Locked Up Again (Part Three)


The two had slept up against each other, happy about the other's presence. It had been a long two weeks, Steph had explained. A dangerous two weeks as well.

"I had started to begin to doubt myself," She told Allison. "I'm sure that if another week had passed you'd be talking to a fully rehabilitated Steph." Allison shook her head.

"It didn't come to that, thankfully," Allison said. "I've come here to get you out and tell you that you aren't crazy. Half my job is already done."

"What is your plan, by the way?" Steph had asked.

And so Allison told her.


The next morning, they were awoken by the lights turning on and guards pounding on the doors.

"Wake up!" They shouted, and moved on to the next room. Allison sighed.

"They'll be coming for us to give us breakfast now," She said, grabbing the ball gag with her mouth and sliding it back in before the guards came in and accused her of trying to escape.

"Well… at least we'll be together for breakfast, for once," Steph said. Allison nodded, agreeing. Soon enough, two nurses came in and undid Allison's leg restraints, pulling her up and leading her out of the room. A nurse motioned for Steph to follow her, and Steph slowly got up and walked out on her own.

The cafeteria was standard; a sterile white room, a bunch of tables, with some patients sitting still, staring at their food, others rocking back and forth, while some were actually sitting around and talking. The ones who were talking calmly had little to no restraints.

Allison was shoved heavily down onto a chair while Steph sat down on her own across from her. Allison's gag was ripped from her mouth as a smoothie was placed in front of her. It looked like it contained a varied amount of fruits and vegetables.

"Do they still put drugs in the food?" Allison asked. Steph shook her head.

"Just for the severe patients. Judging by the color of your straighjacket you probably won't be drugged. Those two over there, though," Steph said, motioning to two patients rocking back and forth in a black body-straightjacket, "They are regular trouble makers… they have drugs in their food, no doubt about it." Allison nodded and put the straw into her mouth and started drinking the smoothie as another one was placed in front of Steph. After a few minutes, Steph asked: "When does it happen?" Allison thought for a few minutes.

"Today," She said. "Around noon." Steph nodded.

"Good." Was the reply as she began to drink her breakfast.


Reidman stormed into Marhsal's office.

"What's the meaning of this memo?" He asked, tail waving angrily. Marshal shrugged.

"I don't like it either, but it's coming from higher up," He said. "We have to do it." Reidman growled.

"I am not transferring my patient to another hospital," He spat.

"You kinda have to," Marshal said, handing a couple of documents over to Reidman. "If it makes you feel any better, they requested my patient too."  Rediman looked over the documents as Marshal continued. "We have a problem with overcrowding here, anyone can see that. It's better to move two patients to another hospital than to set them free prematurely. They have room, we don't. It's that simple." Reidman looked up at Marshal.

"You had something to do with this, didn't you?" He asked. "My patient just happens to be your patient's best friend… your patient attacks me, gets institutionalized… and now both of them are going to another hospital? It can't be a coincidence."

"You're the one who's saying it, not me," Marshal said. "I only know Allison from a conference I gave a few months ago. She came to me, I haven't had any contact from her since then." Reidman growled.

"That's another problem with you," He said. "You're too soft on your patients."

"It's called bedside manner," Marshal simply said. "You have yet to learn it." The two doctors stared at each other. If looks could kill, both of them would be dead in an instant.

"Prep the patients for transport," Reidman reluctantly said. "Gather two guards and a van.  I'll let this happen on one condition."

"Oh?" Marshal asked.

"I'm going to be part of the escort team," He replied. "If they're going to another hospital, I'm going to make sure they make it all the way there." Glaring, Reidman left. Marshal frowned.


As Allison and Steph were being escorted back to their cell, they were interrupted by Marshal.

"I can take them from here," he said. "I have to prep them for transport." He showed the guards the proper forms, then led the two girls back to their cell. Closing the door behind him, Marshal turned and began to pull their restraints away. Using a specialized zip, he pulled the pneumatic suit off of Steph, freeing her arms. Steph gasped and stretched, her joints cracking a bit from not being used for a great while. Meanwhile, Marshal pulled the leg bindings off of Allison, taking off her gag straightjacket.

"Thanks," Allison said, now free and stretching. "I…" She was interrupted when Steph jumped on Marshal's back and put him into a chokehold.

"Payback!" She said. Allison stared in shock. The expression on Steph's face was… horrifying. Savage. She had never seen anything like this from Steph before.

"Steph! Calm down, he's friendly! He's the man on the inside, he's helping us escape!" Allison said, trying to pull Steph off him. Steph slowly let go and looked over at Allison.

"Are you sure?" She asked.

"Yes," Allison breathed. "You'll get your chance… just… calm down." Steph nodded slowly and dropped off of Marshal, who gripped his neck and massaged it a bit. Allison frowned. "You okay?" She asked Marshal, who nodded.

