Insane

• Sarah Baker, Grade 6J, Jells Park Primary School
• Short Story
• 2016

Excellence Award in the 'Top Secret 2016' competition

To: Patient 1076; Nameless
New York Mental Hospital 10004
Admitted: 2015.9.4 0900

He cocked the gun. You stepped back in fear and sorrow. "You don't have to do this...." you choked out. But he didn't listen. His grey eyes glittered dangerously in the dim light. I watched from the chair, bound and gagged. I struggled, the coarse ropes digging into my already raw flesh. I looked to you. You were as pale as a ghost, your chin quivering uncontrollably. I bit back my tears, as did you. You closed your eyes firmly, clenching your fists, accepting your fate. A single tear left a trail down your cheek. He laughed hysterically at you, his fingers tightening on the trigger. You cringed. I looked away. BANG!!!!! I looked back at you slowly, bracing myself for the shock of the scene in front of me. But my thoughts were interrupted when I saw you standing, your mouth agape, looking in shock at the slumped figure before you. You let out a long, strangled breath that you didn't know you'd been holding. He was dead....

The coroner sighed. He signalled for his intern to start taking notes. "Victim has been shot from a close range, about 3 metres, into the left chest cavity. Weapon was most likely a Glock 9mm, using a 115g FMJ bullet given that the bullet has shattered on entry." the coroner confirmed. "Victim died at approximately 0300 hours, at the scene. Victim has not been identified at the present...." he stopped abruptly, as the doors of the autopsy room swung open. A young woman with long, crimson hair and deep emerald eyes strode purposefully in. It was you. You raised the black metal weapon to eye height. "Get on the ground!" you demanded, gesturing fiercely with your weapon of destruction. The pair obeyed, silently. "Now, destroy the body, and get me a ticket out of here!" you snarled. They abided by the conditions of their survival. You made an escape shortly after, but what you didn't know, was that I was following you ever since that fateful 'incident'.

I saw you with your blood soaked hands, your murder weapon and your mock horror. I suspected your criminal offences from the start. The Commissioner didn't believe me, so I had to prove him wrong. I was the one person that you trusted for all the wrong reasons. The person you thought you were protecting that fateful morning, the one who was bound to the chair. At that moment, I even forgot about your devilish acts. I wanted to save you. But, alas, I was the person that would eventually put you in this mental hospital in which you belong.

Letter to Patient written by:
Police Supt. Amelia Parkes
New York Police Department 10002