so she can cut off my goddamn head.”
“What?” said the second pig. “What are you, high?”
“ I’m not going back! ”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about lady,” he said. “There’s no fuckin’ courtyard here. That’s at Barker General Hospital. They have that big garden where you used to be able to smoke.”
“Just let me leave,” Alice said. “Please.”
“ You’re nod goin’ anywhere, you fuckin bitch! ” the first pig squealed from behind his hands. Blood and snot was all over his face. It dripped from between his fingers like warm paint.
“Look, try to stay calm,” the second pig said. “Doc just wants to take a look at you. That’s it. Then I’m sure they’ll let you do whatever you want.”
Alice looked into his face. A moment too late she realized he was looking over her shoulder. It made her a moment too late to look behind her.
A third pig had come in behind her while the second one was talking. Now he hit Alice like a tackle dummy, ramming his shoulder into the small of her back and taking her to the ground. The air rushed out of her as she fell. She tried to twist her way around to face this new enemy, but then she was on her back and her skull bounced on the floor.
There was a wave of alternating blue and black behind her eyes, and sparks as the world bounced in her vision. Then things got very slow.
“Nice job, Mike,” the second pig said somewhere above Alice. “You coulda played for the Giants .”
“Heh, yeah,” the pig named Mike said. “They could use me this year.”
“You alright?”
“My fuckin nose, man,” the first pig said. “She caught me good.”
“Yeah, keep your hands up next time Chuckles ,” second pig said.
“Okay, hold her arms. Let’s get her to observation. Go get that thing looked after, Charlie, your bleeding like a stuck pig.”
“ He is a pig ,” Alice said. “You’re all pigs.”
“What’s that honey?” the Mike-Pig said. “Hey you’re a real sweetheart, you know that? You think my friend here could get your number?”
“Yeah, thanks,” Jackson-Pig laughed. “I bet my mother would love you. You kind of remind me of her.”
The two men picked Alice up. She could feel movement, but she couldn’t get a handle on where she was. The world was fracturing into shards of memory, as though she was observing her life a moment after it had taken place. Polaroids in a pile, shuffled like cards. The two pigs talking about football. The chimes of the Red Queen’s Court somewhere in the distance. Her head black and foggy. She shot a man in the face because he was sodomizing her.
“ Fuckin killed him ,” Alice said. “ His face asploded.”
“You busted his nose,” Mike-Pig said. “Take a lot more than that to kill Charlie though.”
“She’s on crack or something,” Jackson-Pig said. “Said she wasn’t going to the garden. You know that one in Mercy? She doesn’t even know where she is.”
“Hell,” said M ike-Pig. “Come the weekend, I don’t know where I am half the time either.”
Jackson-Pig laughed. “Amen to that,” he said.
The two men arrived at a small interview room a few minutes later. Dr Weller was waiting for them. Alice had slipped into unconsciousness. The two security guards laid Alice down on the couch and stepped away from her. Dr Weller checked her vitals, then shone a light in her eyes and felt the lump on the back of her head.
“So,” He said, standing up and turning to the other two men in the room. “What did she say to you?”
Mike-Pig and Jackson-Pig looked at each other and shrugged.
“You may as well go first,” Mike-Pig said.
Chapter 7
Dorothy was sitting on the couch watching two men play pool When Alice was brought onto the ward. It was cloudy outside. Mid-April weather being what it was, that could have meant either rain
“What?” said the second pig. “What are you, high?”
“ I’m not going back! ”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about lady,” he said. “There’s no fuckin’ courtyard here. That’s at Barker General Hospital. They have that big garden where you used to be able to smoke.”
“Just let me leave,” Alice said. “Please.”
“ You’re nod goin’ anywhere, you fuckin bitch! ” the first pig squealed from behind his hands. Blood and snot was all over his face. It dripped from between his fingers like warm paint.
“Look, try to stay calm,” the second pig said. “Doc just wants to take a look at you. That’s it. Then I’m sure they’ll let you do whatever you want.”
Alice looked into his face. A moment too late she realized he was looking over her shoulder. It made her a moment too late to look behind her.
A third pig had come in behind her while the second one was talking. Now he hit Alice like a tackle dummy, ramming his shoulder into the small of her back and taking her to the ground. The air rushed out of her as she fell. She tried to twist her way around to face this new enemy, but then she was on her back and her skull bounced on the floor.
There was a wave of alternating blue and black behind her eyes, and sparks as the world bounced in her vision. Then things got very slow.
“Nice job, Mike,” the second pig said somewhere above Alice. “You coulda played for the Giants .”
“Heh, yeah,” the pig named Mike said. “They could use me this year.”
“You alright?”
“My fuckin nose, man,” the first pig said. “She caught me good.”
“Yeah, keep your hands up next time Chuckles ,” second pig said.
“Okay, hold her arms. Let’s get her to observation. Go get that thing looked after, Charlie, your bleeding like a stuck pig.”
“ He is a pig ,” Alice said. “You’re all pigs.”
“What’s that honey?” the Mike-Pig said. “Hey you’re a real sweetheart, you know that? You think my friend here could get your number?”
“Yeah, thanks,” Jackson-Pig laughed. “I bet my mother would love you. You kind of remind me of her.”
The two men picked Alice up. She could feel movement, but she couldn’t get a handle on where she was. The world was fracturing into shards of memory, as though she was observing her life a moment after it had taken place. Polaroids in a pile, shuffled like cards. The two pigs talking about football. The chimes of the Red Queen’s Court somewhere in the distance. Her head black and foggy. She shot a man in the face because he was sodomizing her.
“ Fuckin killed him ,” Alice said. “ His face asploded.”
“You busted his nose,” Mike-Pig said. “Take a lot more than that to kill Charlie though.”
“She’s on crack or something,” Jackson-Pig said. “Said she wasn’t going to the garden. You know that one in Mercy? She doesn’t even know where she is.”
“Hell,” said M ike-Pig. “Come the weekend, I don’t know where I am half the time either.”
Jackson-Pig laughed. “Amen to that,” he said.
The two men arrived at a small interview room a few minutes later. Dr Weller was waiting for them. Alice had slipped into unconsciousness. The two security guards laid Alice down on the couch and stepped away from her. Dr Weller checked her vitals, then shone a light in her eyes and felt the lump on the back of her head.
“So,” He said, standing up and turning to the other two men in the room. “What did she say to you?”
Mike-Pig and Jackson-Pig looked at each other and shrugged.
“You may as well go first,” Mike-Pig said.
Chapter 7
Dorothy was sitting on the couch watching two men play pool When Alice was brought onto the ward. It was cloudy outside. Mid-April weather being what it was, that could have meant either rain
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