A lone man sat silently in front of a large desk. He was about average sized for a male of 25 years in both his height and weight, but a long white doctor's coat concealed most of his true build. However it didn't conceal his dreadlocked hair or his permanently tanned skin. Not did it conceal his dark brown almost black eyes that scanned around the rather empty room nervously.

Silver Oak Mental Institution was written on a small plaque that hung behind the desk. The man remembered reading the name on a sign outside as well. He also remembered thinking how flowery it made the place sound. 'Mental Institution' was just a polite way of saying Insane Asylum, which is where he was due to work at starting today. One might ask what he had done to land such a job, but if you asked him, he would simply smile and shrug lightly. The truth was, this was exactly where he wanted to be. Fresh out of medical school, Jaruk, or rather Jay as he preferred to be called, wanted to be somewhere he thought he could really make a difference. What better place than this? Now that he was here though, he was beginning to have second thoughts. Those thoughts were quickly interrupted as a slender man with thick glasses entered, slamming the door behind him.

"Doctor Kino?" The doctor with dreads nodded slightly as he watched the man went behind his desk, but didn't sit. Instead, he pulled a file out of a desk drawer and tossed it to Jay. Blinking, he caught the file, but before he could ask any question the slender doctor spoke up. "You have no time to talk, you have a lot of work to do. Please, follow me." Confused and full of questions, Jay rose and followed the man who practically sprinted out of the office.

Jaruk was lead down a few halls where patients were being held. He felt a bit uneasy about how eerie and quiet it was, but as if reading his mind, the man leading him spoke up. "You'll get used to the quiet. The rooms are sound proof so the patients don't disturb one another." The man suddenly stopped in front of a door and Jaruk almost slammed into him. "This is patient 16329. She's your charge." Without anymore information, the doctor quickly scurried off leaving Jay alone, staring at the door before him. Some first day this was turning out to be. Deciding it was no use in arguing or whining about what was done, the young doctor used his badge on the electronic lock to the door. As the light on it changed from red to green, he took a deep breath and opened the door, not quite sure what to expect.

A young girl, only 18, sat in the far corner. She was dressed in a white shirt and white pants. Those blended nicely with her pale white skin. Her long raven black hair hung in her face.

A few years back, when she was first admitted into this place, she struggled so much. Her parents had put her, their only child, in this place. All just because she snapped one day and lashed out at them. She knew she had schizophrenia and kleptomania. That is what every doctor who has talked to her has said. But no matter what they said, she believed her parents just wanted to get rid of her.

As the door opened, she focused her onyx eyes on the man who came into the room. She had barely raised her head. 'Great....Another doctor.' she thought. For Thea Mason, this wasn't anything knew. So when the doctor came in, she said nothing to him. She wouldn't and nobody could make her.

Jay could already cold atmosphere of the room, both physically and emotionally. He noticed the girl huddled against herself in the corner, but didn't know if she acknowledged him or even knew he was in the room. Either way, as he closed the door behind himself, he gave her a small smile as he opened the file that had been given to him. He wouldn't look at it in detail, not now at least, so he didn't seem rude. However, he at least wanted to know the girl's name and why she was here at Silver Oaks.

"Thea Mason, is that right? I'm doctor Jaruk Kino, but you can just call me Jay. It seems I've been assigned to help you out here."

Skimming her file, he saw that her parents had been the ones to commit her over some sort of outburst. The thought made him frown lightly. Teens were just teens. Growing up makes everyone a little crazy and prone to outbursts. He'd been there himself more than enough, but he never would have expected his parents to have him committed.

"Guess you've been here a little while...they been treating you alright while you've been here?"

The first thing he'd have to do was get the girl to warm up to him, but he had a gut feeling that would be easier said than done. He was hoping his soft, calming words might coax her into at least acknowledging he was in the room, but if not he wouldn't become discouraged. Jay wasn't one to give up so easily. As he waited for her to respond to his question, a light warm smile shown to reassure her that he was at least a decent person.

Thea watched the doctor as he spoke. Sure. He said he was here to help her. But he wasn't. They never were. Nobody wanted to help her. And she didn't want their help. When the doctor finished speaking, she looked at the ground. She wasn't going to say a word to him. He couldn't make her. She just wanted to be left alone. She didn't trust this doctor. Or any that came before him. Not even her parents, who put her here years ago and never came to see her. Not that she really cared. She never really liked them anyway.

