Daddy's Little Girl, Too

Chapter 22: Hell's Hallway

Hank leads Harvey down the long dark passages. The flame from the lantern casts eerie shadows on the stone walls. Water cascades down the rocky surface as it drips from leaking pipes, reflecting the light as they pass by.

Hank shares some history of the dungeon known as The Devil's Den. "The asylum was built over a hundred years ago. Back then, they used the basement as a laboratory."

Harvey asks, "A laboratory? For what?"

"Testing... torture. Some of the doctors used to bring the inmates down here. They did all kinds of tests on them, trying to see what made them tick."

"What kind of tests?"

"Everything from shock therapy to lobotomies."

"Jesus. I'm guessing it wasn't sanctioned."

"Well, back then the laws weren't as strict. The state officials didn't really care what went on inside these walls, so long as they didn't know about it."

Harvey wonders, "So why do you call this place The Devils Den?"

Hanks stops and looks to his pal. "About twenty-five years ago; not long after I started, we converted the basement to add more cells. Upstairs was getting over populated so we added some walls and a few cell doors... we never had the place wired for electricity due to a lack of funding. Anyhow, the reason it was nicknamed The Devils Den is because we keep the most deranged prisoners down here; the ones that are the most dangerous to the guards and the other prisoners."

"The most dangerous? What about Harrison Kringe? Does he fit that bill?"

"Well, I'd say that Kringe is the least of the threat. Most of the guys down here are responsible for really sick and twisted crimes."

Harvey can't help but ask, "Like what?"

Hank holds the light higher to see Harvey's face. "You sure you want to know?"

"Well shit Hank, you got me down here... you wanted me to get the full experience... so let's have it."

Hank studies him for a moment. "Alright. Follow me."

They carry on and soon Hank stops in front of an exceptionally dark tunnel. He explains, "This is Hell's Hallway; twenty-six of the most criminally insane that Creek Hill has to offer. The men in this hallway are the reason we call this place, The Devils Den." Hank proceeds to walk into the darkness and Harvey cautiously follows.

Hank offers an interesting fact, "Over one hundred sixty murders have been committed by the men in here..."

"One sixty..." Harvey does a quick calculation in his head, "That's only about six or so murders each... doesn't seem so bad... I've heard of guys that have killed twenty five to thirty people."

Hank hangs the lantern on an old rusty hook. "Quantity has nothing to do with it. These men earned their place in here because of the methods they used." Hank walks a few cell doors down and stops. "This is Richard Perez. Ricky here has only killed three people: his mother, his father, and his grandmother."

Harvey isn't impressed, "Yeah? So."

"So... after he killed them, he proceeded to have a four way orgy with their corpses."

"Fuck me." Harvey's stomach turns a bit.

"Yeah, but the worst part is he waited until a week after he killed them, before he molested them. If the bodies haven't decomposed and started stinkin to high hell, Ricky isn't interested."