Pleasant Trees

by Michael Hudson

Prologue

Hello. My name is Jack. I am the soon to be ex-security guard of Pleasant Trees Mental Health Hospital. Today I told the boss that I didn’t care about his warnings, or whatever bullshit he would do to me if I quit before two months were out; I was done. I have a better job, and I don’t have to work in a boring ass creep house for any longer.

No, this was the day I left. No more whispers at night, no more weird splashing or scratching. Just me and flipping burgers.

I will admit, I am a little sad to see the paycheck go. With just the two weeks I’ve been here, I’ve made almost a thousand dollars. Heck, maybe if the old man had offered to double up my salary, I’d be willing to stay. But nah, I was ready to leave.

So, what will I miss the most? Probably the babes. Sure, some are anemic, and one has a bit more fluff on her, but they’re all still damn pretty. Of course, they’re in this place for a damned reason, and the only one I think is normal has her lower half not working, so screw that.

Though, there was that one girl they added today. She was… weird. Twitchy, but damn hot I suppose. Shame she couldn’t talk. Or, maybe, that was for the best. I doubt she’d be very good at conversation if she did-

Stomp!

Jack stopped as he heard the sound, frowning as he turned to look down the corridor. He had a flashlight with him, so as to help with the light’s out policy. Shining it, he didn’t see anything. He could definitely hear something though. It wasn’t the whispers he was used to, or the sound of knives. Both had been absent the whole night.

No, they were the sound of heavy and hard footsteps as they raced down the corridors. He swung the flashlight around, tracking the sound as he heard it move. The white and black tiles that made up the walls shook from the force, and one fell, cracking against the floor from the impact.

The noise kept ringing out, all while the stomping stopped. Jack swallowed hard, his throat and mouth now completely dry as he began to walk towards where the guard station was. In a lock box, there was a taser, in case any of the girls got too out of hand. He wanted that right now.

As he walked, his shoes made almost no sound on the floor, but that didn’t seem to matter. The stomping came back, and he began to run. He didn’t want to know what the hell was after him, not until he was armed at the least.

Turn after turn, he could hear the thing moving, closer and closer. Each step brought two of its slams, and more and more shingles crashing to the ground. He could even hear them fall in front of him, and skidded to a stop. Looking ahead with the flashlight, he could see that the way was blocked by the shards.

Crack!

The sound had come from behind Jack, and, for a moment, he considered staying still. To not move, and let his death be hopefully instantaneous. But, as he heard loud, labored breathing, he remembered that tonight was his last night. He had survived two weeks of this place without anything even half as weird as this, and he wasn’t going to go out now.

He turned around, flashing the light on the thing. He could see a vaguely humanoid form, covered only in white bandages that hung from its body. He could see blood stains on them, and Jack assumed that they were from past victims. What else could it be from? For a moment, he just stood there, staring at it.

The thing raised its head, its hair some sort metal from the looks of it, as it shone the light back at him. Its face wasn’t covered though, and, while at this distance, he couldn’t make out most of the things features, it could make out one thing.

It appeared to have no eyes.

The thing screamed at him, shaking the tiles in the corridor as he put his hands over his ears. It was ear splitting, and threatened to make his ears bleed. However, just as fast as it had started the wail, it stopped, and the stomping began again, but away from him. Jack could tell that it wasn’t just away though. From the sounds of it, the thing was just circling around.

He looked at his flashlight, grinning as he realized that it was probably because of the light that the thing had gone away. That would be useful, what with the cieling light that lit up the guard’s station. He just had to get it, and, looking at the hallway in front of him, he didn’t care how.

It hurt. Running over the shards was fine for the first few steps. However, it was a long corridor, but the most direct to the station, making it absolutely crucial that he use it. So, with each subsequent step, the first shards were pushed higher and higher, stabbing through the soles of his shoes, and right into his feet.

Jack didn’t care at this point. He could sue the old bastard for this. He could sue the girls. But only if he got out, and that was what he was going to do. He just had to make it a bit further.

He shut his eyes, letting habit lead him to the station. He kept one eye barely open, watching for the familiar light. It was so hard to see through the tears in his eyes though, and the pain made it even harder to pay attention. The only thing that kept him going was his inherent want to live.

He crashed into the chair, barely managing to fall correctly into it, instead of face first, or in such a manner to send it falling. With the action though, he knew something was wrong.

He was sitting on… something.

Jack’s arms quickly found themselves bound in steel, along with his legs. They were tight, squeezing into his flesh, and quickly increasing the pressure. If they didn’t stop, his bones would break and shatter under the force.

Fortunately for him, he never felt that. In fact, when whatever he sat on fully closed, sending spikes into his chest, stomach, and eyes, he didn’t really feel that. There was no fear or pain there. Only the trap that had been laid for him.

The lights slowly came on after that, and an old man walked in. He was in his early to mid sixties, and sighed as he saw the mess that was his reception desk. It was to be expected of course, but… He had not expected like this.

A soft stomping brought his attention to the side, and he glanced to see the thing that had been chasing Jack. He smiled softly at the girl as she came closer and gently pet it as it stood straight. “There there. Your playmate is gone now. Maybe the next one will be more capable of handling you, instead of simply needing you to be… let go.

A small sigh escaped the girl, and it looked down. “I… I have to go back… don’t I?”

“Would you rather I send your friend?”

A small, red glow came from beneath the black bandage that covered its eyes. “No.”

The old man reached over, patting the girl on the back. “Don’t worry. You did well, and I’ll make sure you come out before the next one’s last night as best as I can. How does that sound?”

A smile came across the girl’s mouth, before she slowly nodded and began to walk away.

The old man smiled for a moment, before looking back at the guard’s station, and the bloodied figure that stood there now. He shooed the thing away, before pulling a cigar out of his pocket.

A quick puff was all he needed to switch his mind set, and he truly smiled now. “Well, we’ll just have to see how the next one holds up, won’t we?”

Bio: Twitch

Pleasant Trees