Page 6 of Insane Obsession

“Check this out, Finn.” It’s a bedroom that has paintings on the wall. I film her tracing her fingers over the images. Behind us, Levi is still calling for David.

“Do you think a patient painted this?” She asks.

“I think so.”

“Look at this one. A self-portrait?” A stern-looking face with big blue eyes and a small mouth looks back at us. Around her collar, she wears the white broderie Lea found in the other bedroom.

“She sure was gifted.”

My hands reach out to touch the sheets of a narrow bed, pulled back and wrinkled. “The room is so small. It’s hard to imagine that a grown woman lived here.”

I look at the barricaded windows. I live ten minutes by foot from this place, which is carefully hidden in Richmond Forest. Is this the part of the asylum I can see from my window?

When Lea and I move back to the corridor, Levi and his flashlight are waiting for us. “David’s gone.” His voice is void of his usual mockery.

Lea huffs. “What do you mean, gone?”

Levi holds up his hand and shows his phone. “I just received a message from him. He left because of Jess. Said she wanted him to come out and go home.”

“Oh, Jess.” Lea snorts. “Our hero. I seriously wonder why she came along to begin with. Well, we won’t let them spoil our assignment. Let’s go down to the basement.”

I follow behind, reporting as I walk. “This place is truly sad,” I say. “The thought that women were kept here, often against their will, is just mind-blowing.”

We walk down the stairs until we’re back on the ground floor. But rather than going directly down to the basement, Lea pauses. “I know you guys want to go downstairs now, but I’d really like to check out the other side of this floor first. Is that okay? I’ll be quick.”

Levi mutters his agreement, and I sure don’t mind. They take the lead, and I follow while I give my future audience more facts about the reason we came here in the first place.

Suddenly, there’s movement in the corner of my eye. I turn the camera, heart lurching in my throat. There, in that room.

I see a rocking chair, and it’s moving.

“What the—” My tongue is stuck to the roof of my mouth. The chair is still rocking, slower now, until it finally stops. I let out the shuddering breath I hadn’t realized I held.

“Doc,” Levi calls from further down the corridor.

“Coming.” My feet feel heavy as lead as I catch up with them.

“I believe this is the kitchen,” Lea says. Her voice sounds excited as she searches the area. “Remember that photo in the old newspaper article?”

“Yeah,” I croak. I’m still feeling on edge. My brain tells me the rocking chair was a trick of the eye, but my mind doesn’t buy that.

“What photo?” Levi asks.

“The photo of one of the crime scenes,” I explain. “The kitchen had smears of blood everywhere.” I shiver. This place is slowly getting to me.

“Can you film this?” Lea has opened a few drawers, showing remains of old cutlery. “There are even a few notes here. Look at that, a shopping list. The handwriting is like my grandma’s,” She chuckles.

“I’ve got to take a piss.” Levi checks the corridor. “Did you see any toilets here?”

Lea snorts. “You’re not seriously thinking of using the restroom here?”

“Well, where do you suggest I piss? In a corner?”

“I don’t know, can’t you just hold it?”

“Dude, come on.”

“Alright, fine.” Lea strides out of the kitchen. “Let’s go and find those damn toilets, then we’ll head down to the basement.”

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