How Curiosity Kills

The screams and constant ranting from the prisoners in their isolated cells flowed throughout the hospital for the mentally ill. Wearing their strait jackets in their padded cells, the hundreds of voices felt like a melody with everyone singing a different song. The guards have learnt to ignore them during their years working there. 

But there was one cell, far, far away from the others, near the basement with extra security. The prisoner inside had caught nearly everyone who worked there’s curiosity pumping. Nobody has seen them except for the selected few. Not that the selected few were all too enthusiastic about that. Every time that one came inside, they always left with a look of pure horror on their faces.

The others had tried asking them questions but with no answer, no help, no clue to what was inside. It had to be human, the others agreed on. But it was the only thing that they could agree on. Theories became the main talk for the past month.

“Maybe it was a celebrity that has gone mad- which I get why nobody wants to talk about it, the press makes all too much fuss recently.”

“Could it be that it was someone who was raised by wolves?”

“Maybe it’s someone whose only diet is human remains.”

Those were the most popular theories that spouted out of their mouths. Nobody denied or confirmed anything. Some of the guards decided that it was all three of the theories, spouting out the most ridiculous stories. None which were true- to anyone’s knowledge.

One rather curious security guard, one who wasn’t selected to be the few, was the most curious of the lot. A young man in his early twenties who was a black belt in karate who had worked there almost as long as when the mysterious patient appeared on site.

On his rounds, he usually could spot the mysterious door. He could always feel a surge of curiosity, but he had no key to going inside. Only the selected few had them. He could hear scratching noise from the door which did not slow his curiosity. He wanted to have a peek, but he needed to get a key first.

A few hours later, he saw one of the lead guards, one of the selected few leaving his shift, putting the key in a drawer. The curious security guard tried not to make a sound. This could be his only chance to see what was inside. Once the guard had left the building, he then snuck in the office and pulled the key out of the drawer. He couldn’t help but be thrilled when he put it in his pocket. He had to hide an excited smile as he tried to make his way to the cell but then he was stopped by another guard.

“What are you doing Adam?” she asked.

She was around his age and was only doing this job to save up for university. She always kept on saying that every time she started her shift. It didn’t half get on anyone’s nerves most of the time. But, like Adam, she was also very curious about what was in the cell and could see a glimmer of one of the keys in his pocket.

“Nothing- okay Penny, you can carry on.”

She wasn’t going to be outsmarted that easily. She then folded her arms as she then said,

“I know you’ve got one of the keys. I’ll tell unless you take me with you.”

Adam then huffed, “Fine Penny but shush- please.”

Penny did her best not to squeal as she then followed Adam to the room. Adam then told her to stay back.

“I’ll go in first and if something goes terribly wrong then you run.”

Penny then huffed as she then leaned towards one of the walls. Adam then unlocked the door as he then entered in. Penny had to wait until he gave all clear which seemed as if it was taking forever.

“Come on Adam, what is taking you so long- it’s a cell, not a maze.”

Then she heard a scream.

“Adam?”

She then saw a pool of blood come out of the door. She then screamed as she then tried to rush up back to the safer cells. She tried to open the door, but it was locked. She tried to grab the right key, but her hands were shaking.

“Come on, get the key.” she muttered to herself as she fished it out of her pocket and then managed to open it... forgetting one tiny, particularly important thing. The door was still open.

She gavea few sighs of relief as she then made her way to the elevator. She wondered what Adam had seen, before all that blood. She shivered at the thought as she then pressed a button, she didn’t care what was inside it now, she just wanted to get back to safety and tell her parents that she wouldn’t be working there no more. Uni or no uni.

The doors then closed as she then leaned a bit. She needed a bit of time to relax. But then, it stopped. Penny then jumped as she pressed the button again. Was she stuck, she thought.

The doors then creaked open, twisting the metal until it was unrecognizable. Smoke then covered Penny’s eyes as she then could hear a snarl. A scratch.

“Hello?” she called out.

She could see, from the bottom of her shoes, long claws that haven’t been cleaned in years. Could this be what was inside? Panic then set in as she tried to press the button again. But then, something wrapped around her. She tried to scream but her throat was dry. She couldn’t move not call out for help.

She prayed that someone could go down there and maybe save her life. But the last thing that she saw were those yellow eyes before everything went dark.

Meanwhile, one of the selected few, the warden, was just going to check on what was inside the isolated cell. But then he noticed that the door was wide open, both doors. He could see crimson blood pour down.

Oh god, he thought, oh dear.

He then looked around, hoping he could spot the escapee. But then he saw one of the guards dead. He had no idea who it was, maybe a new person. He then studied the body and then saw something so disgusting that he had to use all his strength not to vomit or scream. Or both.

The body was slashed open. All the guts, the heart, liver, kidneys, and all that were gone. The head was slashed into two. The brain and eyes were gone.

“Oh... uh oh.”

He then rushed upstairs and called the cops.

“911, what’s your emergency?”

“Police, now, ASAP!”

“Police speaking, what is it?”

“It’s escaped. The patient from room 666 has escaped.”

“Oh... shit.”

But then the cop could hear a scream coming from the dial.

“Sir, are you alright?”

He then heard a snarl before he hung up.