ASYLUM - A Horror Chat RP

Hecatoncheires

un jour je serai de retour près de toi
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...Some truths are better left unfound.

Dark rumours and evil tales surround the Harper's Vale Psychiatric Hospital, a vast building in the middle of the English countryside that was the UK's largest centre for the treatment of the mentally ill, up until the fire that effectively destroyed it a decade ago.

Now it lies abandoned; a ruin, a monument to past glory and progress. Yet dark secrets were buried by the fire, and rumours of patient abuse and hideous experimentation continue to exist. Those committed to the asylum at the time of its destruction remain silent regarding the matter; some no longer even remember their time at Harper's Vale.

But now, something is stirring within the old asylum building. The secrets buried by the fire will not stay hidden much longer, for better or for worse. Soon it will emerge again and the truth will finally be revealed.

Something has drawn you and several others to the site of the Harper's Vale Psychiatric Hospital on this fateful day. A missing loved one, perhaps? A strange letter in the post? Or something else entirely? Soon it will matter little.

For you all shall be the witnesses when the truth finally emerges from the ruins.

Some secrets are better left buried...​
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[size=+1]CHARACTER SHEETS

NAME:
GENDER:
AGE: (Under 27, please)
ROLE: (What is your character's lot in life? What do they do?)
REASON FOR COMING TO THE ASYLUM: (What has drawn your character to the asylum?)

STRENGTHS: (What skills does your character possess? What are they good at?)
WEAKNESSES: (What limitations does you character have? Is there anything they are particularly unskilled at doing?)

PERSONALITY:
HISTORY:

HTML:
[b]NAME:[/b] 
[b]GENDER:[/b] 
[b]AGE:[/b] (Under 27, please)
[b]ROLE:[/b] (What is your character's lot in life? What do they do?)
[b]REASON FOR COMING TO THE ASYLUM:[/b] (What has drawn your character to the asylum?)

[b]STRENGTHS:[/b] (What skills does your character possess? What are they good at?)
[b]WEAKNESSES:[/b] (What limitations does you character have? Is there anything they are particularly unskilled at doing?)

[b]PERSONALITY:[/b] 
[b]HISTORY:[/b]
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[size=+1]THE RULES
  • Follow the rules of Iwaku
  • One character only
  • Don't act like a prick to fellow players
  • Don't meta-game; nothing kills a Chat RP faster
  • Be prepared to run with what's thrown at you

The game will take place on THURSDAY 15TH DECEMBER, at 22:00UTC in the CATACOMBS RP BOX. Here is a time converter that you can use to figure out what time the game is at where you are, so you know if you can play.
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A chat RP run by Grumpy on my day off from work? YES PREASE.

*Bio impending*
 
NAME: Louis Haines

GENDER: Meat popsicle
AGE: 26
ROLE: A removal man and, as of four hours ago, a murderer.
REASON FOR COMING TO THE ASYLUM: To dump the body.

STRENGTHS: Louis is fit and robust, knows his way around work tools, can paint, and is good with his hands.
WEAKNESSES: Louis is not good at making decisions, as he is plagued by doubt and dark thoughts. He also has the post-homicidal shakes.

PERSONALITY: Quiet and sinister, with a sadistic alterego that bubbles beneath his delicate, artistic surface.

HISTORY: Mr Keeler didn't keep up his repayments on the loan. The old man even stopped answering calls from the debt collectors. After 200 days the Repo Men were called in. Louis and his mentor, George Stanway, arrived at the house to find it deserted and all possessions still inside beneath a layer of dust. It was a goldmine. They started a sweep, and when they found no sign of Mr Keeler they began looking for things they could sell on to repay the debt. And that's when they found the library. Two men entered... one man left. Louis doesn't remember much of what happened in there... only his partner's blood on one hand, and his mobile phone in the other. He dialled the only person he could trust... his psychiatrist. She had helped him get over his abusive childhood and get this job. She would know what to do. He broke down and confessed everything to her. But his psychiatrist did not give the response that he was expecting...
 
