Escaping the Psycho's Grasp novel Chapter 1

Super-male Syndrome. That's what they call me. Last week, I finally escaped—I mean, got discharged—from Crestview Mental Institution. Today's my follow-up appointment, and I've spent the entire night cramming "correct answers" into my skull. You know the type: "Sorry" is for bumping, not killing. Conflicts are for cops, not grabbing a knife and kill his entire family. "Murder is illegal, murder is illegal, murder is illegal!" Gotta repeat the important stuff, right? My head's pounding from all these suffocating rules society seems so fond of.

But that headache? Child's play compared to the hell I've found myself in now. I'm just taking an Amtrak, there's a little bastard, born of some old bastard, yelling and jumping up and down in the train. He had this plastic toy gun, waving it around like he owned the whole damn train. Saw something he wanted? Didn't matter if it was his or not, he'd just point the gun and demand it. Refuse? Get a face full of spit.

The conductor tried to intervene, but the kid's parents? Oblivious. They didn't even bother to look up from their phones. They were sprawled out, shoes off, blasting some obnoxious TikTok trend. The sound was deafening, and the whole carriage was filled with that annoying, fake-ass laughter.

The conductor, braving the stench of their feet (seriously, it was like a cheese factory exploded), politely asked them to control their kid. The dad just rolled his eyes. "We paid for our tickets," he sneered. "That means we're customers. And the customer is always right. Don't you know how that works?"

"Sir, you're disturbing the other passengers…"

He cut her off. "It's a public space! Why can't my kid play? Who the hell are you anyway?"

Before the conductor could respond, the kid grabbed her skirt and yanked. It didn't rip completely, but everyone heard the fabric tear.

"It's black! Black!" The kid cackled, pointing at the mortified conductor. "She's wearing black panties!"

The poor girl, young and clearly embarrassed, burst into tears and fled, clutching her skirt.