Eden Book 1: Trapped in a Nightmare

Prologue: Delta

"Jasper Finnius Heartly. Twenty-eight years old, admitted by a friend after attempted suicide." The man on the others side of the desk said, his voice calm and bored sounding as if he had read this file a million times before. "Your diagnosed with severe depression, suicidal tendencies, mild autism, and chronic insomnia." He rattled off, but Jasper wasn't really listening the brunette was staring around the room rather distractedly, taking in his environment. It was a habit when he was in uncomfortable situations, as was the motion of his fingers scratching at his arm. There were thick white bandages in his way, hiding the cuts on his forearms.

He was about five foot and eight inches, wildly spiked dark brown hair that bordered close to being solid black, and hazel green eyes that looked weary and weak with the bags under them. The past week he had tried to kill himself, having lost everything he actually cared about and with it his will to live. His entire family was gone, both his children and his beloved husband taken from him. After he had recovered from the anemia his friend had sent him here to Beacon, having heard they had world renowned doctors and care.

So far he was doubting that claim, the place looked nice enough, sure, but the staff was...less than caring. He looked up when the doctor set the folder down, smiling at him. Only now did he read the man's name tag, 'Jimenez'. "I think I have just the perfect program for you, come with me and we'll get you signed in and changed into a nice, comfortable uniform hm?" Jasper already didn't like the man, something about him just seemed very...wrong. But, then maybe it was just simply because he didn't want to be there. Picking up his small bag he followed the man to a different part of the hospital to get checked in, getting a medical band put around his wrist with his name, age, blood type, and of course allergies. It was a blue band, no doubt meaning he was on watch for his 'tendencies'.

The nurse behind the counter handed him the baggy, dingy white uniform. Though it looked dirty it at least was soft and smelled nice enough, he thought as he took them. He jerked back from the doctor a second later when he tried to take his bag, his panic obvious. The doctor offered a smile, "It's alright, we just have to check some things in the bag. Your not allowed certain items for the first week or two, for your own safety."

The brunette shook slightly as he hugged the bag, wanting to cry as he finally allowed the doctor to take it. He knew it he resisted too much the situation could get worse. Though he had never been to a mental hospital he had heard plenty of horror stories about them. In the past he had loved the aesthetic of old hospitals and asylums, some of his favorite haunted locations were abandoned hospitals after all. He never thought he would end up in one though.

He watched Jimenez open the bag and take every item out as the nurse instructed him to remove his shoes, sense laces weren't allowed he couldn't keep his red converse. Jasper did as asked, though his eyes never left the contents of his bag or the doctor scrutinizing them. He handed a few things to the nurse, Jasper wanting to scream as he tried to pass the nurse the stuffed rabbit and childs blankets from his bag. "Please not those!? I-I need those...please..." The doctor looked at him a moment, before smiling a bit, "I am sorry but we can't let you have these, they would put you at risk. We'll give them back later, but for now they'll be cataloged and safely put in storage for you."

Jasper trembled, shaking his head, "Please please....I-I...Nononono~" He couldn't help the tears or the whimper that left his throat, reaching to grab the items only to be grabbed himself by two large orderlies. He fought them as best he could at the moment, which sadly wasn't much, he was still recovering from his anemia and weak from it. They dragged him crying down to his room at the end of a long white hallway, windows across from the doors. "Please try to calm down Mr. Heartly...I don't want to be forced to medicate you."

In the end they did medicate him, knocking him out completely. Someone changed his clothes in his sleep too, so when he awoke later in the evening he was alone with nothing that was his own. He wasn't even allowed sheets or a blanket to sleep, they thought he would choke himself with them and they were right in the mood he was in. After sobbing several hours he ended up in a corner, staring at the wall.