"Yeah," He said. "Let's just… let's just do this." He pulled over a straightjacket and a couple more leg restraints. "Okay… both of you will be restrained like Allison was a few minutes ago. You'll be taken to a van not unlike what they use to transport prisoners to jail. However, the inside, where you'll be, is padded, like the walls of your cell." He pulled out a couple of knives, quite sharp. Steph took a step back. Marshal glanced at her. "Keep these hidden in your fists. The guards won't notice when the straightjacket is on. An hour into your journey, use them to cut your way out of your restraints, okay?" They nodded, each taking one of the knives. Marshal gave a sigh. "Let's do this," he said, picking up a straightjacket.


Twenty minutes later, the two of them were being led into the van.

"One more thing," Marshal said as he opened the doors to the back. It was indeed padded. "There will be three people escorting you to the new hospital. Two guards, and Dr. Reidman." Their eyes widened in fear. "All three of them will be armed with tranquilizer guns and light armor." Marshal backed up as they were secure, sitting down on opposite sides of the van. "Good luck you two. And… I hope to never see you again." They nodded. It wasn't an insult. It meant that if they saw each other again, they'd either be dead, or right back where they started: trapped in the asylum. This was their one chance. They couldn't afford to screw it up. Marshal slammed the doors closed, the only light coming from a few barred windows near the top of the van. The two girls looked at each other and nodded. Like it or not, it was time.


Reidman sighed as they drove along the highway. He hated escort duty, this wasn't the first time he had to move patients from one hospital to the next. But, if it was what he was required to do… He stared out the window passively. He could fall asleep right now, it would pass the time easily.

Meanwhile, in the back of the van, Allison and Steph finished waiting. They looked at each other and nodded. Time to go. They struggled a bit, moving a little to get the knife to work against the fabric of the jacket. There was a small ripping sound as a hole was made. They continued working until it got bigger and bigger, and soon their entire hand was free. Allison dropped her knife and shifted over to Steph, who turned her back to Allison. Twisting, Allison used her free hand to unbuckle and undo the straps keeping Steph captive. Once they were loose enough, Steph managed to do pull the jacket apart on her own. Pulling it off, she went to Allison and freed her, careful to avoid the knife.

Five minutes later, both girls were free.


Reidman's daydreaming was interrupted when there was banging and a muffled shouting sound from the back of the truck.

"What is that?" The first guard, sitting uncomfortably close to him, said.

"No idea," Reidman replied, tensing as he clicked the safety off his tranquilizer gun. "Let's go back there. You," He said to the driver. "Pull over." The driver nodded and pulled to the side of the road. Reidman and the first guard got out of the truck. "I'll go first," Reidman said. "You follow." The two moved quickly as Reidman threw open the doors of the van. The two patients were wrestling, their arms useless against their sides by the straightjacket, both of them obviously fighting for a reason that was apparent to only them.

"Hey! Stop fighting!" Reidman said angrily, and so did the first mistake he ever made: he went into the van to break the two apart. He reached for Steph, pulling her back. As soon as the two were apart, Allison unfolded her arms and punched Reidman in the face. He was so shocked, he didn't fight back as Allison grabbed him and faced him towards the first guard, who opened fire on them. Using Reidman as a shield, Allison watched as the guard fired three darts into the doctor's chest. Allison reached down, her hand slipping through the hole she had made with the knife, grabbing Reidman's tranq gun, raising it and firing it up on the guard. The first guard collapsed.

"Steph, get the driver!" She said, pulling out the gag. "I'll grab the keys." Steph nodded and pulled her "restraints" off, hopping out of the back of the van. She grabbed the first guard's tranq gun and went around the corner just in time to see the driver jump out and open fire on her. She dodged around the corner of the truck, waiting for the driver to pause. Then, she turned and threw the pistol at the driver. It struck him in the shoulder, throwing him off balance. Steph took the opportunity to rush forward and jump him, punching him in the face to knock him out. Heart racing, Steph continued pounding on the driver, not noticing the blood spurting from the driver's muzzle, her vision clouded by a red filter.

Suddenly Steph was being pulled back. She was being captured again! She struggled and bit down at her attacker, only vaguely hearing a woman's voice shouting her name, and demanding her to stop. Growling, she slowly calmed down, the red tinge slowly fading as she breathed.

"Calm down," Allison said softly. "It's over, we did it. We're free, they aren't… they aren't going to get us." She let go of Steph, and she fell to her knees, exhausted. Her mouth tasted like blood, her knuckles felt bruised and swollen… she couldn't believe it. She looked over at the driver, whose face was a mess of bruises and blood.

"Did I do that?" She asked softly. Allison nodded slowly.

"Yes," She said. "You did… I had to pull you away." She showed her the bite mark where Steph had bit down. Her eyes widened.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry!" She exclaimed. "I… I don't know what came over me…" Allison hugged her.

"It's okay," She said. "The hard part is over."

"Now what do we do?" Steph asked.

"Now…" She looked at the three bodies lying around them. "Now we finish the job."