A/N I included a map of Eastern State Penitentiary in this part so you could kind of see where Ryan and Shane are going. According to he map, cellblock twelve (one of the sections mentioned in this part) is closed to the public. However, I've read articles of people hunting ghosts there so I assume it is open to some people (probably people who pay a lot of money) and Buzzfeed seemed to me like the kind of people that would be allowed access to it.
Ryan and I slowly made our way through the dark building, filming all the places that our fans would be the most eager to see. Every now and then a distant noise would give us a slight scare but, for the most part, we remained calm.
As we approached cellblock twelve, Ryan stopped and looked down the long hallway lined with prison cells.
"You ready for this?" He asked me, nervously,
"Ready to explore a haunted section of an old jail? Of course!" I told him, silently reassuring myself that it would be ok.
"You know, people claim to have seen a lot of creepy stuff down here." He said. "Maybe we'll get some of our first really good footage."
"Maybe." I said, before taking a step forward.
Ryan followed me and together we walked down the hallway, gazing into the dark cells as we walked. Our flashlights barely penetrated the dim light and it was slightly hard to see. Ryan was a step behind me so I wasn't able to tell whether or not he was scared. Knowing him, he probably was but, he didn't say anything to me so I decided to let him deal with his fear himself for the time being.
"Shane." He whispered after a moment.
"Huh?" I turned around.
"What if we went into the cells? You can go in one and I'll go into another and we'll stay in there alone for a minute and try to communicate with the spirits." He suggested.
"Ryan, that is the bravest thing I've ever heard you say to me." I told him and his face lit up with a slight smile. He looked almost proud of himself for wanting to venture into a haunted jail cell alone.
"I'll go in here..." he gestured to the open door beside him. "And you can go down there into the next one." Ryan explained, taking a slight step closer to the cell door.
"Alright. We'll come back out here in... two minutes?" I offered.
Ryan nodded, before turning and walking into the dark cell. Once he'd gone in, I started to walk down the hall towards my own cell.
Standing outside the door, I turned and looked back at the room that Ryan had just disappeared into only moments before. Then as I was about to go into my own, something down the hall caught my eye. I froze and stared blankly at a ghostly white figure standing just a few doors down from me. Resisting the urge to scream, I peeled my eyes away and rushed into the cell.
I looked around at the emptiness, shining my flashlight into each corner of the room, making sure I was alone. After taking a moment to regain my breath, I stood in the middle of the room and gazed into the darkness, just out of view of my light.
"I know your here." I called out, as loudly as I dared so that Ryan wouldn't hear me. "I know your listening to me speak right now. Scare me as much as you want. I don't mind but... please don't scare Ryan. He's my best friend and he's really scared of ghosts. I just want to protect him. I don't want him to be scared so please leave him alone!"
After I finished I looked towards the thick cell wall separating me from Ryan. Maybe the spirits would listen to me?
Suddenly Ryan screamed loudly in the next room.
"Ryan!" I yelled, running towards the sound.
As I entered the other cell, I saw Ryan standing there covering his ears with his hands. His face was sweaty and he had his eyes clenched shut.
"Are you ok? What happened?" I asked rushing over to him.
"Shane..." he panted, out of breath. "I- I swear I heard something... my name! Someone said my name!" I put my hand on his shoulder and gave him a worried look.
"That was probably me. I was talking to the ghosts." I hesitated before continuing "I was telling them to scare you." I lied, deciding not to tell him what I'd really said about him while I was all alone.
He shook his head. "It- it wasn't you. Whoever it was... they whispered in my ear. They whispered my name."
I looked around. It was clear that whoever was here with us, had ignored my pleas.
Forcing out a fake laugh, I looked back at Ryan.
"That's bullcrap!" I said. "How would the ghosts know your name?"
"I don't know! They're ghosts! They know everything!" He said and then gave me a puzzled look. "Did you actually tell them to scare me?" He asked, his bottom lip quivering.
"No. I didn't. I asked them for a cheeseburger." I joked, wondering if Ryan had caught on to the fact that I had begun to believe in the ghosts around us. "Let's just go get ready to sleep."
I took my hand off his arm, noticing before I did so that he had stopped shivering slightly. Then the two of us walked side by side down the hallway towards our next destination.
"Cellblock four..." Ryan muttered as we approached it.
"The most haunted part of this whole building." I added, fighting hard to keep my voice steady. As uneasy as I felt, I had to remain calm. I had to hide my fear from Ryan.
We walked together past the cells. Each one looking exactly the same as the rest. Finally we came to a stop in front of one near the end.
"This is it." Ryan said uneasily. "This is the place."
I thought back to what he had said previously. The section of commentary that, when edited into the latest episode, would be played just before we got ourselves ready to spend the night.
"One of the most legendary tales comes from Gary Johnson, who helps maintain the crumbling old locks at the prison. In the early 1990s, he had just opened an old lock in Cellblock 4 when he says a force gripped him so tightly that he was unable to move. He described a negative, horrible energy that exploded out of the cell. He said tormented faces appeared on the cell walls and that one form in particular beckoned to him." Ryan had said.
As we made our way into the cell, I fought back a shiver and sat down on the old crumbling bed. Ryan, following my example, sat on a rotting wooden stool.
"Well... I guess we'll be staying here tonight. Do you wanna sleep on the bed?" I asked.
"Sleep in a bed that a ghost inmate once slept in? Sure, I'd love to!" Ryan replied sarcastically.
"Well if you're not gonna, I will. We've got a bed, might as well put it to good use." I said, already pulling out my sleeping bag and laying it over the old sheets. Then I crawled in and pulled out my phone. As, Ryan laid out his sleeping bag on the floor below me, I posted a picture to Instagram, captioning it "Hope we don't die tonight!" which was only partially a joke.
A few minutes later, after we were both settled in, I aimed my flashlight down at Ryan.
"Well goodnight." I said.
"Goodnight..." he replied, sounding terrified.
A/N: Thank you so much for reading! It really means a lot to me that you enjoy my stories. If you do, please remember to leave a like and add The Love Story Of Cellblock Four to your library. Remember to leave any questions or suggestions in the comments. Feedback is always appreciated. I'll be sure to continue writing as long as you are still enjoying reading so be prepared for the next part coming out soon. Things are about to get really awesome.
CREDIT BECAUSE I STOLE A PART!
"One of the most legendary tales comes from Gary Johnson, who helps maintain the crumbling old locks at the prison. In the early 1990s, he had just opened an old lock in Cellblock 4 when he says a force gripped him so tightly that he was unable to move. He described a negative, horrible energy that exploded out of the cell. He said tormented faces appeared on the cell walls and that one form in particular beckoned to him."
This paragraph actually comes from an article by Laurel Dalrymple. It can be found here: http://www.npr.org/2013/10/24/232234570/is-eastern-state-penitentiary-really-haunted