Asylum (H.S) *EDITING*

three

3.

I hold onto the thin wooden railing with my left hand, and slide my hand along the wall with the right. The slight creak of every other stair is enough to send a small wave of panic through me. I can see the end of the stairs and I skip the last two steps to get to the bottom. I come out of the stairwell and enter the dark hallway. The lights above do not seem to be doing their job, I can barely see my feet as they hit the concrete softly.

I step on something and almost lose my balance, I regain my composure and crouch down to see what almost made me slip. I feel around the cold ground for a couple seconds before my fingers hit the cylinder object. As I inspect it closer it appears to be a tube of red lipstick. Wondering who left it down here, I stand it up against the wall in hopes the owner will come back and find it.

I continue down the hall a few feet and push open the women's washroom door. The lights in here are seemingly better and don't cause such an eerie feeling but I'd still rather this washroom be upstairs. I finish up my business and flush when I hear the door push open. I hear the tap turn on and shut off not long after. The sound of feet approach and they must go into a stall before mine because I don't see feet pass by. I adjust my uniform and make sure that everything is in order before stepping out of the stall.

I can barely take a step before the lights in the room turn off completely. I'm enveloped in darkness and immediately reach for the stall door. I follow the door until I reach the wall, I take a few steps and press my back against the wall. I'm about to keep going until I reached the sink ledge and eventually made it to the door. But I'm stopped from moving when I feel a slight press on my upper arm.  I shake my head to rid the paranoia and begin moving my arm to make the feeling go away. I'm not sure if it's the darkness but my head is beginning to spin. I take a step back and press my back against the wall.

I squeeze my eyes shut and shake my head. The dizziness is subsiding somewhat, but the feeling in my stomach is uneasy. I cover my face with my hands and try calm my breathing. I gain courage and am about to make a run for it, but when I lower my hands and open my eyes the lights are on.

Something on the small mirror at the first sink catches my attention, I know I should book it out of here but my mind is too curious to not check what is on the mirror. I approach the first sink slowly. But when I get into better view I regret not running out as soon as the lights came on.

Written on the mirror in front of me in red is; ''I'm watching you little flower" I back up, my mind is racing a mile a minute. My heartbeat is thumping out of control. My breathing is shallow and uneven. I notice in the sink, the tube of red lipstick I found in the hallway. It's like my mind finally catches up with what's happening, without thinking or looking back I run out of the washroom, down the hallway and up the stairs.

I exit the stairwell in a panic, I close the door hard behind me and press my back against it. I close my eyes and let out a heavy breath, that did not just happen.

"Vi, where were you?" I hear from beside me, I open my eyes and turn to see Lisa walking towards me with a clipboard in her hands.

"I went downstairs to use the washroom and the lights went out on me." I explain, she furrows her eyebrows and gives me a questioning look. "So, that kept you away for two hours?" She asks curiously, she leans against the wall beside me and my mind begins to whirl once again.

"What? I was gone for maybe like fifteen minutes at the most. Wasn't I?" I ask her and myself. There is no way I was downstairs for two hours without realizing it.

"No, I was looking for you to help me file out some paperwork and as I was asking Melissa, some guy told me you went downstairs a little before lunch time. It is now almost three." She explains, my eyebrows are stuck in a furrow. It feels like I was only gone for a few minutes, but apparently those minutes were hours.

"You said some guy told you I was down there?" I asked, she nods her head and waves at a security guard walking by. "What did he look like?" I question, this is bothering me some and I want to know who this guy is.

"Well he had light-ish brown hair swept across his forehead, lovely blue eyes and wore a...I think it was a brown coat. Do you know him?" She asked and bumped her hip against mine. I let out a breathy laugh and shook my head. "No, I have no idea who he is. I seen the same guy earlier though, he asked me where the visitors were to go. But the strange thing is, he was down by the rooms. Like he already knew where he was going." I say trying to puzzle the pieces together. I look to the side and eye Lisa, waiting for her input.

"Oh, that is strange. He seemed to have known you, so I didn't really think much of it. But if you just met him today, then that is a little creepy. Did you catch his name?" She asks and stands properly. I think for a minute, knowing that he did tell me his name.

"Logan, I'm pretty sure that's what he said." I say and get off the wall as well. Lisa and I begin walking down the right hall, and she begins discussing how she recently met this 'cute blond guy' at the market the other day.

"Hey so, word around the house is that a certain someone has taken a liking towards you." Lisa suddenly says, I turn my head towards her and roll my eyes.

"Sure" I mumble and she nudges my shoulder with hers. We pass a few security guards and she turns her face to hide her giggle. I look at her and she shakes her head.

"I'm serious, I know who it is. But I promised I wouldn't say anything until he made a move himself." She hums and I let out a small laugh as we approach the break room door.

*EDITED 3.22.18*