It seemed she at least knew he was there since her onyx colored eyes had glanced at him, but when he finished speaking her gaze went right back to the ground. She didn't trust him, well, it would probably be more accurate to say she didn't trust anyone here. He didn't blame her, though. It seemed that since she had been committed, Thea had no visitors at all. She'd been at this place for years and not a single person had come to see her. People wonder what really drives others over the edge? Solitude and loneliness was enough to drive even the most sane person insane.

"It's alright, you don't have to answer. I'd be a fool to think you'd trust me right off the bat." A light chuckle escaped his lips and he knelt down so he wouldn't be talking down at her anymore.

"I can't imagine what it's been like for you here. I only just came here myself, so I won't act like I know everything you've been through. I am at least willing to listen to you though if you ever feel the need to say anything, even if it's to tell me to shut my mouth." He looked to her a bit seriously to stress the fact that what he was saying was legit. There would be no repercussions for anything that they did or didn't talk about. He would be on her time, and that's the way it would remain.

Thea looked up at him. Well. It was more like to glare at him. She then tackled him to the ground. She sat on his stomach and had her hands on his throat. She tightened her grip until the doctor wouldn't be able to breath. She sat like that, glaring at him.

The young girl moved so fast, he didn't have time to react. The file he held skidded across the ground and before he knew it, Thea's hands were wrapped around his throat. Feeling the air being sapped from his lungs, he placed his hands on her wrists to try and loosen her grasp at least enough for him to breath. At least he'd gotten a response from her. Though the girl was strong, he had a bit more age and a bit of an athletic background to back up his own. After a moment he managed to loosen her grasp on him enough to speak once more. His words came in short breaths, in between coughing.

"Let out..what you need to....Like I said, this is just between you and me." Any other doctor might have become frantic and sedated the girl, but not Jay. He wasn't about to let her strangle him to death either though. His hands remained where they were, just barely keeping her from squeezing the breath from him once more.

Thea continued trying to strangle him for about 10 minutes. Then she gave up. She let go and got off of him. She stood up and sat down on the bed. She scooted back until she was against the wall. She sat there and glared at the doctor. She hated him already.

When Thea finally got off, Jay coughed and rubbed his neck gently. Even though he could clearly see her, it felt as if she still had a hold on him. He sat up and froze a moment as he heard the click behind him. The slender doctor he'd spoken with before poked his head in and stared down at Jay. "Just checking in. Is everything alright?" Even though he was in pain, Jay nodded and smiled warmly. "Yea, fine fine. I just dropped my files over there." Without really acknowledging either of them, the doctor left just as quickly as he'd come in. "That guy is a pain..." He mumbled as he rose, ignoring the file that was still on the ground. Though he was receiving a death glare from the girl, he couldn't help, but smile slightly. He knew she didn't like him, but it was obvious now that she couldn't just ignore him.

"Well, that's one way to tell me you don't like me and I'm fine with that. Even though that's the case, I'm not going away and I still don't have a problem with you." He had the feeling that might set the girl off again, but at least this time he was slightly more prepared.

Thea took her pillow and threw it at him. Then she laid down on the bed, curling into a ball facing the wall. She then took her blanket and pulled completely over her. She didn't even want to look at the doctor anymore. She just wanted to be left alone.

Jay caught the pillow alright, with his face. He laughed lightly and tossed it aside before looking to Thea once more. This girl was determined to undermine him, but he wouldn't be dissuaded. In fact, it only provoked him to continue. He took the lone chair that was in the room and sat it down next to the bed where she'd hidden herself. He picked a corner of the covers up so he could just barely see her underneath before speaking yet again.

"Why is it you hate me so much, when you don't even know me?"

Thea thought about not answering him. But then decided he should at least know that. But it would be the only thing she would tell him. "It's because you are just like the rest of the doctors in this stupid place." she said.

Tangible words! He was beginning to think the girl was so traumatized, she could no longer speak. He ruled out that she might not speak english after she attacked him. He didn't bother hiding how glad he was that she actually said something to him. He did nod at the answer she gave him.

"So you think I'm just like them, huh? Well, honestly I don't even know what they are like. Well, besides that guy that just came in here. He's obviously a jerk." He didn't bother masking his dislike of the man. Just because he was higher up, didn't mean he had to like him. "Is it because of this?" He motioned to his doctor's coat. He didn't bother waiting for an answer that would probably never come and took it off promptly tossing it to a corner of the room. Without the coat, Jay's attire seemed a little unbecoming of a doctor. The shirt he wore was black with a white tribal design displayed on both the front and the back. His pants were dark as well and seemed a few sizes too large since they engulfed both his legs and the sneakers on his feet. "Yea, I am I doctor. I won't deny that, but you can't lump me together with all the other guys here. I mean, I could say you're just like the other patients here, but I bet I'd be wrong, right?" He made his statement into a question in the hopes he could get even one more word out of the girl.

