Off With Her Head

Chapter 1: “Down the rabbit hole”

Date: July 26, 1951        Time: 10:47 am         Patient name: Alice Noel Lidell 

Sex: female      Age: 27            Patient number: 1000010659748    

Psychiatric Nurse: Patricia Langton (see back for nurse application)

History: Ms. Lidell is a 27 year old Caucasian woman. Never married, no children, and no known living family. Her parents are said to have been killed mysteriously while Ms.Lidell was still a child, hence her upbringing at the Barnardo’s Children's Home. She was sent awat at the age of 16. She worked as a waitress at Wilton's Restaurant and had taken residency with 6 friends (listed on back) who were also from the orphanage. 

Symptoms: Ms. Lidell has suffered from headaches, stomach pains, vomiting, and body aches. From what we have observed of her, she is also hearing voices in the midnight and has been seen following her “new friends” who we assume are a symptom of her hallucinations (She has had no contact with any other patient as far as we know)

Accusations: Ms. Lidell is believed to have brutally murdered her friends on Friday 13th at 8:30 pm. She was taken into custody at 10:00 after being seen wandering the streets covered in blood. When initaly questioned, she continually repeated the phrase “wait for me rabbit.'' Being seen as unfit for a trial, she has been sent here (Bedford Asylum) to be evaluated. 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  

“ And…you want me to review her files, why…?” Richard Golding asked his superior, tapping his foot aggravatedly against the floor. In all his long (read: short) years of working as a psychiatric analyst, he was never tasked with reviewing a case, much less a case involving suspected manslaughter. 

“I think it’ll do you some good, and you're the only one free at the moment.” He handed Rich the hefty stack of files. “It shouldn’t take you long, maybe a week at max.” 

Rich glared down at the stack, trying to estimate how much work he would have to suffer through for the next few days. The stack itself was about five inches thick, and Rich could identify several loose polaroids and paperclips struggling to escape their manila-padded prison. “How much is my pay going up for this?”

“None, you're free labor. Now get on it, before your pay goes into the negatives.”

“On it, Boss.” Rich gave a weak salute and sighed, making his way back to his office. 

 He flung the stack onto his desk, deading the daunting task ahead. He stared at the files one last time, and proceeded to go to  the only person in this god-forsaken  building who he could confine with,  Mrs. Amanda Reed, the front desk secretary who also happened to be his best friend. The trip didn’t take long, he found her under her desk, apparently looking for something. “You need any help?” 

He watched her head fly up and slam against the top of the desk. “HOLY SHI- god, give me a warning if you're going to be a creep.” She sat back on her heels and glared up at Rich.  He offered his hand guiltily and helped heave her up. She straightened her shirt and sat down in her chair as Rich leaned over the desk. “ What lovely thing can I help you with…” Amanda glanced at her watch, “ at 10:16 this morning.”  

“I got a new case bu-”

“ THAT'S GOOD RIGHT???” Richard sighed with fond exhaustion at her eagerness. She was ecstatic when she heard he was hired here, and was always happy to see him get his own work. “Who's it for? Or ummm, whose file was it?” she was leaning down on her own elbows now, her eyes shining with curiosity. 

“I think the name was Alie….no…ummm Alex no.…Alice! The name was Alice. Alice Lidell.” Unknown to Richard, the name made something akin to terror wrench into Amanda's heart. “I  haven't gotten a chance to look into it yet but it’s a lot. Like, each folder is an inch thick.  I'm trying to piece together how long its gonna take me to finish and if I wasnt coming down much I wanted to let you know wh-” 

Richard stopped and stared at Amanda’s face. What was once filled with wonder now looked like stone. Her eyes seemed hazed over and her body seemed to be slightly trembling. “Manda? Amanda, hey eyes up here. Hello…?” He waved his hand in her face, receiving sluggish blinks in return. He reached out to shake her shoulder gently before she violently jerked back and crashed into her chair. He ran around the desk and took her head in his hands. 

“ What the hell was that? Hey, hey I'm right here. I need you to tell me what's wrong.” Her gaze finally locked on him and she took a  trembling breath. 

“Im- Im fine I just- um.” 

“The hell you are. What was that? You just zoned out on me what happe-”

“ I don't know Rich, i just…that name it just-”

“Just what?” he shook her head slightly and she grabbed his wrist. “ I don't know what that was, but I promise you it's fine, just a little jumpy. I might’ve hit my head harder than i thought.” She gave a humorless laugh and removed his hands. 

“You should uhhh…you should go start. I'll catch you later, yeah?” she didn't wait for an answer before giving Rich a light push and turning to her desk. Richard stood there a few mere seconds before listening to her words and going back down the hall he came. 

-ello , goodbye! I'm late, I'm late, I'm late. 

Richard glanced around the hall for the sing-song voice. He saw a faint shadow running down the hall, turning right. Rich didn't know if it was an intern or not, but he did know that there was a deadend at the end of that hall. 

“That's a dead end bud. I can help you if you w-'' He paused all movement and stared at the wall. He could have sworn he had heard someone talking, or singing actually. He glanced around and something in the corner caught his eye. He could see it was gold and shiny and could hear  faint ticking sounds. He reached down to grab it but it was violently pulled away, centimeters away from his hand. He jerked up, taken aback. 

He rubbed his eyes with his hand and sighed. He glared at the corner waiting for something else to happen, but the shadows remained unmoving. Slowly turning around, he walked back to his own little domain and slammed the door shut. The files sat dead center on his desk, undisturbed and begging to finally be opened. He felt his body tense and an unsettling feeling burrow into his bones as he opened the first folder.