A/N: As usual, I would recommend putting the video on loop.

Crouching in front of the pile, (f/n) set her flashlight down. Crimson wet her skin, and she was getting tired of it running down her hands. She seated herself and tore off two strips of her shirt. It wasn't the easiest of things since the shirt was practically brand new, but she managed. Once she wrapped her wrists, she went back to the glinting object.

Carefully, she removed it from the pile. She almost thought that she was seeing things. In her hands, she held a key. The key could unlock anything, but there was a slim chance that it would open the gate. It didn't look like a lost car key, and it appeared to be worn with age. (F/n) glanced back to the other two and held it up. "I found a key!" she called out as quietly as she could.

Immediately, Nick and Tara looked over. Their eyes widened, and they hurried towards her. She handed the key to Nick, and he examined it. A look of hope crossed his eyes. "This might just work, but we shouldn't leave until we find some lock picking gear as well. It would be foolish to depend solely on this." He pocketed it and turned his own flashlight to the pile. Nothing else glinted until the light caught something by the other exit in the room.

The door was ajar, and the three instantly went over. They spared no time in blocking the exit with two tables. Feeling a little safer about their location, they peered back to the pile. Tara walked over and picked up the object. She held a single bobby pin before she tossed it away. "We need something better," she muttered, and (f/n) stepped closer to the pile.

She seated herself again and started to push items aside. Nearing the center, she heard the sound of metal rubbing against metal. Quickly, she pushed more stuff away, and a grin coated her lips. "I think that I found the jackpot." The two focused on where she was looking, and they couldn't help but smile either. In the middle was a lock picking set.

Nick reached in and hugged the item once it was in his arms. "Finally, I have it back. Now, we can get going." They posed no argument. Tara and (f/n) ran back over to the food and water, retrieved it and met him back by the door. (F/n) grabbed a nearby bag and dumped the supplies while Tara took up the position of keeping her flashlight on.

Once they had the tables moved, they exited the dining hall and scanned the hallway. Luckily, the creature wasn't in sight. That was the case until they heard a loud bang behind them. All of them turned their heads and saw the tables in front of the other doors beginning to move. They didn't wait a second longer before they sprinted off to their left. Nick pulled out the map after he hung his gear over his left shoulder. "Okay, we're going to make a right turn up ahead and a left after that. We'll make another right and left. Then, we should be at stairs leading up to the main level."

"How long will it take to get through those hallways?" Tara questioned, all of them not slowing down.

"After the first turn, it'll probably be thirty minutes, twenty if we're lucky. From there, the other three look to be about fifteen minutes each. I'm not sure, but that's how long it's taken to run other hallways their size. And, we can't keep this pace up forever."

"And, the creature will be on us soon. We might have to hide until he passes," (f/n) suggested, not liking the idea, but they didn't have too much of a choice. "When I found Brent, he was hiding with a corpse. Maybe, we can do the same, and the creature may lose our scents. It's worth a shot."

"Not a bad idea, but we'll have to find a rotting corpse first." Tara and (f/n) shot him a glance. "Right, that won't be hard."

"Are there any rooms that we can look in?" Tara inquired, seeing the first turn in the near distance.

"There are a few, but we should only go in one if we hear the creature nearby. Most likely, we'll have to take a different path from our planned one. That thing probably modified the paths. We might have to use the air vents," Nick responded, clearly not looking forward to that possibility.

A shiver ran up Tara's spine. "And, that thing uses them as well. I don't want to be trapped in one with it. I think that I would rather take my chances with running." Another loud bang sounded behind them. The creature had probably broken through. Time really hated them in the tunnels.

All of them made the turn. Ahead of them was just darkness since the flashlight illuminated only a short distance in front of them. Briefly, (f/n) glanced up to the ceiling. She could see multiple entrances into the air ventilation system, and she had to look away soon after. It was far too easy picturing the creature up in there. Almost, she thought that she had heard the sound of metal banging.

