Watch Your Back

Chapter 2

The body was dripping blood onto the road, staining the ground a dark scarlet. Aaron's mouth hung open as the smell of rotting flesh permeated the air, and the fact the stomach was cut open helped his stomach none. Flesh hung off the body's legs and arms like confetti, and the dried blood mixed with new gore seeping out from multiple cuts colored the surrounding skin red. The insides of the body seemed to drip onto the road and spill out like thick, pink spaghetti. Aaron's dad immediately gripped his arm and pulled him away from the nude body hanging in the street. The two continued their silent, quick walk to the high school, and until they gathered near the door, Aaron was silent.

"D-dad? What was that? Why was that woman like that? Who did this? What--"

"Aaron, be quiet." Aaron was stunned at his dad's sudden response. He never spoke to him like that.

"But dad--" Aaron was interrupted by his dad again.

"Aaron. I should've told you sooner. You were so excited about all that asylum shit that..." His dad drifted off as Aaron was left with numerous questions.

"Dad?" Aaron didn't know what to do.

"Just go to school. We'll talk about it after school, with your mom." Aaron gave his dad an angry look, expecting an answer and bottling up questions inside his mind. His dad turned on his heel and left, leaving Aaron with questions as he stood by himself, soon turning around and headed to his locker.

The rest of the day was a blur. Aaron sat mindlessly through his classes, ambling through his notes and waiting for the day to end. The day seemed to go on forever. As soon as the final bell rang, Aaron dashed from his history class, dropping multiple utensils and running into a girl with brown hair that was piled into a ponytail.

"Hey, watch it!" The girl was startled and fumbled for her things.

"You watch it!" Aaron was in too much of a hurry to wait up for petty students like her. He sprinted home in the warm afternoon sunlight and arrived at his home sweaty and exasperated. He burst open the door to find his mom and dad sitting at the table. His mother looked startled.

"Aaron! You're home early." His mother commented. Obviously his dad hadn't said anything. Aaron slid into a seat and looked at his dad. Aaron raised his eyebrows and his dad nodded and sighed.

"Dawn... We need to talk. We-- we saw something this morning. Do you remember the missing woman?"

Aaron's mother nodded.

"Well, this morning we found her... Dead. She was hurt, really bad., and she was hung on the streetlamp, in the middle of town. Aaron and I saw this morning. "

"oh, oh God..." His mother whispered, her face pale and lifeless, as her husband continued with the story. When he finished, he waited for her to respond.

"Oh God, it's true." She said barely above a whisper. Her hands were shaking.

"W-what?!" Aaron asked breathlessly. What was true?!

"I- I was at work today. One of my colleagues, his name was Victor seemed on edge. I asked him if he was alright, and he told me about the body he saw. It hadn't been there long. He seemed so scared... Like it had almost happened to him. I didn't think it was true." She seemed breathless and tired. Aaron hadn't expected this response.

"Aaron, I think you need to do your homework."

Aaron was surprised. He thought his mom wanted to talk more about the body, but she brushed it off like it was nothing.

"Aaron, your mom and I need to talk. Can you do your homework?" His dad stared blankly at him, like they were talking about what to eat for dinner instead of a dead body. Aaron sensed they were going to talk about something serious, so he didn't want to upset or anger his dad. Without another choice, Aaron snuck quietly up to his room and closed the door, throwing his bag on his bed.

"Shit." He breathed out and ran his fingers through his light brown hair, surprised at the length. When he heard muffled voices, he tiptoed to the vent on his floor and pressed his ear to it.

"...and we still have to tell him about the asylum. God, I don't know what to do. He's so..." The voice trailed off as the air conditioning started up, drowning out any sound of mysterious conversation.

"Dammit. Just my luck." Aaron whispered to himself. His parents frowned upon any swearing in the house, so he had to be careful when swearing to himself. He heard footsteps approaching his door, so he quietly jumped from the floor to his desk chair, pretending to be absorbed in an assignment about the Cold War.

"Aaron?" His mom gently pushed open his door, her hair messily in a bun and her arms wrapped around her waist. He innocently looked up from his schoolwork, a look of questioning on his face.

"We... Your dad and I think we should tell you about the asylum now. Can you come down stairs please?" Any other day Aaron would be joyful to hear all the morbid stories behind the abandoned asylum, but now a heavy knot of nervousness settled in his stomach. This was not how he thought his day would go. After his mom left, Aaron pushed himself up from his chair and gently walked downstairs.