(no subject)
Hand in hand on the darkened street, led by the moon and our inexistent guide, I felt her heat, her mind, burning with the thought of something. Sytriss. She was almost perfection in the flesh. Dangerous to strangers but beautiful to those who know her. She gripped my hand and my heart as we walked the emptiness of the city.
The streets all abandoned, seemingly a post-nuclear wasteland, single cars blast by us and disappear forever, never to be seen again. The soft yellow street lights revealed our path to a place we don’t even know exists. Traffic lights the only color around. Eternity seems to be lying at our feet. I slid my hand around her waist, holding her closer. I felt ever thoughts and every breath from her, perfection. “What do you think is the point of existence?”. She seemed to really be enthralled in this idea. “To eliminate all your worldly thoughts and needs, to rid yourself of your sins, lust, wrath, ECT. so you can have true contentment in your afterlife.” This moved me, changed my entire perception on life and existing. I don’t know how she does that, day after day, teaching me something on every step of the stairs to enlightenment.
“Where are we going today.” She asks me, like I know. “Wherever, let’s just walk until we get somewhere dark.” She gave me a look as if to say “don’t get your hopes up” she knows me all to well. My mind sets it limits to the horizon, the ever seceding line, never to be met. But this time there was something there, bending the rule a little bit. It was a dark brick building, tattered and torn from years of neglect and weathering, makes you wonder how someone can disgrace something so beautiful. Some people dedicated years of labor onto that and they leave it for dead, how dreadful.
I felt her shaking as we got so close to the building, I new she wasn’t scared, we’ve done this before, I think it was exactly what I was feeling. Overwhelmed with the beauty of this place, the door broken and shifted out of place, a sign reading “Danvers State Mental Asylum” covered in dust, age, and stories of pain, decaying with the ages of agony and torment that was endured here. The intensity was overbearing. I loosened my grip on her and she walk close to the door. I stayed a step behind, this was her part in our little game of life. Looking at the lock, she had a confused look about her, but as always she knew what to do next. Pulling out a credit card and shoving it in the crack near the door, jimmying the lock a little. The door cracked open as the lock came off.
The door flung open and dust poured out, almost invisible in the darkness of night. The cloud clogged my throat with a stiff force. It all cleared over and the extreme darkness lay ahead. Some windows shown with light from the yellow moon, giving it an almost ancient, haunted look. I looked to my side, where Sytriss was standing, her mouth was open in awe, as was mine. This place was so wide and open, it was the bowels of hell risen to earth for our enjoyment. Broken glass and wood splinters littered the floor in an array equal to a hurricane, but self contained. I took a step forward and stood directly beside her, I could see her breath, so calm and deep, almost breathing in the memory of the place, as was I, slow and deep, till I felt like floating away. I saw her begin to wander off, and I took my direction, of to the left of the building. I saw a door deep into the building, covered in boards dust and shame. I grab a plank of wood and throw it away from the door, it slammed hard on the floor echoing through the entire building, reverberating back at me, the spirits were playing games on me, or that’s how it seemed.
I pulled my sweatshirt sleeve over my hand and wiped off the dust from a protruding area on the door, usually the label to the room. The dust shifted around the room with a whirlwind, and settled around me and in my lungs. I turned my gaze towards the door. The sign read simple “morgue”. That was enough to satisfy my curiosity, but not enough to settle it for long. “Hey, Sytriss! Check this out!” I saw her flash light dump back and forth, almost a hand-held light tower, showing her every move. She shuffled through the dirt and debris of the nearly collapsed building and made her way towards me. “What it is? Found something nice?” she gave a discerned look on her face that just melted me, I guess I was just too soft hearted, but she was just so glowing. “check this, I found the morgue for this place…probly get some good shots from in there, take out of the bed out or something.” She smiled and pushed her way passed me and looked at the door. “Well…let’s go.” She was usually the one to start something like this, but it’s my find.
I kicked the door with deep strain as it cracked and splinted under my foot, I flashed her a smile of triumph, almost saying, I got to it before you! I moved inside, files and chairs and beds in disarray, all in no organization. It was great for our need, I heard her almost gasp, a soft breath, but distinct. I saw a flash go off. “Oh shit, this is great.” She whispered, sounding as if she was only talking to herself. “What?” I walked towards where she was hunched over, with her camera in her hand, gawking at the floor, I look down and saw a bloodstain, old and coagulated with time almost rusted, but a bloodstain defiantly. I looked toward the south wall and saw a wall covered in steel doors, all labeled with inmate numbers. I walked over slowly, attempting to keep this in order, even through that’s long undone, and put my hand on a door, my eyes snapped shut for a split second but it felt like years, I saw blood, heard screams of brutalizing agony, a man in a straight-jacket screaming something about “look into the rabbits hole, everything will be answered!!!”
My eyes snapped back open, my whole body in chills, and a cold sweat. I took a deep breath and cracked the seal on the door, and cautiously opened it. The trench of the grim reapers aftermath perforated from the opening, a smell so sour and bitter, the scent of death. I slowly reached my hand in and grabbed the handle of the bed, and dragged it out slowly. It was long, steel and had blood stained sheets covering it, veils of death, left on earth long after the cadaver had left. I pulled my digital camera from my sweatshirt pocket and slid open the lens cover with a snap. This was such and extensive and beautiful and fulfilling project, dare I say a duty. I took a shot of the distraught room and the extended corpse bed. As the flash snapped and the light receded, I heard the door swing open and a flashlight moved about outside the door. The faint click click on there read 2 people, cops. I could tell Sytriss heard it too. “Fuck, lets get outta this place.” I saw her begin to climb up a steel shelf and up to a high window, the maverick in her showing greatly, always having an idea. I followed suit, running directly to the shelf, climbing up and out. We both hit the ground with a thud, got to our feet and ran into the night.
My legs pumped with blood and fear as we sprinted through the darkness of the forbidding city. Slowing down I realize that Sytriss has beaten me to the stop. We slowed down and retained control of ourselves. I glanced back, no sign of a pursuit.