Murder of the Mind

Sol, age 16

Kano, age 20

Eclipse, age 18

Dr. Steward, age unknown (42)

Melissa, age unknown (31)

*TW for mental and physical abuse, implied sexual assault, forced drug consumption, dehumanization, and probably some other stuff. Just, uh, be really careful. This one's heavy.*

Ready to finally see a tiny little piece of Sol's trauma relating to hospitals, medicine, and doctors?

---

Sol sat in isolation, nodding their head to the steady beat of the clock hanging high on the wall. It provided a steady rhythm, something to focus on besides the white-washed walls. Sol liked it, it was soothing.

Tick, tick, tick...

It could have been peaceful, even, if it weren't for the ever-looming presence of Venus. He stood in the corner of the room, leaning against the wall and watching in mild annoyance. Sol had learned to tune him out for the most part, he really wasn't all that scary when he was yelling or mocking.

Sol kicked their feet and closed their eyes, blocking out everything but the ticking of the clock.

Tick, tick, tick...

If he listened closely, they could make out the cries of other patients. This place was never truly silent, but you got used to it after a few months.

Tick, tick, tick...

And then there was another sound. Footsteps. And they were slowing as they grew closer.

Sol tensed and opened their eyes, glaring at the door, still clinging to the consistency of the clock as the door creaked open slowly.

Tick, tick, tick...

"Sol!" They stayed silent, jaw clenching as a familiar face appeared. Purple eyes with partially black sclera and a gentle smile. A deceitful one. Melissa. "It's good to see you again, darling. How are you feeling?"

They said nothing, eyes flicking to the clipboard in her hand. Melissa only ever came here for one of two reasons. Either to take Sol to social time or therapy, or to take him to The Doctor. Sol didn't like The Doctor. They didn't like Melissa either.

"Still not talking, hm?" Melissa sighed, her false smile souring a little as she made a note on her clipboard.

'I'm telling you, just get rid of her! It'll be better for all of us!'

Venus was talking again, pushing himself off the wall to stand beside Sol. As if he could do anything to get rid of her.

"Right, well, Dr. Steward is waiting to see you. Perhaps he can finally get you some meds that work, make you talk. God knows we can't help you if you don't communicate with us about how you're feeling!" She looked up and smiled brightly while Sol's stomach dropped.

They didn't want to see The Doctor again! He did that last week, wasn't that enough? At least for a little while longer, right? He shouldn't have to go back so soon!

Tick, tick, tick...

Melissa looked up and raised an eyebrow, waving her hand to gesture Sol over. "Well, come on then. You know how Dr. Steward feels about his schedules, let's not be late."

'Don't listen to her. Stay still.'

This time it was Ginny's voice in their ear, a voice he was much more inclined to listen to. He stayed frozen in place, eyes dropping to the ground.

A sigh from the doorway and then the clicking of heels as Melissa approached. Sol braced themself.

Sure enough, Melissa's hand wrapped around his arm, grip much stronger than it probably should have been for someone of her size. "Come on, don't complicate things. Let's go now and there won't be any problems."

A soft growl from Ginny. 'Don't let her touch you.'

He tried to pull away, only to feel the sharp prick of nails digging into his skin. Desperation ran through their body, mixing with fear and a swirl of pain.

"I don't want to go!" Their voice was shrill and childlike as Melissa's false smile finally fell, anger flashing in her eyes.

"Well, you should have thought about that before then. Murders don't get a choice."

Sol froze, throat closing up as Venus chuckled quietly and Ginny's eyes lit with a familiar fury.

'She's right you know, Sol.' Venus taunted, grinning. 'You did this to yourself.'

'Enough, Venus! You know he was trying to kill you, you bastard, and for good reason too!'

Sol's panic grew as they were yanked harshly off his bed, nearly collapsing to the floor as Melissa yanked them up. "Come on, you little brat. Let's see if our genius doctor is capable of fixing someone as broken as you."

'They aren't broken!'

'Sure they are. Have you seen him?'

'Hey guys, did I miss too much?'

'Just in time for the show, Nike, welcome!'

'Sweet!'

'You're both bastards!'

Sol could barely process what was happening as they were half-dragged through the hospital. Past other screaming patients, through halls of overly bright lights, and finally into an all-to-familiar room. The whole time, Ginny, Nike, and Venus argued and Melissa's nails dug hard into their skin, drawing droplets of blood.

Then Melissa was talking, they were released, sagging to the ground, a door slammed shut, and everything froze as a pair of familiar brown shoes appeared.

Even the ghosts fell silent as Dr. Steward knelt, green eyes sparking with mild interest as he grabbed Sol's face and lifted it.

"Good morning, Sol. It's been too long." Frozen in horror, Sol could do nothing but watch as the man examined them for a moment longer before releasing his chin and rising. "Alright, kiddo, up we go!"

His hold was even firmer than Melissa's as he dragged Sol to their feet and shoved him onto the operating chair in the middle of the room.

'Fucking kill him.' Ginny sneered, eyes flashing with utter rage.

'Nah, let him do his thing. It's fun to watch!'

