Richard hummed to himself as he stood outside of the large, imposing building. It had always been a backdrop of the town. The mysterious mental hospital that no one checked into, and, more importantly, no one checked out of. The only sign it was even actually operating was that delivery trucks came to it all the time, and the odd job posting.
Hence why he was here in the first place. After he graduated from Canterlot High School last year, and now was a college student, Richard didn’t have much to think about past training for track and field next year, and the student debt that he was racking up. So, when a job comes up that says he’ll have time to study for next year, train, or just chill while making twenty bucks an hour, full time, he wasn’t about to pass it up. Besides, what else was he going to do with his Summer?
Besides, buying into all those weird superstitions about the place was just silly. From what he’d read up about the place, it used to be a house before it was a hospital, and it probably was more for the members of the family that owned it and those they considered friends, or something like that. It wasn’t really his place to try to pry into their personal business anyways.
Now if only the owner would get here. He was already supposedly hired, with the hospital needing a night guard asap, and his resume looking good enough for him to qualify. He just had to meet the man who ran the place, and he was in, with his first night being tonight. Admittedly, that was a little-
Creak.
He turned to look at the sound, watching as a short, old man walked out. He had to be in his sixties at least, with thin, graying hair clinging to his wrinkled scalp. The man himself didn’t look to be in too bad of shape, beyond needing a cane at least, and he smiled with a warmth that Richard usually associated with old people.
The young man walked forward, extending a hand to the owner with a smile. “Hello, sir. I’’m Richard, the new night guard. How are you?”
The man grinned, before grabbing ahold of Richard’s hand. The grip was light, and they slowly moved their arms up and down, Richard matching the old man’s pace. “I’m quite well, especially with you here now. Now why don’t you come in? It’s awfully warm out, and I bet you’d like to cool down.”
Richard strode past him, nodding. Though it wasn’t too warm, especially in his loose, blue shirt and jeans, it would be nice to start getting a look at the place. And first impressions were… fine. The lobby was small, with maybe six or seven chairs and a reception desk in the middle that formed a semi-circle against the wall. The lights were those you’d find in a school, bathing the place in the same okay lighting.
His shoes squeaked against the tiled floor, which seemingly extended up the walls. Halfway up though, the white tiles switched to what looked like black shale that glistened in the light. It was pretty cool actually, and would have been pretty in a more interesting place. “So, sir, may I get your name?”
The old man nodded as he beckoned the younger man over to a door to the side. He brought out one key from his pocket. “I’m quite happy that I made sure to have a skeleton key, as I hate those gaudy, larger key rings.” He then slipped the key in, the lock sliding back smoothly. “As for my name, it is Bruce Brisken. Please call me Bruce though. I don’t like being reminded of my family name much.”
Richard frowned at the odd piece of news, as his grandparents always loved their family name. For an old person like this, especially of the wealth he had to have, just cast it off was odd. “Might I know why?”
The old man slowly walked down the long hallway, nodding in time with his slow steps. Almost immediately, the corridor opened up to more that branched off of this main one, and Richard could even see ones that began to curve. He could just imagine getting lost here.
Bruce turned suddenly, going down one of the narrower corridors. “This is our storage hallway. It’s a bit more recognizable, as the builders messed up with the renovations here, so I decided to make it a rather important part of the hospital. One you would be able to recognize no matter what.”
Bruce took a few more turns, breathing a little harder as he kept leading the way. “As for my name, it’s due to the sadness I feel about it. An unfortunate mania fell over much of my family. Some killed themselves, others killed each other, and now…”
He stopped, his shoulders slumped as he looked down. Richard stepped forward, placing a hand on the man’s shoulder. “I’m… I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to bring up such bad memories back.”
Bruce looked back up, smiling at his young charge. “Ah, and this, this is what I had hoped to see. You have the brains and strength for this job, but without this sort of care, my night guards usually leave all too quickly. Now, come on. We’re almost to your station.”
Richard nodded, sticking his hands into his pockets as they continued to walk. He was a touch worried about getting back out, but at minimum, he knew that he could just wait for Bruce to help him out. What he had to worry about more was trying to find his way around wherever he was supposed to be watching.
Bruce nodded towards the desk that they could now see as they walked into a more open room. There were six paths leading away from the station, which made Richard’s heart sink more, but, looking at the small desk and the chair in front of it, he could see a black square on the soft, black seat. He walked over, picking it up, his eyes widening as he realized that it was some sort of tablet. “Please tell me this has a map or something of this place.”
Bruce grinned as he shook his head. “Better. It not only details the halls, but also has a built in GPS that will tell you where you are. It’s one of the prouder bits of technology I have here, though that isn’t really saying much.”
He opened his arms. “Welcome to Pleasant Trees Mental Hospital. Here we have fifty regular rooms, only of four are occupied, a pool, a recreation station, fully stocked kitchen, an extensive library, and none of those ridiculous MRI machines and the like.” He closed his arms, shaking his head. “Simply a place for those who are dysfunctional to recover.”
Richard smiled as he thought of leading a swimming class for any of the patients, before frowning. “Wait, you only have four patients?”
Bruce shook his head. “We have four regular patients. They’re the ones we consider ready for things like group therapy, the ability to learn, and the chance to socialize. We have more in higher priority rooms, some of which may be joining our current patients, but they still need some of our more special treatments.”
Richard slowly nodded, walking over to the desk. On it were a deck of cards, a flashlight, and plaque stating what it was; his station. On the sides were two boxes. One was a simple, white medical box for first aid, while the other was black. “Umm, what’s in this?”
Bruce reached past him, grabbing the top drawer of the desk. Within were four manilla folders, each with a different name on it. “These are small bios on each of our patients, so you can know a bit about them before you go see them. As for what that is in there,” he said as he pulled out a key, “is a taser, along with a gun and tranquilizers.. If any of the patients get too out of control, you may come back and use them, but I highly discourage it. It doesn’t take more than one quick judgement to lose their trust, and that won’t help them.”
With a quick nod, Richard accepted the key. He didn’t care much for violence anyways, so he wouldn’t have planned to use them unless he was recommended. No, he would put them out of his mind as he focused on… “Umm, sir, all of these patients are women.”
A grin spread over Bruce’s face before he tapped Richard’s arm with his cane. “See, said you were smart. However,” his face growing very serious, “I do expect you to be a gentleman. No abusing them and what not, got it? They’re still people, and I expect you to try to treat them as such.”
Richard swallowed hard, nodding furiously. “Of course, sir.”
Bruce nodded one more time, before turning away. “Now, it’s about two hours before lights out. I have a bit of paperwork to do, and then I’ll be leaving, and locking the door behind me. I won’t be back until six, and not a minute earlier. Your duties until then are to make sure the girls stay in their rooms, check on them as best as you can before lights out, and just make sure no troublemakers break in. Understand?”
Richard straightened his back, barking out, “Yes sir!”
Bruce chuckled at the cute, faux-military sort of attention, before waving the boy away. “Don’t be so serious with them. The more they like you, the easier it’ll be to get them to listen to you.”
Richard gave one last nod, before looking at the bios in front of him. He would need to start somewhere. The only question now, was who to start with.
Two will be able to be done before lights out unless for other specified reasons.
1) Kiara Araqui
2) Suzan Megra
3) Marse Mirolen
4) Xira Xelfin