Chapter 23

Anya sat, quivering, with a pistol held up by both hands. She aimed her weapon at the door and stared with an unmoving gaze, fearing what lurked beyond. With every blink of her eyes, the girl dreaded the thought of being caught unprepared. Anya calmed her breath and listened.

Ba-thump-Ba-thump-Ba-thump

Her frantic heartbeat was all that was heard.

POM!

By accident, the trigger was pulled, creating a loud bang that reverberated violently into Anya’s ears, disorienting her. The recoil knocked the pistol out of her shaky grip and onto the ground. She covered both of her ears with her hands, but the ringing would not stop.

“No, no, no!” She whimpered hysterically while searching around her. “Where is it?! Where is it?!”

Anya patted the floor as the frightful tears blurred her vision. The moment she found the gun, she immediately aimed it at the door.

“…”

Nothing had appeared. The door remained closed with a small bullet hole near the knob. Cautiously, she stood up and approached the exit.

Gulp.

With every step, the little girl’s heart quickened its pacing. Beads of cold sweat dripped from her forehead. Hesitantly, she peeked through the hole.

Fresh blood was splattered across the hallway’s walls, which were illuminated by a flickering blue light. The combination of her sporadic breathing along with the subtle pop of electricity orchestrated an unnerving duet that tested her resolve. Slowly, she opened the door.

Creeeeaaaak!

Anya jumped back and aimed her weapon at the door, waiting for what was to come.

“…”

Again, nothing had appeared.

The girl knew that she needed to leave the room, lest she may die alone, encased in her own filth. She pried the door open just a little bit more and slipped through.

Sarah’s body was gone, nowhere to be seen. In its place, a pool of blood streaked in the direction where she was dragged off to. With Anya’s only other option being the dead end, the girl trod carefully alongside the smears of blood. As she walked, Anya noted her surroundings. Several of the overhead lights were smashed in, allowing sharp pieces of glass to dangle while the exposed wires shorted with sparks. Cracks of varying sizes emerged from the tiled floors, marking the monstrosity’s footsteps.

Smash!

Instantly, Anya turned around and aimed the pistol with her jittering arms. Shattered glass lined the ground where the noise originated. After ensuring that the area was clear, the girl nervously continued her path.

…

The end of the dreaded halls was near. Beyond, was the reception room where she had first entered the building. From her location, Anya could see the automatic doors that bewildered her initially. Now, all she wanted was to leave, to escape from the unknown entity that dwelled within this forsaken compound.

She ran hastily toward the exit, slowing down only when she neared the glass panels. The girl warily advanced with one step at a time until she stood before the door.

It opened.

A wave of relief coursed through Anya’s body, forcing a liberating smile upon her face. The girl stepped toward the exit and suddenly, the doors slammed shut.

“W-Wh?!”

With both hands, she tried to pry the door open but made no progress. Frustrated and frightened, Anya curled her hand into a fist and punched the glass using all her might.

“Ow-ow-ow-ow!” She immediately regretted her actions as her hand reddened and pulsated with pain. “Ughhh, why did I think that was going to work!?” Anya lamented her poor decision as she rubbed her knuckles.

Once the pain had subsided, Anya was able to formulate another idea. Using both hands, the girl aimed her gun at the glass and pulled the trigger; this time, she made sure to keep a firm grip.

POM!

The glass didn't shatter, but instead, countless tiny cracks spurted out from the impact zone, creating a web-like display.

POM!

Still, the panels remained intact. Anya understood that her efforts were futile.

“Now seeing patient number forty-seven. Now seeing patient number forty-seven… Please head to the reception as soon as possible. Please also note that a late fee may be applicable.”

Startled again by the unwarranted, disembodied voice, the girl surveyed the room anxiously. From the corner of her eyes, she spotted movement. She quickly turned her focus to the location only to find a small rectangular box with a circular lens that pointed straight at her. Under Anya’s intense glare, the object periodically blinked a red light but did not move.

Did I imagine that?

Stepping slightly to the right, the object followed with a stiff motion. Perplexed, the girl made another step to the left. Again, the object followed as if it was observing her.

It feels like… it’s watching me…

Anya’s eyes widened as she arrived at her revelation.

Clink-Clink… Shuffle…

Without a moment of delay, the girl ran. She did not care where she was headed as long as it was away from there, for she knew the thing was coming. Unlike the previous halls she trekked, the path she currently journeyed was in a much worse state. Most of the overhead lights were smashed, leaving nothing but shattered glass behind. Every other tile was either cracked or missing, allowing the ugly concrete below to be fully exposed. Scratches and cavities lined the walls on both sides of her, the pattern was only interrupted by the occasional streaks of dried blood.

Clink-Clink-Shuffle… Clink-Clink-Shuffle…

At every corner, the rectangular device tracked her movements. Anya could hear the creature’s hastening dash not far behind her.

