We're All Heathens Here

Taco Bell, Pills, and Metal Doors

          Once the guards caught me, they took me to an even tinier and depressing jail cell. No one will even give me a second look or the time of day. That night I didn't even sleep. I just sat on the stone cold floor in the corner, with my knees close to my body, as I mumbled the lyrics to the song Josh and I wrote or were supposed to write. I can't forget that song. It obviously means a whole lot to Josh, and I need to finish it for him, so when I see him next time, I can surprise him with it. Maybe it can be his birthday or Christmas gift.. I'd love to see the look on his face. 

        "Tyler," the woman sitting in front of me snaps me out of my thoughts.

        I look up at her wide eyes. She's in a white doctor's jacket with her hair pinned up. She's wearing a formal business suit underneath, and a name tag that says 'Doctor Jenkins'. This Dr. Jenkins looks very mean just like the rest of the people in this God awful place. 

     "What is the last thing you remember before you came to here," she asks, her pencil is poised ready to scribble down whatever I say; she most be a therapist or something...

     "I-I...I remember Josh and I going to my house to do something, but I can't remember what," I mumble, picking at my fingernails.

     "That's the last thing? You don't remember the trial or your convection or what you did," she asks, glancing up at me as she scribbles things.

     "W-What? What did I do? What happened? Can you tell me how I got in here? Why I'm here," I ask looking up at her.

     "I can't tell you that as of this moment. We have to treat you and get you to stop trying to escape. Alright," she says.

     "O-Okay...," I say giving up. It looks like no one will tell me anything.

     "Explain in your own words how you even escape your cell yesterday," she says, leaning back in her chair.

     "I-I saw Josh. He somehow undid the lock of the cell, and I followed him. He helped me with this song. I wasn't hurting anyone," I say, "do you know where he is? He must be worried about me."

     She clears her throat and scribbles things down, "That's interesting. Now do you want to see what really happened? We have some of it on our security cameras."

     "I k-know what happened. I just told you what happened," I say looking at her as she shows me her laptop.

     There's a video on it of me pacing around in my cell when I first got here yesterday. Then it shows me climbing up and using the pencil to color in the camera lens, so it couldn't pick up anything in the cell. The screen flipped to another video of me standing in the room talking to thin air and dancing and singing with no one around. I stare at the screen with my mouth opened starting to shake.

    "This is obviously a fake video. You weren't there. I was, and I know what happened. Maybe if you keep your inmates in better check you wouldn't have this problem," I snap pushing the laptop away. 

    "Tyler, these videos aren't fake. We took them straight from the security cameras. Calm down," she says closing her laptop.

     "Whatever. Just let me go home. I've done nothing wrong. I wouldn't hurt anyone," I say, glaring at her.

     "What about Blurryface? Would he hurt anyone," she asks.

      I tense up and look at her. How does she know about him? Sure the clique knows that he's a representation of my insecurities, but Josh and a few family members know that he's truly another person; one of my personalities. He's never hurt anyone to my knowledge, but he can get pretty nasty sometimes. Mean and a depressive monster is all he is, and I get defensive of him even though I hate him.

    "Shut. Up. You know nothing about him so shut. up," I say getting angry.

    "I know more than you think. I'm going to send you off to the lunchroom to get some food, the guards will escort you then they'll bring you back to your new cell, and a nurse will be by to give you your medicine," she says standing up.

    "I don't need any medicine. I'm perfectly fine," I mumble as the guards pull me out of the office and towards the sound of people talking.

     I walked slowly, dreading being in the center of all these criminals. They're probably going to chew me up and spit me out. Once we get to the lunchroom, I take in the sight of huge burly men in orange jumpsuits talking and eating and guards with shields, masks, and guns scattered throughout the prisoners. I shrink back into the guards when everyone's eyes turn to me. The guards shove me forward, and I walk with my head down towards the lunch line. On the way, a man trips me, and I end up falling onto the floor which causes an uproar of laughter from everyone.

      "We don't deal with outsiders very well," one of the inmates spits at me.

     My face turns red from embarrassment, and I slowly pick myself up off of the ground, walking to the back of the lunch line keeping my head down, the guards right behind me. I hear one man in front of me whisper to the man in front of him, "He's got a certain smell that's how you can tell he's new."

     C'mon Tyler just try to make it through lunch then you can go back to the safety of your cell. When it's my turn in line, I get a tray of food which looks more like slop, and I look around for somewhere to sit. There's not a single spot on a bench or chair for me to sit down, so I walk over to the far corner of the lunch room away from everyone and sit down on the ground. I wish Josh was here. I pick at my food with my plastic spoon, sighing softly.

     "What are you doing dude," I hear Josh ask, and I look beside me to see him sitting there.

     "Josh! I'm so glad you're here man. I've been lonely, and I'm starting to get sad again, and you know what happens then," I say biting my lip.

     He pulls me into a hug, and I smile softly, snuggling into him.

     "Listen to me. It'll be alright. I'm here to protect you and keep you company and talk to whenever you're feeling down. Just like always. Okay," Josh says.

    "Yeah. Just like it's always been. I know you'll always be here for me," I say grinning up at him.

    "Now eat ya doofus. You have to keep up your strength," Josh says nudging him.

    "But Josh it looks like poop. I want Taco Bell. Do you think you could sneak me some," I ask giving him the puppy dog eyes.

   He giggles, "Okay. I'll be right back."

   I nod excitedly and watch him get up and leave. 

   "C'mon kid eat up. We have to get going," one of the guards says.

   I look up at him and say, "But Josh is going to be right back. Then I'll eat, and we can go."

   "Kid, there isn't a Josh in here. Now eat up, or I'll have to make you," he warns.

   I swallow hard and close my eyes, forcing myself to swallow one spoonful of the god awful food.

   "T-There. I'm full," I gag, getting up and throwing my food away.

   The guards lead me out of the lunchroom and down a narrow hall away from all the other cells. The cell they shove me in is even tinier than any cell I've seen. It's barely big enough for a toilet and a bed. There's no walking space, and the cell door looks impenetrable. The guards stand outside as a young nurse walks in with a small cup of water and a small cup filled with pills. He stands in the doorway, handing me one pill at a time.

   "Once you swallow a pill open your mouth, so I can see that you swallowed it," he says as I swallow one pill, opening my mouth.

   He hands me another pill, and we repeat the process about five times. Once I'm finished, he takes the two small cups and walks out of the room or should I say closet, and the guards shut the door. I'm left sitting on the bed staring at the metal door with no windows.