Approaching the address, Harvey saw the heavy lock on the door. As he peered closer he felt a cold shiver. Surely the resident here didn’t mean to intimidate his visitors. He was the doctor on call and needed to see the patient immediately. He hesitated for a few seconds and then pushed the handle down.
Waiting endlessly, it seemed, the door was opened slowly and surprisingly, a woman’s head appeared. Peeking around the large wooden door, she asked him in. The home’s entrance was quite nice, although not up to date in style. She led him though a disguised door in the wall to another room. It was darkened with heavy drapery on the windows, and smelled of dust and death. Harvey was at once curious and frightened as he saw what he thought was the patient. An old man sitting in a recliner, heaving–breathing so hard his bony exposed chest was visibly expanding and collapsing. Harvey rushed over to attend him and was interrupted by the woman.
“Oh he’s not the patient, it’s this one.” The woman pointed to another slight boned man in a bed of tatters. He was grey and cold and looked dead already. Harvey hurried to see the man, knowing there was probably nothing he could do. Looking around, he observed at least three other old men in the same ragged condition. Harvey made an excuse to go to a pharmacy for medicine. Outside, Harvey found a phone booth and dialed the authorities.
The woman had been collecting the men’s monthly revenue payments as “rent”, keeping them barely alive as to offer no physical resistance to the situation.
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The Bag Lady 
A gruesome story
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