Population: 1245...And then Some

Chapter Eleven

Keith and I sat on the couch and went through the rest of the stack of files. I looked out the window and saw the sky fill with beautiful oranges and pinks. It looked so peaceful outside as the day transformed into night.

"So Keith, what did you mean earlier today when you-"

I heard the most fearful, high pitched scream from outside. I whipped my head around to see what the commotion was, but right as I got up to go outside darkness surrounded us. The only light was the sunset coming through the window.

I reached the door handle with shaky hands and grabbed the cold metal. I opened the door and screamed.

I stared as I saw patients from the Asylum trashing and burning the whole street in front of me. I looked to my left and the sudden aroma of black smoke flooded my nose.

I coughed out the smoke as I saw a family of four running and screaming for their lives. Four men proceeded to chase them with knifes and chains while cackling hysterically with a crazy gleam in their eyes.

I watched as the one of the more buff men grabbed the father, threw him to the ground, and started beating him to death with a baseball bat.

I watched as the other three men thrashed and threw the mother and her children to the ground. I saw blood splatter everywhere as they kicked and stabbed them.

I screamed in pure horror. The patient who got the dad looked up from the bleeding mess in front of him and looked straight at me.

He started walking towards me with a smile playing at his lips and rested the bat on his shoulder, the blood dripping onto his clean white outfit. I stood in my doorway, too paralyzed to move or scream.

I felt Keith grab my hand, swing me back, and slam the door shut.

"Kathryn, run!" He squeezed my hand as we bolted to the back door of the house. We ran out and went through the side of my house.

We slowed down when we got to the edge. Keith looked over the side and turned to me. He nodded.

We took off on a silent run. I watched as the insane would smash all the people's homes and burn everything. I felt tears spring into my eyes as we ran past a women getting decapitated, her blood splattering the road and the man who made who made the mess.

I swallowed a lump down my throat as I looked up at Keith; he had an angry expression on his face as he kept dragging me, making us go faster.

We turned a couple of corners before we slowed down our pace to a jog.

We found a couple covered in black head to toe. The woman started sobbing; the man hugged her tightly and whispered something in her ear.

"Hey... Are you two alright?" I asked in concern. The couple stepped back from their embrace. They gave us sad eyes. The woman's lips quivered. The man sighed and rubbed his face before giving us an answer.

"If by alright you mean having animals burn down your house and dog... while me and my wife almost died, then yes. Peachy..."The man wrapped his arm around his wife.

"I'm so sorry." Keith came closer to me and put a protective arm around my waist. It sent butterflies through me, but I chose to ignore it.

The couple nodded slowly and walked past us sniffling.

I stared at the smoking neighborhood and let the screams and cries in the background engulf me.

Who could be this horrid? Why would anyone do that to someone? How could anyone do this?

The answer to all those questions was simple:

An insane person would be the fault of all this. Only a person with no soul, a person with no morals with no feelings, a person with absolutely no conscience. That's exactly what the BlackClaw Asylum was filled with.