I could see a shadow in the corner, a silhouette of the new patient. The person sat upon the windowsill with their head hiding within the gloominess of the fog that was swirling around them. Their head was pressed up against the glass as they stared out at the world that was lying outside the ward. I continued to sweep up our day room, but yet I did not break contact with the figure looming within the darkness. I saw them stand up; my eyes grew big. For a first, we had a woman on the ward as a patient. She was short in stature, but yet she was still very attractive, especially compared to the Big Nurse. Her short red hair was a mess, pointing in all directions. One could see the scars on her arms from her countless slashing to her veins beneath the green jumpsuit she was wearing. Large, black, square glasses hid her menacing green eyes. I walked past the tub room in which I overheard a conversation between Billy Bibbit, McMurphy, and Harding, where they were playing their usual rounds of poker and blackjack.

“Hoooeee! Wouldn’t I like a piece of that!” McMurphy said in his usual loud tone.

“W-w-w-ho i-i-i-is s-s-s-she?” Billy stuttered.

“I have the records from the doctor,” Harding said. His hands were fluttering in front of him, doing their usual air ballet. He caught on to them and shoved them between his knees before he continued, “Her name is Molly Gibson, and she transferred from the Brentard Hospital in Idaho. She tried to break out of there, but she was caught and sent here for higher security purposes. She was born in Wyoming, to Janice and Luther Gibson. Apparently a few years ago she was raped and shot in the head, but it didn’t kill her, obviously, and ever since then she’s never been the same.” Harding looked over at her, where she was peering into Nurse Ratched’s window. The black boys were heading her way to bring her back into the main part of the dayroom.

“C’mon now, Miz Gibson, it’s time to sit over here,” Washington said as he pried her from the window. His tight grip on her wrist caused her to jump and start shaking. She let out a loud scream.

"Let go of me! HELP! she yelled." The Big Nurse and the girl with the crucifix bolted out of their room. Ratched's neck twitched as she subdued the screaming girl, and a little red pill made it's way from a lab pocket into the screaming girls mouth. Molly was obviously trying quite desperately to spit it out but Ratched had clamped her hand over the girl’s mouth like a piece of flypaper. She looked the panicked girl in the eyes, "Swallow!" she bellowed with all the command and conviction in the world. The girl shook more violently than before and Ratched's other hand clamped over the girls nose. Frantic little hands clawed at the covered mouth and at great last a small lump slid down the back of Molly’s throat and the hand on her nose released.

In the corner the crucifix nurse was finished talking to the black boys, and they were slinking down the hall cursing as they went. They were only slightly aware of the girl slip into unconsciousness and onto the floor far behind them.

That night I heard a light creak from the door. I saw Harding and Molly, who was barely awake, sneaking out of the room.

“You want to get out of here, don’t you?” I heard Harding whisper to her. “Yessss,” she mumbled as he pushed her into the next room. I followed them at a distance and stopped when they began to head down the staircase. From the window I watched them make their escape. I remembered as Molly struggled with the Big Nurse that as her arms were flailing and she clawed at the nurse, she grabbed a key from inside her lab pocket. With that key they unlocked the front door and headed outside. They climbed the fence, but Molly, being as exhausted as she was, lost her footing and fell into a barbed wire pit that was left over from old construction work. Blood spilled from her chest as she let out a scream that was ignored by all who occupied the hospital. I watched as Harding jumped down and attempted to pull her out of the ditch but failed.

At 5:30 AM the security alarm went off. I saw Molly’s body on a stretcher covered with a sheet that was being carried away.

“Hell’s bells, what’s going on? Where’s Harding?” McMurphy shouted as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

“The soup is an octopus!” Colonel Matterson shouted as he was being rolled into the dayroom.

“There is no reason to panic, everything is fine,” The Big Nurse stated to us when we were all lined up in the day room. “There has only been a little accident.”

Back to Gretchen's little Main Page