False Asylum

"Hurry up and lock the door!" I screamed in a panic.

"Yakima PD! Open the door now!" A deep, authoritative voice yelled from behind the door.

"We should be fine, right?"

"Yea. I think so," I replied. I wasn't sure if we were going to be ok or not. If I counted correctly, it's 5 against the two of us, and from the looks of this barn, we should be fine. This old barn was the only place we could find after crashing the vehicle. We saw it from afar and made a run for it. Based on how it looked from the outside, you would've never known that it had new appliances inside. Most of the interior seems industrial made, and these double entry doors are made of steel. It's going to take more than kicks and punches to break it down.

"Shh. Do you hear that? They've stopped. I'm gonna go look through one of the windows."

"Be careful, Hero. You don't want the cops to break the glass and grab you." I said with a bit of concern.

I don't even know this guy, but he reminds me of my little brother. Medium frame, russet complexion, look 5' 6", dark kinky brown hair, a black Superman shirt, and dark green camouflage pants. The name "Hero" seems fitting since he has the outfit to match and has yet to tell me his name.

"Hey, come here! Come look at this," Hero says to me. I ran over to his area to see what he was pointing at. I noticed that the windows have bars on them, and around the bars is barbed wire. That seems odd to have on barn windows. I wonder what they are trying to keep out. The police are also nowhere in sight. I immediately start running around to look through the other windows, and still no cops in sight.

"Hey Hero, did you see the cops leaving? I don't see them anywhere." I said, running back towards him

"No, but that is odd. I mean, we robbed a bank. Well, you robbed a bank, and I just drove," Hero said while quickly looking away.

"The fuck? We BOTH were robbing a bank. Besides, you think the cops will care who was doing what? Your hands are just as dirty as mine." I said while in his face aggressively. I can't believe he tried to play the victim and get out of this shit. We are in this together, and we need to figure this out.

"Hey, big guy, did you check that window?" He says while nodding in the direction.

"It's Aaron," I said while running to the other end of the barn. I looked out the window and noticed an old brick house with lights on. There are also some cars parked around the house. To the left of it, there is a fenced-in area with big trees and a red shed.

"Maybe the cops went in that house to inform the owners we are in their barn," Hero says in a panic.

"Why would they leave us here with no security just to go to a house? That doesn't make any sense. We just stole 50k and an antique medallion that supposed to be worth 30 million." I explained while looking at him, confused. For some reason, I feel like something isn't right, and we shouldn't stay for long.

"Look, we gotta get out of here. Aye, grab the bags, and let's go. You still have the medallion, right? I asked Hero

"Yea, it's by my bag," he says while cracking his knuckles.

As we walk towards the entry door, I start explaining to him our next plan. Leave the barn, find a getaway car, ditch the car in a garage, drop off the medallion, split the profit, and go separate ways. We can come up with the alibis in the vehicle, but we no longer know each other after that. I grab the bag of money plus my gun, and Hero grabs the other bag of money as well. We get to the door, and Hero starts looking around frantically with wide eyes. He suddenly drops the bag of cash and pats himself as if he's on fire.

"What's wrong?" I ask. Hero slowly looks up at me like he's seen a ghost.

"I lost the medallion. Well, I didn't lose it. I just can't find it," Edward says while still looking around.

"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?! YOU LOST THE MEDALLION?" I said while dropping my head back. "You just had it when you locked us in here from the cops! How did you lose the medallion?"

"I don't know. Look, it can't be far. I'm gonna find it" Hero falls to his knees by the entrance door and starts looking around.

I find a half chopped tree and have a seat. I can't believe this. This was supposed to be a simple job for some money, but now it's a complicated mess. I can't believe I'm in this situation, to be honest. Ever since this flesh-eating bacteria created a pandemic, I lost my job, and I have to work odd jobs to support myself. My unemployment checks aren't the greatest, and I need another source of income until things open up. I could move back to Chicago and live with my mother for a bit. But I have too much pride for that, and I'm 26. I can't imaging moving back in with my mom. I have to figure this out on my own.

"Did you find the medallion yet?" I asked

"I think so. But you're not gonna like where it's located," Hero says.

I get up to see what he is talking about, and he points to a deep hole in the ground. Inside the hole, there is toilet tissue dipped in a brown watery substance. I lean a little close to it and quickly realize it smells like a porter potty. Was this a bathroom?

