It was midnight. A young girl named Allison jogged down the barren street, calling out, “Rocky! Rocky! Where are you?” The barks of her beloved puppy, Rocky, echoed through the heavy night. She jogged in the direction of the sound and stopped, looking around. The sky was hard and leaden, and the brown hills that had gleamed in the sun the day before looked dark and bare. A looming gray building stood in the distance, its roof sloping into a sharp point. All of a sudden, Allison saw a flash of brown fur disappearing into the building. It was Rocky! A sense of fear crept on her spine, warning her not to go inside, but she shook it off. She had to go find her puppy.

Upon arriving at the front steps, she paid no attention to the rusted metal sign nailed on the door. It read “St. Thomas Insane Asylum”, and over that, somebody had nailed another sign that read, “Closed". Allison grabbed the brass doorknob, turned it, and opened the creaky, wooden door. Stepping inside, she closed the door behind her. The building had no windows, yet it was strangely chilly, with its forbidding gray walls and filthy tile floors. One hanging, flickering light bulb illuminated the shadows in the dark, winding hallway. Allison knew that Rocky had to be somewhere in this building. Glancing at the walls, she caught sight of something fluttering. Messily taped on the cold brick wall was a note that had a hasty drawing of a tall man in a black suit, and under it were the words “Follows you.”

Terrified, Allison tried to forget about the note, and kept on going. Continuing down the hallway, she meandered into one room. In the room, peeling wallpaper of a sickening yellow color barely covered the walls, as if trying to hide something. Allison couldn’t spot Rocky, but she found a piece of ripped paper on the floor. Curious, she reached down and flipped the page over. On the paper, faded crimson letters spelled out “Can’t…Run.” The frightened Allison backed out from the room. She reassured herself that some bored person had probably written the note.
As Allison left the yellow room, she had a growing sense of unease. It was like something was watching her, but she didn’t know what. Never mind that – she could hear her puppy now. The barking of Rocky drew closer and closer, louder and louder, and Allison knew she was on the right track. Dashing from room to room, Allison frantically looked for Rocky, but the puppy was nowhere to be found. Soon, she had checked all the rooms, and the hallway came to an abrupt stop.
At the end of the hallway, the overjoyed Rocky jumped at the sight of Allison, its ears perked up in happiness. However, Allison paid no attention, because on the wall, in the same, ominous crimson letters, a note read: “Don’t look behind you.”