Lies Never Sleep Read online

  Lies Never Sleep

  Stacy Claflin

  LIES NEVER SLEEP

  by Stacy Claflin

  http://www.stacyclaflin.com

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  Copyright ©2018 Stacy Claflin. All rights reserved.

  ©Cover Design: The Cover Collection

  Edited by Staci Troilo

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  This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, businesses, events, or locales is purely coincidental or used fictitiously. The author has taken great liberties with locales including the creation of fictional towns.

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  Reproduction in whole or part of this publication without express written consent is strictly prohibited. Do not upload or distribute anywhere.

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  This e-book is for your personal enjoyment only. It may not be resold or given away to others. If you would like to share this book with others, please either purchase it for them or direct them to StacyClaflin.com for purchase links. Thank you for respecting the hard work of the author.

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  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Sneak Peek of Girl in Trouble

  Preview of The Gone Trilogy

  Other Books by Stacy Claflin

  Author’s Note

  About the Author

  1

  Atlas James

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  Atlas James hesitated at the edge of the property as they crept through the rusty wrought-iron gate. His heart thundered in his chest, both from nerves and excitement. The phone shook in his hand as he captured the video.

  Emmett Powell turned around, wide-eyed and grinning, though it was barely visible in the moonlight. “You ready?”

  Atlas didn’t want to admit his nerves were getting the best of him. “It’s gonna be awesome.”

  “Right? And best of all, we’ll finally be famous. This video is going to go viral for sure. We’d better get going before midnight strikes.” Emmett pushed aside some old vines growing up and protruding from the trees, then opened the second gate—the owners of the insane asylum had been serious about keeping the residents locked inside. It creaked in protest.

  “Try to keep up.” Atlas rushed past Emmett down the uneven path. It had probably once been a perfectly-level walkway, but roots and decades had changed that.

  Emmett caught up to him. “You think anyone else is here? I mean, it is the anniversary of the slayings.”

  As far as Atlas knew, nobody else had ever been brave—or stupid—enough to break into the old building on this date. “I think we’re good.”

  “If we don’t get killed, right?” Emmett laughed and whacked Atlas on the back.

  “Right.” Atlas aimed his phone at the old asylum.

  The large abandoned building loomed before them, partially blocking their view of the moon. It looked more like a mansion than a mental hospital, but rumor had it, that was how it had started… until the original owner went crazy and killed his family and servants. Then his house became a mental hospital after no potential homeowners would buy it.

  Emmett held up his phone and aimed it at himself. “Atlas and I are here on the anniversary of the Ichabod slayings. We’re the first to attempt this, and we’re going to try to lure out old Dr. Ichabod himself. Or maybe even the original owner of the building. What you’re about to see is history!”

  Atlas glanced over at the building. After having only walked a little way, the moon was now directly over the building.

  Emmett continued speaking into the phone as they made their way closer to the towering building. It was even taller and creepier up close.

  They both skidded to a stop as they reached the steps leading to the front door. Emmett turned his phone toward the building, giving more narrative before pausing the recording.

  Atlas held his breath, trying to calm his pounding heart. If this kept up, it would burst through his chest. The sound echoed in his ears, drowning out everything in the night. Even Emmett’s voice. He turned toward his friend. “What?”

  “You ready?”

  He studied the building, and a chill ran down his back. Rumors and stories he’d heard since childhood spun through his mind. As much as he wanted a viral video, he hoped they wouldn’t actually run into any murderous spirits. Ghosts didn’t exist, right? With any luck, they’d just find some cool relics and the video would still make them famous. “Yeah, of course. Can’t wait to see what’s in there.”

  Emmett marched up the steps like he owned the place.

  Atlas swallowed and pulled some of his hair behind his ears.

  It was the moment of truth. Everything in him screamed to run away. But he was no chicken. Not only that, they’d planned this for months. He couldn’t let Emmett down. Besides, they might actually go viral. And if they didn’t do this now, they’d have to wait another year for the anniversary of the sanitarium’s closing.

  Another year for the anniversary of the massacre at Ichabod Insane Asylum.

  Atlas caught up with Emmett. Each step felt like it would break under their weight. None did.

  “What are we going to do if it’s locked?” Atlas stared at the enormous door with several deadbolts.

  “It’s not.” Emmett spoke with the confidence of experience.

  “How do you know? Have you already been here? Did you come here without me?”

  “The locks were all broken when that doctor killed everyone, remember? People tried to escape, but nobody made it off the property that day alive. The police broke all the locks to get inside. The sight was so terrifying, several of them passed out.”