"Eh, that's gross. How did you drop it in there?" I asked while covering my nose

"I'm not sure. After I locked the doors, I must've dropped it in the hole while in a panic," Hero says while looking distraught.

"You need to reach in and grab that medallion. You think I'm bouts to waste more time in this creepy-ass barn all because you lost 30 million? We need that money, and so does the person who needed us to rob that vault! Think about what this money can do for us? What could you do with 15 million on top of the 50 thousand? You can survive and live comfortably. You'll also have more than enough to last you for a while until this bacteria is under control," I said while grinning.

"I really could use the money from this job since what I'm making at Chipotle isn't enough. I've had my fair share of struggling this past year while trying to pay off my school loans. The one time I listen to my parents 'Edward, you need to get a degree' is a decision I'm really starting to regret. It seems like I'm in more debt than it's worth." Edwards says while putting his hands on his hips.

"Chipotle? I thought you were in the military or something," I said, shocked.

"No." He laughs. "I just like the camo. Looks cool, right? Especially with the shirt since Superman saves the day, and the military…."

"Yea, yea, I get it," I said while waving and cutting him off.

Edward seems like a person who has his whole life ahead of him, but the debt was obviously in the way of whatever plans he has.

"Edward, how did you even get into this?" I asked

"I got a DM on Facebook about making some quick cash. It was along the lines of making $1250 an hour for 4 hours just to drive. They also offered $5000 once the VIP got to the destination after picking them up at the bank. I thought it was too good to be true, so I had to sign up. It's not common for a 22-year-old to make that kind of money just to drive. It seemed better than wasting my time with driving apps," He stated while squatting over the hole. Edward seems like he was in over his head, desperate for cash and not cut out for this. I wish his family told him that there are different ways to make money.

"Look, Edward, you…." Out of nowhere, something falls in the barn, and the lights start flickering.

"What was that," Edward says while slightly moving behind me.

"I don't know. Maybe it's an animal," As I start moving towards the sound with my handgun ready to shoot, I start to notice the horse stalls. All of them closed, and some of the lights over the booths were flickering. The sound happens again, and I froze in place. I realized that it's starting to get cold, and the sun is setting. We definitely need to get out of here before it's too dark.

"Edward, hurry up and grab that medallion, and let's get the hell out of here."

"Umm..Ok. Hey, do you happen to have any gloves?" I quickly snap my head back to scolded him

"Ok, man. Take it easy," Edwards says while proceeding to feel around for the item. The sound of the water and knowing what inside turns my stomach. I think it got to Edward as well because his scrunched-up face said it all.

THUD, CLINK, CLINK,

I hopped back, startled, and look towards a closed stall. I realize that's where the sound is coming from. I move towards it slowly and open the door. There is a plastic bag, and whenever the light flickers on, I noticed blood.

"Oh fuck! Edward, we gotta go now!!!" I said screamed. Suddenly the bag starts to tear open, and a deformed face comes out with sharp teeth. It looks like someone was decomposed and mutilating into something. Then the screaming and squelching start. The decommissioning creature starts crawling towards me, and I knew we had to go.

"AHHHHH," A scream lets out. I run towards the entrance, and Edward's foot has been bitten off by one of the creatures. I shoot the creature in the head and pull Edward away.

"Please tell me you got it."

"Yea. Here," he says while holding his injured leg. The stalls start opening up, and more creatures come out crawling. All of them ripping out through the plastic and crawling quickly towards our location. I run to grab both bags of money and rush to open the door.

"Don't leave me!" Edward cries while looking at the monsters coming towards him.

"I'm not, man. Hold on," I said while frantically trying to open the door. Once the door is open, I threw the bags out and grabbed Edward. He hops on one leg in agony while I buddy carry him, and we barely make it out. While moving some barrels in front of the door, I start to get my composure and embrace the cool night air while listening to the monsters bang on the door. I walk over to Edward to make sure he's ok, but something is wrong. He's convulsing and rapidly decomposing. I grab the bags, medallion and run, but then I step on a bear trap. I scream in agony while looking for help. A broken stick is nearby, and I try to pry the trap open. Still no luck. I lay on the ground, hopeless, and notice Edward is quietly staring at me with blood coming out of his mouth. He then proceeds to crawl towards me quickly, and as he's closing in, I realize my fate has arrived.

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