No Escape

Shania awoke to the murmur of voices. Remembering where she was, she quickly sat up and blinked her eyes into focus. A curtain was yanked open near the nurses’ station, and out stepped a disheveled man in his forties, whom Shania assumed was Allen. The buttons of his dress shirt were misaligned, making one side of the shirt hang longer than the other. Shania sat up and watched several people pass by the wide observation-room doorway. Some stopped to stare in with curiosity. Then a cart with trays covered by silver domes was wheeled in. “Breakfast time, ladies and gentlemen,” announced a petite redhead with frizzy hair and lots of freckles. Allen and a young Hispanic girl, who had entered the room along with the redhead, approached the cart and took a tray to the table by the door opposite the nurses’ station. “Well, come on,” the redhead said to Shania, impatience thick in her voice. “It’s getting cold.” “No thanks. I’m not hungry,” Shania told her. “Oh, come on. Take a tray anyway.” Not wanting to argue, Shania took a tray and brought it to where the others sat. Once seated, she lifted the dome to find scrambled eggs, a small sausage link, hash browns, a biscuit, and a small container of orange juice. She picked up the plastic fork and put a forkful of eggs into her mouth. They were incredibly bland. A bite of the hash browns proved to be no different. She looked at her fellow diners. They each ate mechanically, staring at their food as if hypnotized by it. “I’m Shania,” she said. “And you are?” The girl looked up at her, but Allen kept his eyes on his food. If he had heard her, he wasn’t showing it in any way. “Larisa,” said the girl. “And this retard here is Allen. He don’t say much.” “Oh,” Shania said with a smile. “Listen, I really need to speak with Doctor Hoffritz. Know how I could get a hold of him?” Larisa’s eyes widened for a split second before resuming her casual, even bored expression. “Do you know the doctor I’m talking about?” “Yeah, I know him.” “How often does he come through here?” Larisa shrugged. “It varies.” “Know what I need to do to see him?” “Just ask one of the staff,” Larisa answered in a tone that suggested Shania’s questions were getting annoying. “If that doesn’t work, get down on your knees and pray. Then hope there’s a good God up there willing to listen.” Just then, a plump, middle-aged, motherly-looking woman with short curly hair entered the room. “Is everything okay in here?” “Well,” began Shania, “I really need to speak with Doctor Hoffritz.” “Why do you need to speak with Doctor Hoffritz?” asked the woman, brows furrowing with curiosity. “He’s an acquaintance of mine, and I could really use his help as far as why I was brought here and what to do about it.” “When were you admitted, last night?” Shania nodded. “And you don’t know why?” Shania shook her head. “My only guess is that my coworker, the doctor’s niece, set me up. She’s been fuming ever since I got the job she’s been wanting. Really, I have no reason to be here. I’ve never harmed anyone or myself in my life.” “Oh, I see,” the woman said, that now-familiar doubt evident in her voice. “Well, for now, just finish up with breakfast, then go into the lounge for Group, and I’ll see about contacting the doctor for you.” The woman was gone before Shania could say anything more. “That’s Victoria,” Larisa explained. “No one’s too fond of her.” “What is she, a nurse or just a regular staff member?” Shania asked. “Just a regular mental health worker. Nurses wear white, but the staff just wear name tags pinned onto their regular clothes. You really don’t know why you’re here?” “Nope. But I have some very good guesses about it. What’s Group?” “The box is hiding in the chimney!” Allen suddenly blurted, making Shania jump. “Just ignore him,” said Larisa. “He’s insane.” Shania remained silent, though she studied Allen intently. “Group is where everyone meets with the group therapist. That’s the first hour of each weekday, from eight to nine. The rest of the day is spent doing various activities, be it arts and crafts, exercising, and shit like that. You can also request a private meeting with the therapist if you want.” “Sounds like loads of fun,” Shania said, rolling her eyes. “But who’s going to tell me exactly why I’m here and how to get out of here?” “You’ll find out when you meet with the clinical evaluator if a doctor doesn’t fill you in first. I can’t believe no one told you.” “Neither can I.” Larisa stood up from the table and proceeded to braid her long, thick, dark hair. When she was finished, she slipped a pink cloth-covered elastic off her wrist to secure it. Allen then pushed back his tray and rose from the table. Shania’s eyes followed him as he plucked a comb off the small table by his bed and began running it through his greasy hair. He ran it through so fiercely that Shania was surprised he didn’t tear it all out. Another staff member, this one younger, came in to tell them to report for Group in five minutes. Shania stepped out into the hall and asked a pretty African American girl where the bathroom was. She pointed to a short corridor to the side of the observation room. “The first door on the left is the bathroom, and the second door is the shower room. When you’re done, zip across the hall to the lounge for Group and don’t be late. Lauren wouldn’t like that.” “Lauren?” “Yeah, the therapist.” “Okay. Thank you,” Shania said, quickly heading for the bathroom. Inside, a