The Asylum for Wayward Girls and Boys

Within the darken and dreary streets of London in the 1800s, great disease had broken out and spread rapidly around the country. Whether mental or physical, at the time they were often uncurable, remedies replaced instead by having young women and men being whisked away from their homes and families and placed into what was known as The Asylum. With no other explanation as to why they were there, all they knew is that they were sick and needed help. All that they were left with was a suitcase which had to be checked for anything that would harm themselves or others, and the clothes on their backs which were quickly replaced with a nightgown to wear during their stay.

A horse-drawn carriage rode into the dark, rainy night, the horse's hooves clacking against the cobblestones as he was commanded to go faster. Inside the small carriage was a man riding with what looked like his daughter; a pale looking young girl with long blond hair and blue eyes. She stayed silent, staring down at the bandages wrapped around both of her arms.

The coach man slowed the carriage as they pulled up towards the gates of a large, tall building, old and crumbling. There were bars on every window and what looked like a room on every floor. The building seemed to reach all the way up to the sky. The young girl looked out of the window of the carriage and up at the large building. She seemed to not have any feelings towards what was going on at that moment. The carriage stopped and the man got out, and from the tall old building came a woman in white. She took one arm of the girl while her father took the other, and she was dragged into the building. This was her new home. The home known as The Asylum.

Floor Order as follows
Basement-Morge
Ground floor Level 1-Offices and Admission
Level 2-Girls Floor
Level 3-Girls Floor
Level 4-Solitary
Level 5-Boys Floor
Level 6-Boys Floor
Level 7-Surgery
Level 8-Therapy
Level 9-Warden's Office and Room
Level 10-Storage Attic

Filthy stringy hair fell over her face as she walked down the dimly lit corridor. Bandages covered her shoeless feet as she trudged along, gripping the dingy wall to keep her balance. Her gaze was constantly fixed on the floor, watching her feet before her. The once pale gown she wore was tattered and covered in stains of every kind. Doctors and nurses walked by and seemed not to notice her, not that she minded terribly; if she didn’t bother them they wouldn’t hurt her and drag her to the “bad” ward. She’d been taken there once, about a year ago to be precise. She was in a cold damp room alone for weeks until they took her out to another room with a cold table. She couldn’t remember what happened in that room, nor did she want to. After the visit to the “bad” ward she’d always had trouble standing upright without help. She couldn’t show the doctors because if she did, they would assume the worst, and probably put here there again…like a broken toy. They thought they could fix her, even with nothing wrong. There was nothing wrong with her…she didn’t know why she was here…nothing wrong…

Her eyes slowly lifted their gaze to the edge of the corridor where it was rumored stairs existed. Slowly she edged her body to the area, careful not to be noticed.

He’d been there for as long as he could remember, which given the state of his rather broken memory, could have been anywhere between several years and several weeks. Either way, he’d grown accustomed to seeing new faces passing by his room...or what he thought were new faces. They could easily have been the same people walking by over and over again; he never bothered to memorise them. The small window in the door didn’t allow for much of a view into the corridor, and in a way he was thankful; if no one could see in, he was free to remain in his own little world, the world which had made him into a ‘dangerous individual’. He didn’t remember who said that, only that he found it hilarious at the tim. He smiled at the thought.

He didn’t relish the idea of being thrown into freezing water again, even less so the electroshock therapy, but as he sat on the cold floor beside the door clutching a makeshift ‘knife’ he’d fashioned from bits of furniture in the room, the sight of the one thing he loved most would make it all worth it. Death. His true obsession. His grey-blue eyes wandered up to the door, eagerly waiting to see the small hatch open and a face on the other side. By the time they saw him lunge towards the opening, it would be too late; a blade in the face doesn’t leave much chance for survival.

He heard several pairs of footsteps, and the sound of someone being...dragged? He stood, trying to get a good look out into the corridor. Being a little taller than your average person, he had to lean down slightly to look through the small window, and even then the view wasn’t brilliant. It looked like the window hadn’t been cleaned since...well...ever. He spent a minute or so trying to see (unsuccessfully), before a blurred shape blocked his line of sight. The hatch opened, and he took his chance.

The girl looked around, the man who escorted her inside appeared to be too busy talking to the nurse to notice her, "She's far too gone for me to do anything with her, I was hoping you could take her in" he said to the nurse as she kept nodding checking it down on her clipboard.
Alice the young girl saw her chance and while they were not looking she sneaked away from the two of them and headed down the corridor.

