I'm John Egbert. I'm scared.

I'm afraid because me and my friends Dave, Rose, and Jade signed up to volunteer at the Veil, which is what everyone calls the Alternian Institute for the Mentally Unstable.

The Veil is huge, occupying a massive space. There's the main building, where all of the patients are, a medical facility for serious procedures, a penetentiary where the more extreme residents live, and a boarding house for the guards and doctors. Dave gunned his brother's car up the winding drive and parked in a shady spot outside the main building.

The four of us headed inside. It was incredibly cold in the building, raising goose bumps on my arms. The reception area was ringed with a battalion of hard metal chairs. A wide desk barred us from the door that led into the main part of the asylum, manned by a busty nurse.

"Oh, dearies, you must be the volunteers," she gushed. We moved forward cautiously. "I'm Ms. Paint, the head nurse here. Just give me a moment..."

She tapped away at a typewriter, which is particularly strange, since a working computer was also set up on the desk. I didn't ask because Ms. Paint beckoned for us to follow her.

The inner asylum was predictably white - white floors, white walls, white ceilings, white-clad nurses, white-coated doctors. I trailed after Ms. Paint and occasionally glanced into the rooms lining the hall. Most of the patients were trolls, quiet and calm. As far as I can tell.

"So, Ms. Paint, what exactly are we going to be doing?" I stammered out, afraid of the answer.

"Don't worry, dear." She gave me a tight smile. "Most of our patients aren't very dangerous. You'll mostly be on lunch duty. Come along."

We arrived in an empty, typically white cafeteria. Bypassing the polished tables, we entered a locked side door and found ourselves in a gleaming kitchen. A burly man dressed in black slaved away at the stove.

"This is Chef Boxcar," Ms. Paint said, gesturing to him.

"Call me Hearts," the chef spat. He positioned a heavy pot on the burner. "None of that Chef bullshit."

"Not in front of the children, Chef," Ms. Paint tutted. "They'll be helping you for now. Don't let anything happen to them, or so help me..."

"Alright, alright, calm yerself," he admonished, checking the wall clock. "Look at the time. Damn. The crazies will be down in ten minutes. Get to work, you four!"

Ms. Paint departed. I was charged with peeling potatoes, Dave got stuck chopping carrots, and Rose and Jade began pulling down bowls and silverware. Hearts's soup smelled delicious. As the sound of the cafeteria being filled, Hearts gave us our next order: Pass out the meals to the patients.

I swallowed hard. The thought of coming so close to a diagnosed sociopath of some kind made my skin crawl, but the others didn't seem bothered, so I wouldn't be, either. I took a tray with three bowls of soup and three dinner rolls in my lightly shaking hands.

I'd been told before that after an electrical fire a few years back, the asylum's numbers had dropped to less than thirty; therefore I was unsurprised when I only saw about a dozen patients, all trolls. I drew in a deep breath and stopped at the nearest table. The patients there were not restrained in any way, but the guards hovering between the tables made me feel a lot better.

I set the food down in front of three trolls. The one closest to me had long hair, ram-like horns, and blank, haunted eyes. She blinked but did not speak. The troll opposite her, a male, lisped "Thankth" when he received his food. The third troll was a sad sight. He was in a wheelchair, and judging by his thin, emaciated legs, he was paralyzed. His face was drawn in a heartbreakingly sad expression.

Backing away, I returned to the kitchen to find Dave, Jade, and Rose helping the chef clean up. Dave's sunglasses fixed on me. "Hey, man, you don't mind serving the rest of the food, do you?"

I did mind, but I grinned and said, "I'm on it!"

The next trolls I catered to were sitting opposite each other, a boy and a girl. The boy, with rings under his yellow eyes and a bony build, glared at the girl, who cackled in response. Her eyes were stained red. After a second, I realized she was blind.

They didn't respond when I served the food, and I was glad. Moving on, I thought, wheeling the food cart to the next trolls. Two females and a male. One smiled unnervingly at me, her pupils indicating that she was of olive blood. The other female, a jade blood, thanked me politely. The third troll was also in a wheelchair, but not because his body was weak - it looked like he was strapped to the iron chair because his body was too strong. Muscles bulging, he waited for a guard to assist him when his food was served.

I came to another pair, both seadwellers. The boy, brooding, kept his eyes downcast as I slid a bowl toward him. The girl, chipper as all get out, brightened visibly. "Soup? I GLUB soup!"

I grinned again and faced the last two trolls. They were both sitting by themselves at the two farthest tables, surrounded by guards. So these were the most dangerous ones. Throat too dry to swallow, I wheeled the cart forward.

