Chapter 42 #2
Marlin drops Maddox Shoreshire onto the closest gurney. The old man sprawls out along it, his ashen skin and slack expression making him look a little too comfortable in a place of death.
“Patients have a tendency to die at Hollow House. An inconvenience no one wishes to share with the public, so they built the town’s only morgue in the basement for easy access.”
“That’s... efficient.”
For a lack of a better word, I bite off the rest of the sentence and take another look around.
Sculptures of mythological creatures peer out from the shadows, their frozen expressions twisted with pain and panic as unimaginable deaths befall them. Latin script weaves its way between each statue, a strange yet familiar homage that echoes throughout the empty morgue.
The sound of a filing cabinet pulls my attention back to Marlin. Riffling through the drawers, his staggering height seems to dwarf the checkered desk beside him.
Patient files tucked in stained yellow folders peek out between each section, different names and numbers attached to each one. I watch him pull out the thickest folder, the one that’s bursting at the seams with papers and subscriptions.
J. Hook
“Dead or alive, each patient that gets released from the asylum is allocated a folder that outlines the fine details of their stay here.”
His lips curve slightly as he flips through the papers and pulls a plastic baggie free.
“There is something to be said for an insurance policy, don’t you think?”
Small, white capsules click together as he pours them into a pill bottle. Blood stains the tip of each one, forgotten roots that look disturbingly similar to the molars in my mouth.
Clearing my throat, I force myself to look away.
“I would imagine it’s a tough family business to get into.”
“And a difficult one to pass along. The eldest son has already proved himself a disappointment by running off to Hollywood and becoming a talk show host.”
The glint of a scalpel catches my eye and I shudder.
“Would be livelier than this place.”
A flicker of amusement crosses Marlin’s face, his shoes clicking against the concrete floors as he returns to Maddox’s side.
“You would be surprised.”
I watch him straighten the man’s dress shirt and pants as though they were his own, the precise movement of his hands following each crease until they lie neatly against the sleeping man.
“Grab a body bag from that supply closet over there. Second one on the right, you’ll find them on the top shelf.”
I wince, “We’re putting him in a body bag?”
“Unless you have a better idea on how to carry him on the street undetected.” He gives me a pointed look, “Second closet, top shelf.”
Muttering profanity under my breath, I turn and head towards the closet in the back. The subtle grey door that blends in with the drab setting around us.
Light from the exterior spills into the tight space, illuminating the pile of bags sitting on the top shelf. I step inside and press my hand against the wall, feeling for a light switch that doesn’t want to be found.
Click.
Darkness envelopes me and for a moment I’m confused.
No ridge juts up beneath my fingertips, yet all the light from the main room is gone. It takes my brain a moment to put the pieces together, for the closed door at my back to suddenly find itself unable to open.
“Marlin, the door is stuck.” I turn around and jostle the handle, feeling sweat break out along the back of my neck, “I need you to pry it open. Something must have fallen or-
A chuckle floats through the slit above the top of the door. Low and amused, it’s the same sound that’s been following me all fucking evening.
He locked me in from the outside.
The realization hits me like a ton of bricks, an indefinite amount of weight collapsing on my chest and shoulders until it feels like I can’t fucking breathe.
“Marlin, let me out. Let me out right now.”
I back up from the door and hit the back of the closet. The pressure in my chest explodes, anxiety seeping out in waves while my mouth goes completely dry.
“Marlin! Can you hear me?”
The ringing in my ears grows louder as my breathing becomes ragged, the sound of my heartbeat thundering through my ears.
I slam my body against the door, rattling my bones and jerking on the handle like it might be enough to set me free.
“Open this fucking door right now!”
My shout bounces off the walls, walls that seem to be closing in on me. I’m gasping, fighting for air while the collar around my neck starts to tighten.
“You don’t understand, I...”
The air cuts itself off and suddenly I’m choking. Gagging and tearing at my neck to try and get the oxygen back in my chest.
“Let. Me. Out.”
Another body slam has my teeth knocking together, the iron clad lock causing me to stumble back into the wall. Something wet and heavy hits my hands as I start to choke in earnest, suffocating on the past until my dinner spews out onto the floor.
There’s not enough light to see the blood but I can smell it. On my hands, in my hair, dripping from every scar on my body until I start to bleed out.
I’m screaming but I can’t hear myself scream. My head is shoved underwater, the sound muffled as my nails tear at the cord wrapped around my neck, sending flesh and blood flying into the darkness.
The screams turn into barking and the barking turns into tears. Somewhere amidst it all, I collapse to the floor, leaking from too many parts of my body to stop the spill.
It’s a drum pounding in my ears, a steady rhythm that steals the only thing that’s always been mine and shatters it into fucking pieces.
I can’t get out.