He took a step forward and then lifted his foot to see that he’d stepped in something sticky. Yuk.
Why do I let Caleb drag me into this kind of stuff?
“Since there isn’t any power in this place, I guess we take the steps.” Caleb moved forward, and Justin hurried along, keeping close to his best friend. They ambled down the dark hallway, passing closed and opened doors. As they passed one room, Justin saw an old metal gurney. The white had faded to yellow, and rust covered most of the surface. He stopped and stared at the walls. His eyes widened as he read the words “They Will Drain You Dry.” It was written over and over again, covering every spare space on the wall.
Caleb pulled him away, and Justin glanced at a closed door to see the words “Exam Room” stenciled on the rusted metal door.
“I bet this is where people found out that they were being locked away.” Caleb tilted his chin toward the door Justin had been staring at. “Can you imagine having to live in this sort of place?”
“No,” Justin answered. He didn’t want to be here now. Although he was twenty, Justin needed comfort in this haunting place. He grabbed Caleb’s strong and dry hand and held tight. His best friend didn’t bat an eye at what Justin had done. The guy was cool like that, and that only endeared him to Justin even more.
“There it is.” Caleb stopped at the door marked Stairwell. “You’ll have to give me my hand so I can get my phone.”
“What do you need your phone for?” Justin asked, loath to release Caleb.
“I need the flashlight app on my phone. There isn’t any electricity in this place, and the stairwell is sure to be pitch-black.”
Pitch-black. A word Justin hadn’t wanted to hear. But Juice had said the party was on the third floor. Justin could do two flights of stairs in the dark.
Two flights. Thirty seconds at the most.
“How are you feeling, J?” Caleb asked as he dug his phone from his back pocket and began to fumble with it.
“Fine,” he answered tartly. “I won’t pass out.” Justin thought about it. “At least not from my sickness. I might from this creepy place.”
Caleb chuckled. “You’re doing fine. I won’t let anything happen to you. I promise.”
Caleb was built like a brick house. Even so, if something wholly evil jumped out at them, there wouldn’t be much his best friend could do against monsters.
“I so don’t like this.” Justin held his breath as Caleb opened the door to the stairwell and stepped inside. He didn’t take Caleb’s hand this time. The guy needed it to hold on to the railing. But Justin did grab the back of Caleb’s shirt as they ascended the steps.
As Caleb predicted, there wasn’t a spark of light anywhere save for the man’s phone. Justin shivered as the cool air surrounded him and their steps echoed loudly. “I still don’t get why they’d have a party here.”
“It’s a cool place to hang out.” Caleb’s light swiveled from left to right, and Justin had a strange image of something otherworldly coming at them. He wasn’t normally this much of a chicken, but who wouldn’t be in a place like this?
“If you say so.” Justin’s foot caught the lip of the next step, and he fumbled forward. Caleb’s hand instantly shot out and steadied him.
“Careful, J.”
Justin wrapped his hands around Caleb’s extended arm as they continued to climb. They passed the second floor door and kept walking. When they reached the third, Justin frowned. He couldn’t hear any music. Shouldn’t there be music? Even without electricity, an iPod could be hooked up to a small stereo that ran off of batteries. Or someone could hook up some juice from a car battery. Something. But he heard nothing.
Caleb jiggled his arm until Justin released it, and then his best friend opened the door to the second floor ward. The warm air wrapped around him, and the scent of something old and rotten settled in Justin’s nostrils.
“Oh, man. That really stinks.” Justin waved his hand in front of his face. “How can anyone party with that smell?”
Caleb tilted his head back and inhaled deep drafts of air. His best friend had done that from time to time over the past ten years of their friendship. Justin thought it weird but never commented on the strange action. Caleb was just being Caleb.
“No one is here,” Caleb stated flatly.
“How do you know?” Justin asked.
“Do you hear anything?”
“No.” Justin hadn’t heard anything since entering the asylum except his harsh breathing and when he’d kicked the fire extinguisher. It was deathly silent.
Caleb backed out of the door and shined his light up the stairwell. “Come one, we’ll see if it’s on the fourth floor.”
Just before the door closed, Justin swore he saw something move in the shadows of the hallway. His heart thundered in his chest as he grabbed Caleb’s shirt and walked up the steps. This was such a stupid idea.