Clink-Clink-Shuffle-CLINK-CLINK-SHUFFLE

She began to huff and puff her shortened breath, which gestured her failing stamina. Even worse, the unknown being was gaining ground fast. Anya understood that if this game of tag was to continue, she would not have a chance to tag back. At the first opportunity where the watchful devices were absent, the girl entered a nearby room and shut the door silently behind her. Then, she huddled in a corner furthest from the entrance with the gun ready in her hands.

CLINK-CLINK-SHUFFLE

Anya silenced her breath as best as she could while the pursuer swiftly approached.

CLINK-CLINK-SHUFFLE-CLINK-CLINK-SHUFFLE-CLINK-CLINK-SHUFFLE-Clink-Clink-Shuffle

In what felt like an eternity, the unknown entity left as noisily as it had approached. Even so, Anya waited a good while before she even dared to leave the room. After mustering the remnants of her courage, the girl peeked her head into the halls to find that more of the tiles had shattered and the walls were afflicted with fresh scratches. Anya concluded that the entity must have commonly visited this area for the damage to be of such severity.

Hesitantly, she left the room.

While she traveled down the hallway, the girl’s head twitched left and right at the slightest inclination. The buzzing of loose wires startled her at every corner as she pointed her weapon at each of the passing shadows. The girl’s eyes constantly swept the ceiling for the watchful devices, which waited to reveal her presence. Unsure of her location, Anya explored the desolate interior aimlessly. To her knowledge, the main entrances were locked and unbreakable, but she was doubtful that the facility only contained one entryway from the outside. The best chance she had of escaping was to search the outer portions of the building. Red-lettered signs with the word ‘EXIT’ were placed at regular intervals throughout the halls. Anya felt this was an obvious trap, and thus decided against following their guidance.

Soon, after a great deal of walking, the girl arrived at a relatively more pristine portion of the building, resembling the reception from before. The area was still messy with papers and forms scattered all about, but compared to everything else she had witnessed, this place was rather pleasant. There were no tracks, no crushed tiles, or lights, which signaled the places the entity had been. Knowing this, Anya sat in a nearby wheelchair and after placing her rifle on the table, she relaxed her body. Dried blood was absent from this location as well. Rather than a fight, it seemed as if people had quickly fled the area instead. After her quick break, Anya decided to search the perimeter for anything of use. Many interesting devices were found, some which she recognized but most left her dumbfounded. For example, while rummaging through a handbag, she found a smooth and strangely shaped device that vibrated at the press of a button. The vibration intensity could be adjusted using two of the other buttons and was fairly noisy. Anya was unsure of what purpose the device may have originally served, but it presented itself as a viable way of creating a diversion. Thus, she stuffed it in her satchel. Underneath the counter, a miniature fridge could be found. The contents of the fridge delighted the little girl as several bottles of water were chilled to perfection. Having chugged one, she deposited the rest into her storage. The ‘food,’ however, seemed to be way past their prime. Without having opened them, Anya could sense the stench.

Suddenly, the girl ceased her scavenging. She turned her head and glanced around to find nothing new had appeared. Yet, a barely audible squeaking sound could be heard. It was best described as an unoiled hinge slowly swaying back and forth. The recurring noise came from nearby. Anya wanted to shrug it off but she knew better, for the unknown proved to be much more dangerous. The high-pitched noise created an uneasy feeling that slowly grew within her. She picked up her rifle and carefully approached one of the splintering halls. The hallway where the squeaking originated appeared to be untouched as the walls and floors were in unnaturally perfect condition. To her left were a large window and a wooden door with the words ‘Nursing Room’ embedded into it. The girl stopped dead in her tracks. She remembered the details of the recording, thus wavered to move forward, unsure of what she would see beyond the dirty transparent glass.

As Anya advanced closer, the squeaking noise became louder, confirming that the source was within the room. She held the pistol firmly in her hands and was ready to fire at any threats that presented themselves. After mustering her courage, the girl looked inside and saw that it was dark. Light from the outside trespassed through the blood-smudged window and exposed the fragmented skeletons that were scattered along the ground. The girl stood far enough away from the window for her shadow to be unable to reach the floor inside. She examined the interior further. Upon sighting skulls that were no larger than her fists, Anya’s body shuddered. Displeasing images plagued her thoughts as parts of the recording repeated itself in her mind. The outlines of several cribs, some broken and some still intact, were littered around the room. At the center, the silhouette of a woman wearing a dress swayed left and right akin to the motion of an upside-down pendulum. The unpleasant squeaking matched her movements.

The woman looked as if she was facing the window, but her head tilted downwards. Anya slowly backed away, not wanting to alert the figure that had not noticed her yet. A sense of regret fell upon Anya as she saw things she would have rather avoided. However, it was too late to change that fact. All she could do now was to refrain from agitating the tottering entity. Once the furnishings of the room were no longer in view, Anya’s heart began to ease its pounding.

Click

Anya froze as she felt her stomach drop, sweat began to profusely excrete from her pores, for she had unintentionally bumped into the light switch. Now the halls laid dark and worse, the squeaking ceased.