Nexus of Darkness

Chapter Two

It took me an hour to find the Happy Minds Asylum. Being located on the outskirts of New York City wouldn't have been too bad if someone hadn't planted a cluster of trees to shelter the asylum from modern civilization. The unnerving thing was that I had to stay at the asylum until the case was solved. They had a bed for me there and even expected me to eat meals with them. I was told that I wouldn't need anything else besides entertainment, but they also said they would take care of that.

I stopped my all-black, 1967 Chevrolet Camaro with white hood and trunk stripes off to the side of the parking lot. It was a present from my father who loved vintage cars. He gave it to me right before he died, and this car was his prized possession. I didn't trust leaving such a beauty in the parking lot for others to steal. However, I had somewhat concealed the car by hiding it off to the side, and business was business. I had no other choice but to leave my precious car.

I trudged up to the front doors of the building. It was made of gray stone and was only one story. However, it was very large due to the area it covered. The length and width of the building were astonishingly large when I stumbled across the asylum's blueprints later, but that's a story best saved for some other time. The building was very bland with two windows total, and those two were located on the front of the building, near the two glass doors. There was no sign anywhere that told me that this was an asylum; I just knew. 

I tried one of the silver handles on one of the glass doors. Then, I tried the other. Both were locked, which was very odd. Jacob had told me that the staff were expecting me by ten o'clock in the morning. I checked my silver watch with a black leather band. The watch also had a glass face that showed the silver roman numerals and the black hands. It was nine fifty-nine. 

While I waited, I straightened my crisp black tie and fiddled with the collar of my white, button-down shirt. I also had the chance to straighten my woolen, black trench coat. There was a strong wind blowing that would have chilled me to the bone if it weren't for my trusty ol' coat. There was nothing I could do about my messy, blonde hair that fell over my green eyes. 

The doors were opened by a rather tall girl with short brown hair. I would have thought that she was a boy, but she was wearing a tight, black dress that went down to her thighs and black, three-inch high heels. She wore a white lab coat over top of her outfit and had black-framed glasses just like mine. Her icy blue eyes were intimidating. 

I was too busy taking in her features to realize that I had left her holding open the door for a few long moments. She finally rolled her eyes at me and sneered. "Are you coming in or what? I actually have a life and can't afford to waste my day waiting for someone to come through the door." 

I laughed at her comment. "Maybe my life is annoying people by making them hold the door open for me for the entire day. It's quite interesting actually, perhaps you should try it someday." I shoved my thumbs in my pockets and shifted my weight from foot to foot. I loved creating comebacks.

The girl put her unoccupied hand on her hip and smiled at me. "It seems we'll be getting along just fine here. I do appreciate a man who can create comebacks on the spot."

I smiled crookedly. "I'm glad to hear that. I appreciate a woman who doesn't freak out when I insult her." I then stepped through the glass door and into the asylum. The gray tile floor was shiny and looked as if it had just been mopped. I was in some sort of waiting room. There was a gray deak off to the right that I assumed was the information desk. A gray carpet had gray metal chairs and gray tables for people to sit at and read magazines with they were waiting. For what I didn't know.

The girl followed me into the room, closing the door behind her. She had no name tag to identify who she was. I wondered why she didn't have one. She briskly walked behind the information desk and began tidying things up. She organized papers, dusted the desk and the bell, made sure the computer's mouse was in the right spot, and more. I was at a loss for what to do. 

"What's your name?" I heard my voice reverberate through the all-gray room. 

"My name is Cabella. And yours?"

"Dende. My name is Dende Ulioq." 

Cabella smirked. "Nice name. How many people mispronounce it?" Her voice dripped with sarcasm.

I wouldn't let her best me. "Like you're one to talk. Cabella isn't exactly the most common name." 

She rolled her eyes. "At least I don't go around telling complete strangers my full name." 

"I'm not a complete stranger and neither are you. We both know each other's names, don't we? That must count for something genius." The smart-ass in me was coming out.

"Your definition and my definition of the word 'stranger' are completely different." Cabella glared daggers at me.

I wasn't one to back down. "Why don't we get a dictionary and use the universal term for the word 'stranger', shall we?"

"Let's not and say we did." She was ready to end the argument there. 

I nodded and took a seat in one of the gray chairs. Cabella and I were the only two colorful things in the room. It was be an amazement if I could still dream in color after being in that waiting room for so long. While I was waiting, Cabella sat at the computer behind the desk and tapped away on the keyboard. The sound was comforting to me. It assured me that I wasn't alone in this creepy place. 

An hour must have passed before the glass doors opened. In walked a tall, lanky man with salt and pepper hair that was spiked up. He had kind brown eyes and was wearing a green army jacket, gray khaki shorts, and black combat boots. He marched towards the desk with a confident swagger about him. 

"Well, if it isn't Eric 'Sergeant' Kelly." Cabella smirked at him as he leaned on the desk. A twinkle ignited in her eye as her icy blue eyes met his kind brown eyes.

"Why, who else would be stupid enough to make their way to an asylum away from modern civilization? I mean, even I wouldn't be here if it weren't for my precious Marianna." Kelly smiled bashfully when he said the last sentence and blushed profusely. I watched him in shock. At the office and on investigations, Kelly was always very tough and the last person I would expect to blush and smile shyly. 

Kelly glanced around the room and finally spotted me. When he did, his eyes grew large when the truth sunk in that I had seen him reveal his soft side. He slowly approached me, holding up both hands in defense. "Look, I can explain..." His voice trailed off.

I crossed my arms. "Oh really? Wait until everyone at the station hears about this. The ultimate bachelor finally settled down in a steady relationship." A smirk crossed my lips. All of the color drained from Kelly's face. 

"Oh please, no! Anything but that! The boys at the station can't hear this! I mean, I'm a bachelor for life and all. I promised them I wouldn't ever settle down." Kelly rubbed his neck and chin nervously. 

I raised my right eyebrow. "So the dependable Sergeant Kelly really isn't that dependable at all. He throws his weight around, we already know that. However, in addition, he's a liar too. What an interesting combination." 

Before Kelly had the chance to respond, Cabella cut in. "Could you two stop? Some of us here actually have important work to be doing." She sighed an exasperated sigh and went back to tapping away at the computer's keyboard. 

Bored, I motioned for Kelly to sit in the chair next to me. There was some information I needed to get out of him.