"Midway upon the journey of life, I found myself within a forest dark, for the straightforward pathway had been lost."
― Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy
― Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy
'Tranquil Springs Mental Health Facility: Where hope can be found!'
Or so the sign at the front of the paved driveway stated. Sitting left of the mile long stretch of road to the main facility, the sign for Tranquil Springs had seen better days. Dirt and grime caked on the old wooden slab, while the thick, golden painted letters had lost all sense of their intended luster. The paint had begun to chip and dry out, the outline of forest green and white base coating now revealing a good portion of the dry rotted wood underneath. Much to the chagrin of Superintendent John Simms, who oversees the daily operations of the facility, the sign is also lopsided. After a screw had come loose, a valiant few had tried in vain to return the wooden eye-sore to a level position. After a while it was decided that to alleviate the signs sideways nature, there would need to be a replacement slab of wood. But the budget was running thin as it was.
And so, the sign remained an eyes-sore.
That is not to say, the rest of the actual facility was much better than its sign. After traversing the mile of uneven concrete roadway, which was slowly becoming broken and cracked and bumpy by the mass of roots from the trees in the surrounding forest trying to retake its natural appearance, the main facility could be seen next to a man made lake. Its off-white and green coloring appeared to try and match the forest around it. It didn't succeed in the least. The only building that didn't seem like the original architects tried to camouflage it from the wildlife was, oddly enough, the only building that appeared natural in the area.
A large security tower, to be exact. Its steel grey coloring, and larger, obnoxious antenna who's very tip flashed red over and over, pulsating like a fading heartbeat that refused to cease. It was the control center for the facility, and with a brief radio transmission any number of functions could be accessed. From power, to lights, to even the doors and the main gate itself. If the tower didn't want you to leave...well, you weren't leaving.
The yard was in bloom, but that wasn't much of anything to speak about. Most of the plants were dead. The grass was a pretty green, though, which struck everyone who passed through the yard a little odd. What was worse, the residents of Tranquil Springs seemed to like the grass the way it was. So much so, there was an extra amount of mentally ill wailing from the grounds if any of the live-ins caught sight of so much as one blade of dead grass. This prompted staff to create a rule that during winter, all window shudders were to be closed. No exceptions.
The rooms of Tranquil springs were actually quite nice. Aside the obnoxious shade of baby blue and bubblegum pink to split the genders of the facility up, they had all the amenities of a bachelor pad without the kitchen. Or bachelorette, as the case is for our tale.
Today is an odd day. Even for a crazy house in the middle of nowhere.
In a particular room, on the top level of Tranquil springs, sits a girl who's life may not be normal. But who's life will become all the stranger still.