The Guy from the Insane Asylum

Chapter 1

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"Not all who wander are lost." —J.R.R. Tolkien.

Chapter 1

Bethany Harlow pressed the speaker button on her iPhone screen and buckled her seatbelt. She was on the phone with her friend. Not best friend.

Her brother was her only best friend. She wished her sister could be, but they were never very close. They lived separate lives, except in the same household.

Bethany had lovely parents but she'd always been closer to her older brother, Joey. He's two years older than her which means when she was a freshman and sophomore in high school, Joey was with her. He was the one who rose her to popularity. She'd probably be invisible if it weren't for him.

"Ugh." Sarah spoke through the phone. Or more like ugh's. Sarah was the second most popular girl in school. Bethany was the first. "I can't believe you have to volunteer with psychos. What if they murder you?"

Bethany scoffed. "I know! It's what I told my parents! They said it was the perfect place because apparently my dad was forced to volunteer there as punishment when he got in trouble as a kid."

"Couldn't they have sent you to the library?" Sarah regretted the words the second they left her lips. "Never mind. You would've been a huge geek!"

"No. Gross. Don't say that." Beth pretended to care about being called a geek. She was a huge one before she was popular.

Truth is, Bethany liked to read on her free time. She liked school. She liked math. She was pretty good at the whole school thing, but she could never admit that she got good grades.

"Well, what'll they call you now? Beauty Gone Crazy?" Sarah was shocked at how good that actually sounded.

"Okay," Bethany spoke. "No more nicknames. And promise me something?"

"Mmhm?" Sarah said, she was at home, dipped her tiny brush into the nail polish.

"Don't tell anyone about this? Please." Glancing around the parking lots of Dared Insane Asylum, Bethany chose one lot and parked her small black car within the lines. She grabbed her bag and phone as she got out of the car.

"Yeah," Sarah said in a high-pitched voice. "Don't worry. I'm your best friend—," she really wasn't, "I won't tell anyone."

Beth had a hard time believing that. Her so called 'best friend' was bad at keeping secrets. She didn't care though, she needed to tell someone about this who wouldn't respond as lame as her brother did.

"It's your fault for cheating on that exam." He had told her. "I just hope you have fun with the lunatics." He was a sarcastic prick. She didn't think she'd ever meet someone more sarcastic or cocky than her brother Joe.

"Okay, Sarah. I have to hang up. I'm really busy." Beth partially lied.

"Ok-k. Toodles."

"Bye-bye." She rolled her eyes as she hung up. She realized too late that being popular meant having stupid friends.

Staring at the extremely vintage building, she took a deep breath. She had to stop staring at it because it was making her nervous. There was various vines growing on the walls. The windows were oddly clean though. She could see some patients through them.

Downstairs, bottom left: a man was pulling at his hair and pacing around his room.

Next to him: an old lady staring out her window. She speedily turned at the sight of Bethany.