The Following is a letter written by a psychiatrist at the New York Institute of Mental Health.
May 20, 1977
Dear Dr. Cunningham,
I have done an extensive evaluation of the patient that you brought to me. The trauma he suffered has severely impacted his mental functioning. He shows signs of depression, and possibly mild schizophrenia. However, with proper medication, I see no reason that he could not survive in society on his own. I would advise you keep up with the patient, as there is a possibility that he may have a psychotic break from reality if he goes off his medication. There's no reason for concern, as it is unlikely that the delusions of this timid and sheltered man would lead to any harm.
My best regards,
Dr. Cornwell
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Ten
Remus awoke with the morning sun shining in his eyes, amplifying the drum pounding in his head. He sat up and took in his surroundings. The first thing he noticed was the blood that was covering his shirt and hands. He thought back to the night before... it was his own blood, he remembered, from his broken nose. He reached a hand up to feel his face, but thought better of it. He stood up and noticed that he was in the rooftop garden. Remus ambled painfully over to the nearest bench, and took a seat. Josh must have carried me here, he thought.
Just then, the door to the garden burst open, and Josh stalked out carrying a black rifle in his hands.
"That motherfucker!" spat Josh, "That absolute son of a BITCH!"
"Josh, whats going on?" said Remus, alarmed. "And why the fuck do you have a gun?"
"Son of a bitch is gonna learn you don't beat the shit out of an old man without consequences."
"No, Josh, you can't. don't! what THE FUCK are you doing with that gun!"
"What the fuck do you think I'm doing?" Josh walked over to the edge of the roof, and looked down, mounting the butt of the gun against his shoulder. "I'm gonna blow the bastard's brains out, that's what I'm gonna do with this gun."
*BAMM*
The shot rang out through the city, the sound bouncing and echoing off the buildings.
Remus ran over to the edge, and, at the sight of red splattered across the front steps of the police station, vomited.
"JESUS CHRIST!" screamed Remus, "WHY THE FUCK DID YOU DO THAT!?"
"That was the bastard that beat you to a pulp last night. He got what he deserved." Josh sounded way too cool. chills ran down Remus's spine, and he vomited again, this time onto the ground between himself and Josh.
"Oh god, christ, jesus, fuck.." mumbled Remus as he clasped his head in his hands and sat on the ground.
"They'll find us! you can't murder a policeman and get away with it! And when they find us, they'll kill us! we were beaten up for defending our place in line, and that was nothing compared to this!"
Josh set the butt of the rifle on the ground and began to reload it. They heard screams from below, and sirens began to wail.
"What is that?" Remus said, suddenly serious and calm.
"those are called sirens, my man"
"No, that gun. What is that?"
"I thought you might recognize it. Fitting, don't you think?"
Remus stared at the black M16 as Josh slid the magazine back into the gun.
"That's my gun. That's MY gun! Where the FUCK did you get my gun!?" screamed Remus, becoming wildly incensed.
"Easy cowboy, I found it under your bed. I thought you might have a souvenir from your glory days, so I took a look through your place. I was surprised by it's condition, though. Through all these years, you've taken very good care of it, haven't you?"
"I got rid of that gun when I left the service. Before you came along, I hadn't touched a gun since the war! And then you show up out of nowhere, and now you've killed a man! What the fuck is going on!?"
"It is rather odd, isn't it?" said Josh. "I wonder if they're here yet?" He jumped up onto the ledge and looked down. "Oh, they're here alright. We must not have been too hard to find. Have a look."
Remus clambered up onto the ledge, and looked down. there was a cluster of emergency vehicles around the police station, and a group of police cars in front of Watershed Heights.
"Oh god, we're going to die. Why did you do this to me?" pleaded Remus.
"You did this to yourself. You've grown tired of this place, this world. You wanted to go out with a bang."
"NO! I DON'T want this! You don't know what I want!"
"Yes I do, old man. I know exactly what you want. I came here just to give it to you."
"I just wanted peace! All I want is for the pain to go away! I wanted to escape from the horrors in my dreams! All you've done now is give me another bad dream!"
"I've given you the solution, old man. I know you're pains. they're my pains, too. we have a lot in common, you know. we want the same things."
The door to the roof burst open, and several armed policeman rushed through.
"DROP THE GUN! WE'VE GOT YOU SURROUNDED!" yelled one officer.
"I understand you like no other. All you want is peace. You brought me here to show you the way."
"PUT THE GUN ON THE GROUND! NOW!"
"It wasn't me! it was him! he killed him!" pleaded Remus.
"Don't bother, they'll just think you're crazy." Josh pressed the gun into Remus's hands, smiled, and stepped off of the ledge into the open air.
"NOOOOOOO!!!" screamed Remus.
"YOU'VE GOT 10 SECONDS BEFORE WE OPEN FIRE!"
Remus looked up at the men as comprehension and pain flooded his head.
Remus pressed the muzzle of the gun into the space between his chin and throat, and pulled the trigger.
He fell silently backwards through the morning air, spilling life out into space.
Finally, peace.
Just then, the door to the garden burst open, and Josh stalked out carrying a black rifle in his hands.
"That motherfucker!" spat Josh, "That absolute son of a BITCH!"
"Josh, whats going on?" said Remus, alarmed. "And why the fuck do you have a gun?"
"Son of a bitch is gonna learn you don't beat the shit out of an old man without consequences."
"No, Josh, you can't. don't! what THE FUCK are you doing with that gun!"
"What the fuck do you think I'm doing?" Josh walked over to the edge of the roof, and looked down, mounting the butt of the gun against his shoulder. "I'm gonna blow the bastard's brains out, that's what I'm gonna do with this gun."
*BAMM*
The shot rang out through the city, the sound bouncing and echoing off the buildings.