  Atlas shuddered. What would they find? Old blood stains? Murder weapons?

  “Ninety years ago tonight.” A thread of excitement ran through Emmett’s voice. “And we’re here!”

  Atlas questioned his sanity, but pushed the thoughts aside. It was just an abandoned building. Ghosts weren’t real. The anniversary was no more significant than any other day.

  He hoped.

  Emmett reached for the doorknob.

  Atlas turned his phone toward the door. They would need footage from both their phones to make the perfect video. Actual cameras would probably be better, like the ones used by professional ghost hunters, but neither one of them had one. Not with their minimum-wage after-school jobs.

  The knob actually turned.

  Emmett turned to Atlas. “What’d I tell you?”

  Atlas nodded, but his stomach lurched. There was a reason people only ever talked about this place and never went inside. Or even near the property.

  Emmett yanked the door open. A whiff of s
tale air hit them.

  Atlas hoped that wasn’t the smell of ghosts.

  “I heard the doctor’s office has some really cool relics in there. Let’s go there first.”

  “Could you say that any louder?” Atlas glared at Emmett.

  “I want to get the doctor’s attention. This video needs to go viral, remember?”

  Atlas stepped toward the entrance without actually going inside. “Doctors suck!”

  Emmett shoved him and snickered. “Not like that. Watch a pro.” He marched in, held out his phone and practically shouted. “I heard there’s a doctor in here who likes to hurt his patients! We want to see that coward, face to face!”

  Atlas grimaced. “Are you just trying to impress your girlfriend?”

  Emmett turned to him. “No, and I’m editing that out.”

  Atlas shrugged, then stepped inside and held out his phone, hoping the camera could pick up more than he could see. They’d both downloaded an expensive app that was supposed to provide night vision to the camera, but Atlas had his doubts.

  He craned his neck and glanced at the screen. To his surprise, it did show more than he could see on his own.

  Emmett cleared his throat. “Actually, I broke up with Layne.”

  “What? Why?” Atlas turned to him. “How come you never said anything?”

  “It was just today. I got sick of her possessiveness. Girl kept telling me what to do. I don’t need that.”

  “Are you seeing someone else?”

  Crash!

  Atlas turned to Emmett. They stared at each other wide-eyed. Atlas’s pulse drummed in his ears. He was ready to bolt and never return. They could make another viral video about something else.

  “Let’s see what that was.” Emmett headed in the direction of the noise.

  Atlas tried to ignore his nerves as he followed his friend down a narrow hallway. He pulled out his flashlight and kept his phone aimed on Emmett. They passed a creepy wheelchair with giant back wheels that had a headless doll lying on the seat. Atlas aimed his phone toward it for a moment.

  He kept expecting someone or something to jump out and scare them. But everything was quiet, the only sounds their footsteps and respiration. Atlas fought to keep his breathing normal.

  The hall led to a few rooms. The first was large, like a living room, but it had several tables with chairs. Other furniture was knocked over on their sides. There were a few more of those chill-inducing wheelchairs. The moonlight provided a pretty good view through the numerous windows, dusty as they were. It made everything seem even scarier than it already was.

  Emmett turned to Atlas. “This looks promising.”

  Atlas nodded and tried not to think of the worst as they crept into the room.

  Squeak!

  A mouse skittered across the floor, hiding underneath a torn couch.

  Emmett laughed and wandered through the room. “This stuff is so cool, dude. Like it’s right out of a horror movie.”

  “Yeah.” Atlas swallowed, then panned his phone around the walls, floor, and random detritus. Hopefully, they’d get something viral-worthy, then they could leave and never come back

  Crash!

  Atlas’s heart sank. They were either going to run into other people or a ghost who wanted them dead. Either way, there was no chance this would end well. He should’ve just stayed home and told Emmett he was chicken. At least chickens were safe.

  Not that Atlas was a chicken. It was crazy to come to a mental hospital—to trespass illegally—on the anniversary of such a horrible massacre. Over fifty people had died, and those were only the ones they officially knew about. Rumors were that the doctor had hidden more of his victims somewhere in the house.

  Emmett grabbed Atlas and yanked him into the hall. Without a word, they continued down the corridor.

  Dust tickled Atlas’s nose. He managed not to sneeze.

  Emmett stopped and opened a door. “Look at this!”

  Atlas followed him inside the small room. There was only a bed and a wheeled table. The white sheets were stained with brown splatters. Lots of brown splatters. Looking through the night-vision screen, brown was sprayed on the walls and the floor.

