“I’m in bed but I’m not at home. My bed has moved to some dark corner of the world. A place forgotten by all that live in the light. Known only to those that thrive in the dark. I look out from my bed as the specters stand at the base. The red horned demon. The rotten ones. They call to me. They show me the horrible things they want to do. I refuse them. I refuse to even look at them. I close my eyes and hope that when I open them I will be back at home. Before I can open my eyes one of the demons is on me. I know it’s him. The red horned demon. He tells me his name is Odom. He holds my eyes closed and whispers in my ear. He tells me that Joseph will be his. That Joseph is already in his grasps. He says he grabbed him from the security office and dragged him down the hall. He took him to his special place. The place that lives in blood. I open my eyes but I’m not in my bed. I’m in the security office. Joseph is nowhere to be seen. I know where he’s been taken. Odom made his home right where we left him when we brought him in. the vacant room on level three. I have to go get him. I can’t leave him in that place.”

Again I was lost. If my father was crazy then his psychosis was rubbing off on me. It was dark in the basement but I knew I saw something. The rotten ones. That’s what he had called them. I hoped that they wouldn’t stray from the basement. I also hoped that this was still just a bad dream. My father had gone to level three according to the tape. He was going to save Joseph from the beast. The red horned demon. The security screen for level three was still all red. Maybe that had influenced my father’s thoughts. Maybe he made it all up. The only way to find out was to go up there. I wished I had something better than a flash light for a weapon but it was all I had. I prayed that my father would just be in a crazed heap on the floor of level three.

There was no way in hell I was going to take the north stairs. The elevator was closer anyways. I hit the button and waited for it to reach my floor. It dinged and opened up. I stepped inside and hit level three. As the doors began closing I could smell the decay from the basement again. It was in the hall. I thought I saw silhouettes coming down the hall before the doors closed completely.

The elevator stopped on level three. I hoped that something normal would be on this floor. I just wanted something to stand up and tell me this was all in my head. I had no such luck.

The elevator opened and revealed the blood splattered level three. This time I didn’t just gag. I threw up. There wasn’t just blood. There were bodies also. They were crying out in agony. Every few feet another patient was on the floor. They screamed. I couldn’t believe I didn’t hear them before. The elevator door was beginning to close again and I let it. I had no intention of going in there. My back slid down the elevator wall and I was back on the ground just like in the security office. I couldn’t move. I didn’t know where to go or what would be waiting for me on the other floors. Then the elevator dinged. The door opened.

Joseph came stumbling in. He looked like he had just come from hell. He probably did. His clothes were covered in gore. We met eyes as the door closed behind him.

“It never ends. The pain never ends there. We brought him in. Then the others started coming. More are on the way. Things worse than him. He told me so. He told me his pain was a mercy.”

Joseph fainted. He hit the ground hard. His arm was outstretched towards me. Even while unconscious he didn’t loosen his grip. There was another recording in his hand.