NAME: Rae
GENDER: Female
AGE: (Under 27, please) 25
ROLE: (What is your character's lot in life? What do they do?) Has been seeing psychiatrists for over half her life
REASON FOR COMING TO THE ASYLUM: (What has drawn your character to the asylum?)
She read about asylums and treatment of patients in the past. She was intrigued, and wanted to uncover the mistreatment of the mentally ill
STRENGTHS: (What skills does your character possess? What are they good at?) Creativity. She can do anything creative. She is also strong willed.
WEAKNESSES: (What limitations does you character have? Is there anything they are particularly unskilled at doing?) She has several personalities.

PERSONALITY: Her original personality is creative, loud, funny, if a little depressed at times. She has been seeing therapists and psychiatrists to try and integrate all of her personalities into one. She has tried to kill herself on more than one occasion.
HISTORY: She grew up in a normal home and when she was old enough she went to college, but realized her college work was hindered by the fact that her other personalities liked to show up unawares. She has had a hidden fear of abandonment, and finds it extremely hard to get too close to a man, lest he hurt her. She fears rejection.
 



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Kadian Lye sits still as a statue, her tea is still steaming, but untouched. She holds a mobile phone in her right hand, she's tapping on an unopened manila folder with her left index finger. The cabinet next to her kitchen table is open, from when she drew it out. "OK, OK, just slow down, I can't understand you." Her brow knits. "You what?" Her left index finger pauses mid-tap, before continuing again. "Right. Have you called anyone besides me?" She's on her feet now, on her way to the bedroom.



"No!-No. Do not--listen to me" she tucks the legs of her jeans into her leather boots "do not call the police" pulls a wool sweater over her tank top and ties back her hair.


"I want you to keep your mobile off, from now on." She's in the bathroom, selecting certain bottles from the cabinets before tucking them into her purse. "What's the address? I'm on my way." A pause as she listens and punctures a vial with a small syringe. "Yes." She draws back the ampoule, fills the syringe with a measured dose of Diazepam.


"Yes. Everything will be alright."


Louis Haines' file remains unopened on her kitchen table.






NAME: Dr. Kadian Lye
GENDER: F
AGE: 26
ROLE: Psychiatrist, murder accomplice
REASON FOR COMING TO THE ASYLUM: To dispose of the body and find out what triggered Louis' homicidal outburst.
STRENGTHS:
Calm, collected and rational, Dr. Lye is a capable leader, knowledgable of mental illness/personality disorders, well-versed a wide array of treatment methods
WEAKNESSES:
Concerned to the point of obsession for Louis, so she often doubts her decisions regarding him. He is one of her oldest and most challenging patients. She's convinced that he can be cured of the darkness that plagues him, but is starting to suspect that conventional treatment might not be the answer for him. She fears incarceration will send him into a downward spiral, so she's helping him cover his tracks.
She's in way over her head and trying not to let it show.

PERSONALITY: Professional and neutral
 
Delicious diazepam.
 
NAME: Samuel Holt
GENDER: Male
AGE: 27
ROLE: Private Investigator, Psychic Police Consultant
REASON FOR COMING TO THE ASYLUM: A psychic resonance

STRENGTHS: Observant; a decent shot; strange "feelings" due to latent psychic ability; throwing people off; plain and unassuming look.
WEAKNESSES: Physically healthy, but not quite the athletic type. Has a tendency to be blunt, but that seems to come in handy at times for "throwing people off".

PERSONALITY: Blunt, but not quite abrasive or forward, Sam can sometime say the wrong thing at the right time, or the right thing at the wrong time. Somewhat eccentric, Sam constantly prods at thing with a favourite pen of his, and sometimes jot things down at nonsensical times. He likes to wear a scarf.

HISTORY:

"... [Date], 2011.

I've finally found the damn hospital that's been stuck in my head. Well, my dreams, really. I've mentioned this bit already, but for clarity's sake here it is again: I've been bloody dreaming of this... hospital, or institute, or something for weeks now. Not every day, but every few nights, I see the damn thing. It's a solid thing, something real. I touch it and feel it and wake up remembering how cold the stones of the place are.

I got to thinking, maybe it was that Sixth Sense of mine tugging at me. Since I was a kid, I had this special... well, "feeling". I could always figure if something was off, or knew something was going to happen before it did. Cost me a lot as a youngster-- bloody teachers thought it was me carrying out those little things the other kids did and I was being cheeky.

