I was patiently waiting in the chow line with a bunch of other patients when I felt the hand grab and hold my ass. I was the last one in line a few seconds before and didn’t notice a dozen or so other patients from another ward had entered the cafeteria and fallen in line behind me. The adrenalin and rage began flooding through my body immediately. With clenched fist I spun around ready to knock out whomever it was that had their hand on my ass.
As I turned, and took a half step back so that I could put the full force of my upper body strength into the punch, the hand fell away from my ass. As quickly as the rush of anger and adrenalin came over me, it melted away and disappeared. I could not follow through with it.
Standing before me was this harmless, goofy looking little old man with no hair, no teeth, and was wearing only a hospital gurney. He stood no taller than my chin. He was wearing a smile that stretched from ear to ear that showed off his gums and drool was running down one side of his chin. A proud, happy and gleeful expression beamed from his goofy little harmless looking face. I didn’t have the heart to haul off and whack the goofy old bastard. Without saying a word I simply stepped out of the formation and took the last place at the end of the line.
Though shocked and in disbelief I was no longer angry, I realized this poor bastard was just a sick harmless little old man that had probably spent most of his life in the asylum. I actually felt sorry for him. When the line progressed and it was my turn, I grabbed a tray and the plastic utensils and moved along the serving counter. Each of the servers plopped whatever it was on the menu that evening onto my plate and tray. I then found myself a seat at one of the long banquet tables somewhere in the center of the crowded cafeteria and sat down to eat.
I had barely had a chance to dig in and start chowing down my food when I was startled and jumped out of my chair at the sound of a loud crash and banging behind me. I nearly choked on my food as I spun around and was forced off balance falling sideways into the long banquet table. I was then pushed and fell over my chair and onto the floor by a small crowd of patients stampeding and rushing to get away in a panic. The resident were running and pushing each other in a panicked frenzy, as if trying to get out of a movie theater after someone had yelled fire. Others were running toward the epic center from all directions of the cafeteria with the same motivating frenzy to get a better view of what was happening.
I quickly regained my composure, stood on my feet, and was frozen with a paralyzing fear as the terror swept through every fiber of my body. I could not move and began shaking uncontrollably as the blood curdling screaming cut through me like a knife through a soft stick of butter.
In a panicked frenzy he had knocked over a hand full of table and chairs and patients trying to get away. Slipping on some food on the tiled floor he was now laying on his side on the floor still running and waving his arms frantically.
With only one arm still in his gurney he was mostly naked. His body and privates fully exposed. The weight of his body mostly resting on his hip propelled his body in a circular motion like the hands of a clock racing around the dial at high speed.
The blood curdling screaming did not stop gushing and streaming from his lips. Crying uncontrollably and screaming hysterically with a bellowing, screeching high pitched chilling voice as he ran in place while laying on his side on the floor, but went nowhere other then in a circular motion.
“ARRRRRRGH, ARRRRRRRRGH, THEIR COMING TO GET ME, THEIR COMING TO GET ME, I HEAR VOICES, I HEAR VOICES, ARRRRRGGHHH, AARRRRGHHH.”
I was in horror watching this. Within minutes chaos began to erupt, some of the residents began throwing food and trays, others were screaming and freaking out running around tipping over tables and throwing chairs, it had turned into a full scale revolt and anarchy.
For each ward of the nut hut that allowed patients to go down to the cafeteria for meals had two orderlies as escorts. The patients of the wards that had not earned and been awarded with privileges were fed on the ward as each had a small kitchen where the staff would prepare meals for remaining patients.
Staff and security guards from all over the hospital began flooding into the cafeteria One stabbed the instigator that had started the ruckus in the ass with a big needle that immediately immobilized him as others held him down trying to stop him from running in circles as the rest attempted to restore order. Order was restored fairly quickly and soon we were escorted back to our individual wards and the doors locked behind us. The cafeteria was closed for a week after that incident and all privileges were revoked. This happened on the fourth day of my stay at the nut hut and the first day I was given privileges to go off the ward.
