Chapter 4 - The Blackwood Asylum
A loud voice boomed from a megaphone hidden in the trees.
"Step out of the vehicle, Eleanor, or we will open fire!" a guard shouted.
Eleanor threw the van into reverse and slammed the gas pedal to the floor.
The heavy vehicle smashed through the rotting wooden gates of the asylum.
Bullets shattered the windshield as Eleanor ducked to protect Lily.
The van crashed violently into the stone steps of the main building.
Eleanor kicked the jammed door open and dragged Lily into the dark, abandoned lobby.
They sprinted down the terrifying, echoing hallways of the psychiatric ward.
Rusted wheelchairs and broken medical equipment littered the floors.
Eleanor followed the bloody map drawn on the back of the matchbook.
They descended into the freezing, damp basement where the maximum-security cells were located.
Eleanor found a heavy steel door marked with the exact numbers from Clara's note.
She picked up a rusted iron pipe and violently smashed the padlock until it broke.
Eleanor pulled the heavy door open, tears of desperate hope streaming down her face.
But the small, concrete cell was completely empty.
A single cot sat in the corner, covered in a dirty blanket and fresh stains of blood.
On the wall, carved deeply into the concrete, was a message reading, "He moved me to the docks."
Eleanor sobbed, realizing she was too late to save her daughter from Arthur's wrath.
She turned around to lead Lily back up the stairs.
A digital intercom on the wall suddenly crackled with static.
Arthur's cruel, mocking laughter echoed loudly through the small cell.
"You really thought you could outsmart me, my beautiful wife?" Arthur taunted.
"I have rigged the entire basement with military-grade explosives."
May you like
"You and the little rat have exactly sixty seconds to make your peace with God."
The intercom cut off, replaced by the terrifying sound of a rapid, electronic countdown.