frumpy-looking woman stood arguing with her reflection in the small aluminum mirror over the sinks. Trying not to stare at the strange sight as the woman debated over which dishwashing detergent was best, Shania made her way to a stall. When she was done, she left the woman to her heated debate and stepped back out into the hall. She glanced left at the door to the adolescent ward, then walked directly across the hall to the lounge. About fifteen people of both genders milled about the room. A man was chatting with the woman Shania assumed to be the therapist, judging by the nature of the discussion. “Only a doctor can prescribe that to you. I’m only a psychologist,” said the therapist. The man nodded and walked off. “Okay, everybody,” said the therapist, clapping her hands once loudly to get people’s attention. “Ladies and gentlemen, listen up.” The chatter died down. “I’d like you all to take your seats now, please.” Chairs were set up in a long row in front of where the therapist would sit, curving inward at the sides. Shania sat in a chair on one end. “My name’s Lauren, for those of you who don’t know me.” She glanced at Shania and gave a slight smile. When she looked away, Shania studied her intently as she waited for the others to settle into their seats. Lauren was very attractive. Perhaps not a beauty queen, but in ways that Shania found appealing. She was tall and thin with straight dark hair to her shoulders. She had penetrating brown eyes and a demeanor that spoke of confidence and ease. She was dressed in jeans and a black sleeveless top. Shania could tell by the muscle tone in her arms that she worked out regularly. She quickly averted her gaze when Lauren’s eyes shifted back toward hers. “I see a newcomer here,” Lauren said. Shania looked back up at Lauren. “And who may you be?” All eyes turned toward her. She tried to hide her discomfort as she cleared her throat and began to speak. “My name is Shania McCarthy, and truthfully, the only reason I’m here is because of a very vindictive coworker who set me up.” “Join the club,” someone interrupted from a few seats away, causing a ripple of snickers to erupt within the room. “It was my own mother who set me up,” another person added. “Quiet down, folks,” Lauren demanded sternly, clearly annoyed by the outburst. “No more interruptions, okay, gang?” “Sorry, Lauren,” someone else said just as an athletic-looking young man poked his head in the doorway. “Yes, Michael?” asked Lauren. “The clinical evaluator is ready to see Shania McCarthy,” the guy said. “Oh, okay.” Lauren’s head turned back to Shania, silky hair bouncing across her shoulders. “Maybe you can get things cleared up now.” Shania stood up and followed Michael down the long corridor to a small room at the other end of the ward where she had first entered it. Michael motioned Shania into the room. “Come in,” said an older lady much like the birdlike woman who had led her, along with the orderlies, to the ward. She smiled briefly at Michael before he left; then her expression became more serious, even a bit disdainful. Peering over her bifocals at Shania, she told her to have a seat by the desk. Shania sat down in the chair. “Shania McCarthy, correct?” “Yes.” The woman tapped away at the keyboard in front of her for a few minutes. Shania couldn’t see what it was she was typing because the monitor’s back was facing her. “Ma’am, could you please tell Doctor Hoffritz that I really, really need to see him?” The woman glanced at her as if she wasn’t sure that she had even spoken, then turned her attention back to the monitor. Shania shifted uncomfortably in her chair as the woman’s fingers continued to tap away at the keyboard. “Ma’am, did you hear me?” The woman flashed her another glance, this time laced with annoyance. “Yes, I heard you,” she finally said. “I’ll let you know what the report says in just a minute.” After a few more minutes of typing, the woman picked up a tan file folder and sat back in her chair. She cleared her throat and pulled off her glasses, letting them dangle from a chain around her neck. “According to the report I have here, you’ve been committed for an unknown length of time for being highly suicidal, as well as for making threats against Doctor Hoffritz’s niece, who is four months pregnant. It also says here that you threatened Mayor Owens. You were also a suspect in the death of your family, the report goes on to say, and so—” “That’s insane! What happened to my family was a tragic accident and I was never a suspect in the matter. I was fifteen years old at the time, for God’s sake, and I loved my family!” Shania shouted, heart racing with fear but mostly with anger. “My God, all this simply because I got the promotion the doctor’s niece wanted! Lovely. Just lovely.” “I don’t know anything about that, but—” “Well, I do! That’s exactly what’s happened here. Now, if I’m not released immediately, this institution, along with Jonas Hoffritz and his niece, is going to be in a lot of trouble.” “I’m sorry,” the woman said without empathy in her voice, “but we won’t be able to do that.” “Then let me speak to Hoffritz.” The woman sighed. “Let him try to look me straight in the eye and say he doesn’t remember me from the party. And I dare him to say anything about my family!” Again, with the sigh. “Look, I’m not in a position to either discharge you or get you to see the doctor this instant.” “Then get in the position.” “I can’t