The dare was simple, I was to get into the children's ward of Blackfriar asylum. I walked there alone while I could have easily gone home and acted like nothing happened. Who would have known the difference? The thought crossed my mind briefly but I payed no attention to it. People had died there, victims of cruel experiments performed by so-called "doctors". As I came upon the towering building, I could have sworn I heard a faint scream. It's just your imagination. Your mind is only playing tricks on you. I began looking for a way inside, and found a broken window on the right side of the building, overgrown with some kind of ivy. Pulling back on the tangled vines, I found an opening just big enough for me to fit through. Once inside, I pulled my flashlight out of my back pocket and looked around.
The inside of the asylum was dark, and the shadows cast from my flashlight seemed to dance along the walls. There was a light smell of mildew mixed in the damp air. I could tell that nobody had been there in years, which made perfect sense because everything had been shut down nearly sixty years before. The only people that had been there since then were the occasional teenagers. That was made obvious by the graffiti that covered the walls and the trash littered the floors.
I shivered, feeling the cool air settle on my skin. Well, at least I made it in here. I made my way further into the dark building, searching for a sign with the different wards printed on it so I could figure out where I needed to go. I hadn't even been in there for five minutes and I already wanted to get out. Something about that place felt off, as if the darkness would consume me if I stayed too long. I made it to an information station where the different wards were printed on a faded sign. I struggled to make out what they said against the glare from my flashlight, from what I could see, I just left one of the sitting rooms, and to get to the children's ward I needed to take a left at the end of the hall.
My flashlight shone dimly against the dark, not even reaching the end of the hallway. It seemed to go on and on, step after step, never ending. After what felt like an eternity, I came upon a wall, and turned left. This hallway was different, it was colder, and somehow, darker. A chill ran down my spine, I shivered and pulled my jacket closer. It had felt as if somebody had put their deathly cold fingers on my back. I wanted to turn and leave but I just couldn't, something seemed to pull me further.
Maybe it was my curiosity, or just plain spite that kept me from leaving. God, I wish I had left. My whole body was trembling as I struggled to see with my dim flashlight. Everything was strangely silent, I could barely even hear myself breathe. It all seemed so calm, it hardly even felt real. I was ready to accept that it washing that, a dream, when all of a sudden I began to hear quiet sobbing from a room to my left. Along with it, I also heard scratching on the walls. I thought maybe it was somebody that had beaten me here to try to scare me, but something just felt off about it. "Milly," I called into the darkness, "Ever? Is that you?" I got no reply, only quiet whimpers. "Come on guys, it's not funny!" I moved into the room closest to me and the sound got louder. Looking around the room, I only saw a bed. The sound of the scratching became almost unbearable, almost as if it was coming from inside my skull. I looked under the bed and saw the silhouette of a person curled up in the corner, unmoving. "Hey, are you alright?" Reaching out to touch the person in front of me, I noticed that the sobbing had stopped. The scratching turned to a loud scraping sound, I felt as if my head was going to explode. My flashlight began to blink, and vision began to swirl. I heard a quiet giggle come from in front of me. It quickly grew louder, ringing in my ears. It wasn't stopping, the sound became unbearable. A sudden rage gripped my body and a scream ripped through my chest an throat. "Enough! What is going on?!" I stood up, and ripped the bed away from the wall. Nothing could have prepared me for what I saw.
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Hey! Sorry I took so long to update! But I should be able to finish this very soon! Expect one or two more chapters tonight!
YOU ARE READING
Crimson
Short Story*concluded* Sarah just wants to be normal. Simple, right? Not for her, she was getting along great until somebody from her past brought back old memories.
