Curiosity Kills

Ira stared up at the cold, looming building, shivering almost nervously in its presence. They didn’t want to have to leave the car, but they quickly got out as soon as they saw Phoenix walking up to the building. Their short brown hair ruffled slightly in the breeze, amplifying the cold feeling the building gave off, and causing the short person to shrink slightly as they followed their husband. They looked around cautiously, reading the half-fallen metal sign that hung on the gate.

WATERTON MENTAL ASYLUM

Just the thought of what this place used to be sent fearful shivers down Ira’s back, hunched up and tense.

“A-are you sure this is a g-good idea Phoen?” Ira stammered, hurrying after their vitiligo lover, small hand reaching out to take their sleeve in their hand, fingers trembling. The structure looked old and long abandoned, small chunks of it occasionally falling to the ground. “I-it l-looks like it could collapse at any minute!” They whimpered slightly, flinching as the sound of something falling echoed from inside and interrupted their speech.

“Oh, Ira, I’m sure it’s fine! I’ll be careful when I go inside; besides, this article isn’t going to write itself!” Phoenix reassured them, putting a hand on their shoulder, as if to comfort their smaller partner. They gazed at Ira softly, brown eyes comforting on the other side of their thick rimmed glasses. “But just in case, don’t come in with me, okay? If this place does fall apart, I wouldn’t want you inside, little buddy.”

“We wouldn’t want you inside either!” Jade called as she stepped out of her car, which had only just pulled up beside Phoenix and Ira’s. She pushed a lock of her overly-curled, ginger hair out of her face and walked towards them. “Seriously, Phoenix, do you think this is a good idea?”

Ira nodded in agreement, seeming cautious and afraid of Phoenix going inside, especially alone. However, they knew Phoenix was stubborn and there was no way of getting out of it now that they were there. Reporting was in Phoenix’s blood and they would risk life and limb to get a story; Ira didn’t even want to think about the avalanche incident Phoenix’s curiosity had caused a few months back.

“I’m positive! I’m just going in to take a few notes while Ira photographs the building!” Phoenix dismissed, waving their pencil at them. “I’ll be in and out in a few minutes.” They promised before taking their hand away from Ira and making their way inside the building, their pastel purple hair contrasting with not only their black skin, but also the dingy gray building. The much taller reporter looked almost like a giddy kid in a candy shop; an abandoned asylum like this was a field day for them. They checked the ground with their foot and gazed at the dilapidated ceiling before giving a thumbs up to the others and disappearing inside.

Ira waited on baited breath outside, not even daring to take a picture as if they thought just the flash alone would cause the building to collapse. They simply gripped their camera tight in their sweaty hands, glancing at Jade occasionally before looking back at the building. When they heard a couple rocks fall somewhere inside the building they flinched into immediate panic.

“I’m okay!” Phoenix suddenly called from inside and Ira let out a shaky, yet relieved breath. At least Phoenix hadn’t gotten hurt.

They felt a little more relaxed as time went on, deciding to actually move closer and do their job. They walked up to one corner of the building, peeking their head inside what they assume had been a door at one point and set up to take a picture of the inside. Flash! The camera snapped a picture, a little blurry. Flash! Flash! The camera took a couple more, better this time.

Crash!

A loud noise stopped Ira from pressing the button a third time, looking up at the loud, catastrophic noise. They watched as pillars suddenly popped, shooting pieces of rock out into the air, the destruction slow at first, making the building rumble under the loss of its supports.

“Ira! Get back!!” Ira suddenly heard Jade call just as the building began to give way to dust and destruction. Rocks fell from the ceiling and walls cracked into pieces. Ira barely had enough time to think before Jade snagged their arm and violently pulled them back, shielding them from the debris as the building came down. Rock spewed everywhere, slicing Ira’s arm and knocking their glasses to the ground. Everything shook and Ira could swear the ground actually moved when the upper floor of the building finally crashed to the ground in a heap of concrete and stinging dust. Ira’s ears rang from the crash and from just the shockwave alone they could barely move their legs. “PHOENIX!!” They practically screamed into the chaos, voice drowned out as a few other abandoned buildings next to the first collapsed as well, adding to the terrible wreckage.

It had only lasted second, but the damage was indescribable; Ira could hardly breathe from it. It took a second but they finally willed themselves to stand, mind a wild mess of panic and absolute fear as they turned and stumbled towards the blurry pile of rubble. Without their glasses they couldn’t see anything, tripping over chunks of building and falling onto their face. Still, they kept moving. They kept moving and moving even when they ended up having to crawl through the remains of the building. “Phoenix! Phoenix!!” They cried out, like a child who had just lost their mother, voice shrill and edged with terror. They feared the worst, but hoped, prayed, that the other person was okay.

They crawled forwards, cutting their hands on rocks and reaching out to locate their lover, choking on the dust that had yet to settle. Suddenly, their hand slipped out from under them, something sticky and warm coating their hands. They froze, the smallest little gasp escaping their lips. They didn’t know what it was, they had never felt it before, but in the back of their mind, somehow, they knew. They lifted their hand to stare down at the steamy liquid, unable to make out any shapes but they did make out the colour. Red. A bright, oozing red that drew bile in Ira’s throat.

“Ph-phoe….” They stuttered shakily, voice barely audible as they reached forwards to feel around, fabric eventually meeting their hand. It was coarse and thick, a large fluffy jacket that Ira recognized all too well. Phoenix’s puffy jacket that had kept Ira warm and safe many times before; the precious jacket that never failed to calm them. Now all it brought was a heavy dread, like a punch to the stomach.

“Oh m-my f-fucking god…” Jade’s voice sounded behind Ira, broken and shocked at something Ira couldn’t quite see. Ira noticed their glasses in her hands and quickly fumbled for them, although they weren’t sure they wanted to see. They put them on and what was once hidden in fog as now clear to them; Phoenix’s body, mutilated and trapped under sharp rocks and rubble, twisted and limp like a ragdoll. Blood dripped down their arm into the large puddle on the ground, face not even visible under the chunks of building.

Ira almost immediately felt the air leave their lungs, eyes wide and filled with tears, voice caught like a lump in their throat. It was unnoticeable at first, the pain on their face, masked completely by shock until slowly, their face contorted into agony. Tears streamed down their face, hot and steamy and a horrible wail escaped their lips. It felt like they had been torn in two, like their very heart had been pulled up out of their throat. But it only lasted a minute. Only a minute before Ira suddenly stopped, collapsing into the dust.

They were motionless, as if their body had stopped working, before they shot up again. Surprise contorted their face along with confusion as they stare at the gore before them. “Eugh!” They suddenly shot up and took a few steps away. “What the fucking hell happened?!” They demanded, tone demanding and off. It was as If it wasn’t even Ira at all.

“Wh-what are you…?” Jade stared at them in surprise, hands trembling as she tore her eyes away from the scene. “Ira… what are you t-talking about?”

“Ira? I’m not…” They stared over at her, baffled and a little taken aback. “You’re that woman that works with Ira’s lover guy, right?”

“Wait…K-kelly?” Jade seemed shocked; She had known about Ira’s split personality disorder; Phoenix had told her about it a few times before. It had caused plenty of problems for them in the past before, but Kelly only came out in Ira’s sleep. They shouldn’t have been there. “Wh-where’s Ira? Where the hell did they go?”

Kelly stared at her for a second, looking into themselves in an attempt to feel their other person, the small and innocent child of a person. But they did not find them there, they only found agony and emptiness. All there was was silence, soulless and eerie. It was like Ira had just… died.

“They’re…. They’re gone…”