do that. I—” Shania rose from her chair. “Forget it, lady. He and his niece will be hearing from my lawyer.” Shania left the room and gazed longingly at the tightly locked, solid metal door just across the hall. What were her chances of escaping either through a door or a barred window? The phone! I have to get to a phone! Shania quickened her pace as she rounded the corner to where the long stretch of hallway began. Last night, as they hauled her down to the observation room, she had noted that the small bank of pay phones’ receivers were dangling off their hooks. Now they were hung up. Grateful that the calls she needed to make were local, she snatched up the receiver of one of the three phones and called work. “Daly Medical Coding,” Miss Daly answered. Before Shania could get half a sentence out, her boss hung up on her. Great, Shania thought. She believes I made these bogus threats. Next, she dialed home. The machine came on, as expected, and she began relaying everything that had transpired so far to Mindy for when she got home from work. Despite the hysteria in her voice, she tried to talk softly to avoid drawing attention. She asked Mindy to try to find an appropriate lawyer who could help her, and when she was done, she hung up and began to investigate more of her surroundings. She did so in a hurried manner, assuming she’d be noticed any moment or that they’d come looking for her real soon. She glanced both left and right into rooms that looked amazingly hospital-like. She could be in a cancer-treatment ward from the looks of it. But she knew she wasn’t. A sinking sensation in the pit of her stomach threatened to overwhelm her with panic as she thought of the predicament she was in. She desperately sought ways in her mind to get out of the mess in which a very cold and calculating person had put her. She had known Maureen was immature and selfish, but she hadn’t known that she was this cold-blooded. Then there was Hoffritz. Just what kind of doctor was he to go along with his niece’s deranged ploy? Did he really believe she had threatened her and the mayor? Or had they both conspired against her, knowing full well that she hadn’t threatened anyone? And how did they know about her family? Perhaps she had mentioned it to Tim and Maureen had overheard. It was the only way she could think of unless they’d had her investigated, and quickly, too. “There she is,” Shania heard a woman say. She spun around quickly. There before her stood two staff members and the not-so-good doctor himself. “Well, well,” said Shania, stiffening with rage. “Just the guy I want to see.” She walked closer to the group. She was so enraged that if she had had fur on her body, the hairs would have been standing up straight. “Miss McCarthy,” began Hoffritz. “Don’t Miss McCarthy me, Jonas. You know damn well who I am. Why are you doing this? Did getting the promotion mean that much to your niece, or is this because I refused your indirect but plenty obvious advances at the party? And what kind of doctor are you anyway to let your niece talk you into using your authority to spite me like this?” The staff members looked bewildered. They seemed unsure as to whether or not Shania knew what she was saying or if she was just plain crazy. “Miss McCarthy, you’re here because you threatened to kill the mayor, my niece, and her unborn child, and I’m also aware of the fact that you were suspected of killing your family as well.” “That’s a lie!” screamed Shania, enraged. “I not only didn’t threaten your greedy, cold-blooded, spoiled little niece, but I had nothing to do with my family’s death either!” “But you’ve been known to have said you felt guilty—” “Of course I felt guilty!” Shania said, screaming so loud that her voice echoed painfully off the cement walls and tiled floor. “I was the only one who survived that night. I was just a kid, and as a family friend once told me—who happened to be a therapist, by the way—I was suffering a normal case of survivor’s guilt.” “I see,” Hoffritz said, though not with any real emotion. “Oh, you’ll see, alright. Just as soon as you hear from my lawyer. You cannot and will not do this to me!” Shania shouted as he turned and began to head back up the corridor. Meanwhile, the two staff members, a woman and a man, closed in on her. “Just let me go!” Shania yelled after Hoffritz. “Maureen can have the damn job! I’ll be damned if I’ll ever go back there to work anyway!” “Calm down, Miss McCarthy,” said one of the staff. “Calm down, my ass!” Strong arms suddenly grabbed hold of hers. She gasped at how suddenly the two staff members seized hold of her. “This way now,” said the woman. Shania continued to yell as she was led back to the observation room. “He can’t do this to me! He won’t get away with it. I’ll find a way to fight back somehow!” Now in the observation room, the staff threatened to sedate her if she didn’t calm down. “Please!” Shania begged, searching their eyes for the slightest bit of faith and understanding. “You must believe me, and you must help me!” “We’ll help you when you settle down,” said the guy. Shania sat on her bed sobbing. A moment later, the staff left her wondering how she was supposed to stay “calm” in such a situation. Yet she knew that presenting a calm, cool demeanor might be her only ticket to freedom. Then she remembered something. Someone had been watching her from just outside the lounge area. That someone had been Lauren, the therapist.