"I've been working here for the past few years, so it should come as no surprise that following the rules is imperative,"

Max asserted, his words sending a shiver down my spine. As the senior guard assigned to guide me through my initial days, Max's authority loomed large, a reminder of the gravity of my situation. Despite my reservations, financial necessity had led me to accept the position, even if the circumstances felt dubious.

Max continued his instructions with a solemn tone. "Here are the cardinal rules you must adhere to:

...1. Never question everything you see or hear, whether from prisoners or fellow guards....

...2. Under no circumstances should you unlock any cell doors during the night, regardless of pleas....

...3. Avoid the corridors on the lowest floor, and prevent prisoners from accessing or approaching them....

...4. Maintain strict confidentiality; never divulge anything witnessed or heard....

...5. Walkie talkies are off-limits after 11:45 p.m., and never answer one if it buzzes....

...6. Refrain from conversing with any guard after 12:15 a.m., no exceptions."...

With a sense of foreboding, Max handed me a document summarizing the rules, which I accepted with trembling hands. The weight of responsibility pressed upon me as I contemplated the potential consequences of a misstep on my first day.

"Any questions?" Max inquired, his gaze penetrating mine.

"Um, what if I were to break any of these rules?" I ventured cautiously.

Max's response was stern, his expression grave. "You don't want to find out," he warned, leaving no doubt as to the severity of the repercussions awaiting those who dared to defy the rules.

"Since today is your first day, I'll give you a quick tour of the cell block so you can get your bearings," Max stated as we strolled through the prison corridors. I felt fortunate that it was still afternoon; otherwise, I might have struggled to navigate my way around, risking getting lost in the labyrinthine maze of hallways and cells.

As we continued our tour, I absorbed the layout of Shadowvale Prison, mentally mapping out the corridors, cells, and key areas. It was clear that the road ahead would be challenging, fraught with the uncertainties of my newfound role. Despite the initial reservations I harbored about accepting the offer from the mysterious stranger, desperation had driven me to seize the opportunity. I couldn't afford to let this chance slip through my fingers, not when I was struggling to make ends meet even before landing this job.

The promise of a substantial paycheck had been too enticing to ignore, outweighing any lingering doubts I had about the legitimacy of the offer. After all, I reasoned, what choice did I have? With bills piling up and hunger gnawing at my stomach, I was willing to do whatever it took to secure a stable source of income. If that meant working long hours in a place as foreboding as Shadowvale Prison, so be it.

"Alec, there you are!" a voice called out from behind, causing me to turn and find the senior guard who had guided me earlier in the afternoon.

"Hello? I thought you said you had urgent matters to attend to?" I queried, tilting my head in confusion. After all, Max had assured me that his duties were complete for the day and that we would reconvene tomorrow. His sudden appearance was unexpected, to say the least.

"What? I think you've mistaken me for someone else. I haven't been here all afternoon. In fact, I was in a meeting with the head chief and just got back," he clarified, a puzzled expression crossing his face.

A chill ran down my spine as I processed his words. If this wasn't Max, then who had I been speaking to earlier? The voice, the face—they had been identical...

Wait, why was the man's face earlier so blurry in my memory? And why couldn't I recall his name?

Unease gnawed at me as Max, the real one, began to explain the same set of rules that had been relayed to me earlier. Despite the familiarity of the guidelines, I couldn't shake the feeling of dread that gripped me.

"Thank you for the document and the heads up, but I don't think a tour is necessary after all..." I murmured, my troubled expression not escaping Max's notice.

"Well, that's fortunate because it's already evening. Remember the rules we discussed. I must be off now," Max responded briskly, giving my shoulder a reassuring tap before departing.

Left alone with my thoughts, I couldn't help but dwell on the unsettling encounter. Had I unwittingly conversed with a ghost or some other spectral entity? The implications were chilling, to say the least.

As I mulled over the events of the day, a sinking feeling settled in the pit of my stomach. Had I made a grave mistake by disregarding Max's warnings? Only time would tell, but one thing was certain: things were about to get a lot more complicated within the confines of Shadowvale Prison.

...𖣎...

...𖣎...

...𖣎...

The dim glow of my watch revealed the time—11:40 p.m. My footsteps echoed softly against the cold, unforgiving floor of the prison corridor as I patrolled the cells, lost in my own thoughts. Suddenly, a sharp buzz from the walkie talkie jolted me from my reverie. I hesitated, glancing at the time. It was still a few minutes shy of the forbidden hour, but curiosity gnawed at me. What if it was urgent?

"Hello?" I spoke tentatively into the device, but there was no response. Unease crept over me as silence greeted my inquiry.

With a sense of foreboding, I released the button, cutting off the connection. The walkie talkie fell silent, but a chill lingered in the air, prickling at my skin.

I stole a glance at my watch once more, only to find my heart lurching in my chest. It was midnight—12:00 a.m. I had unwittingly broken the rule, and fear clutched at my heart like icy tendrils.

Desperate to shake off the unsettling feeling, I continued my patrol, my senses on high alert. But as I encountered another guard along the way, a new sense of dread settled over me.

The guard seemed oblivious to the rules, casually answering the buzzing walkie talkie as if it were a routine occurrence. Panic bubbled within me as I watched his strange behavior, his features contorted in an unnatural grin.