Remus ran over to the edge, and, at the sight of red splattered across the front steps of the police station, vomited.
"JESUS CHRIST!" screamed Remus, "WHY THE FUCK DID YOU DO THAT!?"
"That was the bastard that beat you to a pulp last night. He got what he deserved." Josh sounded way too cool. chills ran down Remus's spine, and he vomited again, this time onto the ground between himself and Josh.
"Oh god, christ, jesus, fuck.." mumbled Remus as he clasped his head in his hands and sat on the ground.
"They'll find us! you can't murder a policeman and get away with it! And when they find us, they'll kill us! we were beaten up for defending our place in line, and that was nothing compared to this!"
Josh set the butt of the rifle on the ground and began to reload it. They heard screams from below, and sirens began to wail.
"What is that?" Remus said, suddenly serious and calm.
"those are called sirens, my man"
"No, that gun. What is that?"
"I thought you might recognize it. Fitting, don't you think?"
Remus stared at the black M16 as Josh slid the magazine back into the gun.
"That's my gun. That's MY gun! Where the FUCK did you get my gun!?" screamed Remus, becoming wildly incensed.
"Easy cowboy, I found it under your bed. I thought you might have a souvenir from your glory days, so I took a look through your place. I was surprised by it's condition, though. Through all these years, you've taken very good care of it, haven't you?"
"I got rid of that gun when I left the service. Before you came along, I hadn't touched a gun since the war! And then you show up out of nowhere, and now you've killed a man! What the fuck is going on!?"
"It is rather odd, isn't it?" said Josh. "I wonder if they're here yet?" He jumped up onto the ledge and looked down. "Oh, they're here alright. We must not have been too hard to find. Have a look."
Remus clambered up onto the ledge, and looked down. there was a cluster of emergency vehicles around the police station, and a group of police cars in front of Watershed Heights.
"Oh god, we're going to die. Why did you do this to me?" pleaded Remus.
"You did this to yourself. You've grown tired of this place, this world. You wanted to go out with a bang."
"NO! I DON'T want this! You don't know what I want!"
"Yes I do, old man. I know exactly what you want. I came here just to give it to you."
"I just wanted peace! All I want is for the pain to go away! I wanted to escape from the horrors in my dreams! All you've done now is give me another bad dream!"
"I've given you the solution, old man. I know you're pains. they're my pains, too. we have a lot in common, you know. we want the same things."
The door to the roof burst open, and several armed policeman rushed through.
"DROP THE GUN! WE'VE GOT YOU SURROUNDED!" yelled one officer.
"I understand you like no other. All you want is peace. You brought me here to show you the way."
"PUT THE GUN ON THE GROUND! NOW!"
"It wasn't me! it was him! he killed him!" pleaded Remus.
"Don't bother, they'll just think you're crazy." Josh pressed the gun into Remus's hands, smiled, and stepped off of the ledge into the open air.
"NOOOOOOO!!!" screamed Remus.
"YOU'VE GOT 10 SECONDS BEFORE WE OPEN FIRE!"
Remus looked up at the men as comprehension and pain flooded his head.
Remus pressed the muzzle of the gun into the space between his chin and throat, and pulled the trigger.
He fell silently backwards through the morning air, spilling life out into space.
Finally, peace.
Nine
Remus stared down at the people jostling in line for pie, like ants in line for a fallen piece of fruit. He could make out the faces of a few of his watershed heights neighbors, such as Takuda Hiroshi. Remus was standing on the rooftop of Watershed Heights, and he was in a good mood. Ever since Josh showed up, he had felt empowered; he felt more alive than he had in 30 years. Maybe it was his friend, Josh. Josh was the first friend Remus had made since the end of the war. so much time alone had wiped the memory of laughter and love from Remus's head, and the new feelings surged through his old body like electricity. He felt like he could do anything.
Josh climbed up onto the roof and came over to Remus.
"hey old man, you smell what i smell? whatya say we go grab ourselves some pie?"
"that does smell pretty damn good. i wouldn't mind a bite."
They made their way down to the crowd around the diner, and jumped into the mix.
after quite a wait, they were finally near the front of the line. their mouths watered, and their stomachs grumbled. After the long wait, they had become impatient.
They were next in line when a policeman sauntered past them to the front.
"Hey what the fuck man, we were next!" shouted Josh.
"Is there a problem, sir?" said the policeman, in a voice that said "give me a problem."
"Yeah, we were next, and you can't cut just because you're a fucking pig!"
The policeman grabbed Josh by the jacket, and threw him into Remus, knocking them both to the floor. Both of them jumped up, and Remus threw his fist into the policeman's stomach. The policeman pulled out his baton and slammed it into Remus's face. Remus heard the crunch of breaking bone, and felt the hot blood gushing from his nostrils. After another blow to the head, Remus passed out.
Josh climbed up onto the roof and came over to Remus.
"hey old man, you smell what i smell? whatya say we go grab ourselves some pie?"
"that does smell pretty damn good. i wouldn't mind a bite."
They made their way down to the crowd around the diner, and jumped into the mix.
after quite a wait, they were finally near the front of the line. their mouths watered, and their stomachs grumbled. After the long wait, they had become impatient.
They were next in line when a policeman sauntered past them to the front.
"Hey what the fuck man, we were next!" shouted Josh.
"Is there a problem, sir?" said the policeman, in a voice that said "give me a problem."
"Yeah, we were next, and you can't cut just because you're a fucking pig!"
The policeman grabbed Josh by the jacket, and threw him into Remus, knocking them both to the floor. Both of them jumped up, and Remus threw his fist into the policeman's stomach. The policeman pulled out his baton and slammed it into Remus's face. Remus heard the crunch of breaking bone, and felt the hot blood gushing from his nostrils. After another blow to the head, Remus passed out.
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