A.S.H

Silence

Silence. Not comfortable silence, or mutual understanding silence, or simply peaceful silence, no, it was the kind of silence that made you sweat in nervous anticipation. The kind that sent goosebumps to ripple over your body. Malevolent silence. Even the single bulb in the elevator flickered as if it could sense trepidation. Who knew standing next to someone in a lift could be so ominous? Perhaps that feeling was merely present due to the fact that I was stood next to Dr. Turner, because everything about him screamed intimidating.

I was tempted to say something, or even hum...just anything to break the suffocation of silence that crowded the room, triggering an unknown claustrophobia within me. 'Ding', signalled the metal box as it finally came to a gentle halt. I let out a breath of relief as it did, glad that I could be free of the daunting atmosphere once I stepped out into the far-stretched prussian and linen-white coloured corridor. A soft carpet lined the floor, which seemed as though it would leave a light tickle if you were to walk bare foot-

Several rings of a phone ripped through the air, almost causing my heart to beat out of my chest in surprise. I turned, a smile of fake happiness covering the absolute anxiety that had nearly made me drop dead, due to the pathetic phone that just had to ring so very abruptly. Unlucky for me however, it just happened to be Dr. Turner's phone, so I couldn't even cream in frustration like I was ready to. 

His eyes penetrated mine for a split second, making me feel small under his gaze, before he thankfully pulled a flip phone from his pocket, and answered the call, beckoning me to put a distance between us. I didn't even know people still used those phones, but nothing about Dr. Turner, from the moment I encountered him seemed remotely normal, so I guess a flip phone was perfecto for him. He muttered words that were deaf to my ears and since we didn't have a close proximity, I couldn't even try to listen to what he said. 

It was all too muffled until- "He what?!" Dr Turner growled into the phone, and I watched as he clenched his right hand with a grip strong enough to make me wince in pain, for him. His features contorted into rage and I swore this man was restraining himself from punching the nearest wall because of my presence. I bet he was so angry that he could barely feel the blood he was close to drawing from his palms - honestly, I wasn't sure which version I liked better: the cold and calculated Claude Frollo (though at least Turner had a better sense of fashion and looks) or the Grim Reaper reincarnation stood in his 21st century glory, directly 5 feet in front of me.

 "Two minutes. I want a full analysis on arrival." He ordered, after gaining his normal behavioral appearance again, most likely due to the fact that he was aware of me watching him. He snapped the phone shut, probably hard enough to crack the screen, and spun to face me, and unnerving smile plastered on his face, "Somewhere you need to be?" I asked tentatively. "Indeed, hence you will make your own way to your room," he picked a small silver key from the inner pocket of his blazer and handed it to me, "Keys are not often used, but your badge will be available from tomorrow onwards. Your apartment is the 9th door to the right; someone will be at your door at 11:00 am sharp. Do not be late."

Without a moment's hesitation, he stalked to the elevator with agitated speed and was gone within seconds. On arriving at my door, I noticed two very important things: 1, there was no keyhole, and 2, I was exhausted. There was a card pad to the left of the handle of the heavy-looking wooden doors, but no keyhole.

Just my luck!

I was too tired to even register how many people may have been watch through the CCTV as I began scavenging the nooks and crannies of the door to find the pathetic keyhole. No wonder people didn't use keys, because how the heck would they even find it? After five minutes, I was close to giving up...that is until my hand oh-so-gracefully happened to knock itself against the card pad, moving it slightly. I felt a bruise coming along, but on inspecting the card pad, I found that the scanning area rotated to allow a keyhole to become visible. No pain, no gain I guess, instantly glad my hand was becoming bruised.