Thea listened to the doctor talk. Although she didn't really care what he said. In her mind, he was just like the rest of the doctors. When he asked that last question, she shook her head. She wasn't going to say anything else to him. And yes. She basically was like the rest of the patients here.

Nope, she'd clammed up again. He scratched his head lightly and shrugged. "Alright, I get it." He let the covers fall over her again and rose to his feet, placing one hand in his pocket and the other to the back of his head as he thought for a moment. Nothing he could say would convince the girl otherwise. She was dead set on believing he was just like everyone else that claimed to want to help her. It only made him feel for her more.

"What can I do?..." The question was soft, more for himself, but audible enough for Thea to hear as well. "Actions speak louder than words, right? I guess I really am just like everyone else if I just talk to you, so what can I do to show you I'm different?" This time he was speaking directly to her, or rather, the lump on the bed that was supposed to be her

Thea sat up. She pushed the blanket off of her. She looked at him. Her hair was messed up from the blanket. "There is absolutely nothing you can do to prove that you are different." she told him. "Now leave me alone."

It was then that Jay felt something inside him. 'You're still just talking' He looked to his crumpled coat on the floor, then to Thea. "Come with me." He said rather simply as he put his coat back on and used his badge to open the door for them. As he did so, he made sure to check the hallway to make sure no one else important was there.

"Personally, I think you could use some fresh air, but if you'd rather stay here and go through this routine with another doctor, feel free." He waited for her response as he held the door open for her, still checking to make sure their path was clear.

Thea sat there for a minute. Then she stood up. She threw her pillow back onto the bed before going over to him. She still didn't trust the doctor, but she wanted out of this room. And out of this place. And she really didn't want to deal with ANOTHER doctor.

Jay gave a small smile to the girl before making a final sweep of the corridor. "Just follow my lead." He checked to make sure the door had closed behind them and lead the girl toward the storage area. It was there that they kept the belongings of the patients and it was there that his plan of escape would begin. "Even if I took you to leave, they wouldn't let you leave looking like that." He slid his badge over the reader easily and opened the door for her. "Change into something more casual and knock lightly so I can let you out, alright?" He would stand outside and make certain no one would disturb her. He wasn't a pervert after all.

Thea nodded and went in the room. She looked at all the clothes in there and chose something that fit. She put on the t-shirt and jeans she found. Then she knocked on the door.

Lucky, there had been no disturbances, and he opened the door for Thea. He nodded slightly at her attire and motioned for her to follow him once more. He lead her to the hall where the checkout station was and peaked around the corner. Sure enough, there were guards and a receptionist there. "When I hit it, just follow me." He didn't wait for her to acknowledge him as he stepped next to her and broke the glass that covered a fire alarm button. An alarm wailed to life and lights flashed all over the building, confusing both personnel and patient. The guards were quickly called off to help escort the other patients out in a fenced holding area, while Jay motioned for Thea to follow him to the exit. The receptionist seemed busy gathering her things and Jay used his badge to open the gates and let them both through.

Outside it was a beautiful day. The sun hung high in the air signaling that it was sometime around noon. Jay looked back at the building with a smile, not sure if what he was doing was right, but not really caring at the moment. Life was nothing without taking a few risks, and he hoped that this risk would pay off in the long run.

Thea followed him outside silently. Once there, she looked around in wonder. This was the first time in years that she had been outside. She really liked it out here. She smiled.

A smile, a genuine smile was now on Thea's face. If he had any doubts about what they were doing, they were quickly dispelled. "Come on, before they take role of the patients." He motioned her toward a white grand am that didn't look too worse for ware. After climbing inside he had to lean over to open her door since his locks were a bit old and no longer worked properly. "There's probably a lot you want to go see...you pick a place, and I'll take you there, alright?"

"Alright." Thea said. She got in after him. "But there is just one problem. I don't know where to go. How about you just pick. It would be easier that way." she said.

The good doctor gave a small nod to Thea as he put the car in gear and left the confines of Silver Oaks. It must have felt good to be out in the open after a few years of being at that place. Jay rolled down the windows to let the air in and made sure to check every once in a while to make sure they weren't being followed. After thinking for a moment, Jay smiled lightly, his course now plotted.

After a short ride, in which Jay had turned on some music, they approached a little restaurant. He parked and looked to Thea for a moment. "I'm not sure if you're hungry, but I figured if you were, eating real food would be a good change. Unless you have another idea?"