Wasted

Fear clawed at her throat. She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself. She was separated from the rest of them. Alive but dying inside because she was living her worst fear. Julia was lost.



It was musty and dim. There was a faint light but not bright enough to guide her through the dark passageways in which she vanished from. She couldn’t hear a thing except for the eerie sound of clanking in the distance, like chains clattering around prisoner’s ankles.



She knew this was a bad idea. If only her friend Devon didn’t persuade her into going into the tour. She had never believed in the supernatural and her fearless friend thought it would be fun, kind of like a haunted hay ride: you were scared out of your wits but you knew you wouldn’t be harmed because it was all an act. Well Devon was wrong and there she was, abandoned. She pictured the rest of the group laughing at her expense, making fun of her that very minute as they walked back to safety. She also had wondered, would anyone even notice that I am gone?



It was a tour of a “haunted” asylum in Spokane, Montana and they were in the final stages, the cellar.



Her imagination had always gotten the best of her but this time it was acting up. She felt like she was in the horror movie Hostel where victims were prey to psychopaths who got their kicks from torturing innocent people. Or even the movie Saw where victims were taught some sort of life lesson when they were placed into a test, a life or death situation.



She couldn’t even recall how she had gotten lost. One minute she turned her back on Devon and the six other group members. A cone of light attracted her attention and she walked towards it.



Her heart began beating faster and she wondered where the hell she was. She was pissed, petrified, and nauseous. Over and over she asked herself, why did I let Devon talk me into this? What was I trying to prove? She didn’t want to turn out like those poor souls who died with out notice, left to unsuccessfully fend for themselves or one of those whose corpse disintegrated into the ground with only a skeleton to prove their existence.



And what the hell was that noise? she thought. The clanking sounded like it was coming closer and sent a chill down the nape of her neck and along her spine.

Someone or something was coming.



Julia’s hands were dirty. Underneath her fingernails were caked with grime and dust from trying to feel her way back to refuge.



This was supposed to be fun but instead it turned out to transpire into a potential horror movie scene. The part where the hapless young girl nears her death and she knows there is nothing she can do about it.



The noise again. Even closer.



Clank. Clank. Clank.



Julia was afraid to even open her mouth, fearful that she would breath in the musty air or let out a noise that would give her away. But what if it was someone coming to her rescue? She was clueless. Utterly clueless. She knew her time was up and she was going to be discovered from the thing that crept towards her.



I’m never going to see Ryan again. We had such a good thing going and now it’ll go to waste because I’m going to die. I’m going to starve or be killed down in this underground room all alone. Ryan was her boyfriend. They were in the beginning stages of dating and she was so content with her life but now she couldn’t help but possess negative thoughts. I’m going to fucking die. An angry restless spirit is going to find me invading what was once their home and they are going to kill me.



Julia froze. The hair on the back of her neck stood up. A cold air surrounded her body and interrupted her thoughts. She stood up on the tips of her toes and turned her body around.



Nothing. No one.



She was expecting to see a pale twisted face about the suck the life out of her but again her imagination was getting the best of her.



She wanted to cry. She wanted to curl up into a ball and cry but she knew she wouldn’t get anywhere if she did. She needed to backtrack but it was impossible. It was so dark down there she didn’t know which way she came from and which way she was going. For all she knew she could have been going farther underground even more lost than she already was. She didn’t even have her cell phone to guide her. Cell phones weren’t allowed anyway.



The noise again. But this time it was coming from the area she was heading to rather than behind her. She contemplated turning around but for some reason she kept walking into the same direction.



Clink. Clink. Clink.



She pictured a man. A tall burly man who was pale and ghostlike, with flesh dangling from his face, arms, legs, and ankles. It is probably a dead mental patient, she thought, he probably senses my presence and is coming towards me. Haunting the abandoned cellar and wanting to be left alone.



The sound got closer. She wanted to run in the opposite direction but she was paralyzed. She couldn’t move, couldn’t utter a sound.



What is wrong with me? Why the hell can’t I move? She started panicking. She tried to move her limbs but she couldn’t even flinch. All of a sudden the noise sounded as if it was less than a foot away, definitely coming towards her. A heavy hand fell onto her shoulder. She would’ve turned around if she could move but she was still paralyzed. The figure moved around her and stood still right in front of her. It was Devon. Her face was twisted and her mouth was in an O, frozen in terror. Her blonde hair was matted against her face and blood trickled down her face. Julia realized that someone was holding her up and Devon crumbled to the dirty ground.



No one was there. Something was thrusting Devon across the floor in an erratic motion. It looked as if she was being kicked across the room but there was nothing except a thick glow to the left of her. Devon was now convulsing. Julia still had no idea as to what was going on but she felt as if she was possessed by a spirit and not a pleasant one.



Julia, still in the same stance, finally managed to open her mouth to scream.



She woke up in a bright white room. Her eyes moved from right to left. Her head was strapped down. Her arms were strapped down. Her ankles were strapped down. She tried to move her torso and she heard a sickening crack. She yelped in pain.



A woman appeared at her side and snickered.



“Now, now sweetie, you need to stay still. Try your best to stay still,” she cooed.



Fuck you, Julia thought, go fuck yourself.



Julia tried moving again but this time the nurses expression changed from a pitiful look of sorrow to fury.



“I said still!” She barked. “You’re lucky Dr. Gladstone isn’t here today.”



Julia tried to speak but her words came out as if she had a handful of marbles in her mouth. Nothing formed to make sense. She was paralyzed. She was a nutcase. She was on of those who would be locked up for life and end up as a medical experiment.



She was useless to the world and when the doctor came back tomorrow she might die. She was alone. She had no friends. There was no one named Devon but there was the mental asylum. She was held captive in it. She would be the dead, lost soul who roamed the halls and haunted poor souls like herself, the Julia in her dream, and not the one shackled to a bed.



After the nurse walked out Julia closed her eyes and waited.