Watch Your Back

Chapter 12

Carl was in the corner of the bathroom huddled in a ball. There was so blood staining his face and glasses that it looked like he was bleeding. Aaron dropped down on one knee to help Carl. He noticed that Carl was whispering something. Aaron leaned in to listen.

"...shitshitshitshitshit..." Carl was whispering almost incomprehensibly. Aaron removed Carl's glasses from his bloody face. Carl's eyes were wide, rounded, and bloodshot, like he hadn't slept in days. His brown eyes were small and quavering, darting around the room, like he was preparing for something.

"Hey, Carl, what happened? What did you see?" Aaron didn't bother asking if Carl was okay. He already knew the answer.

"Th--the s-stall. The st-stall." Carl's eyes moved in the direction of the last stall near the wall, and the blue door on it was closed. Aaron slowly stood up and inched slowly down to the last stall. The process only took about 30 seconds, but to Aaron, it felt like 30 long, agonizing minutes. He steadily reached out his hand to push open the steel blue door...

WHAM! The door flew open and struck Aaron right in the nose with a CRACK!

Aww, SHIT!" Aaron grabbed his nose, which was now spouting out blood like a broken fountain. If Aaron hadn't have looked up, he might have missed the flash of black and purple that dashed out of the stall, slightly brushing Aaron's hair with a whoosh. Aaron choked and looked behind him, seeing the last face he had expected to see.

"Holy...fucking...shit." Aaron was soon face-to-face with the man from the asylum, who was frozen in the same state he was, except with a scalpel in his hand. Aaron and the man stared into eachother's eyes for what seemed like forever. Aaron studied the man. He had bloodshot, wide, crazy-looking, glittering emerald eyes that were suspiciously like his own. The man had wild, crazy purple hair that came out at all angles of his head. The thin, wiry glasses he was wearing were cracked on the left lense and he had traces of dark stubble on his jawline. He had on a lavender button-up with the first button out of place, screwing up the rest of the row. He had dark jeans and black, shiny shoes that gleamed in the sterile light of the bathroom. But the most intriguing part of his outfit was his lab coat. The bright white coat reached down to the floor and was covered in blood. The man and Aaron locked eyes and stared at each other continuously. The silence was enough to kill, but it was broken when Aaron suddenly sneezed, sending a splurt of blood out of his nose. The man jumped towards him and dragged the sharp scalpel across his face and pricked Aaron with a sharp needle he quickly injected into Aaron's arm. Then he shut off the light and ran out the door.

"Wait! HEY, WAIT!!" Aaron jiggled the door, but it didn't open. He switched on the light. What the hell had that man stuck him with? Aaron shattered the needle and smelt the liquid, but it had no scent. He tried to ponder what had happened and if he and Carl were okay. Oh, shit! Carl! Aaron spun around to check on Carl. And he screamed. Because he didn't find Carl. What he found was a body horridly nailed to the wall. Its eyes had been gouged out and the skin around it had been cut off. The crimson form was twisted and grotesque, haphazardly stuck to the concrete. Carl's mouth had been pulled back into a joyous smile that was brimming with gore and saliva. His mouth mocked Aaron, as if to say Ha! You're still alive! Aaron was hyperventilating so much that he was seeing spots, and his mind couldn't comprehend what he was seeing. his best friend. HIS BEST FUCKING FRIEND. Aaron was going to hunt down this man, whoever the hell he was, and kill him. Torture him and kill him and make sure he died in the most horrific way possible.

But before he could act, he passed out, and his head collided with the concrete with a sickening CRRRACK!