Tell Me a Lie by Dana Killion

Author:Dana Killion [Killion, Dana]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Obscura Press

22

The hairs on the back of my neck were standing at attention as I watched Francesca stare at me her face twisted with disgust—or was it anger? It suddenly felt like a scene from a bad horror movie as I looked up at the second floor of the old Victorian. Pulling out my keys, I unlocked the car door and reached for the handle. As I did so, movement at the end of the long drive caught my attention. A man dressed in nothing but gym shorts stumbled, unsteady on his legs, as he tried to cross the blacktop. He appeared to be walking from the center—if you could call it walking—to the carriage house at the back of the lot. A patient who’d wandered off? I watched for a moment, wondering if he was inebriated. I looked from the man back up to the second floor window where I’d seen Francesca, but she was gone.

The man stumbled yet again, going down on one knee. Hesitating for only a second, expecting someone from the center to rush out to assist him, I ran forward down the drive toward him. Before I could get close, he regained his footing, stood, and moved unsteadily toward the coach house. By the time I reached the spot where I’d seen him fall, he was no longer in sight, having disappeared into the outbuilding. Concerned for his safety, I followed. On the right side of the building I found a door with a “No Admittance—Private Property” sign prominently displayed. Where the hell was the staff? I looked back at the house, but no one seemed to be coming to assist.

My choices were to go back to the main building and tell them they were missing a patient or ignore the warning sign and enter. A loud crash behind the closed door made the decision easy.

Inside I was met with a set of stairs on my right that rose toward a second floor. A hallway straight ahead was flanked by a series of doors. The light was dim, and the space wasn’t what I’d expected. The interior of the coach house had been chopped up, reconfigured way beyond its original purpose. There were no signs of the young man. I scanned the nearby walls for a light switch, but none were apparent. Illuminating my phone, I stepped up to the first door in the hallway, put my hand on the knob and turned. Light washed over what appeared to be a large storage closet. Boxes and bottles were stacked floor to ceiling on the shelves. Beyond their shape, it was too dark to make out any details. Medical storage? I closed the door and moved to the next one. It too opened freely, this time into a larger room. A row of chairs were arranged in front of a hospital bed, and several supply carts lined the far wall. What was this?

As I stood contemplating the function of the room, a loud, guttural wail came from the upper level.

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