Legion of Bats

CHAPTER 1

Zoe Masterson sat on a merry-go-round in the Tanner, elementary school yard, sounds from the fight still ringing in her ears. A slight breeze gently blew her hair. She placed her feet on the ground and pushed herself around. Hearing brutal fights coming from the Conrad house seemed to be the norm. The last time Mr. Conrad didn’t wait until they were behind closed doors. The fourth of July should be a happy, festive holiday. Judy Conrad made the mistake of telling her husband she wanted to stay when he told her they were leaving the town party. Grabbing his wife’s head, he slammed it into a paper plate full of food, spraying party goers with bits of coleslaw and hot dog toppings. As catsup hit her nose, she glared at Andrew, wanting nothing more than to return the favor.
Tonight played out different. Zoe left her apartment to get a pop at the local store. Walking along the road, she could hear the screams from inside the Conrad house. Nobody in the neighborhood wanted to get involved, but somebody should have. Zoe watched the house wanting to help the poor woman. By the time Judy Conrad ran out the door and fell at Zoe’s feet, flames filled the house like the sun had descended from the sky. Zoe watched without sympathy as Andrew Conrad burned, unable to harm his wife again.
Residents of Tanner had a long history of blaming Zoe for anything that went wrong. It didn’t take long for all the fingers in town to point to her as an arsonist. They didn’t like her, and she loathed them. As she waited for the sheriff to arrest her, because she knew from history that he would, Zoe’s mind still filled with the screams and the tortured cries to make the burning stop, but she didn’t start the fire. She had merely been walking by the Conrad house. True, she didn’t like Mr. Conrad, but that didn’t mean she torched the place. She regretted leaving her apartment at all; had she stayed home life wouldn’t change.
Her feet continued pushing the wheel around until she saw three men in black suits approaching her. Not waiting to see who they were she sprang to her feet and ran as fast as she could. Footsteps splattered behind her. The ground still seeped with rain from earlier in the day. Running was not Zoe’s forte. Her pursuers were quickly gaining. This wasn’t what she expected at all. She knew the local sheriff would be looking for her, but these men looked like federal agents. Fear filled her mind as she struggled to keep her footing.
She heard a loud snap, followed by a groan, and turned to see what happened. One of the men dodged as a large branch from an oak tree plummeted to the ground, hitting him in the arm. She missed a tree root and tumbled forward, rolling down a slight embankment. A hand scraped across her arm as one of the men failed to hold on to her.
Zoe forced her feet back to the ground propelling herself forward. Taking a trip through the outbuildings of the school, she hoped to lose the men. She rounded the main building and took off for the open field. Glancing once to see if the men were far behind her, she smiled-- no one was in sight.
Zoe kept running with hopes of escape. Over a small bridge she pushed herself forward. But outrunning her pursuers vanished when she felt one of the men hit her full force in the back. The air in her lungs came out in one gush. He wrapped his legs around her as they both fell to the ground, causing muddy water to splash all around them. The man slapped her in hand-cuffs and yanked her off the ground.

Another pursuer decked the man holding her cuffed wrists.  Thick mud dripped from the front of Zoe and her long black hair fell in a tangled, lumpy mess around her face. Unable to wipe the mud from her face she shook it off. Her muddy hair flew in every direction. The men ducked to avoid the shower, but they couldn’t avoid being splattered.
The same forceful man held tight to her cuffed wrists and jerked her hard causing her to cry out in pain. The man that defended her before pushed him to the ground. “I’ll take her from here.” He walked Zoe from the school-yard and up to the road. The entire town gathered to see the spectacle. Whispers spread as she walked past people. Zoe held her head high, ignoring them, determined they would not get to her. Judy Conrad pointed at Zoe and cried out, “She killed my husband!”
The man holding her wrists opened the door to a black sedan, which reaffirmed her fear of federal agents. He took her head and nudged her into the back seat. She pushed against him with all the strength in her legs knowing all along it would do no good. He outweighed her by forty pounds.
The other two men got in front, and the man holding her climbed in the back with her. Now that she could get a good look at them she realized every part of their attire was black, right down to their ties. She wondered if any of the men sported tighty whities. She chuckled at the thought, which made the man sitting beside her stare. It didn’t seem to be in an authoritative manner; he rolled his lips in as though he held back a laugh. Her giggle caused a man from the front to glare at her. If she had the use of her hands she would have given him the finger, but under the circumstances she stuck her tongue out. She knew it reeked with immaturity, but it’s all she had.
Growing up Zoe had to learn to be a fighter; otherwise she would have been pulverized many times. She wouldn’t stand by and allow someone to get the best of her. Life had proven difficult, and she decided to be strong no matter what the circumstances. Uncertainty and fear filled her mind, but she would never show it. As far as the guys in black are concerned, I’m not going without a fight.