The troll girl was closest, so I navigated in that direction. A fanged smirk played on her lips. Her pupils indicated that she had cobalt-blue blood, and I paused to stare at her eyes for a moment. I counted seven pupils in one eye before moving forward again.

"Thank you." She seemed polite enough, or at least well mannered. The only thing about her that belonged in an institution was her smile - steel-edged and weirdly seductive. I shuddered and nodded in acknowledgement.

The final troll was male. His hair was wild, his eyes were lazy, and he seemed very laid-back. Not dangerous at all. But the heavy amount of armed guards flanking him suggested otherwise, so I came close enough to give him his lunch. Unlike the others, he had metal cuffs securing his hands behind his back. Purple blood stained the white top and pants ensemble the patients wore.

As I was heading back for the kitchen, a guard clapped me on the shoulder. "Good work, kid. I can't look that one in the eyes sometimes."

"T-thanks." I reviewed the white-clad residents.

He noticed my stare and smiled. "Wondering what they're all in for, huh? You'll learn pretty quick. I'll tell you about this one, though." He fixed a contemptuous gaze on the wild-haired troll. "Gamzee Makara. Fucking psycho. Doctors have him down as a confirmed sociopath, and on top of that, he's got intermittent explosive disorder - IED. Means he gets pissed off about stuff and loses his head, but I mean really loses his head. Know how he got in here? He got on the goddamn subway, lost his goddamn keys, and went crazy. Killed nine people, and no one could do a damn thing to stop him."

I shivered at the thought. Nine people? Jesus. I shook off the images and pointed to the girl with eight pupils, asking, "What about her?"

He made a face. "Vriska Serket? Docs say she's a fucking sociopath too, as well as a pathological gambler - not that you have to worry about that. Personally, I think she has some split personality shit too. One day I go in and she's all smiles and the next, she's trying to stab me with a spoon."

"Yikes." But I was intrigued. I looked back at Vriska Serket, who was not eating, but staring off into space. The smile was gone.

"I'm John, by the way."

"Mark. See you around, kid."

I made my way back into the kitchen. Clean-up was done, and everyone was lounging, waiting for lunch to be done so the dishes could be collected.

After the patients left, some guards flooded the kitchen for their own lunch. I nosed around until I'd pieced together all of the patient's medical files.

There was Aradia Megido, who had severe schizophrenia - so severe that she swore she saw ghosts, and no amount of medication could sway her from this resolve. Sollux Captor was a diagnosed bipolar, with one personality that was calm and another that was rude and sometimes violent. Poor Tavros Nitram, after an accident that had made his legs useless, was on suicide watch with advanced depression.

Karkat Vantas suffered from schizoid personality disorder. He appeared normal, if you counted a very sour attitude normal, but his coldness, apathy, and social distancing said otherwise. He had the potential to go suicide. Terezi Pyrope had lost her vision to chemicals and developed PTSD and mild schizophrenia. She also seemed fine at first glance, despite her emotional traumas.

Nepeta Leijon, the sweetest patient they'd ever seen, had depersonalization, where she felt as if she lived outside of herself. She only referred to herself in the third person. Kanaya Maryam was under the influence of perfectionism, making it impossible for her to function without worrying about the most minuscule details. Meanwhile, Equius Zahhak had general anxiety disorder, or GAD. Just about every situation made him panic and sweat profusely. Because of his freakish strength, he was required to be strapped down, preventing him from freaking out and hurting someone.

Eridan Ampora was another hard case, sporting separation anxiety disorder. Being away from the people he was attached to made him depressed and often times violent; even some nurses triggered the disorder. He and Feferi Peixes were victims of a shared psychosis, meaning Feferi had managed to convince him that her schizophrenic fantasy of living in an underwater castle instead of a mental institution was real.

Vriska Serket and Gamzee Makara were the subjects of the guards' curses more often than not. Mr. Makara was the worst, because of his violent, unpredictable rages. He'd put several guards in the hospital already. Miss Serket was also incredibly violent and seemed to have little conscience - most of the time. Other times she was just a tad foul-mouthed at best.

Once the guards were gone, and the kitchen was clean, Hearts sent us to his friend, Diamonds, the head guard. Everyone else called him Officer Droog. He, like Hearts, was sheathed in black, and patrolling the corridors with a slightly bored look on his face.

"Officer Droog." Dave took the lead. "Chef Boxcar told us to go to you for our next assignment."

"So you're the volunteers." His voice was low and smooth. "Good. Not a lot of people like to lend a hand over here, you know. Follow me."