It got pretty bad when I saw my parents die in a car wreck, and it happened the next day. They died somewhere out in the country; I don't really remember it all too much. I kind of blocked it out. I mean, between you and me, Journal, I felt them die.

It wasn't pleasant.

Don't know why I went the path I did. I guess seeing things helped me solve things quicker, a bit faster. I always knew when someone was lying; it landed me my spot in Scotland Yard. Then I mentioned my penchant for seeing things to a mate.

Oops.

Anyways, Journal-Me, you already know the rest. Got sacked, working on my own now, and get called in by Scotland Yard every now and then to help out with a case that no one else could figure out because, well, I could.

Now to figure out why I keep dreaming about this place."
 
NAME: John Donnehugh
GENDER: Male
AGE: 27
ROLE: Writer/Journalist
REASON FOR COMING TO THE ASYLUM: John's current assignment sees him touring many of the supposedly 'haunted' locations of the UK; Harper's Vale is his last spot that he needs to visit.

STRENGTHS: Keen deductive ability and wit. Has come prepared. Knows the history of the site.
WEAKNESSES: Years of smoking means that John's not exactly in great shape. Comes across as rather aloof and challenging. Dislikes authority figures.

PERSONALITY: Intelligent (and knows it), driven, smart-ass, cynical.
HISTORY: John was something of a troubled child. Detached from his peers and quiet, he preferred the company of his books to that of other children. His teenage years were stained by the mysterious death of his sister Rose, whose murder John was for a long time suspected of. To this day certain family members suspect John of Rose's murder.

Wanting to escape the judgements of his family, John fled to London, studying politics at University and starting his work as a journalist. Initially just working for a few of the smaller London papers, John's talents meant that he was working for the national broadsheets within a few years. He gained a reputation for covering weird and strange events that others could not make sense of or get a story out of, earning him a following of those who believe in the supernatural and the unexplained.
 
[SIZE=+1] NAME: Annie Tyler [/SIZE][SIZE=+1] [/SIZE]
[SIZE=+1] GENDER: Female
AGE: 27
ROLE: Pregnant pub waitress
REASON FOR COMING TO THE ASYLUM: She's looking for her missing fiance. Two days ago, she received a letter with no postmark in his handwriting, telling her to meet him here...

STRENGTHS: Quick reflexes, fast thinking, and can go a long time without sleeping.
WEAKNESSES: She's got a baby to think about now, so she can't put herself through as much physical stress. She's also gullible and easily manipulated.

PERSONALITY: Annie's always been a bit emotionally erratic. She falls in love quickly, gets in way over her head, and then spirals into depression rapidly when it all falls apart. Basically an emotional roller-coaster. She puts on a spunky front, but it's just that. Fake.
HISTORY: When Annie got pregnant, she thought it was her dream come true. She would marry the man of her dreams, never have to wait tables again, and move to a nice house to raise her family. Instead, she ended up settling for second-best. And then, much worse... [/SIZE]


 
[Dr. Kadian Lye ] -03:59 Dec 15 [John is a journalist specialising in the weird and supernatural.] -03:59 Dec 15
[Samuel Holt rumbles in with a rusty, crummy car. Volkswagon, to be exact. The old kind.] -04:00 Dec 15
[Louis Haines] -04:01 Dec 15
Some secrets are better left buried. -John


