Sure to Shine

"Whoah," Eric breathed. "What is this place?"

"Would you believe it?" Skylar laughed. "It used to be a hospital for the mentally insane, until the place closed thirty years ago. It’s been empty ever since."

"It’s an abandoned mental asylum?" Eric spluttered. "Where’s the serial killer?"

"Not sure, he said he would be out today," Skylar shrugged, and Eric managed a small, if slightly nervous, laugh. Despite the fact it was a quiet laugh, it still echoed off of the walls and the high ceiling of the hall that they were standing in.

It was probably the most awe-inspiring, yet terrifying, place Eric had ever stood in, and in all his years he had never known this place to exist. The hall they were standing in showed evidence of being great in its time, but now the paint on the walls was bubbly and peeling, and the floor was black with grime. The windows high above them were smashed, and the wind made a whistle which could pass for a scream as it passed through the empty metal frames.

Skylar had pulled a flashlight out of his bag, and was shining it around the room.

"It’s freaky, isn’t it?" he asked, and Eric nodded his agreement. "You can almost feel all the people who used to be here."

"So what happened?" Eric asked. "Did the place just close?"

"Yeah. Not enough people were being placed here," Skylar explained. "Don’t worry. There was no tragic fire or epic massacre. The place just closed and the patients were all moved to different locations."

"It’s still spooky, though," Eric said, shivering slightly.

"Tell me about it," Skylar chuckled. "Anyway, come on. It gets freakier."

"Are we allowed to be in here?" Eric asked, as he followed Skylar towards some doors at the back of the hall. They passed a rusty old wheelchair which was on its side in the middle of the room, and Eric didn’t look at it for too long.

"Probably not," Skylar replied casually.

"Isn’t it unstable?" Eric asked, looking up to where moonlight could be seen filtering in from gaps in the ceiling.

"Probably," came Skylar’s reply, again casual.

Eric’s nerves rose as Skylar led him up some rickety stairs.

"Skylar, this isn’t a good idea –" Eric began, but he knew Skylar would pay him no attention anyway, so he shut up.

"This was the day room, at one point," Skylar said, when they had come up the stairs into a dark hall and turned into a room on their right. The walls here were in an even worse condition. Rainwater had trickled down from holes in the roof and marked the wallpaper. Most of it had fallen down or rotted away, but what freaked Eric out the most were the filthy handprints all over the walls.

"Um, Skylar?" Eric whispered. Skylar turned and shone the torch after Eric’s pointed finger. There was no emotion on his face.

"Calm down, Eric," he said. "Kids use this place for drinking all the time. Look over there."

Skylar directed the beam of his flashlight to the far corner, where Eric could plainly make out empty boxes of beer and empty spirit bottles. He relaxed a little, but not much.

"First a cemetery, now this place," he muttered. "You find them, Skylar."

"I know," Skylar grinned.

"So why did you bring me here?" Eric asked, wondering if he wanted to know the answer. He took a few steps closer to Skylar, moving cautiously. The floor felt spongy under his feet, and he wondered just how stable the place was.

"Just wanted to see how you were holding up from our last chat," Skylar grinned. Again, the distorted light made him look eerie, almost inhuman.

"All right," Eric said. "I mean, it’s not like you told me I was dying or anything."

Skylar laughed.

"Well, as long as you’re doing all right, there’s no stopping us moving on tonight," Skylar said softly. Eric looked at him, getting slightly worried.

"What do you mean by that, Skylar?" Eric asked, also softly.

"Well, the other day, we got talking about how everyone’s a monster, but how some people accept it and go with it, but others try to stop it," Skylar said quietly. He was kneeling beside the bag now, and Eric was met with the sudden urge to run. However, his feet remained rooted to the spongy floor.

"I’m one of those people who have accepted it," Skylar said. "You’re still coming to terms with it. If you came into contact with one of these people, Eric, you wouldn’t stand a chance. You proved that the other night."

"What are you doing, Skylar?" Eric asked hoarsely.

Skylar kicked the flashlight around from its current position on the floor. It provided a powerful light, and in the shadows Eric could see Skylar was smirking.

"I think tonight is going to be rather enlightening," Skylar breathed. He took a step closer to Eric, and then he finally revealed what had been in the bag. "This is a shotgun," he explained patiently. "It’s the exact same kind that Ben used in his little rampage. It’s sawn-off and very much illegal. This thing can blast a hole in a wooden door. If you were the door, and I were standing here, there would be a hole straight through you."

Eric was frozen, terrified once more, and wondering where Skylar got these weapons from. It was clear he was hanging around with a dangerous young man who had equally dangerous links.

"This is a shotgun, Eric," Skylar said again, softer this time, so that Eric had to strain to hear him. "And you’re about to die."

Eric felt the blood drain from his face and he felt physically sick.

