When I was a kid, there was this magician, I think his name was David Blaine, who locked himself away in a coffin for seven days as part of a publicity stunt. I told my friends that it looked easy. I even bet one kid in our neighborhood twenty dollars that I could pull it off.

I guess I owed that magician an apology, and that neighborhood kid twenty dollars, because this shit sucked. I relived that moment while I hid in the doctor's secret, but small, storage room. It was even tighter when you accounted for all the random furniture. I tried my best to remain calm.

Was it hot in here? I wiped the sweat from my forehead. The room felt smaller, tighter. Pit stains formed under my arm. Nerves. It was just nerves. Right? Oh man, I had to calm down.

“Okay, Joe,” I whispered, trying to hear myself over the thundering of my own heartbeat. “You’re going to be fine. Just breathe.”

Fine? Things weren’t going to be fine. There were at least two monsters looking for me and all I had was a small container of burn cream to protect me.

Hell, even if I took care of them, how was I supposed to talk my way out of this mess? No, I was fucked. If there’s one thing I was good at, it was sniffing out my own bullshit. And right now, my bs detector was blaring louder than a tornado siren.

Ok, that’s fair. So I’m fucked, but that doesn’t mean everything is bad, right? I scanned the tiny storage room, trying to focus on anything positive.

Unfortunately, my mental list of silver linings was coming up short. Ok, here was one thing. It might not mean much, but strategically, this was a solid hiding spot.

There was only a single entry point and minimal foot traffic. Plus, there was a bathroom nearby if I needed water. Cool, I wasn’t going to die of dehydration. That was a bonus. Wait, how long could a person live purely on water?

I chuckled. Let's be honest, I wouldn’t make it long enough to find out.

“Damnit, stop being negative,” I muttered, slamming my fist into my leg. I contemplated my actions for a brief moment. Was that the injured leg? Yep, sure was. Fuck! Pain shot through me, causing me to scream.

I put my hand over my mouth, trying to muffle the scream. I froze. Shit, what if someone heard me? I held my breath. After a few minutes, I let out a sigh of relief. I had to be more careful, or I’d end up dead.

Speaking of dead things, I glanced over at my ghost companion. He seemed to be in worse shape than I was, if that was possible. He paced back and forth, like a cat trying to claw its way out of a cage. What the hell was he doing? This wasn’t like him.

“Can you chill out?” I asked. “You’re making me nervous.”

He ignored me. He continued to pace. I felt his nervous energy radiating off him like rays from the sun.

“No, not now. I’ll deal with you later,” I muttered. I only had enough energy for one mental breakdown at a time, so he would have to wait his turn.

For now, I had to focus on myself. I grabbed the burn cream I’d stashed earlier. Ok, if I set a trap now for Nurse Asshole and Dr. Klanderman, then it’s possible I could take care of them without seeing their faces.

I opened the lid, dipped my fingers in the cool, thick cream, and smeared it all over the doorknob.

It seemed unlikely this would be enough to take care of the job, but it was better than sitting around waiting.

Any more negative thoughts and I would probably have to use that cream on myself. Not that it would do anything to me.

Actually, that wasn’t a bad idea. If I wore this cream on my body, maybe it would act like some sort of armor. A plus two to my armor class or whatever it was called in dungeons and dragons.

Even if that didn’t work, at the very least, it might make me slippery enough to wriggle free if they tried to grapple me.

I rubbed some cream on my arms and neck. My face tingled as it set in. Was that normal? I'm sure it was fine.

Regardless, It was too late to read the directions now. I had already done the damage. Speaking of damage, if this didn’t work I needed a backup weapon.

I grabbed a needle from a container in the corner and did a few awkward practice swings. It wasn’t exactly a real weapon, but it’d have to do.

The minutes dragged on. I looked down at the phone. It had only been ten minutes. Great, what do I do now? I glanced at my ghost companion, who looked moments away from a mental breakdown.

“Hey. Chill,” I said, trying to sound confident. “This is the best plan. Trust me.”

Apparently, trust wasn’t good enough for him. He lunged for my arm, his touch warm, but filled with nervous energy. He pulled me toward the door, frantic now.

“No,” I said, pulling on the break. “We’re staying. If you wanna leave, fine, but I’m not moving.”

He didn’t let go. Then, I felt it. The same pull that happened right before my blackouts. My vision blurred, the room dissolving in front of me.

“No! Not now!” I shouted, panic bubbling over. But it was worthless. I realized my fight was over.

I looked to my ghost companion. I struggled to get out one final sentence before the darkness took over.

“Please, don’t let me die.” With that, my plans were ruined. My vision went dark.

###

My eyes opened. I was still alive. That was a relief. I let out a breath.

The last thing I remembered was hunkering down in that secret storage room. I reached up, touching the side of my cheek. It was wet. Oh god, was that blood? Had I been hurt?

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I touched my cheek again. Nope, not blood. It was too thick to be blood and sadly, at this point I was certain I knew what blood felt like. No, this was thicker and colder.

It felt oddly familiar. Wait, I knew what it was. I was certain this was burn cream. Apparently, blacked out Joe had decided the amount on his face wasn’t enough.

I opened the container to see how much was left. The container was nearly empty. That wasn’t great. Had I really put that much on myself?

Wait, hold on, where was I? Was I even in Cottonwood? I was beginning to have my doubts. This room looked more like a warehouse than a mental health facility.

I took a better look around. This place was metal-lined from floor to ceiling. It reminded me of the deep freezer at Big Al’s, minus the smell of bad fish. In the center of the room stood three chairs.

