Almost Easy

“I'm not insane. You believe me, don't you?” Marina asked Rachael, distress etched deep in her face.

“Not insane, Marina. I think you're confused... Misguided, maybe. I read the file, sweetheart, and I strongly believe that you have mental blocks built up due to the incident that happened...” Rachael opened the younger woman's file, checking it for a few seconds, “Eleven years ago. Under deep treatment and mental growth, we should be able to get passed-”

“I don't have a mental block,” Marina interrupted her, “You just don't want to believe that I'm not lying. You don't want to acknowledge the fact that my stories aren't fake, that every word I spoke of my life is real. I know you can understand that I killed people, invaded buildings for criminal reasons, but that I can actually control people? Not a chance. You're just like all the others.”

Rachael stared at Marina deep in thought, her old brown eyes scanning for something. Anything. A tremor in her eyebrow, a thin layer of sweat, her eyes darting around in a questionable way-just one little movement that tells the doctor this woman is lying. Marina held her ground, though, holding her chin up and keeping as still as possible.

Every part of Marina itched to bend Rachael's mind. She wanted to push into her brain and grope her thought process, to strangle it off until all she could do was react on the blond's words. Marina was smarter then that, though. The risks weren't worth it, not yet at least.

“Okay. I see where you're coming from. Make me believe you, then. Show me that there is something to believe in, Marina. Control me right now.” Rachael commanded, eyes squinting slightly.

“I can't,” Marina spoke, keeping her poker face, “You aren't ready yet. Once I do it and get what I asked for, you'll never remember. It'll be just like you blacked out. Your head will be a little dizzy, maybe there's a dryness in your mouth and you won't know where the minutes-hours-went.”

“How do you... Know all this?” Rachael asks urgently, fear starting to course through her veins.

“I can do it with words,” Marina starts to speak louder, “I can do it by one vocal command, as I've told you at least ten times before. But after that day, after I killed that man and forced those people-physically-to bend to my will, I perfected it. I can just think of what I want, not even very hard, and you'll do it.”

“Well,” Rachael speaks, shock evident on her face as she rolls her chair back slightly from her desk, “I'd say our time is up for the day. Thank you for sharing with me.”

~\~\~\~\

The two men stood in the shaded area, the taller one allowing his friend to take in his sister's garden. It's only been a day since he first showed up, but he felt like taking care of Marina's vibrant back yard was an urgent thing. For all he knew, one day of skipped care could destroy everything. It was doubted, since Marina had been gone for about two weeks and it was almost perfect still, but Jimmy had his worries.

“Yeah...” The man says, rubbing his eye under his aviators, “Two years of gardening with Val didn't teach me how to take care of a garden almost an acre large, Jim. I say you just hire professionals to do this shit for you. If not, it'll take days just to get through it all once. How the hell did Marina manage this?”

“I don't know, Matt. I honestly don't. With how shifty her schedule was... This just knocks the breath out of me. Do you think we could tackle something at least? Like watering?” Jimmy asks his friend, shifting on his feet.

“Yeah, we could try. We need to find her hoses, though. I pray to God we don't have to use watering cans.” Matt responds.

Jimmy nods with a sigh, walking down the dirt path to the old wooden shed. He was sure that he saw a water tap over there when he walked around yesterday, but he wasn't too sure now. Where else would it be, though?

When the men reach the shed, Jimmy spots the hose. He smiles softly, but that fades the second he realizes something crucial. There is one hose here. One. And her garden is fucking huge. A loud groan comes out of Matt, the bulky man not stopping behind his friend.

Matt goes up to the shed, entering the dark place in a search for anything useful. It was dark inside, smelling oddly like gasoline and bug repellent, but what else would a shed smell like. Various gardening tools littered the place, some hung on walls while others were scattered about on tables and the floor. Matt steps in further, moving slowly in case any of the wood decided it wanted to cave under his feet.

Jimmy follows in behind him, going under the same caution. The two men hunt out any kind of hose or watering can, being extra careful to avoid any spiders. Neither of them want to be bug food.

“Hey Jim, come check this out,” Matt says, knocking on a part of the shed wall that was paneled differently from the rest. “There's a door here.”

