Room H271

I was woken by the sunlight as it danced through the tiny square window of the wall and dappled across the carpet. I groaned, wanting to roll back over and simply go back to sleep but I knew that I probably wouldn't be able to. Frank sat on the edge of my bed allowing his hands to move over to cotton blankets, he was somehow still smiling.

"Come on sleepy!" he said, "you need to get up..."
"No Frankie!" I hummed from underneath the covers, "I don't want to."
"Geeeee...." Frank whined, elongating the e's in my name until the noise eventually made me so annoyed that I ripped the covers from my body and threw them over Frank, leaving me a little cooler as the heat escaped my body.
"Okay then..." I said standing up and trying to find a clean 'colourful' shirt to put on. I sieved through the white drawers until I found a suitable ebony black t-shirt which contrasted highly to my charcoal black skinny jeans. Noticing the faint bruises that wrapped around my wrists and arms I looked away in disgust. My arm also hurt like fuck, so I sighed as I combed my hands through my knotted and messy red hair.

Frank's and my head both snapped back towards the door as we heard a harsh knock on its surface suggesting that it was breakfast time and the unlocking of the door confirming this theory. After slipping on my old greying trainers I set off outside onto the glinting white corridor, holding the door open for Frank as he brushed by my side as we walked to the dining hall.

The hall was huge, again the walls were white (but what did I expect?) and the ceiling was white. White lights made whiter as they bounced off more white until it began to sting your eyes. White tables, white chairs. Everything was so clinical, couldn't they make it just a little
bit like home? Or was that too difficult for them to do?

Rows upon rows of 'patients' sat on the rounded tables (I know....very contradicting), some dressed in casual clothes while others wore pj's and others wore paper-y white aprons. The noise was immense, piercing and crashing around the room like a tornado with screams and laughter and cries erupting from every corner of the room. The entire room just seemed to hum and buzz with chatter and then randomly drop into silence before chatter once again took over the room.

I walked up to the front counter, collecting my cereal and watching as Frank copied me. He followed me like a lamb as I found our usual spot. Alone. Isolated. Just me and my best friend hidden away in the corner. We sat down at the table, munching and crunching on the cereal as usual whilst ignoring the noise that rolled around the room.

"I'm sorry I didn't make it last night...It's my fault." I whispered to Frank after I'd finished eating, the spoon clinking against the white ceramic bowl.
"It's okay Gee. We can always try and escape another time and I don't blame you for anything." Frank smiled.
"Thank you..." I smiled back, "you are my best friend Frank, you know that right?!"
Frank nodded vigorously.
"The day that we get out of this..." I trailed off as a shadow of a figure cast darkness over me and Frank. We both turned around to see a man, a little older than us, stood over us with an ugly sneer plastered to his face. His shoulders were broad and his arms were only just able to fit through the sleeves of his tee-shirt. Introducing Liam: not my best friend.

"Thanks for waking us all up last night Gerard!" He spat before spreading it across the floor with his shoe.
"Listen. I'm sorry. But please, Liam... Just leave us alone."
"Us?!" Liam laughed, his ginger hair flopping to one side as he rolled his eyes and rested his weight on one leg with a hip slightly raised.
"Yeah...me and Frank." I said back being quite polite to this dick of a person.
"Ha!" Liam laughed again this time louder, "you tell some funny jokes Gerard, don't you?" He asked, pulling a cigarette from his pocket and placing it between his lips.
"Hey!" I began with annoyance creeping through my voice.
"What?!" He groaned, taking a lighter from his jean pocket and flicking it repeatedly until a small flame popped up from the lighter. He brought it to his cigarette and lit it, breathing in the dull grey smoke before leaning down and breathing it all in my face.

"Liam... You're not supposed to smoke." I spluttered with the smoke choking my lungs.
"Do I look like I care?!" He sneered.
I shrugged, pulling my eyes away from his and staring towards the floor. I could see Frank at my side though Liam didn't even flinch as Frank placed his jacket on the seat and had his hands formed into fists. Liam just seemed to ignore him.
"Well..." Liam continued as the small glowing light continued to burn, "I'll see you and your 'totally existent friend' round then!"
"What did you say about Frank?!" I asked.
"Nothing... Nothing..." He muttered, grabbing my arm and before I even had the chance to move he took his cigarette and pressed the glowing end deep into my flesh.

I screamed as he did so revealing black and charred blistering skin. The room went a deadly quiet as I screamed at the pain. The heat. The burning. Continuous. As if it were underneath my skin and cooking it from the inside. Liam stepped backwards before turning and running. He wouldn't make it that far anyway, they'd get him sooner or later. I looked down to the now growing collection of burns on my arms, the blistered scars that speckled across my pale skin. Great. What a fabulous start to the day.

Notes

Woo! This story has over 100 views! Thank you so much! I hope this was okay but I promise that the next chapter will (kind of) be happyyy! I hope you are all doing good and thank you for reading. I'm gunna go and listen to some Muse and Qotsa and fail at trying to play guitar. Should hopefully be another update tomorrow. Thanks. :)
-Lou