Chapter 5

"Hell is usually described as a place of heat and darkness, strangely in concert with the laws of physics. Level zero was an alternate vision, a cold, constantly damp, harsh landscape of never ending day. It was here that the massive machines ran continuously, providing water, heat, ventilation and power to the upper levels of the hospital, or asylum, depending on one's position in the building's human hierarchy. It was a world of constant noise and vibration, so intense, so overwhelming, that those assigned to maintain this area always wore ear protection and never spent more than four hours daily in this environment. It was in this hell that Beverly would exist, alone much of the time and unprotected from the oppressive onslaught on her senses."

"The monitoring team immediately noticed significant changes in her vital signs the moment she was wheeled from the freight elevator and then moved to the holding cell for her final checkup before facing the horrors that awaited her. She was taken from the strait jacket, leaving her stark naked and shivering. Beverly was made to stand with her legs spread and her arms straight up, allowing the trio complete access to her body. They began sponging her down with acetone, a powerful degreasing chemical. Unlike their defenseless patient, they were protected from the harsh cleanser by gloves and respirators. She began to grow dizzy from the odor, but they ignored her discomfort, concentrating on their task, which was to remove the thin layer of oil that was the body's last line of protection from the elements."

" She was then forced to squat with her arms extended outward from her sides. One of the handlers began to use an electric trimmer to remove Beverly's hair. To complete the job, a razor left her skull gleaming except for a number of nicks caused by her uncontrollable shaking while she was being shaved. Finally her baldhead was sponged thoroughly causing her to yelp in pain as the chemical ate into the fresh nicks."

" Plastic ties were looped around her wrists and twisted until she gasped as they cut into her papery flesh. Heavy leg irons were used to hobble her. One of her handlers struck her viciously across the shoulder blades with his wooden baton when she was slow to react to his hand signal urging her to begin walking toward the first chamber that had been readied for her."

At this point I literally had to shake myself, so entranced had I become from his story. It took a moment to regain my equilibrium, to move from the eerie world of level zero to the comfortable, solid reality of this sitting room. Leaning forward I asked, " How is it you speak as if you were in attendance? Were you a part of the team of handlers?"

My host shook his head, a look of sadness quickly crossing and then disappearing from his lined face. " I was usually given access to the tapes that were made by the cameras monitoring what could be seen of her ordeal. There is much however that could only be inferred, since many of her travails were endured in total isolation except for the intrusive sensors that blindly did what was programmed, leaving the interpretation to those merely interested in keeping her alive so that she could endure still more. In retrospect I now realize that this brilliant coup was just another soulless process for further dehumanizing my true love. Beverly herself cannot recall many of the details from her stay in that hellish place. Perhaps it is just as well that the full story of her own personal Stations of the Cross remain shrouded in mystery. Perhaps I have misspoken, but those are my true feelings on this matter. Now let me continue with her story."

"How interesting that many of her torments, including the initial one, were associated with water, one of the four indestructible elements of creation. It took her many long minutes to shuffle down the harshly lit corridor, all the while her senses being battered by the steady noise and vibration that radiated from the machines located behind the thick gray-green walls. Her chemical bath had started to do its work, intensifying the cold that she felt now that her flesh was utterly open to it. Every step was a major effort of the will. It was very difficult for Beverly to focus on her private thoughts; the environment was so brutally intrusive."