Rats in a Maze




All the doctors gathered in the elevator and Jill inserted a pass card into a slot above a row of buttons. The ride to the fourth floor was made in complete silence, each passenger unsure what to say. After an uncomfortable ride, the doors slid open and the group exited out. They all followed Jill down a wide hall and Dave couldn't help but feel a bit awkward under the gaze of another security camera at the far end. "So, Dr. Ebright, what's up with all the key locks and cameras? This place isn't exactly Fort Knox you know," Dave remarked.

Peter rolled his eyes, and Carter searched out the corridor at the objects in question. Cameras always seemed to menacing, just because they meant that someone unseen was keeping track of you. They were mechanical sets of eyes hiding the observer. "This is a new center, but we do a lot of research and have some government funding. So, we have a variety of patients, which do require some tighter measures. However, you get used to it after a while. We want both the doctors and patients to feel safe in their environment." Jill replied with out batting an eyelash.

As Jill continued down the hallway, she kept peering at different corners as if in search of something. "Something wrong, Dr. Ebright?" Mark inquired. Her movements were becoming disconcerting.

"Oh, nothing, it's just, first I can't find Dr. Jeffries, and now this entire floor seems to be vacant," she replied, annoyed.

"Who's Dr. Jeffries?" Carter asked.

"He's a colleague who was going to observe the session. I didn't see him earlier and he was supposed to meet us here. I thought I would spot him walking about," she replied, coming to a stop at a door. "Are patients kept on this level?" Carter asked, trying to keep his mind off the idea that he was about to met Sobriki face to face.

Jill punched a series of numbered buttons above a doorknob and the others followed her in. The group entered what look like a reception room with chairs, a table and a bookshelf. There were some plants in the corner and several awards hanging on the walls. She motioned for them to take a seat, but all the doctors remained standing. "To answer your question, Dr. Carter, this floor is designated for out-patient counseling. Sometimes we review people who have to stand trial and they come to this floor to be interviewed and tested. In- house counseling is done on the 5th floor and the patients all live on the 6th floor. The rest of the levels are for offices and research," Jill explained proudly.

"Are you going bring Sobriki down to this floor?" Carter asked, his voice scratchier as he found his throat becoming dry. It was hard to contain his nervousness.

"Yes, we don't bring outsiders upstairs because it would be disruptive to the careful routines set up for our patients. We don't want to subject them to many new faces." Carter leaned against the wall and nodded his understanding. He could see his friends in the midst of their own thoughts. Peter was staring at his shoes, and Mark and Dave averted their glances to various objects in the room. "Is he in the other room?" Carter asked, peering at a closed door. "Dr. Jeffries will bring him into the adjoining room through another hallway, and then he will come get me and we will join him."

Jill walked over to an intercom and called out Dr. Jeffries' name, but to no avail.She moved over to a window and pulled back some blinds to reveal an empty room.

"One way mirror, neat trick," Dave commented.

Jill raised an eyebrow, "Looks like I'm going to have to look for Dr. Jeffries, he might be running behind in group. If you need anything, just hit the green button. It's a link to the security room on this floor."

"What exactly are your security measures around here?" Peter asked in a hushed voice. He didn't want to cause Carter to be any more uncomfortable then he already was. The surgeon saw all the cameras and locks, but what about the staff? He hated to think that their only means of security were guards with guns.

"Most patients here are on medication, but we have access to Haldol and other fast acting sedatives if a patient becomes agitated. There are always other doctors in the next room and we have guards on each floor who are only a call away," Jill announced. Dr. Ebright placed her hands on her hips, "Everyone just get comfortable and I'll be right back." Jill left the group behind and went in search of her co-worker.

"Wow, she is one fine woman, lucky you," Dave whistled and turned towards Carter. His smile faded, however, when he realized how tactless he sounded. Both Mark and Peter shot looks of disapproval and Carter acted as if he hadn't heard the remark. Peter rubbed his chin thoughtfully, unsure if there was anything that could make this situation any more frustrating. He couldn't imagine the things going through Carter's mind about this encounter. It was like dangling a carrot off a cliff without knowing how far the fall could be. These delays could only add to the stress. Peter decided that there were no words to make this situation any more tolerable, but he took comfort that their presence would make an impact.

Mark on the other hand, could not sit still; he hated therapist offices. He felt a bit hypocritical at times. When Dr. Chen had expressed concerned over Carter's mental heath, Mark's first inclination was to give referrals to counselors that he had never seen himself. He wondered if this meeting would bring some kind of closure for the younger man.

Mark knew he would have a tough time chatting it up with the man who had beaten him in the men's rooms several years ago. He faced whom he thought was the responsible party, but the guy never admitted to the crime and Mark was never absolutely sure who had assaulted him. His attitude towards life changed, Hell, he had become so paranoid that that he bought a gun, but he had not become an addict. His injuries were minor compared to Carter's and a friend had been murdered. Mark felt slightly responsible for someone's death, but that kid had already been shot and he did still believe he had given him an adequate amount of care.

