Frowzy Café - 

Even in Darkness, Innocence Can Be Lost

The evil black was covering the desolate and abandoned remains of an old soviet mental asylum that was shut down for inhumane treatment. A team was sent by the Russian government to uncover what exactly went on in this god forsaken place. At first it was uneventful; a grey filter was over the sun making what light shining through leaden and dull. The exterior parameter was clear, no signs of any clues or hostiles. The front entrance itself was and locked away with the word CONDEMNED spray painted on the door. With permission from their superiors the lock was shot off. The team of six entered with caution as the steel door behind them shut with a weight causing one of them to look back at the noise. Heads slowly veered towards the seemingly infinite hall in front of them. They slowly made their way through each room so their flanks wouldn’t be exposed and so far it looked like they were the only ones in this forsaken structure of lost souls and distant nightmares.

The darkness itself was so menacing that just standing in it would make a man shrivel and cower. It wasn’t just the blackness; it was the feeling of ever lingering eyes gazing at you with an intensity that makes you look away in sheer fear. It was the thought that something could be behind the black veil and they wouldn’t even know if it was right behind them. The squad flipped on the flashlights of their weapons causing six beams of light to slice through the blanket of black. Footsteps echoed down the hall as steel flashes of wheelchairs and gurneys popped up like an omen to what happened to the patients who were unfortunate enough to not be god’s children. With every sight of a bed there were leather restraints dangling over the edges, lingering like the tormented ghosts of the occupants of this deathly institution. Among the peeling green painted walls littered with white broken tiles were claw marks engraved midst every surface;  along with scratches the floor had the phrases ‘Alice never left wonderland’ and ‘let me play outside’.
As the group made their way deeper, the sound of a wheelchair gradually rolled from behind them accompanied by a faint laugh of a girl. The youngest of the squad spun on his heels with his finger on the trigger,

“I thought this place was supposed to be abandoned?” the other men turned to each other than back at the young man with his finger on the trigger.

“What are you talking about? We didn’t hear a damn thing. You’re probably seeing things. Asylums are creepy as shit and wheelchairs always seemingly move on their own. Let’s just collect what we need and go.”

The older man flipped a camera on his helmet and started to record whatever they saw the deeper they went. After about an hour of silence the sound of screeching filled the air and rapidly got closer alerting the rest of the squad. Skorvsky, the older gentleman that was covering the flank felt something cold wrap around his ankle before being tugged in the looming and tailing darkness screaming for help as the fleeting light escaped him. The objective was quickly abandoned as his squad-mates went into a sprint as they sent burst after burst down the barrel of their rifles. Reload after reload they fired, whatever was in the darkness wouldn’t stop. By this point it had consumed Skorvsky was now hacking at the pursuers, 

“God damn it! Wheres Povelinenko and Zietzev? Aton? ANSWER ME ANTON!!” The kid was wide eyed and a wet puddle formed at the crotch of his pants. The boy simply stood as the hulking fleshy mass of screams and skin reached out and touched the inside of his soul filling it with the fear only beaten by the devil himself. Was this hell? What have they done to deserve such a fate? Many answers were running through his mind before he was cleanly sliced in several parts leading up to blood pouring out like a demonic waterfall. No screams left his mouth, just the sounds of blood exploding from the hunk of the man. Fedor, now the only man staring at the carnage witnessed not what Anton saw but instead a tall, lanky, pale creature with a massive jaw and claws. The creature screamed and simply began to tear him apart leaving nothing but bits of him.

Meanwhile the last two had stumbled upon an office filled with various documents of the patients, treatments and a file titled “The expansion”. It detailed the need as well as the want for advanced soldiers for the cold war. It was said that World War II was a Russian success and the next enemy in the sights were the west. The USSR knew they would need not only better weapons but a weapon that would use the morals of the west against them; children soldiers. The tests were horrific; strapping the child down and prodding the brain with needles, immense electroshock therapy with exposure to various radioactive materials; on top of numerous terrifying experiments. The goal was to teach the ability of psychokinesis; the ability to interact an object without touching it. That and the ability to insert hallucinations into the enemies’ mind were sought after. The door suddenly started to cave in as if god himself wanted to destroy this place and this caused the soldiers to cock back their rifles and aim down the sights. There was a final blow propelling the door near them breaking the desk to reveal retribution. A small girl no more than 9 soaked in blood. Her body was dripping with crimson along with her outstretched hand and finger. One flick of her wrist and the man on the left was crushed like a can, bones snapping all at once. She turned to the remaining man with a turned head and wide eyes, 

“... And then the wolves came …”