Thirty minutes later they arrived at Weston State Hospital. Zoe’s insides knotted. Spending the rest of her life with the insane was not something she anticipated. Her parent’s neighbor was schizophrenic and scared the crap out of Zoe. Most of the time she seemed to look right through Zoe; other times she looked as though nothing would bring her more pleasure than killing someone. Her eyes were always dilated, and darted from side to side wildly. She reminded Zoe of someone who’s possessed by the devil. Nothing good ever came from an insane person and, in Zoe’s opinion, nothing ever would.
The car stopped at a giant iron gate. A man came out from a little shack and looked in the car. He gave a quick nod and opened the gate. Zoe wondered if notoriety followed her into the next town. Weston was not far from Tanner, and the man at the gate didn’t even ask Zoe’s identity. The look he gave her said that he knew all he needed to know about her. The situation was worse than she thought.
She twisted her body around and placed her cuffed hands on the door handle trying to open the door, but the handle slipped out of her hand. The man pulled her across the seat easily, and the look on his face told her to stay put or the consequences would be worse than what she already faced. Zoe knew when to pick her battles, and this was not one of them. If she managed to get out of the car, the “black suits” would quickly catch her.
She cowered at the sight of the enormous stone structure that had the appearance of a Gothic castle. The building seemed to stretch so far in either direction she couldn’t see where it ended. She thought of asking the men escorting her why she was being taken to the state mental hospital, but thought better of it. They won’t answer me anyway—do they even talk? The front doors, constructed of thick wood, screeched open across the tile floor as they reached the threshold.
Waiting for her inside the doors were two other people. One, obviously a nurse, the other dressed in a suit, but not black like her abductors. His cream colored suit and white shirt stood out in great contrast to the other men. His gray hair clung to his head in a bad comb-over, and his mustache came down to points at the bottom of his upper lip then curled back up.
“We can handle young Zoe from here boys. Thank you,” the man in the cream suit said smiling. His voice didn’t match his appearance. He spoke as though he had smoked one to many cigarettes in his life.
Zoe stood in silence, waiting for them to introduce themselves and tell her what she was doing here. She knew the attitude was completely ludicrous, but she was doing it on principle.
“Zoe, I am Dr. Lancaster, and this is Head Nurse Watkins,” he said gesturing to himself then to the nurse.
“I’d say nice to meet you, but that would be a lie.” Zoe smiled defiantly.
The doctor cleared his throat uncomfortably. He even went to the extent of rubbing his throat as if some kind of irritation flared up. “That’s a little unnecessary my dear.”
What on earth is he talking about?
“Well now, let’s get off on a better foot. Welcome to Weston State Hospital. We take great pride in being a leader in top of the line care.” The doctor gestured with his hand.
“Am I missing something or are we on The Price Is Right? You don’t make a very good Barker’s girl. You’re a bit on the ugly side for that job.” Zoe stared the doctor down.
The doctor ordered the nurse to remove Zoe’s handcuffs. Being rather portly and having too much facial hair for a woman Zoe decided to call the nurse Battle Axe. She wondered what the doctor’s motivations were. Did he do this out of the kindness of his heart? She hadn’t realized how tight the cuffs were until they were gone. She tried to rub the discomfort out of her wrists.
“You must be hungry,” the doctor said in an overly cheerful voice. “Nurse Watkins will take you to the showers then you can come down for a bite.”
Zoe couldn’t figure out why this guy insisted on talking to her like an invited guest to a party. She also knew what happened when you showered at a metal hospital.
“Come with me,” the nurse said in a gruff voice, as the doctor walked away.
“No, I’m twenty five and I know my rights. You’ll tell me why I’m here. You can’t hold me without my consent. I’m not going anywhere with you until you tell me what’s going on,” Zoe said in a stern voice.
“All your questions will be answered, but not by me. Now you can come along quietly, or I can force you.”
Zoe had no intention of being drugged in this strange place. Sitting like a zombie, with drool running out her mouth, in a wicker chair wasn’t an option. As they made their way up the large center stair case, she could hear screaming coming from the halls above. Under different circumstances, the building would be quite beautiful, but considering why she was here it had a very dark atmosphere.
At the top of the stairs they turned right. As soon as they rounded the corner, Zoe tripped over a tiny girl who seemed to be talking to herself, and having quite the conversation. Zoe rolled her eyes and kept walking knowing she couldn’t be that imaginative if she tried.
Once inside the shower room, Zoe was asked to remove her clothing and the pockets were searched. The nurse confiscated Zoe’s cell phone; which was the only thing she had with her when the guys in black tackled her. Next she was asked to open her mouth. Battle-Axe made sure that nothing was stashed there like weapons or drugs. After the inspection, the nurse handed her a small bottle of shampoo and a tiny bar of soap. There was no shower curtain and Battle-Axe watched as Zoe tried to quickly shower. The shampoo made her hair feel as dry as a bale of straw. When she asked for conditioner the nurse snorted like she thought it was the most ridiculous thing she had ever heard.
