Story Archive
The Clinic
by Raine
-
-
- The Clinic
- by Raine
- rain@isomedia.com
-
- Summary: Withheld at author's request
- Rating: PG
- Disclaimer: I did not create the characters of Mulder and Scully.
- Chris Carter did, and he, 1013, and Fox own them. I am making no
- money from this, and mean no copyright infringement. Also, anyone
- you might recognize I got permission from.
- Dedication: To all the wonderful archivists/others who make this
- possible. Thanks.
- Do not forward to atxc, do not archive.
-
-
- "Insanity is often the logic of an accurate mind overtasked."
- - Oliver Wendell Holmes
- %%%%%%%
-
- The grounds of the facility were marked with gnarled roots that broke
- through the earth. In the darkness, they resembled twisted forms that
- crawled, the moonlight on their backs.
-
- "So, who exactly called in the disappearance, Mulder?" The
compact
- redhead glanced sideways at her partner. The two drew rapidly closer
- to a massive three-story structure.
-
- "The head nurse at the clinic, Sue, reported the missing patient
- approximately twenty-four hours after she disappeared." As they
- climbed stone stairs, one of two large, iron-bound doors creaked open.
- Scully stared questioningly at Mulder as a woman appeared.
-
- The stranger held the door open with her hip. "Are you two the
agents
- we called?"
-
- On the porch, Mulder stepped forward. "Yes. I'm Special Agent
Mulder,
- this is Agent Scully." He forced his gaze from the woman's large
chest
- with difficulty.
-
- The blonde nodded. When she spoke, her voice was mild. "I'm Lisa.
- Actually, the patient has reappeared, so we don't really need any
- further help." She shrugged with exaggerated nonchalance. "Sorry
to
- waste your time driving out all this way, but everything looks back
to
- normal." After a pause, the woman started to swing the door closed.
- She stared at them over her glasses; her head bent as the portal swung
- closed.
-
- "As long as we're already here, would you mind if we spoke with
the
- victim?" Mulder gave her his best smile even as he stepped forward
to
- aggressively block the door.
-
- Lisa froze as she was forced to switch gears. "Um, I guess so.
But
- there's not much point right now, she's probably pretty heavily
- medicated. Most of them are."
-
- "That's all right," Scully reassured her. Her tone, however
- diplomatic, left no doubt that the agents would indeed see the patient
- either way. "We just want to talk to her for a second."
-
- "Okay," Grudgingly, Lisa said, "Follow me, then."
She disappeared into
- the building. After a pause, Mulder and Scully followed. When Scully
- turned to close the door, it was already on its way to meet the frame
- by itself. There was a thump in the empty air. Scully stared for a
- moment, then shook herself and followed her partner.
-
- "We're going to have to go to the basement first," Lisa said.
The
- high heels of her shoes clicked on the stone staircase. "I have
to
- complete my rounds, so Sue will take you to the patient."
-
- They reached the lower level. Scully asked, "So, what sort of
- residents do you house here?"
-
- Abruptly, the woman turned and said, "Oh, all kinds. A lot of
- creative types. Well, here we are." As they reached the basement,
- Lisa smiled tightly without making eye contact. "Wait for a moment;
- I'll get Sue." She walked down a well-lit hallway to agents' left.
-
- "Mulder, is it just me, or?" Scully looked at her partner
in confusion.
-
- He agreed. "There's something going on here besides a resolved
- disappearance." A loud clanking sounded from the hallway Lisa
had
- entered. Another woman rounded the corner. Like Lisa, this employee
- was clad in a nurses' outfit. Unlike her, though, the fashionable
- footwear had been replaced with sensible, thick-heeled walking shoes.
- The sound came from the enormous iron keychain resting in a white
- cotton pocket.
-
- "Hello, I'm the-uh, I'm Sue." The brunette grinned and moved
close to
- Mulder, taking his hand in a tight grip until she was barely a
- hands-length away. Her voice lowered until she was talking to only
- him. "You're Agent Mulder."
