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GHOSTSCAPE - OLD BEDLAM

The house was currently called 'Old Bedlam' and it served a purpose. A much needed purpose in this area, it was a lunatic asylum. There seemed to be a high rate of mental illness in this village compared to surrounding areas and someone had to look after those less fortunate. That someone was known as Nurse Whatling, a kind older lady with a sturdy figure, hair up in a tight bun and extremely cold hands. She worked with Dr Pierce, an emotionless man whose drive seemed to be learning more about the extreme limits of the human psyche and performing revolutionary new treatments on the patients. Unfortunately none of these experiments had yielded positive effects but that didn't deter him. He didn't have the kind manner of Nurse Whatling, he barely spoke with the patients, merely acknowledged them and checked their charts as he passed through on his way to his study, muttering to himself.

Nurse Whatling entered the room and the quiet chatter turned to whoops and cheers as the patients saw her, they all enjoyed her visits. Cyril's counting raised in volume as he saw her. He was an older man, dark liver spots covered his balding head and his small round glasses were taped together in the middle, one lens cracked. He counted '1,2,3,4,5' constantly, it was all he ever said. They hadn't discovered anything about his past or how he had come to be here at 'Old Bedlam'. He was a very nervous man, twitching, fidgeting and constantly swallowing to cover his anxiety. Dr Pierce once commented that he must have been through some massive trauma in his past to end up like this. Nurse checked him over and he counted quietly as she did so '1,2,3,4,5.' He visibly relaxed when she was around, obviously reassured by her presence.

'Where's Marge?' said Hector, a tall, frail looking man with white hair sitting on the side of his bed. Nurse Whatling replied, as she always did 'She got better, she had to leave us Hector.' Hector thought about this for a moment and seemed satisfied for the moment. 'Are they coming for me tonight?' he said. 'Who?' replied Nurse Whatling. 'You know? Them! The demons…they watch us at night and they whisper to us. They whispered to Marge before she got better.' Nurse Whatling replied 'No, no, no. There are no demons Hector, don't worry about such things'. He didn't look convinced and muttered 'You'll see, you'll see.' Nurse Whatling checked him over too before moving on to Michael.

Michael sat up in bed and slapped himself in the face several times, it was something he did often, randomly. He was a sensitive gentleman, a large man, tall and broad but he very rarely spoke. He had a bad habit though, he tended to invade people's personal space, sit too close, touch them and generally be too close for comfort. Nurse Whatling didn't seem to mind the forced intimacy, she just got on with her job and checked him over. She checked for cuts, bruises and even for hidden weapons as these patients were often suicidal at times especially when Dr Pierce changed their medication they tended to experience a lot of side effects. Michael slapped himself several more times, it was almost as if he was dislodging some unseen insects and perhaps in his mind he was doing exactly that. He said something quietly and Nurse Whatling asked him to speak up, he said 'What happened to Pete?' Nurse Whatling replied with infinite patience 'He also got better. Dr Pierces' treatment helped him. It will help you too soon.' Michael thought for a moment then said 'Why doesn't he visit me then?' and she replied 'He can't! It will make him bad again if he comes back here. I'm sorry Michael.'

Nurse Whatling left the room and as she did so she casually said to hector 'You have your final treatment tonight Hector. You might be going home soon as well!' Hector mumbled 'You'll see. I know what's going on around here. I know the demons are coming for me. You can't stop them, you'll see.' Nurse Whatling gave him a smile and left the room.

She walked into Dr Pierce's study and her shoulders dropped as she let out a sigh of exasperation 'Can't we just kill them all tonight?' Dr Pierce calmly replied 'No, they must be sacrificed in the correct way. The house requires their souls but it cannot feast upon them too quickly. It needs time to absorb them.' She looked defeated 'So I have to keep up this pretence for how long?' Dr Pierce replied 'Another week or so. We cannot let the authorities catch wind of what we are doing here. They will ruin everything.' Nurse Whatling paced up and down before walking straight over to Dr Pierce, grabbing his face by the chin turning him to face her. 'That cannot be allowed to happen.' She growled into his face, a tense moment passed between them before she kissed him passionately and shoved his face away. She turned and stomped out of Dr Pierces' study leaving him confused, obviously taken aback at her violent yet passionate behaviour.