  A heaviness settled over Atlas. They were in a room where someone had died. Maybe many someones.

  Emmett turned to him. “This alone is worth it. We put this on the video’s thumbnail and it’ll definitely go viral, even if we don’t get evidence of an actual ghost.”

  Atlas just nodded. He shot more video, then went back into the hall.

  They checked out the other rooms. More of the same, only less blood and some more of those wheelchairs.

  “This is so awesome!” Emmett marched ahead.

  Atlas hurried to catch up. He tripped over something and crashed into a wall.

  Emmett spun, panning his phone around. He focused it on the floor. “Looks like we aren’t the first ones in here. We’ll edit that out.”

  Atlas glanced down. He’d tripped over a bunch of drug paraphernalia. At least his clumsiness wouldn’t be in the video. “Let’s keep going.”

  “I heard the doctor’s office is upstairs.”

  “Come on, then.”

  They tiptoed down the hall until they came to a staircase.

  Emmett turned to him. “Which way?”

  “Up.”

  “Imagine what could be down there. A torture chamber. Maybe a burial ground.”

  That was exactly what Atlas didn’t want to find out. “Let’s see what’s in the doctor’s office first. Then we can come back.”

  “That’s true.” Emmett stared longingly down the stairs for a moment before heading up.

  Atlas breathed a silent sigh of relief, but then realized going up wasn’t much better than going down. The only thing they had going for them was the fact that they would still be above ground.

  These stairs creaked and groaned more than the ones outside. Atlas leaned on the railing just in case he needed to grab onto it if a step gave way. He hated that he was so much less adventurous than Emmett, but it had also kept him out of a lot of trouble that Emmett had gotten himself into.

  They finally reached the second level. It felt like a whole different place. Framed paintings filled the walls. The floor was covered with carpet instead of the tile downstairs. Nothing littered the ground.

  “Let’s find the doctor’s office,” Emmett practically shouted. He walked into the first room.

  Atlas groaned. “If there are any ghosts, you’re scaring them all away.”

  Emmett turned around. “Or maybe I’m attracting them.”

  “Or pissing them off.”

  “Even better!” Emmett shone his light around the room. “Look at this place! It’s just like a horror movie.”

  Atlas shivered. He wanted to bolt, but no way would he let Emmett think he was chicken, so he crept in and got video of everything. He stopped when he came to something that looked like a combination of a bird face and a hockey mask.

  “Whoa!” Emmett called from the other end of the office. “Look at this!”

  “No, look at this!”

  Emmett came over. “Is that for real?”

  “I didn’t put it there.”

  “What would the doctor use it for?”

  “Scaring his patients.”

  Emmett grabbed it and put it on his face.

  “Are you crazy?”

  “Look! I’m a psycho doctor!” Emmett danced around, making bird noises. “Are you recording this? You better be.”

  Atlas mumbled under his breath and took a video of Emmett dancing. He considered saving it to use as blackmail, but Emmett would actually be happy to show it off.

  “Hey, set the phone down and dance with me!”

  “Uh, that’s okay. I’ll just man the camera.”

  “Your loss.” Emmett continued dancing around the room, and stopped when he reached the large desk. He sat behind it and slid the mask to the top of his head. “I’m Dr. Psycho. Have a seat.”


  Atlas moved to get a better view.

  Emmett waved his hands like a madman. “I said, have a seat, patient. Before I kill you!” He cackled and slid the mask back down over his face.

  “Are you serious?”

  “I said sit!”

  Atlas sat and ignored Emmett’s ramblings. He shone his flashlight around the room while keeping the phone aimed at his friend. The walls were mostly filled with portraits and official documents, but one wall had a shelf full of sharp instruments. A chill ran through him at the memory of the blood downstairs.

  How many people had the doctor killed over the years? Probably more than on that fateful night so many years earlier. Could those instruments have been used in the murders?

  Atlas got up for a better look.

  “Hey, are you listening to me, patient?” Emmett tapped the desk.

  “I think these are what he used to kill people.”

  Emmett raced over, pulled the mask off, and gasped. “You’re right.” He picked one up and held it under the beam of the flashlight. “Look at the brown. I bet that’s not rust—it’s blood! This is so awesome.”

  “Have some respect, dude. It’s from someone who was tortured and murdered.”

  “Pull that stick out. They’d be dead by now, anyway.” Emmett slid the mask over his face, raised the strangely-shaped object he held, then cackled. “Come here, patient.”