"Melissa said you're not talking again, hm? Why's that? Perhaps your little friends are telling you not to? Or perhaps you've decided you don't like it here? If that's the case, I'd have to wonder why. After all, it's safer that you're here for everyone." He smiled, turning back to Sol with a small cup in hand. "After all, we wouldn't want another accident, would we?"

Sol's hands began to shake and they glared hard at the floor, eyes beginning to sting.

"Oh? Do we not remember? Perhaps I should remind you then. Let's see, where should we start? Perhaps when your brother walked into the scene? You remember that, don't you? You were kneeling over your own father's body, covered in blood with a knife in your hand. thirty-two stab wounds.Thirty-two. That's an impressive number there, kiddo. And the fact that only the last few even struck vital organs? He must have been in so much pain. I mean, I can't imagine. Watching as your own child attacks you over and over. He must have been pleading for his life, don't you think? Pleading for you, Sol, pleading-"

"Stop." His voice was shaky and broken as tears stained their cheeks. "Please, just stop..."

"Oh, now we're talking." Dr. Steward stepped closer, reaching out to take one of Sol's wrists. "That's good. It means you're conscious. Conscious and processing. That's good. I want you processing. Now, tell me, are any of your friends around?"

"No." It was a lie, of course. Everyone was here now, even little Savannah, who stood slightly behind Ginny and watched everything with widened eyes.

"Oh, Sol! Don't lie to me! I don't like liars!" Dr. Steward clicked his tongue. "It's alright. I forgive you, and, because I'm so kind, I have something to help you too. Here."

He rattled the small cup in his hand and smiled. Sol shook their head quickly, they knew what was in that cup. He didn't want what was in there.

"Sol, don't make this more complicated than it has to be." Dr. Steward's tone held a warning edge that made Sol's skin crawl, but they still clenched his jaw and looked away, flinching slightly as the doctor sighed.

'Don't take those. No matter what he does, don't!'

'Oh, come on, Gin! You're ruining the fun!'

'Calm down, Nike, the fighting is all part of the game.'

'Sol? Please be okay. I want to play later. Promise me, please?'

"Sol." They continued clenching his jaw hard and could practically feel Dr. Steward shaking his head disapprovingly. "Fine. Have it your way. Stupid fucking kid."

Panic fully engulfed Sol's mind and body as the doctor's grip suddenly changed. Faster than they could even comprehend, they were shoved down harshly, crying out in pain as Dr. Steward grabbed their throat, tightening his grip as Sol struggled. He pushed their head up and pressed the cup against their lips, waiting until Sol was forced to open their mouth to gasp for air to poor the contents in.

Two pills.

Then, the cup was dropped and the hand used to hold it pressed over Sol's nose and mouth. The hand that had been holding their neck shited again, reaching up to grab his wrist instead, pulling one of Sol's hands away from the doctor's shoulders.

"Fucking dumbass, it didn't have to be this hard. You think you're so entitled to whatever you want. I got news for you, kid, you're a murderer. You're not subject to any freedom whatsoever. You're lucky to be alive at all, as if anything I do could possibly be enough punishment for someone like you."

Tears raced down Sol's cheeks as they were forced to swallow the pills. Around them, the world was alive with noise. Shouting and anger.

'Fucking fight back! Kill him!'

'Ha! Look at you, you're just as pathetic as before!'

'Aww, is someone upset? Poor baby's gonna cry?'

'Run, Sol! Please run! Get away! That man's mean!'

The hands holding him let go and Sol gasped desperately for air, pushing off the chair and trying to scramble away as soon as they were able. However, their legs refused to support him and they fell instead, landing hard on the ground.

A soft chuckle escaped Dr. Steward's throat as he slammed his foot into Sol's back unexpectedly, causing their forehead to hit the ground. "Oh, Sol. I thought you would have learned by now. There's no use in trying to run. I'm sane and you're not. I'm healthy, you're sick. I deal with people like you all day. I always win, now you've just got to let me cure you."

Darkness took hold of the edges of Sol's vision and the last thing they saw before blacking out was the cruel curl of the doctor's lips.

----

By the time everything was done and Melissa returned to fetch Sol for social time, that same, fake smile plastered on her face once more, they'd lost any emotions that had been there previously.

Ginny, Nike, and Savannah had all disappeared once again, only leaving Venus to watch Sol with a satisfied smile as they rose silently and followed Melissa out of Dr. Steward's office and to the common areas.

Other patients lingered there, talking to each other over pieces of art or while watching the same two movies for the hundredth time. Doctors sat around as well, some interacting with patients and others simply observed.

Sol slunk to their usual corner, curling up in a partial ball and hiding away as Melissa greeted one of the other nurses, talking for a moment before walking off. No one really talked to Sol, at least, not usually.

Apparently, today was different. As if things weren't already shitty.

They glanced up as a taller person approached, taking them in as they crouched in front of him and smiled lopsidedly.

Their eyes were a bright bluish-green and their hair was a soft green. Their skin was pale and covered in scars.

A patient then.

"Hey, I'm Kano. It's nice to meet you! Sorry if I'm bothering you, I just wanted to check and see if you were okay. I saw you walk in with Melissa and you looked kinda upset."

Sol watched the other, noting the understanding glint in their eyes. So, after a moment of hesitation, they reached out a hand slowly to accept Kano's introduction.

"I'm fine... My name's Sol..."