He's not wearing a straight jacket, he's not wearing a straight jacket, I hoped to myself while pondering if I should open the door. The lady had given me a fucking buzzer just in case he does something. Something terribly bad, like bite me or something.

I thought about the man in the soup kitchen. That man was Gerard, and sure; he had some issues. But none of us are picture perfect anyways. His past may be dark, but we all have something we regret. He may have secrets, but he's not alone. Unless...he is?

I stare down to see the lock on the door. What type of witchcraft was used to make that slab of metal possible? The lock appeared to have about eighteen different sections, and a huge bar covered the door. I removed the bar carefully and unlocked every single opening in the lock. Inside sat a patient Gerard, until he ran up to see me, which he became excited.

"Frank, you came!" he cried, hugging me. I heard a huge clunk, to see it was a small metallic bracelet at his ankle. I questioned upon it. "That old thing," he laughed. "Doc thinks I'll run out of the system, cause I'm smarter than most folks."

"So, how's life around here?" I asked.

"Tony's the only one who visits me, but either than that pretty lonely," he sighed. "Oh, and Hayley and I see each other sometimes. And Mitch, and Austin and Billie and a lot of others. But that was long ago."

"Why are you here?" I questioned a bit too quickly.

"I have no fucking idea," he scoffed and turned to the wall. "Yeah, Tony. We all know I don't belong here. Stupid doctors."

I laughed. "The slightest clue?"

Gerard shrugged. "I think it's because those creatures won't leave me alone," he said and ducked his head immediately, pulling my neck down with him. "They follow me everywhere."

"What creatures?"

"The black birds. Tony says they just really like me, but they are sooo annoying."

I smiled lightly, and sat on his bed. "Tell me more, sweetheart."

Notes

new chapter!