The unmistakable sound of gravel crunching beneath the weight of heavy, slow moving tires sends a jolt of adrenaline induced dread through my veins. Yet it's just the stimulus I need, as one by one we quietly and quickly slip through an open basement window, hurried by the morning sun as it begins to crest above the horizon outside. Inside, the darkness of the night still prevails. The air is damp, thick with the smell of decay. We cup the beams of our flashlights with our hands so as not to give ourselves away. Just enough light seeps between the cracks of our fingers to illuminate strands of asbestos insulation, dangling like tentacles from rusted steam pipes above. We navigate a maze of early morning shadows cast across the concrete floor. A Fire Exit sign has long since ripped loose from the crumbling plaster on the wall above. The sign hangs loosely from its wires, swinging just ever so slightly above a large metal door warped open from years of decay. Single-file, we ascend the rusty metal stairwell, the echoes of our footsteps contained within the bowels of the basement we leave behind.
Upstairs, the early morning sun has spectacularly illuminated sprawling hallways and decaying arched corridors. Tiny particles of dust and grime sparkle like glitter in the air as we each take a deep breath, filling our lungs with the magic of Greystone. Peeking out from behind the safety of an exterior glass paned window, I notice a white SUV topped with a sleek LED light bar, adorned with a yellow and black striped paint scheme overlayed with the text "Human Services Police". The vehicle slowly creeps along the perimeter of the massive Kirkbride building, passing the window we had slipped through just moments earlier. That haunting sound of gravel crunching under its tires, no longer fills my veins with fear, for now we are safe within the confines of the Asylum. Had the cop rolled through even just a few moments earlier, they may have caught their prey today. This morning however, the predator goes home hungry yet again.
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