Dr. Caleb Montgomery unlocked the heavy door and entered the room with somewhat more than the usual apprehension. He had held group sessions at maximum-security prisons, institutions for the severely dysfunctional, and the occasional violent ward of an asylum. This time, however, his anxiety was elevated.

The ward itself was a throwback to the barbaric era of psychology. It still had padded solitary confinement cells, various torture chambers masked as treatment facilities, and even an operation room for the “hopeless” cases.

The current renovation was modestly attempting to hide the ward’s unpleasant origins. The effort merely glossed over the reality. However, even the most liberal of all protestors would turn their back on the ward’s patients in a show of support. The creatures that graced the cells of this ward had insured as such with a mélange of monstrous atrocities.