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Description
Amanda awoke, a smile breaking out across her face. She eagerly hopped up from the bed. Dressing quickly she hurried from her room. She was looking forward to seeing Coco, the name she had given the chocolate Lab. It was one of her favorite activities of the day. She could spend hours just sitting there petting the dog. It calmed her.

She made her way to the rec room. Coco was snoozing in the reading corner at Jane’s feet. Amanda whistled low. Coco’s ears perked up immediately and she bounded across the room barking excitedly. She jumped up, her massive paws hitting Amanda in the stomach. It knocked the breath from her every time, but she didn’t mind.

“How ya doing girl?” Amanda said, rubbing Coco’s tummy as the dog lay down at her feet and rolled over. The dog barked happily in response. Amanda giggled before making her way towards Jane.

“They really need to get a new selection in here.” Jane sighed, placing the book she had been reading back onto the shelf. “I’ve read these books a dozen times. Each.” She shook her head, smiling as Amanda joined her.

Amanda was about to respond but a voice rang out above the noise in th rec room.

“Alright girls, its time for breakfast. Make your way back to your rooms. Your food will be waiting on your bed.” A nurse spoke loudly. “ You will be let out after you have eaten all of your meal.” She walked off back the way she came.

Amanda and the other stood making their way to their rooms. As she was leaving the rec room Amanda felt a cold nose nudge her hand. Coco walked behind her. The Lab had her tail tucked between her legs and was whining. Her sad blue eyes pierced Amanda, making her sad to leave the dog alone.

“It’s okay girl, I’ll be right back.” Amanda patted the Lab’s head reassuring her that she wouldn’t be gone long.

A few minutes later Amanda was tapping on her door to get the nurse’s attention. She had forced the lumpy gray oatmeal down and was ready to get back to the “dog therapy”. She loved having Coco in the asylum. The Lab made everything better.

The nurse walked to her door, inspecting the steel tray Amanda held up to the barred window set in the door.The nurse nodded her head, ruffling through the key ring she held in her hand. Finally finding the right key Amanda smiled as the nurse unlocked the door. It swung open and she headed off back to the rec room.

Her smile slid slowly off of her face. It was replaced by a look of confusion. Coco wasn’t in the rec room.

“I was only gone for 15 minutes. I wonder where she could have gotten to.” Amanda whispered to herself.

She began searching around for her. Calling the Lab’s name and whistling, she wandered out of the rec room and down one of the hallways. Amanda heard a faint whining farther down the hall she walked. ‘Coco must have gotten lost.’ Amanda continued on down the hall. About halfway down the hallway the lights were dimmed. It was an abandoned hall. None of the rooms were occupied so there was no reason for the institution to worry about getting someone out here to fix it.

Amanda continued on, whistling and calling to Coco. Small red drops began appearing on the cold concrete as she walked. Her heart sank, and with a horrible gnawing suspicion Amanda bent down to run her finger through a red smear. She brought her red stained finger up to her eyes, squinting at the substance.

She felt her stomach heave when she realized it was blood. She stood back up, this time sprinting down the hallway. The flickering lights became more menacing the deeper she went. Consistent drops of blood stained the gray stone floor. Tears began to forcibly fall from her eyes as Amanda called out to the Lab. She could hear a very faint feeble whining.

Drops of blood gave way to small puddles. Amanda cried out, pushing her feet to go faster. She reached the end of the hall. A janitors closest loomed ominously. The whining was barely audible at this point. She approached the door slowly. She put a hand on the door, taking a huge breath in. She’d never been so scared to open a door. She didn’t want to see what waited on the other side.

‘If Coco is in trouble she needs someone to be strong and help her.’ Amanda took in a huge breath and opened the door. She screamed, bring her hand up to her mouth in terror.

Coco lay in a large pool of her own blood. Her stomach had been split open about 5 inches. Her intestines lay on the floor in front of her. She looked up at Amanda, her blue eyes crying out for help. Amanda dropped to the blood stained floor. Her knees immediately becoming soaked in the dogs lifeblood as it drained from its body. She fluttered her hands around the dog, unsure of how, if at all possible, to help.

“Somebody help!” Amanda sobbed. She looked around, trying to find something to wrap around Coco’s belly to help keep her intestines from spilling out even more. She spotted a glinting object. She brought it up to her line of view. It was a scalpel coated in blood.

Amanda called out again for someone to help. Tears streamed down her face. She gingerly petted the Lab’s muzzle, trying to ease the dog’s death. The faint sound of shouts and footsteps could be heard.

“It’s okay. Everything will be alright.” Amanda repeated this mantra more to herself then to the Lab.

