Jessica

It was my first day at work, and to say I was stressed was the understatement of the year. My phone was going crazy with people telling me not to be worried and that I'll do my best which did little to reassure me. The main cause of my stress, however, was not the fact that it was my first day - I felt quite excited about that - but that KK had plonked herself on my lap and was refusing to move. I could feel her claws digging into my thighs as she watched, eyes wide open without blinking.

"You barely looked at me since we have moved here, but now all of a sudden, you want to show me affection?"

She blinked slowly and settled down further, purring.

Damn it, I was really going to be late at this point, and I really wanted to make a good first impression. I believed that to have a successful career, a person needed to maintain professionalism and the correct work ethics and the demon on my lap clearly disagreed with me.

Suddenly, her ears perked up and she shot off my lap to God knows where leaving me to deal with the aftermath of her sudden affection. Cat. Hair. Everywhere. I had no time to change, so I brushed a lint roller vigorously up and down my skirt, trying to minimalise the damage and ran out of the house, to my car. Stepping on the pedal, I pulled out of my driveway and made my way to work. Since I was now a member of staff, I had to take a different route to work then I had previously, and looking around, I could see security was no joke here. There were watchtowers posted every ten metres or so, barbed wire and spotlights. How had I not noticed it before?

As I pulled up to the staff entrance, I noticed multiple guards with what I assumed were guns. How could they have guns? Isn't that too much security for a hospital? I barely see police with guns and they have to face much more dangerous situations than a few mental patients.

I passed the newly issued ID badge that I had received in the post to the tall, muscular guard with the label 'Corporal' who waited patiently for it, he scanned it and began checking something on his tablet.

"Ms Carlson?"

"Yes, that's me", despite not doing anything wrong, I felt extremely worried that I had done something wrong without knowing it.

The guard looked at me kindly. "No need to be stressed darling, it's just the customary, daily checks, and you'll get used to it. Now, since it's your first time, I need to scan your fingerprints and upload it to our database so you can have access inside the hospital and in and out of here. Hand please".

I held out my hand, which he pressed to a screen until it flashed green.

He gestured to another guard who had a handheld scanner and the guard began waving it over my car. I held my breath nervously. The guard straightened up. "All clear, Tom has also checked her data, she's good", he gave a thumbs up and walked to the next car behind me

"All done, just a reminder, you need your ID badge and fingerprints where ever you go so make sure to keep both with you", he chuckled at his joke. "Good luck!"

He gave me a two-fingered wave and gestured to someone and my car was allowed through the boom barrier.

For my interview, I hadn't seen this level of security and certainly not guns. There had been lots of guards posted around but not enough to amount to suspicion. I wasn't sure why but it unnerved me, the amount of security. Made me feel like they were hiding something inside that building that they didn't want to let out. But how much of a threat could some wealthy mental patients pose?

I parked my car in my allocated space and at the entrance door was an ID scanner and a fingerprint reader. Oh gosh, I hope I didn't have to do this stuff every day. Once I got through, I was greeted with a pair of guards - missing the guns but still very intimidating - who were waiting to scan people's belongings and do a pat-down. I waited for my turn and then placed my bag on the scanner. It went through without a hitch but now I had to get frisked. The younger guard caught my eye and winked. If he got too handsy, I swear to God -

"Ma'am, please step forward".

Luckily it was the older guard. My discomfort must have still shown on my face which the younger guard noticed.

"Trust me this is necessary, ask Mo", he said.

"You talk too much on the job, Jake. It's why people like me have to end up supervising you", Mo grunted.

"Fine then, I'll say it, a few months ago, one of the senior nurses tried to sneak in a full-on Sig P365 with a suppressor, isn't that crazy? Because we did bag checks then but not the frisking and the metal detector, guess where she hid it", I shrugged not having a clue so he continued. "She hid it in her bra! It was hilarious, poor Mo had to fish it out, that's why he looks so traumatised". He burst out laughing, slapping his leg whilst Mo just glowered at him.

"How on Earth did she get her hands on a gun?" I asked. It was pretty difficult for a normal civilian to get one without a license.

"It's why we have so much security. These patients have a lot of money. They make a lot of bribes and threats. There's actually a reporting system for when a member of staff encounters these kinds of situations and a report is filed nearly every day", Mo explained. "And that's only the ones who report it. You're all clear, move through that door".