"Why did you pick up the walkie talkie? Aren't you afraid of the consequences?" I stammered, my voice trembling with fear.

The guard's gaze snapped to mine, and horror washed over me as I beheld his grotesque visage. His eyes were like voids, devoid of humanity, and his mouth twisted into an unsettling grin that seemed to stretch from ear to ear.

Paralyzed with fear, I watched in horror as his features morphed before my eyes, shifting and contorting in ways that defied comprehension. A wave of terror washed over me as I realized the true nature of the entity before me—a being not of this world, wearing the guise of a guard.

My mind raced with fear and confusion as I struggled to comprehend the nightmare unfolding before me. Time seemed to warp and bend, the minutes slipping away like grains of sand through an hourglass.

I glanced at my watch once more, only to find the hour hand stubbornly pointing to 1:00 a.m. How could it be? It felt like mere moments had passed since midnight, yet here I stood, staring into the abyss of time, trapped in a nightmarish reality of my own making.

As morning dawned, a gentle breeze caressed my face, coaxing me from my slumber. I opened my eyes to find Max's stern gaze fixed upon me, sending a jolt of adrenaline coursing through my veins. Quickly, I snapped to attention, offering a salute of respect as beads of sweat trickled down my brow. The events of the previous night flooded back to me with startling clarity, sending a shiver of horror down my spine. I remembered fainting in the corridor, yet somehow, I found myself awakening in the middle of the prison field—a considerable distance from where I had last been conscious. Had my unconscious wanderings incurred Max's wrath?

"...Leo!" Max's sharp voice snapped me from my reverie, and I met his gaze with trepidation, my eyes betraying my inner turmoil.

"Stop daydreaming! Do you realize the gravity of your actions!?" Max's frustration reverberated through his words, and I swallowed hard, my nerves tingling with apprehension.

"Sir, no sir!" I responded hastily, my voice tinged with anxiety.

Max sighed heavily, his exasperation palpable. "Because of you, prisoner 0879 escaped from his cell! If it weren't for the vigilance of another guard, we could have been in dire straits! Do you comprehend the potential consequences if that prisoner had accessed the forbidden corridor!?"

I listened to Max's reprimand with a sinking feeling in my chest. How could I have known about the escape of prisoner 0879 when I had been incapacitated? The unfairness of the situation gnawed at me, but I dared not voice my thoughts.

"Sir, I'm sorry, sir!" I offered in a meek attempt at contrition.

"Enough excuses! You'll be doing 100 squats in this scorching heat and undertaking night patrol again tonight—no slacking off this time!" Max's decree sent a shiver down my spine, the prospect of patrolling alone in the dead of night already sending waves of apprehension coursing through me.

...𖣎...

...𖣎...

...𖣎...

As darkness descended, a shiver ran down my spine, a premonition of the horrors to come. I reminded myself sternly not to fall prey to the night's sinister tricks, not after the punishment I endured that morning, the memory of which threatened to make me retch.

With trembling hands, I switched on my torchlight and embarked on my patrol. The prison was eerily quiet, its occupants presumably lost in the embrace of sleep. But for me, there was no rest, no respite from the torment of this place, not yet, not until I earned my meager pay.

Glancing at my watch, I recoiled in horror. It was only 12:15 a.m., and already I felt the weight of countless eternities pressing down on me. Confusion gripped me as I found myself in a corridor unfamiliar, a labyrinth of shadows that defied all logic and reason.

The air grew thick with foreboding as I pressed forward, every step echoing like a death knell in the silence of the night. Minutes dragged like hours, yet my watch betrayed me, revealing that only mere moments had passed. Was I trapped in some macabre dance, condemned to wander aimlessly in this maze of despair?

Suddenly, my torchlight began to flicker, casting grotesque shadows that danced mockingly along the walls. Panic clawed at my throat as I braced myself for the inevitable, for the horrors that lurked in the darkness just beyond the reach of my feeble light.

And then it happened—the flickering ceased, plunging me into a darkness so profound, so suffocating, that it seemed to consume me whole. I stood frozen, my senses overwhelmed by the oppressive weight of the unknown.

But then, like a beacon in the void, I saw it—a faint red glow beckoning me forward, promising answers to questions I dared not ask. With trembling resolve, I followed its siren call, each step bringing me closer to the heart of the abyss.

And there, in the crimson glow, I beheld a scene so grotesque, so horrifying, that it threatened to rend my sanity asunder. A figure, twisted and contorted, its very presence an affront to the laws of nature, stood over a fallen guard, its hands drenched in the blood of its victim.

I tried to scream, to flee from this nightmare made flesh, but my voice betrayed me, lost amidst the cacophony of terror that echoed within my mind. The creature turned its gaze upon me, its eyes burning with an unholy hunger that chilled me to the bone.

In that moment, I knew true fear, the kind that gnaws at the soul and leaves nothing but emptiness in its wake. I wanted to run, to escape the clutches of this abomination, but my body refused to obey, paralyzed by the sheer magnitude of the horror before me.

And so, as the creature drew closer, its intentions clear, I resigned myself to my fate, knowing that in the darkness of this accursed place, there was no escape, no salvation, only the endless void of oblivion.