Some truths are better left unfound. -John

John: The late afternoon sun was beginning it's descent as John cut the engine to his car and stepped out to face the front entrance of Harper's Vale Psychiatric Hospital. The old walls and windows loomed high above him, many stories high. This place had a history, and not a lot of it good; Harper's Vale had been the home to the dangerously insane for a long time until the fire that rendered it unuseable a decade ago. A sinister reputation hung about it. -04:03 Dec 15
John: It would make, he thought, for an excellent story. -04:03 Dec 15
Samuel Holt: "About bloody time," Sam muttered under his breath, the sounds muted by the loud rumbling of the old, ill-maintained engine. The muffler coughed out dark puffs of exhaust as he came to a halt not 50 meters behind another car (which was leagues better-looking than his own). Sam squinted, taking note of the car and plate, writing it down in his little notepad. -04:07 Dec 15
Dr. Kadian Lye: They had stopped, only once, during their four hour drive to Harper's Vale. Dr. Lye had purchased for herself a cup of coffee- dark, and one for her companion-white with milk and sugar. She now wished she had drank hers, if only for the warmth it would have provided. "Louis, slow down, I'm losing my end," her whisper cut through the darkness between them. The man ahead of her paused, and the two immediately began to slightly sink into the wet forest floor. Harper's Vale was just at the edge of the woods. -04:08 Dec 15
Louis: Louis shifted his grip on the cargo, his hands slick with evening rain and slipping on the black refuse bags that wrapped the object. He peered back through the darkness, smelling the perfume that had been his attendant spirit through all these years. So much darkness... suffocating and toxic... yet always her smell... her presence. His angel. He waited, patiently, as Kadian resettled her grip and then, once more, they were moving. His boots were caked with mud now and his skin scratched by brambles. But they were almost there. The treeline was about to break and give them their first view of Harper's Vale.... the abyss into which his sins would be cast. -04:11 Dec 15
John: The sound of tires approaching made John turn to see a beat-up old Voltswagon approaching as well. He frowned; he'd visited supposedly 'haunted' sites up and down the country, and this was the first time he'd ever encountered another human being at one. He gave a brief wave to the driver, however. No sense in coming across as some sort of nutter. -04:13 Dec 15
Samuel Holt: Sam gave a wave as he finally opened the car door (it taking him as long as it did because the door being jammed). The car rocked as he wrestled with the handled, but eventually, all was well. Sam wore a long brown trenchcoat, the cloth kind that gave an air of potential seriousness. The shirt underneath was white, not-so-neatly pressed, and he had a simple black tie that hung loosely around his neck. His height was average, as was his weight, haircut, and over-all disposition. "Mornin'," he said with a smile, or something approximating one. "Or... is it evening? I think I lost track of the sun driving here. Name's Sam, by the way." Instead of offering a hand, he stepped back to give the hospital a one-over. "Quite a beast," he mused after an (awkward) silence. -04:16 Dec 15
[Annie Tyler ] -04:18 Dec 15
John: Frowning again, John checked his watch. "It's almost six o'clock," he informed the man in his usual brisk tone. Looking the man up and down once, he turned to look at the building again. "Quite a beast indeed. Or more where they used to keep the beasts before the fire." He looked back over to the man. "Might I ask what brings you out here?" -04:20 Dec 15
Dr. Kadian Lye: They did not break the treeline at precisely the front of the premise. A lucky break for the two, a few more meters and they would have been in John and Samuel's sights. Instead, the branches parted to reveal the bleached stones of the asylum's West wall. There was only one, large window, its missing panes like cracked teeth. The ledge was just high enough to be out of a grown man's reach. Dr. Lye's shoulders slumped slightly. "We'll have to find a boost, Louis." -04:20 Dec 15
Samuel Holt: "Not quite the most pleasant way to call the nutters, but makes enough sense," Sam said with another smile. "I'm, ah, investigating the, ah, fire. Well, of course the fire was awhile back, but, ah, some people want closure, and answers, of any kind. So, being what I am and do, decided to head on out here and find out what I could. Talked to some folk back in town, here and there you know. Now to, ah, look on my own." -04:22 Dec 15
Annie Tyler: Annie's little beat-up blue sedan hobbled its way up the road to Harper's Vale. She didn't know why he'd wanted to meet her here, in such a creepy old relic. From what she'd heard, the place was riddled with ghosts, and Annie believed in it. Annie believed in everything. -04:24 Dec 15
John: Nodding, John looked away again. "So a private detective, then?" He'd encountered such individuals before; his paper had hired them to dig dirt on others before the whole phone-hacking scandal put a stop to such practices. Some where decent enough, others were scumbags. Hopefully this man was one of the former. Still, may as well be polite; John extended a hand to shake. "I'm John Donnehugh. My paper has me doing an article on haunted sites across Britain; this is my last stop." -04:24 Dec 15