Amanda registered shouts and screams behind her. Nothing else really mattered to her at this point though. She felt Jane bend down next to her, resting her hand on her shoulder.

“She’s gone. There is nothing else for you to do.” Jane whispered.

Amanda felt a hand grab her roughly and yank her to her feet. The bald orderly shook her, his face a few inches from her own. He was beet red and spit flew from his mouth as he yelled at her. She was too numb to immediately register what he was saying. Then it hit home. He was accusing her of murdering the dog!

Two more orderlies rushed to where the dead dog now lay. They each grabbed Amanda’s forearm and hauled her away from the closet. She glanced back to see Jane looking after her, a look of worry and tears on her face. The orderlies hauled her off, through the hallway. Through the rec room and past the woman’s wing.

“Where are we going?” Amanda asked. Neither of the orderlies would answer her. They kept their stony expressions turned forward. The trio walked down a huge flight of stairs, leading to the lowest floor of the institution. There were no windows down here.

She was walked to a windowless door. The orderly opened it and ushered Amanda inside. There were no windows in the room either. A faint yellow light barely provided enough light for the room. Amanda stood frozen in the middle of the room, her eyes wide and her breathing shallow. She’d always fought with claustrophobia since a young age. This room was like being shoved in a small closet.

She could practically feel the walls closing in on her. Amanda fell to the floor the full realization of what had happened finally hitting her. She lay on the floor, curling into the fetal position and crying. She cried for Coco, for Jane, for herself, for having spent the last 4 months in the asylum.

Time seemed to stand still.

Amanda lost track of how long she lay there crying. There was no way to tell time down here. She stood up, wiping her eyes. She made her way to the bed, sitting on the edge. Her goal now was to figure out who had killed Coco. She was sure she was led there to be framed for killing the Lab.

“I’m a patient so there is no way I could have access to medical equipment. The only ones allowed to touch that would be the nurses and the doctor.” Amanda mused aloud. She wondered what nurse would hate the dog enough to want it dead. “Damn this whole thing has given me a horrible headache.” She pressed her fingers against her temple.

“Well there is no way I’m going to be able to figure it out locked in this room.” She shrugged. She laid out on the paper thin mattress, staring up at the dull light. Her eyelids grew heavy with each passing second. Soon she was asleep.

Description
Amanda awoke, a smile breaking out across her face. She eagerly hopped up from the bed. Dressing quickly she hurried from her room. She was looking forward to seeing Coco, the name she had given the chocolate Lab. It was one of her favorite activities of the day. She could spend hours just sitting there petting the dog. It calmed her.

She made her way to the rec room. Coco was snoozing in the reading corner at Jane’s feet. Amanda whistled low. Coco’s ears perked up immediately and she bounded across the room barking excitedly. She jumped up, her massive paws hitting Amanda in the stomach. It knocked the breath from her every time, but she didn’t mind.

“How ya doing girl?” Amanda said, rubbing Coco’s tummy as the dog lay down at her feet and rolled over. The dog barked happily in response. Amanda giggled before making her way towards Jane.

“They really need to get a new selection in here.” Jane sighed, placing the book she had been reading back onto the shelf. “I’ve read these books a dozen times. Each.” She shook her head, smiling as Amanda joined her.

Amanda was about to respond but a voice rang out above the noise in th rec room.

“Alright girls, its time for breakfast. Make your way back to your rooms. Your food will be waiting on your bed.” A nurse spoke loudly. “ You will be let out after you have eaten all of your meal.” She walked off back the way she came.

Amanda and the other stood making their way to their rooms. As she was leaving the rec room Amanda felt a cold nose nudge her hand. Coco walked behind her. The Lab had her tail tucked between her legs and was whining. Her sad blue eyes pierced Amanda, making her sad to leave the dog alone.

“It’s okay girl, I’ll be right back.” Amanda patted the Lab’s head reassuring her that she wouldn’t be gone long.

A few minutes later Amanda was tapping on her door to get the nurse’s attention. She had forced the lumpy gray oatmeal down and was ready to get back to the “dog therapy”. She loved having Coco in the asylum. The Lab made everything better.

The nurse walked to her door, inspecting the steel tray Amanda held up to the barred window set in the door.The nurse nodded her head, ruffling through the key ring she held in her hand. Finally finding the right key Amanda smiled as the nurse unlocked the door. It swung open and she headed off back to the rec room.

Her smile slid slowly off of her face. It was replaced by a look of confusion. Coco wasn’t in the rec room.

“I was only gone for 15 minutes. I wonder where she could have gotten to.” Amanda whispered to herself.