I wheeled over for a closer look. Each chair was complete with restraints. Next to the chair was a dangling needle and a bag. It was full of dark red liquid. Now that was definitely blood.

“Where the hell was I?” I muttered to myself.

“Hey! New guy, over here!!” A voice rang out. It was muffled, as if behind some sort of wall. It took me a second to recognize the voice, but there was only one person who called me “new guy”.

“Courtney?” My voice cracked.

“Joe! Get me out of here!” She sounded frantic, almost desperate.

She was behind a door. One of three small rooms that were built off this one. I went to find a way to unlock the door but stopped in my tracks.

I hesitated. How could I be sure this wasn’t a trap?

“How do I know you’re not lying?” I asked, backing away slowly. The words fell out of my mouth before I could stop them.

“What the hell are you talking about? What would I be lying about? Please, just help!

I looked at her. She had been crying, long before I found her. Plus, her eyes were red and puffy. And there were large bruises on her arm.

Was she lying? Hell, if she was, it was a damn good lie. Plus, if she tried anything, I still had that needle on me.

Alex’s comments replayed in my head, “You have to do things your way”.

My way? He was right. Why was I even questioning myself? I had to help. Even if that meant putting myself in danger. That’s just who I was.

“Sorry, you’re right. I’ll find a way to let you out.” I looked around, trying to find some way to open the door.

A sound stopped me in my tracks. Someone was here, unlocking a door on the other end of the room. Shit, someone was coming.

I ducked into a nearby cell, closing the door until just a sliver remained, right as Nurse Asshole stepped into view. She dragged Courtney out of her makeshift prison.

Courtney screamed and kicked, but she was no match for the Nurse. The nurse picked her up and slammed her into one of the chairs, wrapping restraints on both her arms and feet. She was strong for an old woman. Too strong.

“Please, please let me go!” Courtney screamed.

The nurse slapped her across the face. “Shut up! You’re lucky I haven’t already killed you.” she yelled, clearly on edge.

My heart sank. Shit, what do I do? I had to do something. I couldn’t just sit here, watching. I went to move, but despite my best efforts, my body stood still. It was like I was frozen in place.

“We know you’re working with Mr. Raymond,” the nurse growled. “Tell us where he’s hiding.”

Courtney glared at the ceiling, defiant. “I… I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

The nurse’s lips curled into a twisted smile. “We’re going to do this the hard way? Fine by me!”

With that, I watched as a large needle protruded out of her hand like some claw from Wolverine. Courtney began to scream, her eyes wide.

Holy shit! It wasn’t a needle at all. It was part of her.

She lifted her arm. “This is your last chance, I hope you say no, I'm starving,” she said.

All four ghosts appeared next to me. This must have been why he was acting so erratic. He wanted me here. He wanted me to help. They wanted me to help.

“I want to help,” I whispered. “But I can’t. I just… can’t.”

The tall ghost grabbed my wrist. I felt it, a sudden realization of what had happened to him, to me, to all of the elopers.

They had used that needle to manipulate our brains, draining the liquid that surrounded them to change us. To silence us. They fed off us. I shivered. If I didn’t move now, I would have to add Courtney to that list.

It wasn’t going to get to that. I wouldn’t let it.

I took a deep breath. She was my friend. She helped me without question. It was time for me to return the favor.

“Alright, I’ll do it,” I said to the ghosts.

I undid the lid of the cream, dipping my hands in, then burst out of the room, startling both Courtney and nurse Asshole. They turned to look.

“Hey Asshole, leave the poor girl alone. I’m right here.”

The nurse's face rippled, turning to her twisted form. “You!” she yelled.

Stay strong Joe, you know her weakness. God, look at that face. She was absolutely horrific up close. I held back the urge to piss myself.

“Yeah, me,” I replied, not quite as intimidating as I hoped.

I felt the urge to turn and run, but I held my ground.

“You’ve caused a lot of trouble for us, Mr. Raymond,” the nurse said.

“I know what you’re doing here. To these poor men and women. It’s going to stop,” I replied.

The nurse chuckled, her laugh both deep and twisted.

“What’s happening?” Courtney asked, with a worried voice.

“It’s alright. It’s going to be alright,” I said. Honestly, I’m not sure I believed my words, but what was I supposed to say in that moment. We're all fucked? Yeah, that wasn't helpful.

I looked around, my ghost companions, all four of them stood by me. Ready for me to make a move. That was strangely comforting.

The nurse charged at me. Holy shit, she was surprisingly fast. Ok, I just had to wait until she got close enough, then strike. Man, this better work.

She jumped toward me, her needle aimed directly at my neck.

I froze, my body slow to react. But the bearded ghost was not. He leaped, taking over my body and moving it to the right, narrowly dodging her attack.

“Holy shit, thank you,” I whispered.

I reached up as she pulled back, just in time to grab a piece of her arm with my hand.

She jolted back, writhing in pain. “What the hell did you do to me?” she yelled. Her skin sizzled as if it had been thrown onto a hot skillet. She was clearly in pain, but it wasn’t enough to take her out.

I quickly wheeled over toward Courtney.

“Stop! I’ll kill you!” she screamed out, slowly rising back to her feet. A small part of her arm was missing. It appeared to have burned away.

Shit. She was coming for round two.

Just then, a large bang went off. One of the ghosts was missing. Where had they gone?

The nurse and I both stopped momentarily, trying to understand what had just happened.

“What the hell did you do?” she yelled.

I had no idea, but whatever happened, the third door opened.

A man slowly emerged. Not just any man. Holy crap, was that Josiah? Man, was I glad to see him alive and well.

"He will slay you all," he said, a crooked smile formed on his face.

"We’ll finally be free!"