Louis: Louis's answer came late. He was lost staring at the building before him. It was like the bleached carcass of beast, pulled down in the sodden woods and mist. He couldn't believe that so much had been abandoned - that a building with such life had been allowed to slip into shadow. As a removal man he had worked with houses - big houses. Empty and haunted by memories. But nothing like this. This was a whole world cut out of time and left in limbo. It put a shiver through his skin, and added to the already considerable tremors that shook his limbs. Blinking, he looked over at Kadian and nodded. "Right," uttered his soft voice, "We'll get the body onto the ledge, then I'll go up." He didn't wait for an answer. He knew that Kadian liked it when he took charge of his life. Wrapping his arms around the bagged cargo, he started forward and lifted it up onto his shoulders. He felt Kadian doing her part also, pushing as he lifted. Grunting and struggling, the two of them got the body up onto the ledge and then slumped against the wall, panting for breath as the evening rain grew heavier. -04:28 Dec 15
Samuel Holt: "Haunted spots, huh? So this place is haunted? Well, the folks said as much, but I, ah, didn't believe it so much. Ghosts and what-not, in an old, creepy, was-once-on-fire mental institu-- okay yeah, I can, ah, see why someone would call the place haunted." He stepped back to take in the look of the fellow named John, nodded to himself and finally shook his hand. "Sam Holt." -04:30 Dec 15
John: "If a place has the reputation this building does, people naturally call it haunted. Spirits of the old madmen contained here walking the corridors and all that." John shook Sam's hand and gave a quick smile. He was still a little concerned; he'd been expecting to check this place out alone, but now it seemed he'd be having company for it. And to top it all off, the rain was starting to get even heavier; heading back over to his car, John withdrew an umbrella and his bag before returning to where Sam stood. "So, we may as well give the place a check together. Two pairs of eyes are better than one and all that." He motioned with his head to the door. "Shall we?" -04:33 Dec 15
Annie Tyler: Her wipers were on max as she pulled into the drive. There were a pair of cars already parked, much to her surprise, and their respective drivers chatting beside them. Neither were the man she was looking for. As she stepped out of the car, she pulled up the hood of her dark raincoat, covering her shocking pink hair. "Hello?" -04:35 Dec 15
Dr. Kadian Lye: Dr. Lye slipped and scuffled in the mud with Louis as the two shoved the plastic-wrapped mass up the asylum's wall, up onto the ledge. "Ok...Almost...On three...One.Two.THR-" A sudden, unexpected burst of strength from Louis sent Dr. Lye sprawling back to the leaf strewn floor, and their cargo all the way through the window. There was an audible thump and crunch on the other side. Dr. Lye stood, wiped her stinging hands against the front of her jeans. She crouched low, clasped palms facing up, obviously to help boost Louis. Her eyes met his for a moment, urging him on. "Your turn, Louis." -04:38 Dec 15
Samuel Holt: Sam pulled the collar of his coat up as the rain began to fall in earnest. He shivered a bit as a cool breeze came up around him. "Two pairs are nice, but so are three!" A thumb gestured over his shoulder; he heard the car pulling up, but hadn't said anything to see if John would have saw the person coming. Sam found the driver to be a woman, simply by virtue of her voice. Turning, he waved a greeting. "'Ello!" He then gestured at the entrance of the Hospital, and darted in as the rain came in even harder than before. -04:39 Dec 15
John: "Jesus Christ..." John muttered under his breath as another visitor appeared, "is this a fucking open day at the nuthouse and everyone forgot to tell me or something?" Shaking his head, he made for the doors. "Come on, this rain isn't getting any lighter." -04:41 Dec 15
Annie Tyler: Ducking inside after the two men, Annie stumbled over the doorstep and bumped into one of the men in front of her. She kept forgetting she couldn't move as easily these days, with the extra weight. Swearing in a manner that was about as far from ladylike as you could get, she grabbed onto the back of his coat to steady herself. The material was damp and unpleasant to the touch. "Sorry, sorry." -04:45 Dec 15
Louis: She wanted him to go up. To go in. First. Without her. Louis watched Kadian as the rain fell between them, her hands cupped, her wet hair fallen in wayward strands across her eyes. She would lift him up, support him, carry him. No... he would pull her in. They would work together. He stepped forward, lifted his mud-caked boot. He almost wanted to apologise - to say sorry for muddying her hands, those delicate hands which has charted his life in pen-strokes and gentle touches. He put his hands on her shoulders, then on the walls, lifting up as she boosted him. He lunged up, into darkness, swinging his body onto the carpet of shattered glass and leaf-litter that covered the ledge. More cuts, more pain. But they were close now... -04:46 Dec 15
The three people stepped into the crumbling main foyer of the building. Once upon a time it must have been quite a sight to behold, but the decade of neglect and the fire had not been kind; the place was falling apart. Rotten floorboards, holes in the roof where the rain fell through and a whistling wind that rattled the unsecure fixtures. The lack of light quickly became apparent; oppressive shadows covered the room. -John

