Silent Jack

Fall Out

As Emily was dialing Sheriff Sarah's number, a van left St. Senan Psychiatric Hospital and started its journey on the highway. The van was carrying ten patients from St. Senan, including Jack, and it was transporting them to another mental asylum.

"Did you check the lock on the door?" the ward boy, Josh, asked the driver of the van.

"Yes, I checked the locks on the chains that were used to secure all the patients to their seats, and I also checked the lock on the back door of the van," the driver said as he took a turn onto the highway.

"I think this is the last batch of patients that are going to be transferred... then we'll be free and can join our new jobs," Josh said as he looked toward the clear highway ahead.

"No, one batch is still left," the driver said.

"Then we'll be free after two days," Josh said in a low voice. He was eager to join his new job as soon as possible, as it was going to give him a higher monthly income.

"All of these patients are from Wing C?" the driver asked.

"Yes, they are Wing C patients," Josh said, and before he could say anything else, a truck came from behind and hit the van with full force.

The collision was so strong that the van veered off the highway and got stuck between a few trees. Josh looked at the broken windshield of the van, then wiped his eyes, which were covered with blood that was coming from his injured forehead.

He turned his head and looked toward the driver, finding him slumped over the steering wheel.

"Marlow..." Josh held the driver's shoulder and said.

But Marlow didn't reply. Josh held his wrist to feel his pulse, but it had already stopped.

"Shit," Josh said, looking around to find the wireless phone that was placed on the dashboard of the van. He found it near his feet.

After a minute, Josh dialed the number for the police, and as soon as someone picked up the call, he said, "This is Ward Boy Josh from St. Senan Psychiatric Hospital. I was transporting a few patients in a van, and we had an accident... The van collided with a truck... The driver is dead... You need to send help immediately!"

"Tell me your location," the operator asked.

Josh provided the details of the location and disconnected the call.

Now, he had to wait until help arrived. He was trying to keep his eyes open and stay awake, but the pain from his forehead injury made it difficult. His eyes were closing when suddenly, someone hit him on the head with a metallic rod.

The blow was so strong that Josh felt as if his head had been crushed. He opened his eyes and looked at the person who had struck him. Before he could say anything, the same rod hit his head again, and this time, Josh died instantly.

Fifteen minutes later, the area around the crashed van was surrounded by police vehicles, and Sheriff Noah was standing near Josh's body.

"He's Josh... he's the one who called us," a police constable said, showing Josh's ID card to Noah.

"Hmm," Noah said as he moved closer to Josh, whose forehead was injured from the collision with the dashboard.

"But what happened here?" Noah pointed to the side of Josh's head, where there was another wound.

"Sir, look at this rod," a constable said, pointing to the rod near the front wheel of the van. "There's blood on it."

"Seal it," Noah ordered, then picked up a paper that was lying near Josh's feet.

"What is this?" Noah asked.

"It looks like a list of patients that this ward boy was transporting to another mental asylum," the constable said.

He was aware of the call that Josh had made to the helpline, so he relayed the details to Noah, who had just arrived at the crime scene and wasn't aware that this van was transporting ten patients from St. Senan to another hospital.

"The lock on the back door is broken," a constable called out loudly.

Noah didn't respond to the constable and continued reading the names of the patients who had been locked in the back of the van. When he saw Jack Nolan's name on the list, he instantly became alarmed. The next moment, he ran toward the back cabin of the van, which was now wide open.

He saw nine injured patients sitting inside the van, but Jack was missing. Noah scanned the area, but Jack was nowhere to be found.

"Where is Jack?" Noah shouted.

The constables looked around, confused, not understanding whom the sheriff was referring to.

"Find Jack... the missing patient!" Noah shouted, and the constables scattered to search for him.

Meanwhile, Noah stood in place, cursing Dean Shawn White of St. Senan for not informing him or Sarah before planning the transfer of Jack. Now, Jack had escaped, and no one knew where he could be.