As the night moved in so did a storm, a massive thunderstorm that shook the windows with the wind as it built in ferocity. The patients were all extremely frightened but Nurse Whatling reassured them that everything was OK. Cyril sat there counting constantly, Hector kept repeating his phrase 'You'll see' and Michael sat in silence occasionally swatting at the invisible insects landing on his face. The storm raged outside and seemed to be getting closer as the thunder was almost deafening now and the lightning struck with constant regularity. Nurse Whatling approached Hector and said 'Come on Hector it's time for your final treatment. Say goodbye to your friends.' Hector instead asked 'Where's Marge?' and Nurse Whatling replied gently 'if you come with me now maybe you'll get better and be able to see Marge again.' Hector rolled this around his head for a minute and said 'Marge used to kiss me on the forehead each night before bed.' Nurse Whatling grabbed him by the hand, smiled at him and led him from the room. Michael was pretending to sleep and after they left he followed them as silently as he could.

Nurse Whatling led Hector to a door under the staircase in the entrance hallway, she opened it with a key and they went down the stairs. The storm was quieter down here as it was like a damp, cold cellar. They entered a room beyond and Hector hesitated as he saw what the room contained. Dr Pierce stood in front of a machine, a machine so big and complex Hector had never seen anything like it. Nurse Whatling dragged him into the room and sat him roughly into a chair in the middle of the device. Dr Pierce began strapping Hector into the chair but he was struggling to be restrained, Nurse Whatling slapped him hard across the face and shouted 'Sit still you idiot!' Hector did so, utterly gobsmacked by Nurse Whatling's behaviour. In the background Michael had sneaked down the stairs and was quietly watching.

Dr Pierce inserted another needle attached to a tube into Hector's skin. The room was filled with a deep rumble as it thundered outside. He plugged pipes into sockets on the machine. He flicked switches, pulled levers and tapped dials in preparation. Hector was almost covered in wires and pipes and many entered his mouth, nose and skin. Nurse Whatling paced up and down impatiently until Dr Pierce said 'He's ready, check the generator!' she replied 'About time, lets fry this freak! I'll be back in a minute.' Before leaving the room via an opening in the cellar wall. Michael had seen enough, Nurse Whatling was a liar and Dr Pierce was about to kill Hector, he had to do something.

Michael rushed into the room and grabbed Dr Pierce by the throat as he turned around. They crashed to the ground under the force of Michael's attack and struggled on the floor until a loud wet thud was heard. Michael paused for a moment then collapsed on top of Dr Pierce as his body went limp. Nurse Whatling rolled Michael off Dr Pierce who was coughing and clutching at his throat. She dropped the iron bar with a cog on the end to the floor where a pool of blood was forming under Michael's dead body.

Dr Pierce got up and asked 'Are you OK?' and she replied sharply 'Of course I'm OK! Now do you see why I just want to kill these cretins?' Dr Pierce seemed to think it over for a moment before saying 'Go and get Cyril. I'll send Hectors soul to the underworld now, the voices are growing impatient!' As Nurse Whatling climbed the stairs she heard the machine crank into action and Hector began to scream. He screamed out 'Marge!' and she experienced a little shiver of pleasure at the thought of never hearing him ask about her ever again. As she reached the top of the stairs she noticed the door was slightly ajar as the lightning strobe-lit the hallway above.

Nurse Whatling opened the door and found Cyril crouched on the floor counting to five as usual. She grabbed him by the shoulder and dragged him physically down the stairs towards the machine in the cellar. 'Get down here you blithering idiot!' she said as she threw him to the floor. Dr Pierce was removing what looked like a deflated dinghy off the chair which turned out to be the desiccated remains of Hector. His soul and body drained of all nutrients and life-force. Dr Pierce was talking quietly to himself, am unknown conversation with the voices in his head. Nurse Whatling interrupted 'Look who I found?'

Dr Pierce seemed to hold a short whispered conversation with someone else in the room then he grabbed Cyril and man-handled him into the chair. He strapped him in and set various levers on the machine before grinning maniacally at Nurse Whatling who simply said 'Do it!'

Dr Pierce reached up to throw the switch and a loud bang rang out, he paused and looked down at his stomach to see a pool of blood forming on his shirt. He'd been shot. Police burst into the room and started shouting 'Freeze! Hands in the air!' Nurse Whatling picked up the weapon from the floor and ran screaming at the officers as they opened fire. Two shots hit her square in the chest, two in the stomach and one final shot hit her clean in the middle of the forehead. She collapsed onto the floor.

Cyril muttered '1,2,3,4,5.'

The police investigated the house and found the machine was built into the very fabric of the building. No-one could figure out what it actually did or how to activate it so it was dismantled and the dead bodies they found were exhumed and identified wherever possible. Cyril was relocated to another hospital and made a full recovery, it seemed simply getting away from the area and the house itself aided in his recuperation. He can now hold a proper conversation and has told police many interesting stories about his past and his time at 'Old Bedlam.'



Copyright Psionic 2011