What John Carter went through was an even more terrifying experience, one that he did feel culpability for the situation. He still had no idea what was supposed to take place in this session and certainly they would not be an audience to it. No, Mark couldn't think of any thing to say at this moment.

Dave was feeling a bit restless in the confides of an office with three other co-workers. He decided that just lally galling around was pointless, so he decided it was best to break the silence. "So, Carter my man, what made you decide to do this?"

John shook his head in amazement at Dave's audacity and began to take his coat off. As he stripped off the garment he wondered if he had dressed too formally, if it would pose some kind of threat? He smoothed out his blue dress shirt and fiddled with his striped tie. No, this was what he normally wore, and he would not change the way he dressed because of the possible fearful reaction of another person. Carter knew he was overreacting, but he couldn't keep from questioning his judgment. Mark narrowed his gaze at Malucci and turned to see Carter deep in reflection, as he stared at his own dress shirt. "You having second thoughts, Carter?" He asked.

Carter dropped his tie and looked up, "Uh, no just didn't expect...I don't know... all of this," Carter waved his hands around the room.

"It is a bit overwhelming, but I'm sure an hour from now, you'll be feeling a whole lot better," Mark responded.

Xxxxxxx 20 Minutes Later

Carter was losing patience with the waiting game. Dr. Ebright had been gone for some time and it was getting on his nerves. To make matters worse, his three co-workers were not dealing with the aggravation any better, and somehow this was making things worse. Carter had asked his friends to go home, but all of them were being stubborn. Somehow it seemed that having a support system was very annoying at this moment. Mark had hit the button on the intercom and even Peter had tried signaling security, but so far no one had responded.

Pacing the small office was only making him even more irritated,so finally, Carter faced his friends. "Look guys, I'm going to locate Dr. Ebright and find out what's going on."

Carter was headed towards the door when Dave jumped out of his seat, "Hey Carter, I'll help you look for her," Dave said enthusiastically.

"Dave, I can look for her by myself. I don't need your help."

Carter twisted the doorknob and looked at it dumbly when it wouldn't open. The thing just buzzed at him, and he realized he didn't know the code to enter in order to leave.

Dave smiled and put his hand on John's shoulder, "Step aside and let an expert through." Dave grinned and punched in four numbers and turned the knob to open the door and reveal the hallway. Carter just stared at him and suppressed a groan. Mark, on the other hand spoke up, "How did you do that, Dave?" "Simple, I just paid attention to what buttons she hit. Never know when it may come in handy. After you, Carter."

John stood in the doorway, "We'll be right back." And Malucci followed him out of the room.

"So, which way you want to go?" Dave asked eagerly Carter looked at the direction which lead them to the reception room and peered in the opposite direction. "Let's so go this way," and the duo started walking down the large hallway. Carter would approach a door and knock on it, then pound on it to no avail. It was becoming almost eerie how the entire floor seemed to be abandoned. 'Where were the doctors or the staff?' The older resident pondered. It was unlikely that such a large facility would be so empty without a staff member in sight. 'Where was the supposed security?' With each room that they could not enter, Carter began to get nervous about the situation. It was like an episode of the 'Twilight Zone' where everyone disappeared off the face of the earth. It was the silence that was so bothersome. Deciding that this whole day had just been one disaster after another, John turned around to go back to the room and tell everyone to go home. Dave felt like he was in the middle of a Scooby Doo mystery and when he saw his friend abandon what seemed like a very cool encounter, he wasn't going to let that happen. "Whoa Carter, let's keep digging. We can't just stop looking for Dr. Ebright this is just so..."

Carter spun around, "It's so what, Dave? Listen, I didn't want to come here at first, I didn't want anyone of you to come here. So, let's just call it a day and all get back to our normal lives," Carter said in a loud voice. Dave was pretty tired of taking Carter's abuse for one day, "Why did you come here in the first place if you're not willing to see it through?" He asked in all seriousness.

Before John could respond, Dave got an excited gleam in his eyes, "You hear that?"

Carter watched as his friend dashed back down the hallway. Irritated, but intrigued, he ran after Dave. "Hear what?"

The taller man caught up to the eager resident, "What are you doing, Dave?"

Malucci stopped in front of a door near the end of the hallway, "I swear I heard something coming from in here."

