Unexpected Outcomes

Lambeth Asylum

Cold, you awoke cold once again.

Furrowing your brow you mustered an uncomfortable and painful shuffle where you lay before prising your eyes slowly open with a muffled and lowly groan.

It took a moment for your blurred and bleary vision to focus and grow accustomed to the dim gas lit room you found yourself lay in, The menacing shadows cast from the dim glow grew and danced across the sparse tiled walls like demons fidgeting restlessly before falling and shrinking in size once again

With a weakened perturbance you pushed yourself up from the cold dewy ceramic tiled floor. Gasping loudly, the wind seemingly was kicked  from your lungs, a sharp disabling pain tearing  through your side. You stopped a moment to catch your breath while the pain subsided slightly. Taking a few short and shallowed breaths you managed to regain some clarity before taking your first confused  glance around. You had absolutely no idea where you were.

You screwed your nose and offered the startings of a cough, the overwhelmingly thick and acrid smell stuck deep within your throat and kicked your senses hard choking you slightly. An eye watering mixture of coarse ammonia and warm excrement seemingly ground into the sheer fabric of the room around you.

Freezing a second in complete and utter fear, your eyes widening and your breath hitched as the sound of petrified screaming floated through the quiet strangitude  towards you. It was the sound of insane torturous screaming, the sound you'd hear when someone was in agonising pain and fearful for their life.

Your heart pounded strongly deep within your chest, so hard in fact you could have sworn that anyone passing by would have heard its thumping song upon your ribcage.  Where ever you were, wherever you'd been brought... it wasn't good, wasn't good at all... You had to find a way out and soon.

Lifting your hand, you began to rub the stiffness from the back of your neck, all the time your body offering up painful remonstrations, a lowly reminder from the carriage crash earlier that day.  

Your blurry,  and slightly unstable vision flicked slowly down to notice someone had changed you from your normal day to day clothes, gone were your warm woollen trousers and Rook green overcoat only to be replaced with a simple cotton gown. Your hair normally tucked neatly under your hat tumbled loosely below your shoulders in loose waves.

Your fingers clutched tightly at the neckline of the gown you were dressed in, the thought of someone seeing your naked form and touching your flesh whilst unconscious perturbed and unsettled you deeply.

You managed to painfully push yourself to your knees, your hands splayed out on the floor and your hair dropping in front of your face as you breathed deeply in order to control the deepening pain that emanated from your torso.  steadying yourself, you slowly and carefully pushed yourself from the freezing floor to a slow and cautious slouched stand.

Staggering haltingly,  your unsteady bare feet shuffled and padded quietly across the freezing floor towards the partially opened door situated in the far end of the room before you, the bright lights of the hallway from outside your room spilled across the floor illuminating a long shaft of light before you calling you out.

Placing a shaky hand upon the thick wooden door you gave a firm enough shove to open it just wide enough to get a first glance of this foreign place you found yourself in.  The harshness of the glaring light from the corridor stung your eyes, making you blink its discomfort away until your eyes became a little more accustomed to its brightness.