It must have been around midnight when Jasper finally fell asleep for a bit, sitting up still against the wall. The following day he was taken to therapy after breakfast, forced to talk about his 'problems'. They got very little out of him, he just wasn't willing to tell people he didn't feel he could trust. And he certainly didn't trust the therapist. Afterward he was taken to the dayroom to interact with other patients, though he kept mainly to himself, sitting in the wide seal of a barred window staring out at the empty gardens and the city beyond. He sighed softly and tucked his head into his knees, wanting to be alone instead of in a room of people.

Jasper got his wish at last an hour later when the orderlies took him to his room, to no surprise he did not find his things and again ended up crying for hours before staring at the wall till he passed out. And so it went. Every single day the same for nearly a month. Often he asked about his things, but each time the nurses told him he wasn't ready yet, though they would not explain why. As time went on he slept less and less until one night, sometime neary two or three o-clock he was alerted to something strange when his door opened suddenly. Swinging softly on its hinges till it was open six or so inches. Curious, heart racing, he slept from his bed to pad his bare feet across the floor to it. "Hello...?" He called out in a quiet voice, taking hold of the metal and pulling it farther open and sticking his head out into the moonlite hallway. He didn't see anyone at first and slipped out, investigating it more, some of the other doors were open up and down the hallway. He saw no nurses or doctors or orderlies. No sign of anyone. But there was a smell, thick and heady. Familiar.

He knew this smell because of his husband, having loved it so much. Some might have looked badly on it, but he himself had enjoyed it. His love of blood and drinking it, having shared it with him once and awhile when he wanted it. So used to this smell Jasper almost didn't notice it, but when he did he felt his stomach twist and his heart thud with nerves and emotion. Missing that feeling of closeness with the other. Wanting his rabbit from storage so badly he could almost feel it in his arms.

As if all this was not enough to send him into another sobbing fit, he caught the sound of muttering, heart aching further at the familiar sound. "....Leslie...?" He mumbled in broken disbelief as he followed the sound, finding himself near the end of the hall where it was the loudest. The brunette approached the room, biting his lip, this had to be a dream right? There was no way it was HIS Leslie. One of his beloved husband's alternate personalities.

Pushing the door open he was disappointed to find it was indeed not his Leslie, but a boy with pale hair crouched on the floor near the back wall. Taking a shaky breath, Jasper all the same approached the stranger, smiling a little and kneeling down by the frightened boy. "Hey...It's okay..."

"Scared. Scared. Help. Help. Danger. Danger. Danger." He repeated as if like a broken record. The brunette nibbled his lower lip, sitting down by the boy and rubbing his back a bit like he used to do his Leslie, "I'll help...what can I do?" He tried, wondering how much like Leslie this boy was. "Can you tell me your name?"

The whitette lifted his head a little, unfolding himself a bit to look around the dark room, before ducking again with one hand tangled in his messy hair. The other stretched half toward Jasper, as if trying to show him something.

The brunette tilted his head a bit, noticing the boy's wrist band and taking his hand gently, turning his wrist a bit to catch the light from the open door in order to read it. Almost choking as he read the name a loud, "Leslie...Withers?" The boy nodded and Jasper bit the inside of his mouth harshly, tasting blood, "It's nice to meet you Leslie...I'm Jasper." He introduced himself, gently tugging the boy to him, "Come on, let's go find the nurse huh?"

Jasper managed to get the boy to stand, he was halfway to the door when Leslie stopped, "Danger! Danger! Danger!" He said in an alarmed away, tugging Jasper back. The brunette looked back questioningly, "It's okay I'll protect you." He said reassuringly, "Besides no one's out...there...."

Hazel eyes widened as they caught sight of the shadow stretched up the wall, blocking the light in the door. His heart skipped a terrified beat, following the image along the floor and to the doorway, alighting on the tall figure of a hooded man. His image outlined by the overcast, morning light outside the windows in the hall. Jasper could make out very little of his face in the lighting, but he saw the scars on his hands and his feet, his clothes torn beyond repair around the edges. He could feel the danger rolling off him in waves, his mind screaming to try and run. But they were trapped in the room and this man was blocking the exit.