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

At the top of the pile, (f/n) peered back one more time. Still, he wasn't there. The creature had to be nearby. Or, he might've headed to the gate already. Her stomach turned at that thought. She could picture him standing there with a grin plastered on his lips. If only there was another exit out of the tunnels, they could run to the other one, but he would probably still beat them to it. Either way, chances of their escape were becoming slimmer.

About to start her way down, she caught movement out of the corners of her eyes. She looked towards the air vent entrance and saw the cover being steadily removed. Tara was closest to the entrance, but she didn't want to shout. The creature would probably attack immediately, then. Not knowing what else to do, (f/n) shoved Tara forward. Thankfully, she only slid down the pile and didn't fall off of it.

The woman was about to yell at (f/n) until her eyes caught hold of the air vent. Swiftly, she continued her climb down, but (f/n) didn't have enough time to. A hand latched onto her right wrist and tugged her over. (F/n) pulled out her flashlight and shone it in the creature's direction. She was released, but his hand took her flashlight. Both disappeared back into the vents.

Nick was halfway between Tara and her and waited for her to come. "Hurry, (f/n)! It'll come back." She nodded and followed after them. (F/n) fell flat on her midsection, however, as her right leg was pulled backwards. Her hands latched onto a piece of rubble, and she cursed loudly. Heart pounding, she felt the creature tug harder, so she grasped the rock more.

Tara was already at the bottom of the pile while Nick was starting to come back towards her. "Nick, are you crazy?! Get back here and leave her. She's a goner. We need to go!" Tara shouted, already distancing herself from the area. (F/n) would've scowled at the woman, but she had herself busy. The creature had assured her that she would be the last to die, but she didn't want to die at all, and she didn't plan on getting captured by the thing again.

Another hand latched around her left leg. She screamed as nails cut into her skin, and she was losing her grip on the rock. "Then, go on without us. We'll catch up!" Nick yelled back and tossed the key to her. Tara caught it and carried on without them while he grabbed (f/n)'s hands. His eyes caught hold of the creature's gaze, and he almost froze out of fear. A grin covered the creature's lips before a chuckle left them.

One of Nick's hands let go of (f/n), and he turned on his flashlight. The beams struck the creature's eyes directly, and a loud hiss erupted from him. Its grip on her legs loosened somewhat, Nick tugged her hard, and she was free from the creature. Hurriedly, they descended down the path while the creature retreated back into the vents. Nick helped her down the pile, and they could see Tara down the left path.

When her feet landed on the ground, (f/n) almost fell forward due to her left leg. Nick held her up and balanced her. "Will you be able to run?"

"I don't know. I might be able to." She glanced back up at the vent entrance, and the cover was back on. "Why did you help me?" she asked, turning back to him. They started to walk after Tara, and she forced her left leg to deal with it.

"I lost Laura and now Brent, but you warned us not to enter these tunnels. We did, and you had to come here to rescue your best friend. She's dead now, and I feel responsible for you. Out of all of us, you're the one who shouldn't be in this mess. I owe it to Laura to get you out of here." He chuckled for a moment. "Besides, you're the one with the car keys."

A brief smile fell upon her lips. "True, but what about ..." She received a nod from him. Brent had been the one to drive them to the woods, and his body was back in that room. Or, the creature had moved his body to another location. They moved forward a bit more, and her leg collapsed. Nick managed to keep her up before he lowered her to the ground. He shone his flashlight on her and carefully moved her leg so that he could see it better.

Five deep puncture wounds were in her leg. They had been worsened by the creature's nails tearing more at the flesh when he had pulled her back. "You're going to need stitches." She didn't say anything but saw that Tara was getting fainter. (F/n) wasn't brave enough to shout for him to leave her; she wanted to live, and she would gladly take help to reach that end goal.

"Turn off your flashlight and hold mine. I'll try to slow the bleeding, but you shouldn't walk on that." She followed his instructions while he glanced towards his friend. "Hopefully, that key will work, and we can meet her at the edge of the woods." He looked back to her and rolled up her pant leg. When she winced, he apologized.

"The creature may go after her. She should've stayed."

Nick let out a sigh and nodded. "I know, but I can tell that Tara is slipping. She won't stop moving until she's out of here. If she stays any longer, she'll lose it." He took off his jacket and his first shirt before he tore the shirt into several pieces.

"I would think that her mind would be stronger after all of the investigations she has gone on."

"None of us were expecting this, (f/n). You know that. I won't be surprised if she leaves this type of job entirely after we're out of here." He began to tie the strips around her leg, and they remained quiet as they both focused on listening for the creature. No soft footfalls hit their ears, and they didn't see the creature standing close by. Nick secured the last one and got to his feet before he helped her up. His back turned to her, and he motioned for her to get on. "Get on. It'll be faster this way."

She was hesitant for a few seconds before she climbed on. He lifted her up, and she held onto him. Nick began to sprint lightly while she turned down the flashlight's brightness. All signs of Tara were gone by now, but they hadn't heard her scream or anything. Her worry about the creature waiting by the gate only increased.

They made the next turn but stopped. Ahead of them, there were spots of fresh blood. The trail continued down the hallway. Nick managed to run a little faster, and she pressed her face closer to his shoulder since the hallway was narrower, which placed them directly under the air vents. She didn't need the creature to lift her up off of Nick. "I hope that she's just injured," he mumbled as his grip tightened on her unintentionally.

"Why wouldn't she have shouted?" (f/n) asked, observing how the blood spots grew thinner. If the creature had killed her, she would've assumed there to be more blood.

"I don't know. It's odd." He grew quiet for a moment before he looked momentarily nauseous. "That might not be her blood. The creature might be messing with us some more, and I don't want to see what's at the end of this hall."

(F/n) gulped and peered up at the vents. She noted that all of the entrances were removed. Nick's theory proved more correct as she aligned them with the spots on the ground. "I think that it's clear enough. The instant that we see something we turn away."

"Right, I don't need any more images filling my head. I already know that I'm going to have nightmares the next time I sleep." She couldn't agree more, but she did need sleep. All three of them most likely did. It was a wonder how none of them had passed out yet. Well, she had been knocked out, but waking up tied to a chair didn't help. There was also a headache that tried to cloud her thoughts, but her desire to escape kept it at bay. "I'm glad, though, that I don't have to work in a funeral home."

Breaking out of her thoughts, she rolled her eyes and faked a laugh. "Very funny. I think that I would take a bunch of corpses to another night in this place, though. As long as they don't come alive, there shouldn't be a problem, but I might lock myself in my room for awhile."

"Yeah, I may install a few more locks on my apartment door and windows, but I plan on moving far away from this area. Once I'm recovered, I can always find paranormal work in other areas where I'm just dealing with the typical ghost case."

"Can't those be dangerous?" She didn't want the conversation to end. It kept her mind off of darker possibilities, and she had a feeling that Nick felt the same way. Of course, they spoke quietly, but the creature could probably still hear them regardless. Still, their softer voices made them feel a little bit safer.

"Yes, but they typically don't try to murder you on sight and eat you. At least, I've never come across any like that. Most of the time, they make noises, say something or throw an object. It might be all three. It depends on how active the sight is. Occasionally, you might see a figure move in the darkness. For us, that's been rare."

"When I think of a figure in the darkness, my mind goes to the creature in here now." He was about to reply, but they both saw Tara up ahead. She was on her knees and hunched over. Her flashlight was beside her and still on. The creature had decided to show them something before the end of the hallway.