One of her arms reached before her, feeling the wall for a niche or crevice. Usually before doors there was some indention in the wall to indicate its existence. There. She touched it. A crevice in the wall. Her bandaged feet edged even closer to the opening in the wall, her eyes once again fixed on them. She seemed invisible to everyone else on the floor, which was a good thing. She wanted to see outside, to see a new face. Perhaps there would be a kind soul hiding in the shadows to embrace her and tell her she was loved. She couldn’t remember the last kind glance she’d received from anyone. The dark stairwell was deserted as her foot edged onto the step directly below her. I can do it…find someone… she thought as she gripped the metallic railings. Someone…who…kind…person…face…warm….someone to… her mind was racing with too many thoughts.

Alice kept running down the corridor. she wasn't looking where she was going because she kept glancing over her shoulder to see if anyone was following. she stopped when she hit the railings of a staircase. "OUF!" she cried out from the impact.

A sudden noise toward the bottom of the steps caused the girl to jump. Her eyes opened wide and she began to race down the stairs, swiftly, yet silently. She turned a corner and almost jumped when she spied a girl. A blonde girl. She raised her head and proceeded carefully down the stairs, not wanting to scare away this new person, this new face. She tried to speak but her voice had left her. Trembling with excitement and nervousness she stood at the top of the flight she was on, observing the disoriented girl below. Her hair shook as her body trembled, leaving her face barely visible. someone…

He heard it before he saw it, felt resistance on the knife as it came into contact with the face of the doctor on the other side. The door frame stopped him reaching out any further, and the hilt slipped out of his fingers. He heard the dull thud of a body hitting the stone floor, and laughed. He couldn't help himself, he just laughed. It was the most glorious sound he'd heard all day, and he wasn't going to let it end there. With his arm now outside of the door, he reached downwards and broke the already rusted, badly kept lock. The sharp metal made his hands bleed, but he was far too happy to care.

He brought his arm back through the hatch and put his shoulder to the door, using his weight to push it open. It scraped along the ground, making a loud screeching sound and forcing the body on the other side out of the way. He took a deep breath; the air wasn't exactly fresh, but it was nicer than being cooped up in a small room. Shouts and loud footsteps roused his attention as multiple workers ran towards the disturbance. He grabbed the knife, wrenching it from the skull of the now dead doctor, before turning and running in the opposite direction, taunting guards with cries of "come and get me!"

Alice pulled back after hitting the stair railings and winced slightly in pain. Amazed that no one had followed her or heard the loud thumping noise she made when running into the stairs she began to look around. she looked up at the flight of stairs and saw a girl standing there, Alice stood there silent not knowing what to do or if she should say something.

Her lips parted slowly, cracking as she forcefully contorted them to make words. “H….hello….” she managed to say. She stood there still trembling, afraid that the new person would leave her. In her mind the girl looked like the loveliest thing she’d laid eyes upon. Perhaps it was because she wasn’t cold and made of stone or metal…or perhaps because she had lovely hair. Who was to say? A foot slowly moved forward and took another step down, coming closer to the new being. “y-you…you…are new….a-aren’t you..?” she managed to say with great difficulty.

Alice only stood at the bottom of the stairs and stared at her. she was slightly afraid to say anything, not being allowed to talk for so long because of her condition. she started slowly "y-y...yes..." she finally uttered.

Her lips contorted into a broken smile, sweet, but sad all the same. She stepped down again, slowly, getting closer still to the new girl. “w-where….where….” she managed to say. She sighed, then began again. “Where….are you…from…girl?”. Her voice shook, it seemed like she hadn’t spoken in years. She took another step down, her body trembling even more from excitement. The girl hadn’t run. This was good. This was very good.

The sudden shock of adrenaline kept him running, laughing as he flung himself through doorways, slashing at anything and everything that moved with the now cracked blade. He was headed downwards, taking steps two at a time. Though he was physically weak, he knew he was faster than any of the guards the asylum had. The stair railings rattled as he ran downwards, exiting into the girl's floor. He had no idea where he was going, but going downwards meant an exit. The sound of footsteps turned into thundering as more workers pursued him, bearing the brunt of his continued taunts and loud curses.

"E-essex.." Alice muttered after a short pause. Her gaze shot up suddenly at the top of the stairs "D-do you hear that?..." she asked the girl in front of her, hearing the roaring of the flight above them and the shaking of the railings.

Her eyes shifted behind her. “Run” she whispered, stepping all the way down the steps. “Are you daft, girl? I SAID RUN! SOMEONE ESCAPED AGAIN!” she yelled perfectly clear. Her voice boomed and echoed through the stairwell. She jumped off the last step and sent her body from zero into top speed as she raced down the empty administration corridor, hoping the Alice had followed, and fearing she hadn’t. She closed her eyes and ran…just ran.