Patient-665

 Jason was a criminal. He was always getting close to being a master of crime, but then he would always get caught and arrested; caught like an animal in a trap. The police had kept him in that cell for about three days, torn away from the rest of society. He didn’t feel threatened by the other convicts, despite how aggressive they could become. He had been in many other prisons, been threatened by many other convicts, and had left many prisons along with the other convicts. But for him, this one was different. He felt safe.



 Jason sat in the middle of the white room, sitting in the metal chair with the chain on his cuffs bolted down to the table in front of him. There was a large window to the right of him, and there was a clipboard and pen on the table. He sighed, for he knew what was coming. It was another tedious interview with the psychologist. She had talked to him about his past, criminal records and family. But he knew something different was going to happen. She was going to talk to him about that night. Just as he was about to try to escape, the woman entered.



 “Good Morning Jason…”

Jason’s head turned and his eyes focused on the woman. Dr Monarch. She wore a long black coat, which was wet from the rain outside. She sat down in the chair on the other side of the table. She brushed her hair aside; a few water drops flying from her hair. Jason’s jaw was close to dropping, but he kept it shut tight. Even though he really didn’t want much to do with her, he had to admit, she was beautiful. She picked up the clipboard and pen and quickly wrote down the date.

“Mornin’. How’s your day been?”

She looked up from the clipboard and smiled at him.

“I’m okay. Alright then Jason, we both know what’s coming up and we both know it’s best that you just get it over with. You know I want to help you… right?”

Jason sighed and nodded. He leant forwards and stretched his hands upwards in order to rub his face. Pen at the ready, Dr Monarch nodded to Jason, signalling for him to begin. Jason knew that it would be painful, but he would have to tell his tale. After ten seconds, Jason finally began to tell his story.

“I had come home from a long day of doing what I did best; dealing Crack, Weed and any other drug I had. I came home that day with dirty money nearly spilling from my pockets. I grabbed a can of beer from the cooler and sat down for some T.V. I watched the news for a while, learning about all that pointless crap that was going on. I eventually decided to flick to a comedy show, and have a good laugh. As I was in the middle of a hard laugh, that was when the lights went out…”

Jason stopped talking. He closed his eyes and shivered with fear. Dr Monarch had stopped writing and looked up at him. She frowned and opened her mouth to say something, but she closed it as she saw him starting to speak again.

“As soon as the lights went out, I was engulfed in darkness. Groaning, I got up from the comfort of my chair and went to find the fuse box. But as I went to find it, I couldn’t help but feel like the air had suddenly gotten colder. The heating wasn’t on before, but somehow, after those lights went out, it became colder. After stumbling around the dark halls of my home, using my phone as a makeshift flashlight, I finally found the fuse box. I fiddled around with the switches, trying to get the lights back on. Then I looked to my left. I could have sworn I saw somebody.

For a brief second, at the top of the stairs, someone was there. For one second, in the darkness, I could make out a figure. Whoever or whatever that was, as soon as my eyes made contact with it, the figure disappeared out of existence. After that, I stopped for a moment, staring up at the staircase. Then, I decided to give up on trying to turn the lights back on. I don’t know what hit me. It was a sensation of burning curiosity and growing dread. As I went to go up those stairs, the air became even colder…”

Jason stopped again. He appeared to be in some kind of trance; his eyes still and wide and his expression frozen. He was only brought back to reality by the sound of Dr Monarch calling his name and clicking her fingers.

“Hey, Jason! Try and stay with me, okay? Keep going please…”

He nodded reluctantly, and continued.

“On each step I took up those stairs, the air became colder. Eventually, the air became freezing, nearly turning my skin to ice. Finally, I got to the top of the stairs, shivering in a combination of fear and cold. I reached into my pocket, and pulled out my phone. I looked around in the darkness, searching for whoever that was earlier when, on the top of my head, I felt a cold drop of water splash onto me. Nearly scaring me to death, I flashed my phone above me. I couldn’t believe what I saw.

Icicles. All over the ceiling. My entire ceiling was covered in icicles, dripping freezing cold water. My jaw hung low, astounded at this sight. I wouldn’t say it was a miracle, but it was definitely something. I slowly backed away, looking back down. That’s when I saw the other figure.

It wasn’t like the one before. It seemed brighter; more visible in the dark. But just like the last one, it disappeared as soon as I looked at it. I staggered back, scared once again. That was it. I was getting the Hell out of there, and there was no stopping me. I ran back towards the stairs, seriously concerned for my safety. Then I stopped. Something was beckoning me from the darkness, to turn around. I still don’t know why, but I turned around…”

Again, Jason stopped. He closed his eyes tight and shivered hard. Dr Monarch looked over at Jason, frowning.

“Jason, I know it’s hard, but please. We need to know what happened so we can help you. You said you wanted help, didn’t you? Well, I’m here for you, so please, go on…”

Jason opened his eyes, filled with fear and horror. He hesitated, then finally told the rest of his story.

“There, merely inches away from me, were two faces. But these faces weren’t normal in the slightest possible way. Their eyes were piercing into my soul, red, jagged and gem-like. Their smiles were wide, sharp and incredibly vicious. Their horrifying stares tore away at my sanity at near light speed. I had never been so terrified in my entire life. That’s when the shadows consumed me and I passed out…

I then awoke in the back of that police van, cuffed and dazed. I ain't ever gonna forget that night…”

Jason sighed, and hung his head, like a child facing a teacher’s punishment. Dr Monarch finished her notes, placed her clipboard on the table and looked at Jason. She took pity on him. Here in front of her was a man haunted by a night which had mentally scarred him, and yet, he was a criminal. He was scum… She then spoke:

“Well, looks like Callum and Michael did a good job…”

Jason eyes shot up. He furrowed his eyebrow.

“Wait, what’d you just say?”

Rose Monarch looked up and shook her head, chuckling.

“It doesn’t matter. Well, that was a productive meeting. Let’s meet again sometime shall we?”

Before Jason could protest, she stood up and left, giving order for the guards to take Jason back to his cell. She then walked down the long corridor and opened the steel door. The outside rain had faded and the light was finally returning to the day. She smiled, as she was greeted by her hooded lover.

“Hey Rosey! How are you?”

Rose hugged Callum and kissed him. Her face lit up, like fireworks in a midnight sky. Their kiss ended and she waved to Michael, leaning against the wall opposite them. Michael waved back, grinning. The three began to walk away from the prison, talking to each other.

“So, you did a pretty good job sorting Jason out. I gotta ask though, what was with the icicles?”

Callum looked at Rose, still smiling.

“Oh that?”

Callum then pulled out the book. He flicked to a page, containing rows upon rows of odd text. He pointed to a line and spoke:

“This text here taught us how to change the shadows we enter. We can make the darkness scorching hot or freezing cold. Pretty cool right?”

Rose nodded, impressed by this new power they had obtained. Michael then spoke:

“So, how was Patient-665?”

“Oh, he was shaken up alright! Still scared to death by your little visit. I wonder what the next patients gonna be like…”

Callum and Michael snickered like little children. Callum put his arm around Rose’s body and held her close.

“Well, we planned something interesting for you…”

The three walked away from the building, unable to hear the terrified screaming of Patient-666 as the guards attempted to drag the broken man into the building…