Page 3 of Soul Bound

“Okay, I get it.” I hold my hands up in surrender. “You know, you’re very pushy for someone who is begging formyhelp.”

I didn’t come into the hospital with any belongings, so there is nothing for me to grab before I walk to the exit. Peeking my head out the door, I scan the hallway. Empty. I look nervously back at her, but she’s disappeared from my room.

“Where did…” I trail off when I find her standing at the other end of the hallway waiting for me. The other door to the ward is already open behind her. “Bank robbers would love you. Have you ever considered a side gig?”

I don’t know why I’m talking to her, it’s not like she’s been overly talkative during our short time together. Maybe I’m just excited to talk to someone for the first time in months who doesn’t think I’m out of my mind. There was a time when I truly thought that I was insane myself, and it took me a long time to come to terms with the fact that I’m not. It would have been easier to accept that something was wrong with me mentally than believing the ghosts that I was seeing were real.

I follow her through a few more empty hallways before I almost walk directly into the night guard.

“What the hell are you doing out of your room? How did you even get out in the first place?” He reaches for the taser at his side, thinking thatI’ma threat to him. What he doesn’t know is there is a very angry spirit standing right behind him.

“Oh, you’re in for it now, buddy.” I smirk, watching as she slams his head into the concrete wall. His body slumps to the ground with a harshthud. “Good job. I never liked him.” I give her a thumbs up in approval.

I take the guard’s key card and taser off his belt before moving to the next door. “I’ll get this one.”

After going through two more sets of doors, I realize we are walking toward the wing that holds all the doctors’ personal offices. This is a smart move on her part since there will be less security on this side of the facility.

I’m jogging behind her when I see a familiar name on a plaque outside a slightly ajar door.Beverly Pincock.I ignore the wildly gesturing spirit at the end of the hallway and push the door open to the empty office. There are multiple diplomas from prestigious schools hanging on the wall behind her desk. On the opposite wall, a hideous, and I meanhideous, painting hangs. If someone gave me a hundred different tries to guess what the hell it’s supposed to be, I’d never get it.

“And here I thought you were a woman of good taste Bev…” I shake my head disappointingly at the artwork. I look around the rest of the office and find a dying plant in the corner and her purse hanging off a hook above it.

Bingo.

My ghost friend may have had a plan to get me out of the facility, but I hardly doubt she has a car and money waiting outside for us. I will need money for a train or bus ticket to get to where thisRangerfellow is. There is no way I will be able to hitchhike from Rhode Island to Montana.

I start digging through Beverly’s expensive handbag, finding the matching leather wallet. I find four hundred dollars in cash, but don’t bother taking any of the various credit cards. They’d be useless since I have no idea what her PIN would be.

What’s the zip code for hell? It’s probably that.

After putting her purse back on the hook, I sift through the various documents on her desk. I don’t know what I’m hoping to find, but the vindictive part of me is hoping that she would have evidence of my parents under the table payout to the hospital. I’m sure my dad’s supporters would just love to see what kind of man they’re really voting for. I don’t find anything with his name on it, there are just various patient files scattered across the surface. I see familiar names of patients, and honestly, if I had more time I would love to go through and read them. I know it’s a total invasion of privacy, but some of the patients here fascinate the hell out of me.

“Can I help you find anything particular, Winslow?” Her slightly nasally voice cuts through the silent room, making me jump back from the desk.

“Beverly.” I give her one of my fake smiles, something she’s gotten the pleasure of seeing every day for the past few months. I don’t think I’ve truly smiled at the woman before. “I’m so surprised to see that your plants have died. Here I was thinking you had such a nurturing touch.”

“Cut the shit, Winslow. What are you doing in here?” She marches forward, her hands now balled into fists at her side. I can tell from my spot across the room that her eyes are wild with anger.

“Just needed some things before I go,” I tell her casually. I’m mindful to keep the desk between us, so with every move she makes, I counter it, making sure to maintain the distance.

“Go? Go where?”

“Just a little road trip. You see, I’ve been feeling pretty cooped up lately and I think some fresh air will do me good. And let’s be real, Bev, some distance will be good for us too. You know what they say about distance making the heart grow fonder and all that shit. We’ve just been spending way too much time together for my taste.” I pause, smirking at her. “You know I’m not a betting person, but Iwouldbet that isn’t the first time someone has told you that.”

“You think you had it bad before? You just wait. Your parents are paying me to keep you in here, but they’re not paying me to keep you comfortable. You can say goodbye to groups and rec time. You’ll be confined to that eight by eight cell from now on. The only human contact you get will be from those damn ghosts you claim to see,” she shrieks at me, her voice going up octaves.

“Ah. There she is, the doctor Beverly I always knew was tucked deep inside. You keep her well-hidden, I’ll give you that. But I see through the bullshit,” I tell her. “Might I suggest you discuss your anger issues the next time you’re in group? Like you’ve been telling me, sharing is how the program works.”

“You little bitch, I’m going to—”

The doctor doesn’t get to finish her threat. Instead, she lays spasming on the floor from the fifty thousand volts of electricity from the taser I had taken from the guard.

“What was that? I didn’t hear you…” I cup my hand around my ear like I’m truly trying to listen to her. “I’m sorry, I can’t understand what you’re saying with all the convulsing and foaming at the mouth.”

I bend down to her level and reach for her left wrist. A week after I was locked up in here, she showed up with a platinum diamond tennis bracelet. No doubt paid for by my father. I slip it off her wrist and dangle it in her face. “I’m sure you’re going to miss my father’s checks; how else would you pay for your flashy jewelry and ugly paintings? Anyway, it’s been real, Bev. Let’s do this again sometime soon, ‘kay?”

And for the first time, I give her a real smile before pulling the trigger on the taser again. Grabbing her trench coat off the hook as I walk by, I slip out of the office, making sure to close the door behind me so no passersby can hear her flopping around.

My ghost waits at the end of the hallway with the exit door wide open for me. “Okay, let’s go.”

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