Page 180 - Chronicles of Darkness

Wilson was getting TIRED of the SCREAMS. Most times they didn’t bother him,
but TONIGHT the CONSTANT RACKET was giving him a headache. He twirled the cap
off a bottle of aspirin and grimly chewed up three tablets, washing the grit
down with a swig of coffee. He lit a cigarette, breathed in, exhaled, and
watched as the smoke curled toward the monitors surrounding him.
He leaned back in his swivel chair, putting his feet up on the CONTROL con-
sole, and looked around. The room probably held 100 screens. Probably. He’d
started counting them once, but had gotten BORED around 58. Each monitor had a
name taped to it, and each name was followed by a symbol. Wilson had no idea
what the symbols meant and was pretty sure HE DIDN’T WANT TO KNOW.
Tonight it was Jayla A. that was making all the NOISE. He took a look at her
screen and sighed. The girl on the monitor MIGHT have been pretty once, if a
little too thin for his tastes. By the stubble on her shaved head, she might
have been blonde. Blondes were alright by him, but so were brunettes and red-
heads. The STRAIGHT-JACKET that embraced her like an overzealous LOVER was too
bulky to give away any hints about her chest, and the utility smock worn by all
the…patients was as formless and ILL-fitting as a sack.
The expression on Jayla A.’s face didn’t help much, either. Her eyes were
wide and staring at HORRORS only she could see. Her mouth was so DISTENDED by
her shrieks he wondered if she was in danger of DISLOCATING her jaw. Wilson eyed
the screen for another second as the girl continued to wail, then thumbed the
microphone button for her room.
“HEY, LADY. HOW ABOUT YOU SHUT THE HELL UP?”
For a wonder, the girl quieted. She turned her GAZE toward the camera in her
room and smiled, revealing rows of DISQUIETINGLY white teeth. Jayla A. opened
her mouth again, wider, if that was even possible, but, instead of screams, the
HISS OF RADIO STATIC squealed out from between her lips.
Wilson paled and immediately slammed his fist down on a large, red button.
The overhead lights started to flicker as the generators cycled up. The sounds
coming from Jayla A.’s mouth began to clarify, like an
unknown operator was tuning in to a new

FREQUENCY. He could almost begin to make
out WORDS AMONGST THE STATIC, and
watched in horror as the walls of
her room began to ripple, as if
someone had tossed a pebble
into a still pond.
The first imprints of
what he sincerely hoped
weren’t hands had begun
to push at the thinning
REALITY of the walls be-
fore the generators hit
full power and bright,
jagged lines of electric-
ity danced in Jayla A.’s
room. Her body spasmed
as the current flowed
through her, light-
ning crackling over her
skin. The sounds com-
ing from her mouth were
cut off, and the walls
returned to the NORMAL
grey of concrete as the
girl was shocked into
unconsciousness.
Wilson wiped sweat
from his forehead and
shakily lit another
cigarette.