Zoe put on the standard set of puke green scrubs assuming this was the uniform every patient wore. She rubbed on the generic deodorant and rolled her eyes at the cheap comb she was given. As she worked the comb through her hair it broke, and she cursed under her breath.
“Can I get another one?” she asked the Battle-Axe nurse as she held up the broken pieces.
Once again the nurse snorted, but she did give Zoe a new comb. This time Zoe took her time. She could never get a brush through her hair without conditioner. Not exactly a five star hotel. She slipped on the stupid socks with sticky rubber on the bottom and waited to be taken to eat. What’s next a dungeon with maggot infested food?
Instead of heading right to the cafeteria the nurse escorted her to an x-ray room. Zoe was instructed to lie on a table and be still.
“What the hell is this for?” she asked.
“Well I could search you myself, or you could shut it and get an x-ray of your pelvis. What’s it going to be?” the nurse asked gruffly.
“I’ll just stick with the x-ray thanks. I know I’m letting you down by not letting you fondle me, but you’ll have to get over it.” Zoe gave the nurse a disgusted look.
Battle-Axe gave her usual grunt and walked behind the wall.
The nurse led Zoe back past the little blond girl who still held a private conversation with herself. Her voice was small, and she spoke as though she sat with her best friend. Her long blond mane of hair brushed the floor as she sat there Indian style taking no notice of Zoe or the nurse.
They walked down long, dark corridors and reached the cafeteria. To her surprise the nurse asked the cook to make whatever Zoe wanted to eat. That caught her so off guard that she grabbed an apple and a soda instead. She sat down at one of the round tables. Her eyes darted around her taking in her new home. There was no escape, she might be here for life. She blew out a large breath at that thought. Will I ever have my own clothes and makeup? The thought of makeup and conditioner passed through her mind while a guy walked in from the room adjacent to the kitchen. Wearing normal clothes he didn’t look like a staff member. She looked down at the table and let her wet hair fall across her face.
“So you found another one of us to torment,” he said to the nurse chuckling.
“You mind your own business,” the nurse replied curtly.
Zoe guessed he must be a patient, but refused to look up. Being in no state to let men see her, she tried not to hold his attention, and if he was a patient she didn’t want to know him anyway. Despite her fears, she had a hard time not watching him. Zoe always had a thing for tall, dark and handsome. This guy’s hair was jet black like hers. He wore it cut short, but messy, and had blue eyes that resembled a deep sapphire. They were eyes you could melt into. Zoe watched him leave from the protection of her wet hair. I guess crazy people can be hot.
She finished her apple and soda before she followed the nurse again. It was time to see where her cell would be. Once again, she walked down long, dark corridors and couldn’t help but wonder if they had trouble paying the electric bills. They stopped at room 222. The nurse unlocked the door with a key that resembled a credit card.
“We’ll send for your things from home tomorrow,” said the nurse as she shut the door
Zoe started to speak, but before her mouth could form a word she heard the heavy footsteps going down the hall. “Thanks for listening,” she said aloud.
Zoe jiggled the handle to confirm the door was locked. She beat on it screaming “You can’t keep me locked in here!”
The room had no decor. There was a single bed with a blanket that looked more like a back scratcher than something comfy to curl up in. The single feather filled pillow resembled a porcupine. A small dresser sat against the wall next to a small closet. At least I don’t have to share a room with the crazy little blond girl. Zoe shivered at the thought. The bathroom was small enough to fit in a RV, but she had her own tiny shower stall. That irritated Zoe. She was forced to bathe in front of Battle-Axe when she had a private shower. She assumed they wanted to insure she didn’t have anything that could be used as a weapon, but it was still degrading.
Zoe sat on the bed, and it squeaked. Pushing her one pillow against the headboard she tried to relax. There was nothing to keep her mind off of things; she didn’t even have a book to read. How could things come to this? Here Zoe sat, locked up in the loony bin, and for what, she hadn’t done anything. Zoe was on the other side of the street when the house caught fire. Mrs. Conrad ran from the house screaming and from the look of her bruised and cut face she endured another beating. Anytime there was chaos in that house the town could hear Mrs. Conrad pleading over and over for him to stop, of course he didn’t, he never did. Zoe didn’t need to be psychic to know what happened in that house; everyone in the neighborhood knew about Mr. Conrad.
Tonight the noise inside the house resembled a tornado ripping everything apart. The instant Judy Conrad ran from the house her husband took to smashing all their belongings. Mrs. Conrad came running out the front door pleading for Zoe to help her. The next second, flames engulfed the house and Mr. Conrad was trapped inside. Problem solved. She could be a little more grateful and stop using me as a scapegoat.