Free Asylum - 13 Tales of Terror by Matt Drabble Page A

killed his pregnant wife.”
    “What else could it be?” Jimmy smiled.
    “Hey, I’m not saying for one second that I believe him, but he was so calm and matter of fact about the whole thing. Aren’t you shocked by his story?”
    “Oh I’ve heard Mr. Murray’s tale many times before,” Jimmy answered coolly. “I’ve heard all of their tales. That’s why I thought that you might be interested in the most fascinating of them, you know, for your book.”
    “Hey, I’m not saying that I’m not interested, it’s just kind of a lot to take in. I mean I’ve never been around people, you know, like that before.”
    “They’re people too you know, just people with more interesting stories to tell.”
    Martin watched as Jimmy’s eyes twinkled; he could swear the elderly janitor was having a grand old time. He couldn’t tell if the older man was delighting in sharing the asylum’s tales or delighting in shocking him with them.
    He looked down at his watch; unbelievably he was still only two and a half hours into his shift. His heart sank involuntarily as he realised that the night still had plenty of time to shock and terrify him. Not to mention the fact that Jimmy seemed in no mood to stop now.
    “Do you need to take a break?” He asked hopefully.
    “Oh I’m as fit as a fiddle my boy,” Jimmy smiled “Come on, I still have such things to show you.”
    Martin followed as Jimmy shuffled off down the long gloomy corridor. They were soon engulfed in the shadows of the limited night lighting levels. The large windows barely let any illumination through their bars as the world outside was currently encased in a thick fog that the moon could not penetrate.
    Suddenly Martin stopped dead in tracks; there was a strange tapping sound coming from somewhere above. “Jimmy,” he hissed, not knowing why he was whispering, “Jimmy.”
    The elderly custodian turned back grinning, “I’m sure that’s just the pipes. It’s an old building, you’ll soon find that this building will talk to you after dark. The wind can whistle through the gaps and sound like whispers in the night.”
    “For a minute there I thought that it might be…” Martin left the thought hanging.
    “Horace and his tapping cane? Not to worry Martin I’m sure that Horace doesn’t rise this early in the evening,” Jimmy smiled as he walked away.
    “How long have you been here Jimmy?” Martin asked as he hurried along the corridor to catch up.
    “Some nights it feels like forever,” Jimmy said with an odd inflection in his voice.
    Suddenly he seemed older to Martin; the bare light of the overhead fluorescents caught his face and aged it terribly, and his back seemed stooped as though it carried the weight of the building on it. The inadequate lighting created dark hollow shadows under his eyes and they sank deeply into a fleshless skull.
    “Come,” Jimmy rumbled through a low growl, “The night’s wasting,” he said as he opened the next room.

6.
    TWO BLIND MICE
     
    Dr Samuel Dietz stood in his office overseeing the new arrival. His personal space was large and luxurious; there was no expense ever spared at the institute, especially when it came to his own comfort. The Heaven’s Reach Institute for the Blind rested amidst the verified air of snow covered mountain tops. The roads were only accessible for around nine months of the year and it was cut off from the world for the remaining three. The mountain roads became too dangerous for even snow born vehicles to attempt. There was a helipad at the rear of the institute for emergency usage if medical necessity demanded evacuation. Otherwise Dr Dietz was God of all he surveyed and his word was gospel.
    The institute could home up to 17 permanent residents, but there were currently only five, with four other members of staff. His guests paid a modest fortune for the privilege of staying at the institute. Dietz knew that many of his business’ inhabitants were from wealthy families who had