Desperate Remedies

Kicking and screaming, he shoved her into the back of his Chevy Bel Air as the storm raged in the distance and his sinister chuckle was drowned out by the rumble of thunder. He strapped her into the back seat like a wild animal before he sped out of the driveway that sat in front of what was supposed to be their dream home. He only had a twinge of guilty conscience when he caught sight of the two tiny tear-streaked faces in his living room window.

His wife hadn't stopped her caterwauling the entire drive, so by time they'd made it to the asylum, he'd thought his own self as crazy as he'd planned on saying she was...

A man dressed in a dour black suit and fedora stood on the steps with three other men dressed in white scrubs and a single female nurse with a pristine dress, perfect white tights, and white shoes with only a tiny splatter of red.

"Mr. Reader?" The man in the suit walked to the car to shake the husband’s hand like a gentlemen should. "I'm Ravenwood's director, Mr. Nivel."

        "Nice to meet you, Mr. Nivel." Mr. Reader opened the back door to expose his unfortunate, weeping wife to her new life. "This is Rebecca Reader."

        "What are you bringing Rebecca to us for today?" Mr. Nivel asked.

        "She has been acting irrational, defiant, and sleeping a lot. I'd like to have her admitted so you can find out what her problem might be," Mr. Reader replied as he untied his wife and yanked her, none to gently, from the backseat.

        She clung to him as dread and misery racked her. "Please. I'm sorry. I won't say anything about you being late coming home from work anymore. I won't. I won't question you, Harry."

        "She needs a time out." Mr. Reader peeled his wife off his arm with limited emotion and shoved her towards the waiting attendants. Her pleads and cries fell on deaf ears as he hopped into his car and drove away without even a glance in the rearview mirror. He had a date with his attractive and fresh secretary.

        Mr. Nivel walked in front of them as they dragged Mrs. Reader into Room 102 with two other pathetic women who sat on tiny twin cot's with dirty white fitted sheets and no blankets.

        "This will be your room for the duration of your stay, Mrs. Reader." Mr. Nivel gave her a light thrust towards the empty bed in the room.

        In a state of terrorized shock, Rebecca sat gently on the edge of the bed. She scanned the room and took in the nightmare for herself as the medical staff left her alone. She'd heard stories about Ravenwood, who hadn't, but she'd never imagined she'd be a forced

resident simply because her lousy husband wanted to continue his affair without her complaining about the woman or the time away from his home and responsibilities. But here she was in a place that smelled of bleach, feces, urine, and desperation. Screams mixed with nonsensical chatter to fill the halls while people that were so drugged or insane, or both, walked past her door like the undead.

        Rebecca twisted her dress in her hands as she stared at the sorrowful shells that were her new roommates. A stick of a woman sat braiding and unbraiding the same piece of oily black

hair as she sung a tuneless song under her breath. The other woman sat near the bar-covered window with a bit of drool and tears dried white on her greasy face.

        Terror slicked through her chest at the thought of her ending up rotting away like the two ladies in front of her. She would escape this dank place tonight, steal her children from that backstabbing turncoat, and run to her parents’ house in Cheboygan where these brutes could no longer reach her. With a solid resolve and fearless

determination, she started to plan.

        If the daytime was a nightmare in Ravenwood, then the night was actual hell. Horror-filled screams echoed with tragic children's crises and sobbing woman for almost an hour until it all went completely silent like someone, or something simply snapped off a light switch. To Rebecca the quiet was almost more frightening then the screams ever could be...

        She rolled out of bed, quiet as a church mouse, and eased herself towards the open door. With a quick peek down the empty, pitch-black hall, she snuck close to wall as she tip-toed down the corridor ignoring the disgusting smells that assaulted her

delicate nose, the odd wet puddles that dampened her pantyhose, and the sounds of sins that battered her ears. The front door seemed to spark with hope of freedom as she took into the giant rotunda.

        It was lit only by a soft glow, the sides all cast in dark shadow, only the single desk and half-asleep security guard illuminated like a spotlight. Rebecca closed her eyes as she thought about how to get past the only thing standing in her way.

        "Mrs. Reader?" A deep voice came from the darkness behind her and shattered all her desires and dreams.

        "Yes?" she whimpered back.

        "Why are you standing out here staring at James?" the voice asked.

        "Just exploring," she replied, innocently. "Is that not allowed, sir?"

        "It is, but not after lights out." Mr. Nivel spun her around to face him. He brushed her hair off her face. "I know you don't want to be here, nor do you belong here, Mrs. Reader. However, we must do our job." He hooked his arm through hers to lead her back down the devil’s hallway. "You spend a few nights here, we give you a clean bill of health, and you'll be back at home washing dishes and wiping noses in no time."

        "Promise?" Rebecca asked as he gently sat her on the edge of the bed.

        "I swear." Mr. Nivel gave her a kind smile and handed her a tiny cup of pills.

        "Oh. I don't want to end up like them." Rebecca pointed to the poor souls sleeping like the dead.

        "You won't. I promise. These are for sleeping only. I know and understand how scary sleeping in a new place is on the first night."

        Rebecca eyed the pills but let her trusting nature lead her and swallowed them both without a sip of water.

Three Months Later

"Mom?" A small voice entered Rebecca’s foggy mind as she turned from her spot at the window towards the sound. "Mom, it's me. It's Thomas."

        Rebecca tilted her head before she turned away from the squeaky sound and back towards the window where the beautiful birds, rainbows of color, flew through the bright sky.

        Harry Reader smirked for only a moment before his beautiful new fiancée pulled his tearful children to her for comfort and he crossed his arms over his chest as he fixed his face into one of tragic concern. "See, Judge Hannigan? My wife is gone,

sadly, I’d like that divorce so that my children can have a proper mother and I can make Cindy my lawful wife."

        The judge nodded in agreement and signed the papers before the family left Rebecca to her tragic fate and went for a nice dinner.