“Shh,” Toni told her group of friends. “If we get caught out here, we’re in big trouble. You know this place is condemned. Dr.Tine would be pissed if he knew we were here.”
The group grew quiet and moved through the shadowy woods. The full moon looked down upon the foursome like a great eye, casting enough light through the trees to guide their way. Reaching the area where the abandoned sanitarium stood, Mark looked over at Toni. “Wait a minute. Dr. Tine’s your uncle.”
“Yeah, so what?” Toni replied.
“Why would he be pissed at us for coming out here? He told us about this place in his lecture, and we’re supposed to do research.”
Toni sighed, “He has a responsibility to keep his students safe. Besides, I don’t think this was part of the class assignment.”
Mark looked at her and raised his eyebrows. “I bet we get an ‘A’ on our papers though.”
Toni rolled her eyes and gave him an exasperated look. “You and your damn A’s”

There were buildings scattered throughout the overgrown grounds, all of them looking decrepit and in various degrees of ruin. Vines grew up the walls, covering most of them. Stones were still visible in a few places. A light breeze caused shadows to dance across the dark windows.
Town rumors said the place was haunted. Ghosts, of people who had been mistreated and left to die, were said to roam the place. It looked like no one had been there in years. Dr. Tines’ lecture had given them a brief history. It had been privately owned until the state stepped in and shut it down. Rumors of patient abuse sparked an audit and bad record keeping was all it took. There was a morgue and crematorium on site. He mentioned a laundry-type chute from the morgue to the crematorium. The bodies were sent sliding down and landed on the floor, sometimes piling up until someone got around to them. They were there to find out if the place was haunted.
“Okay, gang, if anyone has second thoughts, this is the time to back out,” Toni said.
Janine was reluctant but agreed to go. John just shrugged his shoulders as usual. He was generally the quiet one. Mark was always ready.

They tramped through the tall grass towards the largest building. Trees had begun to grow where the lawn had once been. The musty air smelled of rain and uneasiness filled the space around them. When they reached the halfway point, something made a strange noise, stopping them in their tracks. It sounded like a scream mixed with the sound of nails on a chalkboard. They held their breaths waiting for the sound to repeat itself.
“What was that?” Janine whispered.
Silence slipped through the night air as the seconds ticked away.
“Probably just a cat,” Mark replied, “they make some weird noises.”
“This is getting spooky,” John said. They all glanced at him. He didn’t say much most of the time.
“We all agreed to go,” Toni said, looking dismayed. “If you’re this afraid now, then you’ll be too chicken to go inside. We’ve been planning this for days. So what’s it gonna be?”
Nodding to each other in agreement, they proceeded closer and closer to the building. After a few yards Janine looked up and gasped, startling everyone.
“What is it now?” John asked.
“I-I thought I saw a light on the third floor,” pointing to the window. Their eyes followed her finger upwards, but saw nothing.
Mark glanced at her, “Geeze, Janine, you’re jumpy. It’s probably a reflection of the moon. Come on.” The group continued through the growth.
Janine hesitated for a moment, still staring at the window. “It didn’t look like a reflection to me,” she mumbled under her breath.

The group reached a large iron door of the side entrance. John stared intently at it. “I wonder what this thing is intended to keep out?” They looked at him again.
“Or in?” Mark said before turning to the door again. It smelled of rusted, damp metal and felt slick to the touch.
His mouth curved into a fiendish grin, “I wonder if it’s open?”
All of them held their breath as they watched his hand reach for the doorknob. They were frightened but eager to know what was on the other side. Mark placed his fingers around the cold wet knob. He gripped it tight preparing himself for its resistance. It turned effortlessly, like it had been oiled. The massive door creaked open. The interior was pitch black.
Toni took a deep breath. “Does anyone else think that was too easy? The group looked at her in silence.

Mark entered first. The others followed him and turned on their flashlights one by one. The door swung shut startling them with a loud bang. They looked back; no one was there. They were in a large, open room with several doors on each wall. On the far side was an entrance to a dark hallway. A swoosh, swoosh sound came from it. Pointing their flashlights into the opening, they caught a glimpse of a man-like shape moving. Toni flinched almost dropping her light. As her hands fumbled with it, she whispered, “There’s someone there.”
She pointed her light down the hall with the others. The beams sliced through the darkness and came to rest on a man’s face. It was horribly disfigured, like a gnarled tree stump. The man limped along towards them, dragging his right leg. Swoosh, swoosh.
Janine gasped, her mouth opened to scream. Mark grabbed her arm with one hand and spun her around. He placed the flashlight under his arm to free his hand and clapped it over her mouth.
“That isn’t going to help, dumb ass. You would be the first one killed in a horror flick. Shut it up,” he said through clenched teeth.
He looked towards the end of the hall again. The man was moving closer, towards them.
“Let’s get out of here,” Toni yelled, breaking the silence.
They stumbled backwards, their hands reaching for the door, recklessly grabbing for the knob. It didn’t turn, it was stuck.
“Open the damn door,” Janine shrieked.
John looked down the hall, the man was still coming. Swoosh, swoosh. He turned to the door, pushing the others aside. The man’s footsteps were getting louder. John grasped the knob and gave it a quick, forceful jerk. He stumbled out as it flew open. Looking over their shoulders, they realized the man’s face was more grotesque than it had appeared before. He was halfway to them.

They bolted out the door and ran through the overgrowth, retracing their path.
Janine was sobbing as they reached the wood line. Mark took her hand as they dodged through the trees to reach the car parked out on the road.
“Come on, Janine. I won’t let you be the first to die. We’ll make it. I promise.”
Janine squeezed his hand as they picked up speed.

They came out of the woods a hundred yards from the car, running full speed towards it. Reaching the old Buick they were like mad animals pawing at the doors to get them open. Inside, John searched through the mass of jumbled keys. The others started yelling at him.
“Come on John, get this piece of shit moving.”
“I’m trying dammit!” He dropped the keys and fumbled on the floor to retrieve them.
Mark beat on the back of the seat. “Let’s go man!”
John found the key, shoved it in the ignition, gave it a turn and the motor started instantly. He jerked on the gearshift and slammed it into drive with his foot already on the accelerator. The car fishtailed as the tires slung gravel before they caught traction and sent the car careening down the road. John fought the steering wheel to get the car under control. They disappeared into a cloud of dust.

Half an hour later, they were back at the dorm. Shaken and still out of breath, they slumped across the sofa. No one said a word.
The door opened slowly. They all turned to see who was there. It was the disfigured man from the sanitarium. Janine let out a terrifying scream. John jumped up and grabbed the big brass candlestick that was on the end table.
“What the hell do you want?” he screamed. The man began to laugh as he pulled off the rubber mask.
“I just wanted to see if my students actually did their research,” Dr. Tine said.
Toni looked away with a smug grin on her face. Her uncle had helped her get the best of them.

© Patti Stafford