.