I'm Not Alone

A soft, humming vibration echoed the cold, dark, stone hallway. It crept into the room, onto her skin, forcing her nerves to react. Her eyes fluttered as she slowly awoke hazily eyeing the room. She was alone. It was a feeling she absolutely hated. Her gut twisted. The vibration dissipated. The light above her flickered on. Adjusting herself, she scanned the room and her surroundings. To the left was a stand with a bible and some hygiene products, To the right was a toilet, sink, and mirror. In front of her, ten metal bars.

Abruptly, she jolted out of the nightmare. Heaving in and out, she attempted to catch her breath. Her throat was dry, her lungs were tight. Her vision was blurred, but the room was no longer dark. Instead, it was a bright white. As she regained sight, she noticed butterflies and birds drawn on the walls. A Mickey Mouse clock read 4:32AM. Across from her was a mirror. She looked at herself. Her body was covered in scratches, bruises, dirt and dried blood. Lastly, she noticed something else that startled her.

She was strapped to the bed.

What the hell? She thought.

She glanced to her wrists. They were red from the handcuffs gripping them tightly. Each hand was cuffed to one side of the bed's rail. On her right hand, was a hospital band.

DANIELLE ATILLIA DOB: 08/22/2003 DOA: 07/02/2020 AGED: 16 SEX: F PHYS: DR. BOAR

Frantically, her body bounced back and forth, looking for a way to escape, not just the hospital room, but that gut wrenching feeling of confinement. She yanked against the cuffs, which caused a roar of clanking shrieks to echo the room and into the hall. The commotion alerted the staff outside of the room, and the nearby police officer.

The door had purposely been left open. If anything happened in that room, the officer wanted to hear it. He had been sitting in a chair just outside the room, but his throat was parched, and he needed some coffee. It was a long night. He planned to sit there until Danielle woke up. He was sure she would have information related to the case he was working on.

The black coffee had just begun to pour as he heard the noises from down the hall. Sitting the cup down, he met up with nurse that was assigned to the girl, and they headed towards the room. He gripped his sidearm. The police office wanted to be safe, rather than sorry. He viewed her as dangerous.

Danielle shifted herself into the head of the bed, scared, as the nurse and cop entered her room.

"Good morning, Danielle," the nurse began. "It's okay if we call you that, right?"

Danielle remained quiet. She did not trust them. She noticed that the nurse had more than one name tag.

"My name is Clara," the nurse started. She quickly reviewed Danielle's information, some of which was provided by her therapist. "Your chart says that you prefer the name Danni. I can call you that if you'd like?"

Danielle did not loosen her position in the bed. "Yes," she answered.

The nurse smiled. "Alright then, Danni. How are you feeling this morning?"

Danni stared at the nurse. She could tell the lady would try to approach her. Take her vitals. Try to calm her down. But she did not want that. Danni wanted to be released, she wanted to go home.

"I want to go home," Danni uttered. It was clear she did not want to speak to her.

She glanced over to the cop. He was tall, had a gut, and a grey beard. He could not have been too old, she figured he must be a drinker.

"Why am I in handcuffs?" she asked him.

He did not answer.

Clara waved for her attention. "Danni, right now you have been admitted into psychiatric care until you are deemed safe, then you will be transferred over to Orange County Jail to be arraigned."