I thank them both and as I went in, I wave at Emelia at the reception desk, sign in and enter the elevator. Finally, one step closer to actually starting work after God knows how long.

The moment the lift opens, I see Dr Patel waiting there with an attractive woman with long braided hair. They were in deep conversation and didn't notice I was there until I cleared my throat.

"Ah, Arya. Nice to see you on time. Unfortunately, I am needed elsewhere so I can't show you around. However, Dr Seacole here is a specialist in Medical Genetics and she will be your guide for today. If you have any other questions, you can pop down to my office at my break times", Dr Patel nodded at me and walked into the lift.

As the doors closed, I turned to my attention to the doctor next to me. I could feel her scrutinising me.

"As Dr Patel mentioned my name is Olive Seacole, I will be your supervisor until you settle in. For now, follow me", she said curtly.

I followed her as she gave me a tour of the place and it was massive from the inside. On every floor was an ID check as well as outside every patient's room. She answered all my questions bluntly and spoke only what she needed to say but I could tell she was very intelligent. And she specialised into a Medical Genetics which was amazing. She finally showed me to a room which had my name on it and ushered me in.

"This will be your office, it's a decent size but you can work your way up if you work hard. You need to keep your ID with you at all time and will need it to access the patient's rooms. The higher-level patients you get, the more security is needed. To start you off, we have a patient who is medium risk but Dr Patel and I agreed that throwing you into the deep end is the best way for you to find your feet. Read the file on your desk and begin immediately. You must communicate with other staff who also look after the same patient. Your patient load will increase with your competence. Any questions?"

I shook my head numbly and she strode off, shutting the door behind her. Talk about information overload. I open the file and flipped through it.

---

Holston's Institution for the Unwell

Psychiatric file

Name: Jessica Carrillo

Patient number: 0157

DOB: 17/06/93

Room: 12

Supervisor: Dr Seacole

Psychiatrist: Dr Carlson

Admission date: 24/01/2015

Admission: Involuntary

Mental condition:

The patient has severe Dissociative Identity Disorder and shows low levels of Schizophrenia

The patient has a known history of bribing, blackmailing and violence.

The patient demands that the personalities presented by the Dissociative Identity Disorder are real and will become aggressive if suggested otherwise.

The patient denies any form of Schizophrenia and will become aggressive if suggested otherwise.

Treatment

Antidepressants and anti-anxiety daily. (For more details, refer to Dr Jameson).

Antipsychotics daily. (For more details, refer to Dr Jameson).

Psychologist notes:

---

Wow, I couldn't believe this. When they said medium level, I was expecting a lesser case. I finished reading the file, which the previous psychologist had mentioned repeatedly that Jessica was unstable and that her condition was deteriorating. There were also previous reports of violence and that Jessica would 'throw around her wealth'. I had no idea who she was so I decided to Google her. What - There was a good reason I never heard of her, according to the out-dated news from five years ago, she was the mysterious daughter of a French property, tycoon Adam Carrillo. He probably paid a lot to send her here and keep her out of the spotlight.

I gathered the belongings that I needed and made my way to Evaluation Room 05 where I was told Jessica was waiting for me. As I scanned my card and my hand, the guard nodded to me and handed me the emergency buzzer in case she somehow managed to attack me. I took a deep breath and walked in.

Jessica sat there, in the middle of the room, perfectly situated in the beam of sunlight from the window. She had waist long almost golden blonde hair, an angelic face with a small nose and wide blue eyes. She looked up at me and smiled sweetly. She sounded nothing like what I read in her file but I knew looks could be deceiving. She held out her hand and tilted her head slightly, watching my every move. I tentatively reached out and shook her hand, slowly.

"Hello, my name is Dr Carlson and I'm going to be your new psychologist, Jessica".

As soon as those words left my mouth, the radiant look dropped and she turned almost beastly. She snarled at me, her face contorting with anger and rage and she gripped on my hand, so hard with a strength that shouldn't be possible from her small frame. Using my hands, she yanked me forward and clutched my face with her free hand even harder than the way she held my hand and dug her manicured nails in.

"My name", she spat out. "Is not Jessica".