-
- Scully cleared her throat loudly. Sue started and stared over at her
- with narrowed eyes. Mulder took the opportunity to pry Sue's tight
- grip from his hand.
-
- "Could you show us to the woman who disappeared?" He rubbed
his
- still-aching palm.
-
- Sue shrugged and stepped away from Mulder. "Sure, fine. I think
- you'll find this a waste of your time, though." Looking at her
watch,
- she crossed the large room and opened a door at the opposite end. She
- only glanced behind her once to make sure the agents were following.
-
- The two, guided by Sue, walked through several cool stone corridors.
- Scully observed, "I noticed this structure goes up several stories.
- It must be quite a large building to have such an extensive basement."
-
- Sue said dryly, "You have no idea." The petite nurse stopped
in front
- of a huge, locked steel door. The portal was modern, at odds with the
- Gothic architecture of the rest of the building. Their guide removed
- the huge iron ring from her pocket and began twisting a key in the
- first of five locks.
-
- Finally, Sue pushed the door open, grunting at the weight of it. "This
- isn't my normal area of operations, but the administrator here is
- indisposed, so I'll be taking you in." She gestured for the agents
to
- precede her, and hefted the wing entrance closed with a loud, echoing
- clang.
-
- "You don't control the entire facility?" Mulder asked.
-
- Sue glanced sideways at him. It's a little complicated. There are
- several administrators here at Pleasant Scribe, of which I am one.
We
- share responsibility overall, but each of us has a specific area we're
- in charge of as well." A low moaning cut off any further explanation
- as the three moved down the corridor.
-
- "Don't mind them," Sue said, "The residents in this
area tend to be a
- little on the whiny side. We don't have that problem in my wing."
The
- nurse grimaced as she said the last, as if she were thinking better
of
- the words even as she said them. The three stopped at Sue's cue, and
- she unlocked a door similar to the others, with a metal plaque
- labeling it room 1013.
-
- "How could someone escape from this kind of security?" Mulder
wondered
- aloud. It wasn't the only question he had about this increasingly
- strange-seeming mental hospital, but it was the one he wanted answered.
-
- The nurse sighed. "This particular woman was transferred from
my
- control, where patients have a bit more freedom. Finally, we decided
- she needed something moreStructured." The door swung inward to
reveal
- a modern, well-lit hospital room. Mulder relaxed a little,
- inexplicably relieved.
-
- "How are we doing today, Kate?" Sue addressed a small, huddled
figure
- in the corner nearest the door. The thin woman clutched her bare
- knees more tightly at Sue's voice and jerked her head from side to
- side. She emitted a thin, whimpering sound.
-
- "Oh dear. Are you being uncooperative? Kate, you know what happens
to
- difficult residents." Sue's tone was detached and indifferent,
and it
- made Scully shiver. The nurse added, "You want your shot, don't
you?"
-
- Kate's eyes slowly opened. When the glazed orbs registered Mulder and
- Scully, she squealed something incomprehensible and lunged across the
- room, her arms outstretched, to hide behind the bed. Mulder looked
- away to avoid seeing her body, bare underneath the gaping hospital
- gown. Scully's mouth snapped closed after a long moment.
-
- "Oh, my. I didn't even think what a shock it would be to see the
two
- of you." Sue's spoke in a low voice, as if to herself.
-
- "Why-" Mulder started.
-
- "Never mind." Sue cut him off. There were three short thumps
on the
- door. Sighing, the nurse said, "Oh, good, finally." Two orderlies
- appeared. The first wheeled a steel cart into the room. At the
- sound, the patient looked up from behind the bed, then again
- disappeared. One man hauled an unresisting Kate from behind the bed,
- laid her out, and tied restraints at her wrists and ankles. The
- second man inserted a needle into the vein in the crook of her arm,
- ejecting a drug into her bloodstream.
