The sky hung heavy overhead as if a scarlet blanket thrown over a steaming bowl of water and painted towering clouds in the south east a deep red. Rain would likely come later tonight but it would likely be another two hours before it hit the valley. Heat rose in shimmering waves off the broken and pot hole pocked asphalt as I drove, car shuddering down the dusty country road. I reached into the center console and pulled out the pack of cigarettes as I slid to a stop at an intersection. An abandoned house in the small field on my left, its gaping door frame and shattered windows staring at me open mouthed in mock horror. The flame of the lighter jumped and greedily wrapped around the cigarette before jumping away as I inhaled and let the smoke slip through my lips while I looked out on the valley.
Ahead, down the steep switchback of of a gleaming road was my final destination before I went home.
Each of the sites had been the same so far, fields or clearings in the woods well out of the way of anyone. This one however would be different. It was located in one of the abandoned wings at the veterans hospital that was near abandoned from the budget cuts and relocation of its residents following the murder. Not only was the location different but it was a massacre. Where the previous sites appeared to be singular murder this one had seen at least seven corpses, and where the kills at the other sites had been either a blade to the heart or a slit throat the bodies at this site had been torn to pieces. The only way that investigators had realized that the hunks of meat had once been a part of a person, much less several persons, was the half eaten hand that had been found in a rats nest in an old dresser.
Whoever had done it had skinned the victims, cut the muscles and tendons from the bones and then left only the meat. No traces of skin or bones beyond the hand had been located despite thorough searches of the buildings and the surrounding valley. Each of the hunks of what had once been 7 yet unidentified people were jagged as if the killer, or killers had had to work at sawing them apart after skinning them and removing the bones.
This site alone had seen two investigator sick and at least one hand in their badge. Just seeing the photos that I had been allowed to view I could only imagine what they, and the poor nurse who had went into the building to escape a torrential down pour while she smoked might have seen. The only one that had anything more than blood or odd symbols drawn in what appeared to be day glo orange paint was that of the hand in the rats nest.
I took a long drag off of the cigarette and sighed shaking my head as I pulled forward, loose clods of asphalt growling beneath my tires as I drove slowly towards the sprawling complex that had once been a bustling center for those who had served the country in its armed forces and was now nothing more than an expanse of dilapidated buildings in various stages of collapse. The last rays of sun glared angrily off the countless windows as the sun sank towards the trees grasping at it to pull it beyond the horizon. Perhaps if I took my time getting down there the nurse that was supposed to meet with me to let me into the now chained and locked building wouldn’t be there, I was getting paid mileage on top of hourly so it wouldn’t even have been a waste of gas. Just time.
I shook my head and sped up. No that wouldn’t do. If I didn’t meet her today it’d be tomorrow and, as far out as this place was it would just end up wasting more of my time that I could be using on something else and with the teachers talking about another round of strikes after the state law makers failed to follow through on the bills and promises that had been passed or discussed in the early spring of last year I needed to stay on top of what was already on my desk or id end up swamped writing stories about crooked grinning kids who were going off to the higher tiers of a competition no one had previously heard of and stories about some random church or senior center event that was supposed to warm your heart after reading about the ongoing murder investigations or protests held by the Kings Horn calling for a return of vermin laws and abolition of abortion.
By the time I reached the bottom of the valley the sun was nothing more than a dim outline peaking out from behind the blackened trees that was quickly fading as the stars began to dance in the deepening darkness of the sky as if rejoicing at the death of another day. Deepening shadows slunk from the bases of the trees, rose from the dying grass and dry ditches burying any light it could. I clicked on the headlights, carving a pale yellow tunnel in the growing shadows and flicked the remnants of the cigarette out my window as I began the decent down the last switchback. Heat still rolled off the broken asphalt and likely would for a few hours more unless the clouds rolled in and drenched the parched earth. If they even reached this area. I tried to remember the joke the older farmers told about the clouds refusing to dump their load on Oklahoma soil but failed and shook my head, to them it was always either too much or too little rain.
I slowed as I entered the gravel parking lot and nosed up to the entrance of the nearest building where a nurse leaned against the red brick with the angry red cherry gleaming in the growing darkness and put the car into park before shutting it down. I swung the car door open and slipped another cigarette between my lips as I slid out of the car and stood stretching before reaching in for my shoulder bag that had my camera, an extra camera battery, a pack of cigarettes, an extra lighter and a small tazer that I only ever carried if in a deserted place much like those that id been visiting all day long.
“Evening” I say as I light the cigarette. “Apologies for the late arrival, was a bit of a trip to get here.”
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She shrugged. “ Not a problem for me, had to stay here anyways until the last of the residents were shipped out to a different center. Its only been around thirty or so minutes since they left.
I felt my brow furrow as I took a long drag. “ They shutting it down for good?” I ask looking around at the darkened buildings.
She nodded and exhaled slowly. “Yeah, none of the residents who still had decent memory wanted to stay and those who had poor memory had family members who didn’t want them to stay. Most of us who work here were offered positions at other locations.” She shook her head. “Though the closet location that they offered was up north around two hours from here. C’mon. I’ll unlock the building. you’ll have to lock up though. I’m not sticking around, got two girls I have to go pick up from my moms before she comes out here hunting me down. Thank god this place sits in the valley the way it does, never thought Id be thankful for no cell service.” she said as she headed towards a gap between two of the buildings. There were five standing buildings and from the records there had once been another three that had long since fallen and been swallowed by the forest.
