~Flashback~
First day at the Mental Hospital

Jack was back in a damned hospital bed. He was once again just another pin cushion for all of the hospital's needles. Or maybe this was the Athlone Home? It acted as a hospital for patients, because the people here were stupid. They injured themselves, accidentally overdosed on pills, bruised every inch of their bodies.

Jumped off of buildings.

Jack sat up in bed. He felt pain jolt through his left arm and leg, making him grunt in agony. He grasped onto his arm, biting down on his lip. His vision was blurring as a nurse came rushing in to help him. She tried to talk to him but Jacks ears were ringing so loud he could hardly hear his own thoughts.

The nurse fiddled with some controls beside his bed and and gave him some medicine. Jack didn't even try to resist this time. His right hand was in a tight fist and his nails were staring to dig into his skin. The pain was unbearable.

The nurse pushed his chest back onto the hospital bed. Jack was breathing heavy, unable to move his body. It was like he was paralyzed. And for the first time in a long time, he was scared. Genuinely scared.

Not like a jump scare or a horror game. Not like the feeling you don't know what to do with your life. Not like being paralyzed. It was like knowing you were perfectly fine, but everyone else thinks you are absolutely insane.

I was a random thought. But one that had nonetheless entered his brain like an awful parasite.

~

It felt like days or weeks had passed until he was finally back to full strength. When he finally was able to speak to one of the nurses she replied that it had only been a few hours. Jack was surprised but he was asleep the whole time. He kind of assumed that with everything going on lately, falling asleep meant fast forwarding.

"Yes, this is the Athlone Home." The nurse at his bedside said sweetly.

"You don't have to shorten it." Jack murmured as she gently removed him from his bed into the one next to it, this one equipped with wheels.

"What?"

"Nothing." He was wheeled out of his hospital room down a long hallways and into an elevator. Just before the bed passed into the elevator he caught a glimpse of a sign above the doors. 'STAFF ONLY' At least that means there's a visitors elevator.

The nurse pressed one of the buttons in the panel located on the inside wall, except this one didn't have a number. She saw that Jack noticed, but instead averted her gaze and stared at the closing metal doors. Jack didn't care enough to ask and rested his head back on the bed.

The elevator went down. Jack was expecting it to stop at the ground floor but it seemed to keep going. He was in the elevator for too long for it to pass as going down four floors. The The legatee suddenly jerked as it came to a stop. It was at least five levels. Five floors. Got it.

The elevator stopped and the nurse pushed Jack into the hall. He peeked at the numbers of the rooms as he passed by. 146, 147, 148, 149, 150.

"Here's your room Mr. McLoughlin."