Scream and Shout, Let it Out: Part One

In terms of it being a high security facility, Doctor Bates did not expect it to hold highly unstable figures. As a guard led him down the bleak stone corridors, lined with mangy cells, some empty, and some filled with individuals in strait jackets, or muzzles in some cases, or some just in rags. But as he passed each cell, the eyes followed him, like those of a portrait in an old mansion. He came into view and immediately the individual in the cell raised their head, stopped their nervous ticks or brooding and stared. Their eyes bore into him. He was a stranger to them. Someone new. Fresh meat. But Dr. Bates had no fear of these people. He'd spent years studying extreme cases of psychological problems in experiments, not that he condoned the practice of human experimentation, but felt that studying it would give him a way to help. He even glanced to the individuals as he passed their cells. Once he was out of view many of the patients in the cages crept up to the iron bars and tried to stare after him. He glanced back, a small warm smile on his face before he was lead through a steel door to another part of the facility. They watched as the door shut then slunk back into their respective corners or chairs.

"This part of the facility holds the more docile of the patients, they are still highly unstable but none of them are animals like those in the dungeon." The guard explained as they passed by steel doors with small windows. Dr. Bates merely nodded slowly as his lips tightened into a line at the comment.

No human being was an animal. And being treated as such was a crime against humanity. At least in Bates' mind that was how it went. But he never let it show. He remained silent as he was lead down to a cell at the very end. The guard took a step to the side, standing rigid as if he was anxious about something. Bates glanced to him raising a brow.

"Anxious there Private Donaldson?" He inquired. The soldier swallowed but shook his head. The swallow gave away everything Bates needed to know. He made no further comment as the door was unlocked for him and he stepped inside.

In the corner was huddled a man, a young looking man, with shorter messy dark brown hair, his grey eyes glancing out of the window as his arms were protectively circled around a young brunette female who clung to him as if he were a life raft. Judging by the redness of her nose and the puffiness under her eyes the young lady had been crying. There were bruises on both of their arms, near the crooks of their elbows. The bruises seemed to not bother the man but they seemed to cause the female pain.

"She is going through withdrawals." Muttered the man as he glanced to the female in his arms. There was a very neutral tone to his voice, something he probably practiced.

"And judging by the way you are holding her, she is special to you."

Grey eyes, like those of an overcast day, shot over to Dr. Bates. His face held no emotion whatsoever but everything in those eyes told Bates what he needed to know.

"Sister I'm guessing." Bates commented. He caught the very brief expression of surprise on the man's face and smiled a little at him. No one had been able to guess that the two were related up until now. The woman flinched, her nails digging into the patient's skin and she cried out.

"It burns!" She exclaimed as she clawed at his bare arm, leaving red marks in her wake. He in turn tightened his hold on her a hand going to her tangled brown locks and stroking them whispering to her:
            "Scream, shout, let it out." He repeated in a slow monotonous pattern. And that is exactly what she did. She screamed at the top of her lungs, a shrill scream that sent shivers up the spine of the good doctor. It was agonizing to listen to hear. It was not a scream of fear or anger but anguish.

A woman screaming in anguish was something the good doctor did not condone.

The brunette violently thrashed in her brother's grip as she screamed and clawed, and shouted in sheer agony. It felt like fire was surging through her veins, burning every inch of tissue in her being. Throughout the fit he held onto her, tightly, still repeating the same phrase over and over again in a low voice. While his face remained unchanging Bates noticed a tear slip down his cheek. Even he felt the young woman's pain. Her thrashing died down as she fell limp in her brother's arms. He rearranged her in them to make her more comfortable, ignoring the claw marks she had left in her wake. More tears began to streak her cheeks as she wept. Bates had a hard time masking his emotions, but nonetheless he did not want to hint how much it disturbed him that humans were being treated in such a manner.

"Are we alone?" Bates asked. The question was simple enough but his tone asked more than what he let on. He needed to know if there were cameras or any bugs in the room. The man raised a brow at him as his eyes narrowed.

"Why do you want to know…"

Bates glanced to the door to see the guard peer in, shot him a dirty look then crouched on the floor near the man and his sister. The man hugged his sister closer to him protectively, and she in return huddled into his body for comfort. Her hands clung to his bicep and his shirt. Bates noticed and kept his voice low.

"I want to help you."

The man growled slightly, his upper lip curling into a snarl.

"Bullshit."

But Bates shook his head. His blue eyes held nothing but honesty. If anyone could tell what he was thinking or feeling they would have to take one look at his eyes.

"My name is Gerard Bates. I am supposedly the staff psychologist here, only to give my opinions on a patient's behavior."

He wasn't telling the whole truth. The man knew that. He could tell just by the inflection of a voice when a person was concealing something.

"You're lying…" he sneered.

"Only telling half-truth. That isn't lying."

"You're just like them…"

Bates only smiled at him but heard the door open.

"Dr. Bates."

A young man dressed in a nurse's uniform peered into the room. He appeared to be about the patient's age, and his deep blue eyes held a look of worry for the patient and his sister. Bates glanced up as well just smiling.

"The head doctor would like to speak with you and have you observe a procedure…" He sounded as if it was something abominable. Bates caught the worry lines in his brows but nodded and glanced to the patient before rising to his feet.

"I will be visiting you again."

With that last statement he left the room leaving the nurse alone with the patients. He shut the door and quickly rushed to the side of the two.

"He didn't hurt either of you did he?" Blue eyes glanced from the man to the woman but the man shook his head glancing to the door where Bates had exited.

"He looked like he wanted to help us…"

The woman whimpered a bit. Both men glanced to her but it as the patient who began stroking the side of her face gently.

"Shhh Lotte shhh…" he soothed.

"She's not taking well to the injections…"

"No."

The male nurse gave the man a worried look.

"She'll get sent to the dungeon with the wild ones if there isn't any improvement."

"They'll destroy her down there…you know that…I can't let that happen…not to my sister…"

"I know Jack…I know…"

Jack grasped onto the nurse's arm a frightened look in his eyes.

"Don't let my girl go down there Jonathan…please. Don't let her go down there."

Jonathan grasped his hand tightly.

"I'll do my best to make sure she doesn't end up down there. I promise."