Dave peered down at the door and noticed that it wasn't closed all the way. He pointed at the door and motioned with his fingers to his lips to keep quite. Carter shook his head infanticly. This wasn't a good idea, but that didn't seem to phase Dave. Dave casually pushed the door open and walked into the room. Seconds after entering the area he was grabbed roughly from the side and shoved hard into a cabinet. His right shoulder took the brunt of the impact, sending a sharp pain down his arm. Dazed, he fell to the floor, landing on his knees. Instinct took over, and despite how he felt, Dave got up ready to defend himself against whoever had thrown him. He stood up and brought his fists up, but unclenched them immediately and kept his hands in the air to show he didn't pose a threat, as soon as he saw Carter standing in the room with a gun aimed at his head. "Go ahead and try something. Then your buddy will have no need for any kind of therapy."

Dave saw the guard from downstairs armed with an automatic standing behind Carter, "Take it easy dude, everything's cool," Dave tried to calm the other man. The guard's face hardened at his words, "You see not everything is `cool'. Because of you guys, the Colonel isn't very happy with me. Made me come up here and take care of the people I let slip by. Got to take care of my screw ups, he said." The guard closed the space between himself and Carter and placed the barrel of the gun right to the back of his head. He placed his left hand on Carter's shoulder to push him forward. "Now, I'm going to be in disfavor, because you wouldn't take a hint and leave," the guard growled.

Carter was forced further in the room and Dave was uncertain as to what he should do. He glanced at Carter, whose faced betrayed a mixture of terror and disbelief at what was transpiring. A drop of sweat rolled down his forehead and to his chin and he kept his hands in the air in the same manner as the other doctor.

Carter tried to remain as calm as possible to keep the gunman from getting nervous and pulling the trigger. He sensed that Dave was itching to try something, but he knew the other resident wasn't willing to do anything risky. The guard, or whoever he was, continued to press the gun to his head, it was a sensation that caused him absolute terror.

"All right kids, where are your other two buddies?" The guard asked.

Carter stared at Dave, trying to indicate that in no certain terms should he reveal the location of Peter and Mark.

The guard was not a patient man and he pushed Carter down on his knees as he locked eyes with Dave. "Now's not the time to keep your mouth shut, fella. Now tell me where your friends are, or I'll blow Dr. Carter's brains out and then I'll simply ask you again."

Dave swallowed hard, "We don't know. We...ah were separated and I was out walking around when I saw Carter in the hallway..." Dave shot a pleading look in Carter's direction to help with the story.

"Yea, Dr. Ebright left me in a meeting room and when she didn't show up, I went to search for her and ran into Dave and..."

"Then we both decided to look for Dr. Ebright together and we got lost and..." Dave contiued scanning his brain for anything else to say to the gunman. "Got lost, did you?" The gunmen sneered.

Carter could hear him pulling back on the cock, and sensing that he was about to die, he let his adrenaline kick in. Acting on a survival instinct, Carter threw himself to the left and scrambled away. Dave saw Carter's death flash before his eyes as the gunman pulled back the trigger to prove his point. Suddenly his friend ducked to the left, startling the guard. After Carter crawled away, the guard aimed his gun on the retreating man and Dave lunged at him. Malucci dove right into the gunman knocking him to the ground. As soon as he was on the floor, Dave noticed in the ensuing scuffle that the gun was no longer in the guard's possession. Thinking that he was getting the upper hand, Dave began to punch the gunman wherever he could.

The guard only grunted and grabbed Malucci by the neck and wrapped his massive hands around Dave's throat. He squeezed tightly, cutting off Dave's air supply and thus ceasing his efforts to attack the much bigger man. The guard let go with his right hand to smash it into Dave's face. The younger doctor felt the massive fist crash into his face and he fell to the floor. He gasped for breath, and tried to compose himself. His face and shoulder were throbbing and he was dizzy from the chokehold the gunman had on him.

Carter was like a deer caught in the headlights when he saw Dave struggle with the guard who managed to get to his feet. He was unsure what to do to help his friend out in the fight. Carter thought the best way to contain the situation would be to find the gun. He saw it lying a few inches away and he crawled along the floor to retrieve it.

Just as his hand touched the weapon, a massive boot was brought down on his hand.The first thing that registered in his mind was blinding pain lancing through his fingers and into his hand. Carter cried out, as white lightning burned through several bones that he could feel snap under the pressure of a 200 pound plus man. Carter looked up to see the guard smirk as he ground his boot methodicly to the left and then to the right. The agony was so bad that Carter's eyes watered from it. The guard laughed as he removed his boot and bent down to retrieve his gun and resume his original plan. But this time, he was going to slowly kill the doctor whose hand he had just crushed, and make his friend watch.

Just as the guard's fingers brushed against the weapon, he heard a movement above him. The guard peered up in time to see Dave bring down a plaque onto his head. Dave grunted in satisfaction when the award he yanked off the wall connected with the man's head and he crumbled to the ground unconscious. "That's for punching me, you asshole." The triumphant doctor then drew his attention to Carter, who lay on the ground in a heap, cradling his injured hand. "Oh, man. What the Hell is going on around here?" Dave asked himself as he rushed to his friend's side.



Part 4
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