JR V1

Chapter 5
Jacob's Plight

At some point Jacob nodded off from sheer exhaustion as he certainly wasn't going to intentionally sleep bound to a bed. He woke up to the sound of the door to his room being pulled open.

In the darkness, he heard a voice call out to him, "Good morning, Jacob. I'm Dr. Kelly."

When the light was switched on, Jacob squinted his eyes, struggling for a moment to adjust to the sudden brightness. He opened his eyes to see an older blonde woman in a doctor's coat standing at the end of his bed and checking his charts.

Jacob had already prepared his speech.

"Listen I'm not crazy, and I know you guys think that I am. But I can prove it. Let me do an assessment or something. I swear I-"

"I have the files from your therapist, Simon. Do you remember him?"

"Yes, I remember him. He fucking kidnapped me!"

Dr. Kelly stopped writing on his chart and looked up to make eye contact with her patient. "Your therapist kidnapped you? Jacob, do you hear how that sounds."

"I know how it sounds, but I swear it's the truth."

"Okay. Why would your therapist kidnap you?"

He wasn't prepared for her to ask that.

"He...uh..."

"Jacob, your therapist had you involuntarily committed to St. Ives Psychiatric Hospital when you expressed your intent to harm yourself." The doctor paused and smiled. "Fortunately for you, we excel in treating patients with your affliction."

The excitement he heard in her voice terrified him. "W-What are you going to do to me?"

"Today, you will be undergoing a new treatment we are pioneering here at this facility. It's called drug-induced age-regression. It will turn you back into a toddler, and you'll get to experience the bliss of childhood again."

"That's not possible. What the hell are you talking about?"

"Oh, but it is possible, Jacob. Later today, as part of your procedure you will be given the drug we developed, Restalsis, and it will do exactly what I said. I know you don't have any family left, but don't worry. Your new parents, Simon and Angelique, are excited to take you home this evening."

"Simon and Angelique? You are sending me with kidnappers?! This is insane. You can't do this!"

She dismissively waved her hand. "It will be fine. When your memory is gone in about a month, you won't know them as Simon and Angelique. They will only be daddy and mommy to you."

"No! Let me go!" Jacob shook uncontrollably in anger, thrashing against his restrains causing the monitor checking his heart rate to instantly begin making the high-pitched whine.

Dr. Kelly walked over to the machine that was closer to the head of his bed and promptly silenced the alarm.

The doctor wagged her finger in the air at her patient. "Settle down, young man! I'm sure the nurse talked to you about keeping your heart rate down. Do you want to be sedated?"

Jacob stopped fighting against his restraints and gave her a death stare.

"I asked you a question, and I expect an answer."

Through clenched teeth, Jacob muttered, "No."

Dr. Kelly tilted her head to the side. "I didn't quite get that, Jacob. What was that?"

Inwardly, Jacob was seething with anger, but he knew that he couldn't afford to be sedated if he wanted to have a chance to escape before the procedure. Channeling every bit of his inner strength, he responded slowly and monotonously, "No, I don't want to be sedated."

When she reached her hand over his head, Jacob tried to evade her, but he couldn't move far away enough in his restraints. Dr. Kelly pet his head three times, further infuriating him.

"Much better." She tapped her pen against the chart in her hand. "Alright, we just need few tests for preliminary data to be done before your procedure. Be sure to be on your best behavior for the radiologist."

While she moved to place his chart back in its place at the foot of his bed, Jacob followed her with his eyes, glaring at the psychiatrist until she walked out the room and closed the door behind her.

Only a few minutes had passed before a Latino man who looked to only be a few years older than him entered the room. This guy was tall and buff. Jacob was sure that he must have played football in high school or even college with his build.

"Hey, I'm Rob, the radiologist here, and we have a few tests to run. I'm sure you're looking forward to getting out of those restraints, but I have to cover the ground rules first."

Jacob nodded his head already eagerly looking forward to his impending chance to escape.

"We are only going a few feet down the hall, and I would rather not have security come all the way up here for such a short trip. It would be best if you don't waste any time making this unnecessarily difficult. Any escape attempts, and you won't be walking back to your room."

"No problem, man. I won't do anything crazy."

"Good, then I'll take those off."

When Jacob was released from his restraints, he rubbed his wrists and stretched his legs on the bed before quickly going to stand up. He almost stumbled onto the floor, but he was caught by the radiologist.

"I was going to tell you to take it easy since you haven't used your legs in a while."

He lifted Jacob back onto his feet.

"There, now try taking a few steps towards the door."

The radiologist pulled along the IV pole and guided Jacob as he got used to being on his feet again.

"Okay, good you're looking much better now. Follow me will you."

"Sure."

They walked down the hall with the radiologist pushing along the IV pole and Jacob keeping pace following behind. He quickly scanned the floor looking for a way out. He knew he didn't have very long in the hallway to figure out where the closest exit was. Just as the radiologist was ushering him into the room for testing, he saw it. At the end of the hallway, there was a door to the stairs. Now, he just needed to figure out how to distract the radiologist long enough to make a break for the stairs during the walk back to his room.

He was nervous and impatient throughout the agonizingly slow process that it took for the MRI and X-rays to be completed. When they made it back to the hallway, the radiologist took the lead again pushing along his IV pole. Jacob glanced around checking to see that the hallway was clear enough to make a successful escape attempt. When he was sure the hallway was clear, he knew it was a do or die moment.

Jacob ripped the IV port out of his arm, splattering blood all over the floor and made a sprint to his ticket to freedom at the end of the hallway. Just as he was a few feet away from the door, he was tackled from behind, and he hit the floor on his stomach, knocking the wind out of him.

Before he could recover from the fall, he was lifted and held in a chokehold that forced him to face the ground. Jacob heard the radiologist swear under his breath, "I told you not to waste my time."

Rob reached around to face the nurse station and called over to them. "Can I get some help over here?"

Immediately, a nurse paged for security over the hospital intercom. Seconds later, Jacob heard footsteps approaching the two of them, and when he felt the prick of a needle, he lamented over the unfairness of the entire situation. All he wanted was to just be left alone to die, and now he was about to be forced to undergo a procedure he didn't even consent to. 

The young man lashed out in anger channeling the confusion, hopelessness and fear overwhelming him into trying to break the chokehold the radiologist held him in. After a few minutes of struggling, he broke free for a second until he smacked into the security guards sent to escort him back to his room.

Jacob kicked and screamed as he was dragged back to his room. When they were only a few feet away, he felt all the energy in his body suddenly drain out of him, and he stopped resisting the security guards. His thoughts became muddled. He knew he was angry, but he didn't quite remember what it was that he was so mad about. He couldn't even remember how he got into the hallway, or why the security guards were there. To the young man, none of that even mattered anymore because everything felt okay.

In the midst of fading away, he felt a nurse grab his face and tap his cheek.

"Good, looks like the drug has already kicked in. No need to restrain him, fellas. He won't be wanting to go anywhere."

The orderlies sat him on his bed, and Jacob didn't move an inch. His mind was blank as if he had drifted off to a happier place.