She began searching around for her. Calling the Lab’s name and whistling, she wandered out of the rec room and down one of the hallways. Amanda heard a faint whining farther down the hall she walked. ‘Coco must have gotten lost.’ Amanda continued on down the hall. About halfway down the hallway the lights were dimmed. It was an abandoned hall. None of the rooms were occupied so there was no reason for the institution to worry about getting someone out here to fix it.

Amanda continued on, whistling and calling to Coco. Small red drops began appearing on the cold concrete as she walked. Her heart sank, and with a horrible gnawing suspicion Amanda bent down to run her finger through a red smear. She brought her red stained finger up to her eyes, squinting at the substance.

She felt her stomach heave when she realized it was blood. She stood back up, this time sprinting down the hallway. The flickering lights became more menacing the deeper she went. Consistent drops of blood stained the gray stone floor. Tears began to forcibly fall from her eyes as Amanda called out to the Lab. She could hear a very faint feeble whining.

Drops of blood gave way to small puddles. Amanda cried out, pushing her feet to go faster. She reached the end of the hall. A janitors closest loomed ominously. The whining was barely audible at this point. She approached the door slowly. She put a hand on the door, taking a huge breath in. She’d never been so scared to open a door. She didn’t want to see what waited on the other side.

‘If Coco is in trouble she needs someone to be strong and help her.’ Amanda took in a huge breath and opened the door. She screamed, bring her hand up to her mouth in terror.

Coco lay in a large pool of her own blood. Her stomach had been split open about 5 inches. Her intestines lay on the floor in front of her. She looked up at Amanda, her blue eyes crying out for help. Amanda dropped to the blood stained floor. Her knees immediately becoming soaked in the dogs lifeblood as it drained from its body. She fluttered her hands around the dog, unsure of how, if at all possible, to help.

“Somebody help!” Amanda sobbed. She looked around, trying to find something to wrap around Coco’s belly to help keep her intestines from spilling out even more. She spotted a glinting object. She brought it up to her line of view. It was a scalpel coated in blood.

Amanda called out again for someone to help. Tears streamed down her face. She gingerly petted the Lab’s muzzle, trying to ease the dog’s death. The faint sound of shouts and footsteps could be heard.

“It’s okay. Everything will be alright.” Amanda repeated this mantra more to herself then to the Lab.

Amanda registered shouts and screams behind her. Nothing else really mattered to her at this point though. She felt Jane bend down next to her, resting her hand on her shoulder.

“She’s gone. There is nothing else for you to do.” Jane whispered.

Amanda felt a hand grab her roughly and yank her to her feet. The bald orderly shook her, his face a few inches from her own. He was beet red and spit flew from his mouth as he yelled at her. She was too numb to immediately register what he was saying. Then it hit home. He was accusing her of murdering the dog!

Two more orderlies rushed to where the dead dog now lay. They each grabbed Amanda’s forearm and hauled her away from the closet. She glanced back to see Jane looking after her, a look of worry and tears on her face. The orderlies hauled her off, through the hallway. Through the rec room and past the woman’s wing.

“Where are we going?” Amanda asked. Neither of the orderlies would answer her. They kept their stony expressions turned forward. The trio walked down a huge flight of stairs, leading to the lowest floor of the institution. There were no windows down here.

She was walked to a windowless door. The orderly opened it and ushered Amanda inside. There were no windows in the room either. A faint yellow light barely provided enough light for the room. Amanda stood frozen in the middle of the room, her eyes wide and her breathing shallow. She’d always fought with claustrophobia since a young age. This room was like being shoved in a small closet.

She could practically feel the walls closing in on her. Amanda fell to the floor the full realization of what had happened finally hitting her. She lay on the floor, curling into the fetal position and crying. She cried for Coco, for Jane, for herself, for having spent the last 4 months in the asylum.

Time seemed to stand still.

Amanda lost track of how long she lay there crying. There was no way to tell time down here. She stood up, wiping her eyes. She made her way to the bed, sitting on the edge. Her goal now was to figure out who had killed Coco. She was sure she was led there to be framed for killing the Lab.

“I’m a patient so there is no way I could have access to medical equipment. The only ones allowed to touch that would be the nurses and the doctor.” Amanda mused aloud. She wondered what nurse would hate the dog enough to want it dead. “Damn this whole thing has given me a horrible headache.” She pressed her fingers against her temple.

“Well there is no way I’m going to be able to figure it out locked in this room.” She shrugged. She laid out on the paper thin mattress, staring up at the dull light. Her eyelids grew heavy with each passing second. Soon she was asleep.