Until Dawn

Chapter 6: Violence

After I'd caught my breath, I had taken in my surroundings. The small space I was in had two ways for me to choose from. The path I'd come in, and a small air duct. It wasn't a choice. Carefully I pulled the entrance to the air vent away and crawled in, attempting to be as silent as I could manage. 

"Jeesh, I didn't know so much of this place was run down." I whispered to myself as the end of the vent came into view. Sure enough it led into another dark, dimly lit room that looked ancient. I turned and lashed out at the vent covering, it took two kicks before it popped out and landed on the floor. I followed it out, landing on cement. I stood slowly, my hands shaking slightly with the flashlight still clutched in my palms. 

My gaze drifted between an old cabinet, to a worn out sewing dummy, to what appeared to be the blueprint layout of the Washington house, but I wasn't sure. I stepped closer, reaching out to lift the top sheet. I expected to see a second layer of blueprints, instead I found myself starting at some sort of death machine plans. My stomachs twisted as my eyes drifted over the diagrams. It appeared to be the machine that Ashley and Josh had been fastened into. 

"The hell is going on?" I whispered letting the paper flutter back into place. My feet carried me to a wooden desk with a small fan sitting on it. Tattered, ripped pieces of paper were hanging over the desk, pinned to a cork board. I shined the light along the papers before down onto the desk. There was a single drawer off to the left side. Reaching down I pulled open the drawer and reach inside. I clutched a plain vanilla envelope and nudged the drawer shut. Carefully I placed the envelope on the desk and flipped it open, my other hand shining the flash light down onto the papers. 

At the top corner the words Dean View Hospitle were printed under a small sun logo. My eyes scanned the page, re-reading the patients name twice before the words sank in. 

"Oh God..." 

Joshua Washington

Final Psychiatric Evaluation

5/21/2014

Dr. A. Hill

Below that the word Confidential was printed in several sizes larger and in a dark red ink. Nervously I flipped to the next page. There were lists of doctors that he had seen in the past, medications he had been prescribed and had changed. The most recent visit and prescriptions having had to do with the disappearance of his sisters. 

"Josh..." My voice cracked as I closed the envelope and turned away from the desk. There was a soft glow coming from a metal bookshelf. As I came nearer I realized it was his phone. I recognized the tree background. I swiped my thumb across the screen and was rewarded with a short text conversation. 

/Hi Josh, it's Alan. I hope you don't mind me texting you, but this is important. I got your email. I don't think that your plan is going to help. I think you need to stop what you're doing and come to see me. 

Please, pick up your phone. I'm getting worried./

//LEAVE ME ALONE//

/Are you still taking your meds?/

//I'm fine//

/It's very dangerous to stop taking your drugs mid course Josh. 

Contact my office to make an appointment, please. 

Josh?

Josh, please respond./

The texts ended there. I set the phone back onto the bookshelf. Around the shelf was yet another small cork board, this one had several pictures of the same two girls. Hannah and Beth, a few ribbons, several of their bracelets and missing papers from when both of them disappeared. But stuck to one of the pictures was a bright yellow sticky note with the words "Never Forget" written on it.