The Waiting Room (2): The Walls

The walls1

He hadn't known about The walls. He didn't really expect them to be there. No one ever expects them to be there. But then again, no one ever expect to there themselves. But they eventually accepted that they were there, and they were going to be there a long time.2

And they had eventually learned about The walls.3

They were a smart idea when you were in the profession of being 'the nurse'. It wasn't a hard job, but it wasn't a safe job. Many of the people, or should I say, all of the people who came in to The waiting room were confused. They always wanted answers, always wanted to get out, blah, blah, blah (as the nurse so kindly put).4

So often enough when a patient hadn't gotten the answers that they wanted, they got frustrated, angry, and almost animal-like. With so much they don't understand, they retreated back to their only true instinct beside, 'EAT'. They would attack.5

That is why they had the walls6

'I want some answers,' he had growled at the nurse, 'and if don't get some soon, you'll be hurting.'7

'Well, I would be happy to answer, sir,' she had said perkily, 'what would you like to know?'8

She had given him a smile. It was warm and gentle and would probably be more appreciated under better circumstances. Now, it looked as if she didn't belong here, she was out of place.9

She knew something.10

'Alright,' he said, 'where am I? What are you doing to me? What were those noises I heard and why can't anyone else hear them?'11

He slammed his fist hard down on the counter. Then he heard another noise. A very faint noise, but it was still there. It was a beeping noise that lasted no more then a few seconds. Then, suddenly, it turned into one long tune, almost like a hum. He had looked up quick to see where the noise had come from, but I seemed to come from some place far away, so he passed it off.12

'sir, I could tell you where you are, but you should already know that. You knew it when you decided to come here. And I can't tell you what the noises are because I don't know what they are'13

'you're lying,' he said through his teeth, stepping closer to the counter.14

'sir, please step back, I have the forms filled out, we'll be with you soon.'15

'you're lying,' he said, ignoring what she had just said. He stepped forward more.16

'sir, if you cross the counter, it will be your own fault, and...'17

'YOU'RE LYING,' he screamed, leaping over the table.18

All of a sudden a small beeping sound off in the distance had just activated. It started out slow and gradually got faster. It started out soft and then grew larger. It started out harmless and ended up deadly.19

It had activated the walls20

'The nurse' hadn't flinched. She hadn't flinched ever before, why should she now. She knew that she was protected. She knew the man couldn't touch her. It was inevitable for him to try, but he would never get past the counter.21

She knew about the walls. For quite some time they had had them. They were very useful. It was such a hassle having to duck every time someone didn't like your answers. And she didn't have to do anything to trigger it. It just turned on itself whenever anybody got out of control.22

She had become so used to seeing the blue mixed in with reality. It seemed beautiful and terrifying the first time she had seen it (which, mind you, had been a long time ago). Now it seemed like a normal daily thing. It was as plain as a pencil or fluorescent lights. Amazing, had you never seen it before, but boring if you see it everyday of your life.23

This was the first time he had seen them, though. And it's debatable if he had thought of it as amazing.24

He had screamed very loud as the electricity (or what had seemed like electricity) had surged through his body. It was defiantly the most unpleasant thing in his life (even though he can't remember his life before this, he doubted very much that it was as bad as this).25

As the power began to go weak and the beeping had slowed down, his body started to slump over the counter. He was now unconscious, but still very aware of his pain.26

'Not dead,' thought the nurse, 'that was for later. No, he's just...sleeping.'27

This is the way she had put it for quite some time now, and it still held truth.28

'put him back,' she had said to no one, and almost immediately, two of 'the guards' had appeared and taken him away.29