Let Me Be Your Friend

Dr. Redmond closed the door and locked it. Fixing the small crooked brass label on the door that read "8G", he peered through the window for a moment. He checked the door to make sure it was locked, then walked over to the nearby nurse station.

"Nurse Welcher." he said as he approached the counter. She looked up from her Cosmopolitan magazine.

"Yes, Doctor?"

"I've just given medication to the patient in room 8G..."

"Isn't that the one responsible for that massacre in Bordentown a few years back?"

"Yes. Highly dangerous. Monica Jennings. Been here ever since the murder spree, three years. Lot of violent acting out, one of our most dangerous patients. I have to go file something in my office. Don't answer if the patient in room 8G buzzes for you. I'll be right back... watch the door." He picked up his clipboard from the counter and disappeared down the West Wing.

Nurse Sandra Welcher closed the magazine and set it on the desk, getting up and cautiously approached room 8G. A muffled bump came from behind the door and she gasped quickly and stopped, waiting a moment. After a couple minutes of silence she continued to approach the door. She looked through the window in the door.

The room was a mess, as if someone had torn it apart in rage. The small table by the bed was tipped over, the tray and books that were on it scattered around it. There were scratches on the wall, like a wild animal had been clawing at them. The curtain rod on the window had come off on one side, the curtains in a heap on the floor. Through the bars on the window Sandra could see it had started to rain and there was lightning in the distance. Her eyes trailed to the bed. The patient, Monica, was laying on her side, her back facing Sandra. The blanket was twisted around the edge of the bed.

"What a psycho." Sandra muttered under her breath. Her eyes scanned the room once more before she returned to the desk. She looked at her watch. It was 11:47 PM.

Why did I take the night shift here? she thought to herself. In a few minutes she finished the magazine and sighed, bored. Looking onto the counter, she noticed Dr. Redmond left behind a box of syringes. She got up from her seat and walked around to the front of the counter, picking up the box and examining it. The hallways were empty and she figured all of the other nurses must be on a break. Her footsteps echoed the halls as she headed down the West Wing to Dr. Redmond's office.

Moments later she knocked on his door. "Come in." she heard him say from inside. She open the door and stepped inside. Dr. Redmond looked up from a pile of folders, an annoyed expression on his face.

"I asked you to watch room 8G. We've just had an outbreak, and most of our security guards are handling the situation. She's escaped before."

"I'm sorry, it's just that you left a box of syringes on the counter." Sandra said.

"Oh. Thank you."

"I'll, um, get back to the counter now."

"I'll be done here shortly." Dr. Redmond said, looking through the folders on his desk. Sandra left his office, her footsteps echoing back down the West Wing towards her nurse station. She yawned as she walked around the counter to her desk. On her desk was the work she left unfinished. About to sign a paper, she sensed something was wrong, looking up. The door to 8G was open a little bit.