The Blackest Eyes

Part 5

The bus was more pack than it was originally supposed to be with what Brackett originally tried to arrange. The sheriff was successful in arranging a transport for Michael Myers to take him to a facility with tighter security, but a plethora of others, over half a dozen, were sent along for the ride thanks to the lawyers and doctors overseeing them.

Taking practicality into account left little room to complain or argue against it though. Not only were there other unruly and quite aggressive patients at Smith's Grove that posed a threat, but there were also those who'd been re-evaluated by the hospital staff and deemed more suited for a stay in prison. Why only move one of them when you can kill several birds with one large stone?

As far as the officials were concerned, it was a no-brainer. The hospital was on something of an overlook, as was the dirty driveway the bus pulled out of before continuing along the road. Some of the patients were sitting quietly and mumbling to themselves. Others, the ones that were re-sentenced to prison, were fussing with the cuffs on their wrists and babbling on about how they "needed help", in a last-ditch effort to lessen their punishment for the laws they'd broken throughout the county.

One in particular, a young man named Ryan Miller, seemed more composed than the majority. Aside from fiddling with the chain of his handcuffs, he didn't move much. He didn't pay a lot of attention to the others on the bus with him, instead looking out into the distance through the window beside him. From some far way off, he was able to just catch a glimpse of a few buildings.

Haddonfield wasn't much to look at by itself, compared to other places he'd lived, but the sight of it offered a sense of solace Ryan hadn't gotten much of in the past four years, since he brutalized his abusive stepfather in a drunken fight. He wasn't hard for the staff to deal with when he first arrived at Smith's Grove.

However, being stuck with several other annoying and messed up people, in addition to being constantly bombarded with questions he found redundant or too personal, caused him to develop quite a temper overtime. He highly doubted his stay in the new facility would be any different, but at least the bus ride offered something of a break. He was getting to see a little bit of the outside world without it being absconded by bars or from behind a large fence.

His moment of peace, however, was soon interrupted by one of the others, Travis Pines, going off on an anxious rant, without a doubt aimed at involving sympathy for his "plight". It was a pretty pathetic display, in all honesty.

"I was found not-guilty already, why the hell are they pulling this shit now!? I don't deserve this!"

Travis whined. Upon hearing that, the ever-worsening temper Ryan carried with him nowadays began to rise. Did that asshole really just say he didn't deserve what he was getting?

"I'm obviously sick, I should still be getting help, not being sent to prison."

Travis kept ranting. Ryan's blood started to boil at that as he thought back to everything he'd heard about Travis when he arrived at Smith's Grove. He wasn't some lost or broken soul that just needed to be put back together, he was an insecure prick who preyed on the vulnerable. Ryan had overhead several conversations regarding how Travis used to knock his wife around, seemingly for no other reason than because it made him feel "strong".

He got a little carried away though, the last time. Smashed his wife's face in with a wrench. Nevermind the fact that she was four months pregnant. The audacity of this son of a bitch to proclaim "innocents" after something like that? He hadn't changed at all since being institutionalized. The only difference now was that the right people were seeing through his act. Ryan had heard more than he cared to.

"Your wife didn't deserve to have her face used for target practice either, but look how that turned out. Nobody's feeling sorry for you, and with any luck, you'll end up on the receiving end of something similar when you get where you're going."