I kept pace with her as we headed to the rearmost building, not sure why they would bother to chain and lock a building whose windows had all been shattered and less than half of which were boarded. Tall grass grasped at out legs and whispered faintly as we crossed what must have once been a large lawn nearly as long as a football field and at least twice as wide. The fine hairs on the nape of my neck began to tingle and stand on end as we neared the hulking mass of the old faded red brick building that barely stood apart from the thick blackness of the trees. The nurse pulled out a set of keys that sang softly as we drew nearer as well as a small flashlight.
“I’m not sure how much battery that left in this but ive some spare batteries and if nothing else if your phone still has any juice in it you could use the flashlight on it.“ She said softly as she handed the flashlight over to me and closed the last few feet to the chained doors and slid a large key into the heavy pad lock.
I took a long deep drag off the cigarette before saying. “may I ask your name? If you dont mind me quoting what you said earlier that is.”
She stopped and looked at me, weak starlight and pale embers from our cigarettes illuminating her confused features before a look of realization crossed her face and she reached up to flick her id card that was tagged to her scrub tops. “Right. Dark” She snorted. “My name is Samantha Sanders, prefer just sam though.” she said dropping the chain and pad lock. “ You be careful, both in there and on the way back into town. Some had said they’ve seen mountain lions active a lot more lately. I nodded with a grimace.
“Shouldn’t be here too long. Just going to pop in and snap a few pics and run back out.” I said with a laugh.
She shook her head and gave a small laugh. “Well don’t run. The-” she stopped and swallowed audibly before taking a deep breath. “They were found down stairs in the mortuary. Used to there was an elevetor that would take you down right into it but after we stopped using this building there wasn’t any reason to keep power going to it. You go straight down this entry hall to the emergency exit stairwell and straight down all the way. Jae Anne only went down there because she thought she saw one of our psych patients standing in the door way. Old man Jameson. Hes sweet but likes to wander when it rains, we’ve had to pull him out of here before. I suppose she just forgot that shed been the one to load him up to be sent to another center earlier that morning so when she called out and saw what she thought was him run down stairs she followed.” Sam shuddered running a hand through her hair. “Those stairs are dangerous when its dark.” her voice was quiet as she said this before turning. “Good luck in there. Don’t stay too long.” she said brusquely before striding away.
I watched her retreating figure for a moment before tossing what was left of my cigarette and turning on the flashlight. The hinges of the heavy steal door groaned as I pulled it open but caught half way and wouldn’t move any further. With a deep breath I slid in and looked around. Cracked paint reached away from the walls and thick piles of plaster dotted the long narrow hallway that was barely able to fit two very malnourished people side by side with just enough room to breathe. Gaping doorways dotted the hallway leading to various rooms and other hallways. An old wheelchair whos seat had long since rotted away sat at the far end of the hallway near the door sam had said would lead me to the scene of the murder.
Giving myself a quick shake I strode quickly to the door keeping my eyes focused only on it. I pulled open the door, the handle long gone a hole large enough to fit a few handles in its place, and descended the stairs. My footsteps echoed off the walls as I went down three floors before the stairs emptied into another much shorter hallway that died at another gaping doorway. The room stank of old death and stale air.
Quietly I slid out my camera, looped the strap over my head, and powered it on, checking and adjusting settings before entering the mortuary. I squatted just in the doorway and began taking photos, the flash bursting to fill the room with light each time, as I panned the room with it, the flashlight held to the side of the camera to add to the light the flash provided. As my lense landed on the corner to the right of me where the far wall met the wall the door way I knelt in front met and the flash lit the room the light of the flashlight died.
I sucked in a breath staring at the small lcd screen just inches from my face, a small crouched figure, pale and naked stared at me with a vicious snarl, the light of the flash glinting from its eyes and the thick cords of entrails wrapped in its fist. A loud scrabbling noise echoed from the corner of the room and I stumbled backwards turning to stand and run. The camera pounded against my chest my bag beat at my side as I ran to the stairs, nearly tripping over the first. My foot steps sounded like bombs exploding as I took the stairs two and three at a time, the scrabbling noises behind me growing closer.
The stairs tossed me out into the hallway and I landed hard on my knee with a flash of pain that pulled curses from my mouth between my heaving breaths as I pulled myself back to my feet and stumbled towards to door throwing all my weight into it and bursting out onto the overgrown lawn. I glanced back over my shoulder, the faint star light catching movement behind me as it crept into the now wide open door and I ran back towards my car.
Steeling myself as I neared it I tossed another glance over my shoulder and saw nothing. The trees stood quietly around me as I came to a stop, my ears rang straining to hear anything other than the rattling gasping breathes my lungs were sucking in greedily. Nothing, yet a cold sweat continued to pool on my skin. Adrenaline poured through my veins like liquid fire and my heart beat against my chest hard enough to shake my body with each beat. An acrid taste like old pennies with a dash of vinegar filled my mouth as I backed towards my car reaching into my pocket for my keys pushing the unlock button. The locks clicked as they unlocked and the headlights flipped on lighting up the area around and in front of me and I took one last look before turning and getting into my car. I locked the doors and slammed the key into the ignition.