"What?" he whispered hoarsely.

"You heard me," Skylar smiled. "You’re going to die. I’m going to shoot you. What have you got to say? Going to beg for your life? Or are you just going to go quietly?"

Eric was trembling, but he wasn’t aware of it. All he could look at was the gun in Skylar’s hand. It was in his left hand, because Skylar was left-handed.

He cocked the gun and aimed it at Eric’s head, and Eric squeezed his eyes tightly shut, knowing that Skylar would do it. He had begun to think that Skylar wasn’t who he said he was. Eric was starting to think Skylar was some sort of travelling serial killer. What if he wasn’t Skylar’s first victim? What if there were tens, possibly hundred more?

Who cares? Eric’s brain screamed at him. You’re going to fucking die! Do something!

But Eric could do nothing. He was completely powerless to do anything apart from stand still and wait for death. He prayed it was quick.

He prayed his parents would never have to see what was left of him.

The gunshot was louder than anything Eric had ever heard in his life. It made his ears ring, and he could feel the echo of it across the back of his head.

It took him a second to realise he was still standing, still alive. Skylar was laughing, and there was a huge dent in the wall behind Eric. The bullet had missed his head by inches.

Eric whimpered and slumped to the floor.

He heard Skylar’s footsteps getting closer, and suddenly the other young man was looking down at him. He put his foot on Eric’s chest, pinning him down. Eric wouldn’t be able to get up even if he wanted to, but he was in no fit state to stand. His breathing was coming in short, shallow gasps, and he wondered if he were having some sort of panic attack.

"You’re fucking pathetic," Skylar said quietly, looking down at Eric with a look of disgust on his face. Eric was terrified of him. Skylar looked completely different. He looked like a monster. He was a monster.

"What’s wrong with you?" Eric gasped, grabbing Skylar’s leg and trying to get him to release some weight off of his chest. Eric could barely breathe as it was, without the added weight from Skylar’s leg.

"Wrong with me?" Skylar asked, laughing loudly. The laugh echoed around the dark room, and bounced off the walls in the corridor outside. It sounded like a thousand people were laughing at him. "What’s wrong with you, Eric? You know, I had you pinned for someone who was a lot braver than you are. I thought you’d be able to take this. Obviously not."

Eric gave up trying to pull Skylar’s leg away. He was wasting precious energy. Instead, he let his head rest against the ground, no longer caring how filthy said ground was.

"You were going to kill me," Eric mumbled. "No one could face death and not be scared."

"Oh really?" Skylar asked, raising an eyebrow. "So I didn’t face death when I put that gun in my mouth and fired the other day, didn’t I?"

"You knew there was a high chance that there wouldn’t be a bullet!"

"A high chance, but not a certain chance," Skylar shrugged. "I didn’t know if I would live or not. Was I scared? No. Because we’re all going to die. Why be scared of something which is inevitable? How old are you, Eric?"

"Eighteen."

"And are you terrified of turning nineteen?"

"No, why would I be?"

"It’s as certain as you dying is," Skylar shrugged. "You have as much chance of turning nineteen as you do dying. In fact, if you take into account tonight and all of the dangers you face on a daily basis, you actually have a lesser chance of turning nineteen. Turning nineteen will be luck. Dying is certain."

"I don’t plan of dying before I’m nineteen," Eric muttered.

"Who does?" Skylar laughed. "I don’t think any average human being would ever want to die, do you? But the fact is we do. And it’s better to face death without fear than to go out like you would have done; eyes closed and shaking like a fucking leaf."

Skylar finally took his foot away from under Eric’s chin. Eric took a grateful gasp of air.

"Stand up," Skylar commanded, and Eric reluctantly dragged himself to his feet.

"What are you doing now?" he asked, his voice still shaking a little.

Skylar was standing right up close to him, and Eric realised that they were practically the same height.

"What is it about death that scares you?" Skylar asked softly, fixing Eric with mad eyes. "Is it the fear of the unknown? Is it the pain? What is it?"

"A bit of both, I guess," Eric replied, trying to get some moisture back to his mouth. His voice was cracking due to the fact it was so dry.

Eric didn’t even see it coming. One second, Skylar was watching him silently. The next moment, he had turned the gun around and jabbed the butt of it right into the side of Eric’s head, as hard as he could manage. There was a crack and pain exploded in Eric’s head above his left ear. He let out a yelp of pain and instinctively grabbed where Skylar had hit him.

"What the –" he began, but Skylar was too quick, and hit him again, this time in his stomach. Eric dropped to the floor again, this time doubled over on his knees. Skylar took advantage of this vulnerable position, and brought the gun down on the back of Eric’s head.

Eric slumped to the floor, the dark room swimming in and out of focus. He groaned and closed his eyes, and gradually, everything became silent.