None of them could hear anything behind them. Their hearts were racing, and they were running out of breath. (F/n) took another gulp of water and handed a bottle to Nick and Tara. Thankfully, they had another six bottles in the bag. It was a pain running with them, but (f/n) was glad not to have a dry throat anymore. The water, though, didn't help her legs. They were beginning to give out; the running was just too much.

Exhausted, (f/n) had to slow down. Tara didn't glance back her way at all, but her pace wasn't in much better shape either. Nick looked back to (f/n) and encouraged her to keep going. She gave a tired nod and forced her legs to go a little faster. Truthfully, though, she desired to collapse. Even thoughts of the creature's horrific plans didn't motivate her speed much.

Her legs halted completely when a door ahead of them opened. She expected the creature to step out, but the door simply opened. There was no doubt that the creature was on the other side. Tara and Nick stopped too. They took several steps back. Silence rained on them like a thick fog. Nothing happened; the door remained open.

Hesitantly, Tara stepped forward. Nick and (f/n) followed. They moved to the other wall and kept their distance from the door. Going forward was the fastest way. Other rooms were too far back, and the creature would catch up to them either way. He already had for that matter.

Tara was the first to peer inside the room. Her hand shook violently as she lifted up the flashlight. It illuminated the contents of the room. The woman's fearful expression was replaced by a puzzled one. Nick and (f/n) walked up beside her and stared into the space. A chair sat in the middle of the room. An air vent was directly above it, but it was closed. On the chair, a camera lens rested. None of them went closer. "That's ... But, why would ..." Tara spoke but couldn't finish.

"We should keep moving. I don't think that we want to stick around and see what the creature has planned," (f/n) recommended as she distanced herself more from the room. Nick agreed and rested a hand on Tara's left upper arm. He tugged her along, and she eventually broke her attention away from the lens. They all started running again but slower than last time. All of them were tired. At least, they were getting closer to the exit.

As they ran, (f/n) picked up the sound of something above. Quietly, she asked, "Do you two hear that?" Nick glanced back to her and shook his head. Tara kept her gaze forward, but she responded in the negative. Maybe, she was losing her mind. She wouldn't be shocked by such a happening. The amount of fear she was experiencing had probably long since passed the bounds of damaging.

Sliding to a stop, (f/n) glanced over to Tara. An ear-piercing scream parted from the female's lips as she hurriedly wiped her face off. Nick went over to Tara and tried to calm her down. When he saw the blood on her face, his own fear level rose. His eyes followed the trail of blood, and he froze. (F/n), however, looked up and saw the air vent entrance being put back into place.

Gaze shifting to back in front of her, she saw the object that had been dropped. If she hadn't seen the camera lens from earlier, she wouldn't have recognized the head. She turned away and covered her mouth with her right hand. The back had been cracked open, and the creature hadn't spared much. Gradually, Nick stuttered, "W-we ... n-need to ... g-go." Tara rocked back and forth and pressed herself more against Nick as if that would erase what had just occurred.

Composing herself, (f/n) moved closer to the wall. "We should press ourselves against the wall as much as possible. We don't know when he'll strike next. I could barely hear him in the vents." Nick nodded and ushered Tara over to the wall before they started to move. Tara managed to hold the flashlight up again, but (f/n) suspected that she wouldn't be able to take much more. H*ll, her own mind was breaking.

Continuing down the long hallway, they moved slower. The air vents were too close for their liking, and they didn't need to be under them again. (F/n)'s gaze constantly darted to them, and she wondered if the creature was still in there. He might've been waiting in another room for them. There was no way to tell, and she despised that fact immensely. Much to her relief, they were nearing the end of the hall.

That comforting fact was destroyed completely when rubble blocked their path. At the top, however, there was enough room for them to crawl through. Unfortunately, climbing the pile would take some time. They had no choice unless they wished to venture into the vents, and none of them were comfortable with that idea. Only in utter desperation would they go in there.

Hands carrying them upwards, they began to ascend the tall pile. Rubble sometimes loosened under their feet and fell, which caused them to nearly fall back down on several occasions. (F/n) was half expecting the creature to open a door behind them, but he didn't. Like usual, his location was unknown.