We set off down another bland hallway. As we went, Droog spoke. "We're pretty understaffed as of late, so we'll need you to help in the laundry room."

The laundry room was cramped and warm, every surface layered with white linen. Diamonds stopped at the door. "I need two of you to start washing and two more to deliver these clean clothes to the rooms. Think you can handle it?"

We nodded. He left, and Rose and Jade immediately began throwing dirty clothes into the washing machine. I swore there was a snide smile on Rose's lips. Dave punched me on the shoulder, already wheeling a linen cart into the hall. I gripped the other cart and rolled it outside.

We went our separate ways. I was incredibly nervous again at the thought of being close to the patients, but the guards in the halls were comforting. I looked down. The first outfit in the cart had "Tavros Nitram" stitched to the breast. A guard directed me to Tavros's room, and I set off for it, remembering the distant, sad face Tavros wore, out of place with his tufty mohawk.

Tavros's door was open. The guard next to the room just motioned for me to go inside, and I did. The room had nothing but a very small bed, a dresser, and Tavros. He was in his wheelchair, wrists strapped down. I guessed it was because he was alone.

"H-hi," I stuttered, placing his clothes in the dresser. Tavros didn't respond, eyes downcast, grey skin sallow under the flourescent light. "Bye."

I hightailed it out of there. The guard gave me a funny look and directed me to Kanaya Maryam's room. The room was almost too clean, shiny even. The bed was made so meticulously I wondered if she had an iron hidden in the room somewhere. Kanaya sat in a chair beside her bed, legs crossed, chair turned at just the right angle. She met my eyes and said pleasantly, "Please leave my laundry on top of the dresser, if you wouldn't mind."

I did as I was asked, tipped my Alternian Institute cap to her, and left. I checked a map on the wall to find Eridan's room.

It turned out that Eridan and Feferi were in the same room, to help Eridan's separation anxiety disorder. It didn't help their shared psychosis. As soon as I entered, it became obvious that they were in a different world.

"Oh, look, Eridan! A visitor to our kingdom! What is a landdweller doing beneath the sea?" Feferi's bubbly voice and expression was extremely unnerving.

Eridan gave me a cursory glance. "I don't knoww, Fef. He's probably a servant boy. Wwell, go on, servant."

They were on separate beds, staring at me intently as I left their clothes in their dressers. As I was leaving, Feferi added, "Goodbye, landdweller!"

I shuddered a little. "Goodbye, Princess. Prince."

They were extremely pleased by this.

Next on my list was Sollux Captor. Thankfully he was asleep, or pretending to be asleep, so I deposited the garments and headed out quickly. Last on my rounds was the patient I'd been half-hoping-for half-dreading. Vriska Serket. Her room was deeper in the facility, with high-security and lots of guards. I steeled myself.

Guards lined the hallway her room was in. When I approached, one guard, carrying an assualt rifle, accompanied me inside. Vriska was seated in the chair by her bed. Her wrists were handcuffed together, and she looked vaguely bored. She brightened when I came closer. With a glare from the guard, she said nothing, but her smile was aimed at me.

I returned a shaky grin and set the clothes down on the bed, since she had no dresser to speak of. Probably couldn't be trusted with one. She made no move to attack me, and even said goodbye as I left.

Mark the guard was passing by as I emerged. "Ouch, laundry duty?"

"Yep. All done now, though."

He gave me a fatherly pat on the back and noticed where I'd come from. "Jeez, Vriska Serket on your first day?"

I felt like I had to defend her for some reason. "She's not that bad, as far as I can tell. Hasn't done anything but say thank you and goodbye all day."

"That's the trick, kid," he warned. "Don't let your guard down around her or Makara. See you."

"Bye."

I returned to the laundry room. Dave wasn't back yet, and Rose and Jade were folding clothes.

"How was it?" Jade asked curiously.

I ran a hand through my hair. "It's terrifying. Man, I kind of wish they were all screeching and trying to kill me sometimes. They're all just so . . . normal."

Rose nodded. "Understandable. Fortunately, as soon as Dave is finished, we'll be leaving."

"Thank god. You guys got the easy stuff."

Dave wheeled in his empty cart and we departed for the reception area. Ms. Paint thanked us fervently and signed our volunteer papers, confirming the hours we'd worked. Walking out into the sun again was a relief, and yet, oddly enough, I felt the asylum's presence looming behind me and I almost wanted to be there. Shaking off the feeling, I crawled into Dave's front seat and leaned back.

The Veil drew my eyes all the way off the property.