"Have you ever confused a dream with life? Or stolen something when you have the cash? Have you ever been blue? Or thought your train was moving while sitting still? Maybe I was just crazy. Maybe it was the '60's. Or maybe I was just a girl... interrupted."

The Walter Elias Psychiatric Center

It was a quiet day for the ever busy institution. Patients were calm and cooperative and the staff was milling about. Things were going well, that is until a young redheaded girl made her way through the front door. The red head being there wasn't necessarily the problem, it was the young man she was arguing with.

"Look, I told you already. I'm SUPPOSED to be here, I have clearance and everything!"

The young man scoffed. "Yeah right, you're just a kid. No way you work here."

The girl puffed her cheeks out in anger. He really was infuriating. She had the I.D. Badge and she had the uniform, she clearly came to work. Before she could start up with the stubborn boy, the pair was halted.

A tall, slender woman with white blonde hair approached them and placed a hand on each of their shoulders.

"Whoa, whoa what seems to be the problem Mr. Hawkins?"

He jabbed a menacing finger in the girl's direction. "This kid says she works here. I've never seen her and she looks way too young.

The older woman let out a light chuckle before patting him on the shoulder. "I'm afraid she's right Jim, she does work here. This is Anna, our new night shift nurse."

Jim held up a finger to protest, but was at a loss for words. He casted Anna a sideways glance just in time to see her sticking out her tongue at him.

"I told you so."

He flagged her off and decided to go about his day. After Jim's departure the older woman turned her complete attention to Anna. Feeling eyes on her, the young woman looked up at her temporary savior.

The older woman gave her a smile. "Don't mind Jim. He's our groundskeeper, and he's a little leery of outsiders. Please don't take it personally Ms. Andersen."

"No offense taken, I get that a lot. Not to say that people mistake me for an intruder or anything. I'm definitely NOT an intruder, I really do work here. Wait, you already knew that, you vouched for me. I must be really nervous now, because I'm rambling aren't I?"

The blonde woman let out a small chuckle. "It's quite alright to be nervous. A bit of the first day jitters never hurt anyone."

Anna let out a sigh of relief. "Ok, good."

"My name is Mirage. I'm the head nurse here at the Center and I'll be showing you around today."

Mirage extended her hand to Anna who quickly shook it in return.

"I'll show you where to put your personal belongings then we'll take you on a tour around the facility. I'll introduce you to some of the other staff, more so the ones you'll be working with and possibly a few of the doctors if they're available. I'm sure we'll run into a few of the residents as well, it'll help you get to know who's who and what's what around here. So, are you ready?"

Anna nodded eagerly. Mirage turned on her heel and began to walk down the hall with Anna on her heels. The walk down the hall was a short one. The two women arrived at the Nurse's kitchen. Mirage showed Anna to her locker and gave her a quick rundown of the kitchen etiquette. Once Anna's things were secured and squared away, they began their walk-through of the center.

As they walked Anna noticed that the Center was overall a well kempt facility, clean white walls, polished white tile floors and immaculate white doors on every passageway. It was perfect…but eerily so. She brushed off that feeling as Mirage came to a complete stop and turned to face her.

"This is the living room. This is where the residents come to spend their free time. They can watch T.V., listen to radio or play games…board games or card games specifically. Mostly everyone uses it, except for some of our more…antisocial residents. Let's continue shall we?"

Giving a quick nod of agreement, the pair was off again. Mirage decided to shoot off information as they walked instead of coming to complete stops. They passed a small homely looking area that appeared to be stuck in the 50's.

Mirage jabbed her thumb in the direction of the room. "That's the family room. Hardly anyone ever uses it. Families typically meet residents and walk the grounds or retire to the resident's room."

Next on the tour was the exercise room. A small yoga class was taking place at the moment. Anna glanced in out of curiosity. Mirage noticed the action.

"The exercise room. Resident's aren't allowed in it unless a nurse is present or the designated instructor. The last place is the game room. Same rules as the exercise room, however it's only open on Tuesdays and Thursdays, no exceptions. Clear?"

The redhead smiled brightly. "Crystal."

Mirage returned the smile with a small one of her own. "Alright, so there are 5 floors to the center. The one we're on now is the second floor. " Mirage pointed to the floor. "Beneath us is the basement, which I would not recommend going to unless you absolutely must. The third floor is the doctor's offices, and the fourth is the cellar, mostly used for storage."

Mirage turned to continue their walk, when Anna halted her.

"Um, if I may ask, what's in the basement? Not that I don't respect the rules or anything or trust your judgment, because I totally do. I just get really curious sometimes, but if its confidential or secret or something, I completely understand. It's just, you always hear a lot of weird things about behavioral institutions and basements and –"

Mirage cut her off and gently grabbed her by the shoulders. "Whoa, relax."

Anna took a deep breath. It was Mirage's turn to chuckle.

"The basement is just old and decrepit. It's falling apart. It's in the process of being restored, but for now, it's just a great liability. That's all, no weird ghost stories or anything. Sorry to burst your bubble."

Anna gave Mirage a sheepish grin. "I understand. Sorry about the rambling. I do that sometimes…like a lot."

"No need to apologize. It's refreshing. Now there are a few more things I'd like to show you before I take you to your station, so if –"

Mirage stopped mid-sentence when a blonde young man seemed to run up to them out of nowhere. He seemed to be in his early twenties, very clean cut looking as well. The young man began to whisper to Mirage incredibly fast, almost inaudibly. Mirage had to calm him to slow down.

"Dashiell, please slow down you know it's impossible to understand you when you're frantic. Now can you repeat what you were trying to say?"

Dashiell took a breath and looked Mirage straight in the eyes. "She's back."

"You're not serious?" Asked the older blonde, eyes wide with undefined emotion.

He nodded to confirm her suspicions. Mirage looked at Anna, then back to Dashiell. She placed her hand on Anna's shoulder. "I have something I have to tend to Ms. Andersen, if you don't mind."

With that being said, Mirage rushed off back down the hall. All Anna could do was watch as her superior took off. Dashiell watched as well before taking a quick glance at Anna. After a double take, he tried to quickly clean up his disheveled appearance. He smoothed back his hair, leaned against the wall and cleared his throat. Gaining Anna's attention, she looked at him as he stood propped up against the wall.

"Hey, I'm Dashiell, but everyone calls me Dash." He shot her an award winning smile.

She scoffed. "I'm Anna, but everyone calls me not interested."

That being said, Anna decided to run after her boss and see what all the fuss is about.