Holly started sobbing quietly and between sobs she noticed that her visitors decided to leave. She wanted to cry out for them to stay--for them not to leave her alone in this room--but her emotions were too great and she could not utter any words.

Time passed, but Holly had no way to measure its passage. The calm stillness of the hot, dark room and the fact her breathing was somewhat labored by the jacket's tightness did not help her fight to regain her composure. Hope entered into her heart as the door started to open again, however all that appeared was a meager tray of food which was placed on the floor.

Hunger pangs overwhelmed her once she caught the smell of the paltry offering. Holly’s arms were of no use to her, but the tray of food was thoughtfully designed to present the meal in a manner that did not require hands. A small serving of food made up of cubed potatoes, cubed carrots and some type of cubed meat substance was all gone from the tray in but a few moments, despite the fact that she only used her lips and teeth to snap it up. A hard plastic cup filled with what proved to be warm water was also present, she gratefully drank that down as quickly as she could swallow all of it while holding it with her teeth.

After she finished the meal, she felt more relaxed and within a few minutes became very drowsy; her heavy eyelids fought her all the way into sleep. As she floated inside the limbo of her mind she heard several voices, one of which stood out from the rest; it was calm and loving. Holly trusted this voice and when it asked her to open her eyes, she did.

Seated in front of her were both her husband and daughter. They smiled at her from across a picnic table in their local park--her husband was just finishing prayer. She closed her eyes in disbelief, but she smelled the aroma of real food and freshly cut grass and even heard the sounds of other children playing around them.

Holly opened her eyes and tried to enjoy the moment; her life was normal, her memory intact and there was no indication of an asylum. Her mind and heart rejoiced as her daughter smiled and asked her to pour some Kool-Aid; perhaps this was not a dream after all. A sharp thud hit her in the back of the head and in the sudden blackness that resulted all she could hear was her husband cry out and her daughter scream--that is until she opened her eyes once more.

Holly quickly found that her arms and legs were strapped to some type of metal chair. The doctor she had seen before in the padded room came around from behind her and seemed very disturbed.

“We were hoping you would remain in your medicated state for the duration of the procedure,” he told her. Holly immediately demanded an explanation as to what had happened. The doctor let out a long, bothered sigh and began.

“There is a serious and virulent epidemic about, and you have an extremely aggressive form of this virus that it is growing out of control in today’s society. It is slowly gaining major control over your entire life. There have been times when you have been observed speaking in foreign tongues and engaging in episodes of dreamlike euphoria that have been known to cause mass-hysteria.

“It is in my professional opinion that this virus must be contained, even if it is in only one patient at a time. You were lucky; we have had you under constant surveillance. My specialized team rescued you and your entire family just in time. If left untreated, this social disease will continue to corrupt more lost souls than you can imagine. I will now continue electrical stimulation of your brain in order to hopefully eliminate this virus from you, once and for all.