Silence Falls

Jack swiftly retreated as far back as he could when he spotted the dark sopping lump within the cage. He wasn’t scared because of the fact it was a dead body, rather how disgusting the bloated corpse had to be from being beneath the water for god knows how long. This patient had clearly drowned which Jack found a little weird because on the file his name was Lucifer and he was described as THE Devil himself, not just a Devil that could be easily expendable like every other human on earth.

“I think he’s dead.” Matt uttered, his eyes on the dark drenched form illuminated by his flashlight.

Jack jumped at the sound of his friend’s voice cutting into his paranoid thoughts. His wide eyes blinked several times at the direction of the cage to discern that Matt was now standing right in front of it, leaning over to inspect the corpse thoroughly. Jack cursed to himself, of course he wouldn’t be anxious to check out a patient that had been drowned and risk getting spritzed at by rotting bodily fluids.

“That makes no sense. Why would they drown him and not report his death?” Matt puzzled out loud, scratching the back of his head in grievance. “They had me sitting out there at that stupid desk filling out all those files for weeks just to kill this guy in the end and not say anything to me!? I was left out there to dispatch more paperwork on this dead body!? For what!?”

Jack shrugged even though Matt wasn’t looking at him. “Maybe they decided it was about time to put him out of his misery, or something. What, has that not been done down here before?”

Matt glared at Jack dead in his eye. “No, it hasn’t! No patients have ever been brought down here before. In fact, this patient is the sole reason anyone has ever stepped foot in this room since it was constructed decades ago.”

Jack’s eyebrows furrowed until a sound pierced the silence around them, startling the living hell out of both him and Matt, and nearly giving them a heart attack. “WHAT THE-”

Matt whirled around several times in place, trying to analyze the dark room with his flashlight to pinpoint where the out of place sound derived from. “Who or what the fuck was that, man?!”

Jack shook his head, also wildly peering around the room with his flashlight, his heart pounding away in his chest like a jackhammer. “I-I don’t know! It wasn’t me though!”

“It wasn’t me either!” Matt hissed out, eliminating himself from being blamed next.

“If it wasn’t you or me, then who the fuck was it?” Jack demanded from Matt, practically two second away from peeing his own pants.

“Help…me.” The sound came again but much clearer than before.

Matt turned around and gaped at the shrouded corpse in the cage. Realizing that it had to have spoken, a smile of relief inflated across Matt’s face right before he burst into laughter at the wretched sight. He felt Jack regard him holding his aching stomach as tears of delight rolled down his face. The guy was probably wondering how this was all so funny to him. Straightening up, Matt pointed with the aim of his flashlight at the wet black mass. “Can you believe this guy?! We thought this fucker was dead this whole time!”

“Fuck this, man!” Jack cursed, running a hand through his ebony hair. Matt went right back to laughing his butt off, not understanding his companion’s upset reply at all.

The patient in the cage elected to move at that moment, shifting a little as the flop ping of oversize wet clothes followed with him. A head gradually lifted his head in the direction of a merry Matt, and suddenly…

BOOM!

Jack shot back against the concrete wall, and landed on his behind. It took him a minute to win back his senses again, and when he did he couldn’t believe what had arisen. He literally couldn’t mentally piece together what had transpired because it didn’t make any sense! Jack’s entire body visibly shook and his breath raced as he gaped at Matt’s headless body now floating on the surface in the dark water pit. Matt was dead. Matt had been killed by something that Jack never saw, and he had been looking right at him the entire time it should have taken place. There was no other explanation for the guy’s head being gone…unless it is possible for it to literally combust out of nowhere! Jack didn’t know if that was. Tears streaked down his face without his knowledge as he tried to make sense of it all.

“Help me, Jack.” That same voice called out to him faintly, the lump appearing to have lowered back down to the floor of the cage.

Jack wasn’t about to waste any more time on trying to figure out what happened and accelerated to his feet to take off running towards the door. He didn’t know what the hell was going on and he wasn't planning on sticking around to find out. With an abnormal speed, The prisoner sat up the moment he smelled two different scents mingled with Jack’s scent. Those scents were familiar to the man in the cage, and that is what thwarted him from wiping out Jack next. Raising a lone hand towards the gargantuan door, it somehow slammed shut on its hinges, forbidding Jack from fleeing through to safety.

The young Orderly ran straight into the door, and began shouting at the turn of events. “HEY, LET ME OUT OF HERE! SOMEONE PLEASE, OPEN THE DOOR!” Jack screamed to the top of his lungs, tearing at the long bar that was the handle to the door. Without Matt, Jack couldn’t open it alone relying on his own weaker strength but that didn’t hinder him from trying. He felt the prisoner’s eyes on him, evaluating his silhouette before he communicated again.

“Come here, Jack.” The prisoner requested gently, but clearly. He saw the moment Jack froze in his spot before pressing himself further into the door as if he would somehow evaporate right on through and out of his reach. This time, with a little more edge to his voice, the prisoner cautioned him. “Jack. I will not ask you again. Come here.”

Jack hysterically shook his head, shutting his eyes to the voice as a few tears plummet down his face to absorb into his crisp white uniform.

“Do you want to lose your head too?” The prisoner threatened him.

Jack's eyes snapped open at his threat. He slowly turned and peeked over at the man in the cage through his hair. The prisoner’s own dark hair was over his face so Jack couldn’t see what he looked like, but he could feel his eyes on him like daggers. Jack couldn’t recall how, but his feet somehow took full control of his body and steered him to stand right in front of the cage like the prisoner told him to.

The prisoner looked into Jack’s eyes through long strands of hair, and recognized the owners of the two familiar scents on him. Combing back his long dark hair from his face, the prisoner unveiled his milky white flawless skin, pink lips, and big luminating blue and green eyes. Jack gasped softly at the sight, and the prisoner gave him a kind smile for it. Immediately after all of Jack’s fears and recent trauma began to recede at once. The memory of Matt’s death was no longer seared behind his eyes; rather it was now a muddy and insignificant circumstance. Pleased that he now had the Orderly reposed and responsive with him, the prisoner took the initiative to introduce himself accurately. “Hello Jack, my name is Hermanni. Forgive me for startling you, it has been a ghastly stay down here. Your preceding employees and visitors seem to lack manners and compassion, I must say. I can tell you are very different and significant.”