-
- "This stuff works like a charm. Without it, I don't think we could
- control all of these residents, frankly."
-
- "You give that same medication to all of your residents?"
The alarm
- was evident in Scully's voice.
-
- Sue nodded, her eyes locking again with Mulder's. Scully stared at
- the nurse angrily to no avail.
-
- Finally, Mulder asked, tearing his gaze away, "When will be able
to
- speak with her?" The agent couldn't put his finger on it, but
he
- suddenly wanted to leave as soon as possible. Unfortunately for him,
- the small form on the bed was spread-eagled and drooling.
-
- Slowly, Sue turned around and nodded at the beefy orderlies. "You
- won't," The nurse said tonelessly. She padded to the door. Suddenly,
- violently, she slammed the steel portal shut.
-
- "Mulder-" Scully started, alarmed.
-
- The two white-clad men took her off guard. As soon as they grabbed
- her, though, Scully's academy training kicked in. After trying to
- disarm her, the first hit the ground clutching his groin, and the
- second received a high heel to the top of his foot and two fingers
in
- his eyes. Scully whirled and drew her gun in one smooth motion.
- Across the room, her partner was engaged in some kind of dancing
- struggle with the small nurse. With a cry, Sue launched herself onto
- Mulder's back and wrapped her arms around his neck.
-
- "GET OFF HIM!" Scully waved her gun at Sue, who climbed down
and
- smoothed her clothing sheepishly. Her partner trained his weapon on
- the two recovering orderlies.
-
- Astonished and recovering, Mulder said, "We need to figure out
what's
- going on here,"
-
- Scully walked over and jerked the thick key ring from Sue's cardigan
- pocket.
-
- "You shouldn't do that," Sue said. "There are things
here that you
- shouldn't see. Things that you can't see." Her green eyes were
wide
- and afraid.
-
- "Oh, yeah, that'll work." Mulder said dryly as he and his
partner
- backed out the door.
-
- The agents left Sue behind in the room. They both missed the
- brunette's wide grin as Mulder slammed the iron door shut and Scully
- locked it.
-
- The two agents ran down the hallway in search of the exit, but to
- their surprise, the door that they had entered with Sue was gone.
- Stone wall and a sign had replaced it.
-
- It read, "Remember, you alone are responsible for proper archive
- procedure! Please consult the FAQ." Scully wondered dimly what
a FAQ
- was as she and Mulder explored hallway after twisting hallway. Each
- was filled with the same strange low moaning that had been in the
- first corridor. This time, though, it seemed that they were all
- moaning the same thing. Scully strained to make out the words.
-
- "DisclaimerNoooo"
-
- "Mulder, what are they doing to the people here?" Scully
asked,
- alarmed and frustrated. The agents slowed to a brisk walk as they
- rounded corner after corner in search of an exit.
-
- "I don't know, but maybe we can find out." He gestured toward
a door
- that was ajar. There were noises escaping. As silently as possible,
- the two agents approached.
-
- A woman's voice yelled, causing Scully to jump, "Well? Answer
me!"
- There was only whimpering in reply.
-
- "I am so sick of your excuses. Now, before I have to use the whip
- again," A sharp snapping sound filled the air, "I want to
hear the
- classification procedures!"
-
- The whimpering turned into full-fledged sobbing. Scully cringed and
- looked at Mulder, who had a strange, twisted expression on his face.
- Not for the first time, Scully wondered about his sex life.
-
- An agonized voice said, "Please, Mistress Gem, don't hurt me again.
I
- promise. I'll be better. I just can't think of those things, what
- with my real life-" Another air-popping crack, then another. Screaming.
-
- "What do you say?" Threatening tones echoed out to caress
the stone.
-
- The man's voice babbled from rote, clearly terrified. "There is
no
- real life, none whatsoever, I'm sorry, I'm pitiful, there is no excuse
- for not knowing correct rating guidelines, I'll never do it again,"
- The voice rose in desperation. "God, please, I'm sorry"
-