Jimmy reaches him in a few strides, his interest peaking. The two men pat down the area, trying to find some way to get in. Jimmy settles on sliding his hands along it when nothing else works, determined to find out what Marina was hiding. When his hand slid underneath one of the panels, he told Matt to back up.

Slowly, Jimmy pulls the trap door open. The room was even darker than the shed, making it almost impossible to see anything inside. Jimmy groans, hanging his head.

“Why the fuck would she have a room back here if you can't see a damn thing?” Jimmy asks to nothing, closing his eyes for a second to think.

“Wait a minute, I think I saw a flashlight earlier,” Matt speaks up, moving around behind the tall man.

Jimmy turns to watch Matt look for a light source. He goes from bench to bench, examining the contents before moving on to the next. After a few minutes, Matt reaches into a pile and produces a large, bright yellow flash light. Jimmy lets out a breath of relief, anxious to know what's inside the room.

Matt strides over to his friend, handing him the light. Jimmy turns around, pointing the large bulb at the dark room. Suddenly, he's scared to know what's inside. There's no awful stench, so it couldn't be dead bodies. What else would Marina try so hard to hide?

With a click, the room before them lit up like a Christmas tree. Both men stare at the content in confusion, unsure of why that is even there.

~\~\~\~\

Marina didn't get an unexpected visit from Brian today, and that kind of depressed her. He was nice enough to introduce himself, and he didn't seem too off when he spoke, but she still wanted to get to know him. For some strange reason, she wanted to know exactly when he was put here. She craved to know his story.

You could always force it out her brain reminded her. Marina shook her head, groaning. She didn't want to make him talk. That was something personal, and this wasn't her job. If she wanted to be trusted and let go, she couldn't leave people confused and dizzy. Even if those people were beautiful, strange men who doesn't have a thing to do with her getting out. It's the thought that counts.

Since the recreational room was nearly deserted, and it was almost time to go to bed, Marina stood up from her spot. She took the sequel to the book she already finished with her, walking out of the room with her back straight. If she wasn't sneaking, she was showing off her discipline. Those ways of presenting herself were almost an instinct now, an instant reaction to the world around her.

The hallways were quiet. The only people that really moved around were orderlies that offered her a smile and a friendly reminder to make it to her room in thirty minutes. Being out of your room without permission passed “curfew” was considered illegal here. Rules are rules, and they do follow you everywhere. She just wished that curfew was a little later then 10PM.

When Marina rounded the corner to seek out her nightly pills, she was in for a shock. Everything seemed fine as she walked up, just a stressed out female resident trying to get her pills.

“Give me my pills!” The woman yells at an orderly behind the “pharmacy” area.

“The doctor said you can't have the sleeping medication right now,” The orderly replies calmly, folding her hands over the counter.

“I don't care!” She yells, slapping her hands down right next to the orderly's, “I want my goddamn pills.”

“Miss Kiyl, please stop this. The doctor's orders are there for a reason. You know that.”

“Right,” She says bitterly, turning around to leave.

Marina looks into her face as she turns. The woman stares her in the face, her eyes dull. Dark bags surround them, her cheeks caved in. The hair on her head is flat and dead, laying lifeless next to her. Obvious signs of drug abuse littered her body, something Marina caught without breaking her stare.

“You!” She points an accusing finger at Marina, “I bet you get the pills. You little fucking-”

Just like that, the woman jumps on Marina. Her reflexes kick in, dodging the woman so she flies right passed her. She hits the wall before turning around to face the blond woman, fire in her eyes. Slowly the drug addict advances on Marina, her jaw set.

“Give me your damn pills!” She shouts at Marina, backing her into the wall.

Marina's heart pounds violently, adrenaline coursing through her veins. Just as the lady is about to attack, Marina pushes slight thoughts to calm down into her brain. She gives slightly, taking a stumbling step back. Finding no way out, Marina slams the word “sleep”.

In an instant, the woman crumples to the floor. Orderlies run over, checking Miss Kiyl out. They press fingers to her neck, ears to her chest, making sure she didn't have a heart attack or stroke. All Marina can do is stare, still backed into the wall.