Elliot's co - workers have said there is one tape that will lead to madness if you ever listen to it.
It is locked away in Dr. Bennet's office, in a safe.
He is the only one who knows the combination to the safe, and has vowed never to speak a word of it to anyone. When Elliot first arrived at the asylum, he thought everyone was playing some sort of sick prank.
How could a tape lead to utter madness upon first listening?, he thought.
After getting the feel of the place, Elliot kept asking his co — workers to tell him more. One man named James that Elliot was developing a friendship with; told him the whole story.
“There was once a patient here, back in the late 70s. He wasn’t a serial killer, or any other kind of monster. He was a normal man. That happened to be going through some shit. Or so our boss thought.”
James cleared his throat, appearing uncomfortable.
“That man was good at tricking everyone. He was…actually the worst monster that Dr. Bennet ever spoke to.”
Elliot stared at him for a full three seconds before answering.
“How could a single man be worse than all the other killers and crazy people that were ever admitted here?”
James shook his head.
“See, that’s the problem. We don’t really know. Dr. Bennet started crying in front of me and everyone else when we started to pressure him about that tape. It got really awkward fast, and we never spoke of it again.”
“Oh. Wow…what do you think was on that tape?”
“There are all kinds of rumors. My theory is that he confessed to the worse crimes imaginable. I mean, what else would be on that tape?”
“Why does he keep the tape in the first place? Why not just get rid of it?”
James shrugged.
“Uh…he said that he tried to in the past. Apparently, he can't get rid of the tape. None of us know why. Oh, and the man that Dr. Bennet interviewed died right after his session was over. It was pretty fucking weird."
After that brief conservation, James and Elliot never spoke of the mystery tape again. Neither did any of the other employees Elliot asked.
They kept shutting him down or changing the subject, and it was making him restless.
His curiosity always got the best of him.
When Elliot was a teenager, he learned that the popular girl in school was afraid people would find out her secret. She liked to bring it up jokingly, all because she wanted to be the center of attention.
Elliot became so desperate for answers, that he followed her right after school one day. It turned out, she was cheating on her boyfriend with his best friend. He spotted them both in their only diner in town, kissing him.
Her secret disappointed Elliot, but it felt good knowing that he now carried her secret. It was invigorating, knowing that he now had something so precious to keep to himself.
Just like the girl, Elliot became obsessed with learning about the tape. As he got through the day interviewing insane patients, he couldn’t help the electric shock that would shoot through him whenever he pressed play on the tape to begin recording his own sessions.
Whatever was on that tape, it was so horrific, that it could never be played to the human ear.
Elliot began to devise a way to break into Dr. Bennet's office. He knew it could go very wrong and possibly lead to his resignation, but he had to know.
Otherwise, not having the tape’s knowledge would lead him to madness. He wanted to have this secret, and he wouldn’t give it to anyone else.
As a long period of time passed, Elliot developed a friendship with his boss. He was a kind older man, with no wedding ring on his finger. It would be easy to befriend and manipulate him, because Elliot was just like him.
Alone.
Elliot and Dr. Bennet became good friends, greeting each other every morning. They would have lunch together, and even meet up after their shifts would be over. Eventually, Elliot was able to strike.
They were at his place, and after a couple of drinks, Elliot convinced him to give up the combination code to the safe. His boss laughed for a while, gave Elliot the code, and started crying after his realization.
He collapsed, crawled on his hands and knees, and begged Elliot to not open the safe.
“I promise I won’t,” Elliot said.
His boss let out another laugh.
“All my old colleagues are either dead or lost their minds. I’m the latter.”
Elliot’s boss continued to laugh uncontrollably by the time he left his apartment. Elliot drove straight to the asylum. He parked, and tried not to run. He didn’t want to alert any security.
He said a quick hello to several employees that spotted him. One of them happened to be James. He was leaving, briefcase in hand.
“Elliot? What are you doing here? Wasn’t your shift over?”
“Yes. I’m just here to get something from my office. I forgot to go over some documents. I think I’m going to have to re-do some parts of it. Damn typewriters. I’ve never had patience with them.”
James nodded.
“Yeah, I get what you mean. Have a good night!”
“Night.”
Elliot waited until James walked past him. Then he headed straight for his bosses’ office. He pulled out the set of keys he stole from his coat pocket. Elliot looked both ways before breaking into Dr. Bennet’s office. If cameras spotted him, he didn’t care.
He had to know.
Elliot messed up several times as he attempted to open the safe. He got it on the third try. He pulled it open, to reveal a single cassette tape. Elliot grabbed the tape, and went over to the recorder located in the corner of Dr. Bennet’s desk.
He placed the tape inside, and hit play. He waited. And waited.
Then he heard Dr. Bennet’s voice.
"Elliot. Please. Don't do this."
“What the fuck?”
Elliot reached over to press stop, but he hesitated. His fingers were shaking.
“You can stop this. Before it’s too late.”
Elliot gritted his teeth.
“No. I want to know your secret. I need to know.”
“That girl…you stole her secret. She…she was murdered by her boyfriend. All because you had to know. He followed you...he thought you were stalking his lady. You killed her."
“Fuck you. I didn’t kill her.”
"If you hadn't followed her, she would still be alive."
Elliot didn’t realize tears were falling down his cheeks. No matter how many times he rubbed at his eyes, the tears wouldn’t stop. Elliot slammed his hands down on the desk, several papers scattering all over the floor.
Elliot didn’t want to remember, but the memory caressed his mind like a lover leaning over for a kiss. When he spotted her through the diner window, he heard something behind him.
Elliot turned around to find her boyfriend right behind him, staring directly at his girl and his friend. There was a blank expression on his face. It terrified Elliot. He ran away. The boyfriend never went after him.
Once Elliot reached home, he went straight to bed, his heart racing. The next day, the boyfriend was arrested. He had waited for his girl and his friend to leave the diner.
He pretended that he accidentally ran into them at the diner. They were both startled, but they hid their shock. He asked them to come into the woods with him, to take a shortcut back to their town.
They agreed.
Their bodies were found in the woods.
They were unrecognizable.
The voice from the recorder was laughing at Elliot now. It was no longer Dr. Bennet. It was a man.
"THEIR BLOOD IS ON YOUR HANDS. THEIR BLOOD IS ON YOUR HANDS!"
Elliot covered his face, letting out a roar. Something wet smeared across his face. He looked at his hands. They were covered in blood.
Elliot screamed, his voice mixing with the laughter of the man from the recorder. People ran into the office, surrounding him. They resembled the same police officers that arrested the boyfriend.
“GET AWAY FROM ME! I DIDN’T KILL THEM! I DIDN’T KILL THEM!”
The police officers swarmed Elliot, enveloping him like a blanket. In Elliot’s panic, he took hold of something from the desk. He wanted to run, but they wouldn’t let him go. Elliot did the only thing that he could.
He stabbed whatever he grabbed straight into his neck. Blood spurted out, forming a puddle at his feet.
“I didn’t kill them. I didn’t kill them,” he whispered.
They were the last words he ever uttered, right before he died.
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