Louis came crashing into an empty room that might once have served as an office of some description. All that remained now was a rotting, broken desk. Nearby lay the object wrapped in black bags, bent at a painfully awkward angle. -John


Samuel Holt: 'Oh boy,' went the thought process as Sam began to totter back. The girl must have slipped, or tripped, or something-- enough to sally-forth on wobbly legs to grab his trench coat. Sam did what he could to stay aloft, and kept his balance-- just barely. "Ah, it's okay, it's okay! You just nearly sent us both to the ground, but okay!" Sam scratched his head as another awkward pause formed, and then blurted, "Name's Sam." -04:51 Dec 15
John: Glancing back over his shoulder and shaking his head with distaste at the antics of his two newly acquired companions, John reached into his pocket and retrieved a torch. He'd visited sites like this before and had come appropriately prepared. The light drove back the gloom of the foyer for the most part, but shadows still clung to the walls, itching to spread back into the places the light held them back from. -04:53 Dec 15
Dr. Kadian Lye: Kadian stared upward, eyes locked on Louis's back as he disappeared into the void. She stood alone in the rain, waiting. She licked the rainwater from her lips, swallowed. His head emerged from the window, blond hair haloing his head, he leaned over the ledge, callused hand extended. Dr. Lye took hold of it, and was pulled into the darkness. The woman cast a brief glance around her, making out the shapes in the dark, before reaching into her purse and withdrawing a small flashlight. They were in some sort of waiting room, by the snatches of upholstered couches and rotting chairs revealed in the illuminated circle. "We made it, Louis." She smiled, with the ease of clinical practice. "We can relax a bit." -04:54 Dec 15
Annie Tyler: "Annie," she returned, letting go of him and shivering. She pulled her coat tighter around herself as she took in the foyer, squinting through the dark and the rain leaking from the roof. It smelled like mildew in here. She wanted to chuck her lunch up. "What're you doing here? I thought this place was, you know... abandoned." -04:57 Dec 15
Louis: The place where no one ever comes. Where no one ever looks. Where things get lost and never found. For the first time in four hours, Louis smiled. But still he was twitching, half from cold and half from the cocktail of adrenaline and darkness that surged through his veins. He could still feel the blood on his hands, mixed now with rain and dirt. It was like the blood had gone inside him and cross-infected his insides. He ran a hand through his slick, blond hair, and winced at the screaming echoes in his head. "I need water, Kadey... I... throat's dry..." -04:59 Dec 15
John: "So did I," responded John with a roll of his eyes, "but apparently everyone's picked today to pay a visit to Harper's Vale." -05:00 Dec 15
Wind whistled through the old abandoned ruin, tugging at the clothes of Louis and Kadian. A foul smell accompanied it, damp mixed with a decade's worth of neglect. -John

John: Withdrawing a notepad from his jacket pocket, he checked his notes on the layout of the asylum. Might as well get the story done as best as he could. He returned the notepad and began to walk to the western half of the building. "The main ward is this way, according to the old blueprints. We'll need to see if we can get through, though; that fire did a lot of damage." He looked over to the woman. "And what are you doing here, exactly?" -05:04 Dec 15
Dr. Kadian Lye: Wordlessly, Dr. Lye reached into her purse, an ugly canvas affair utilized for the sole purpose of carrying her own life, and those of her patients, with her at all times. She withdrew a half-empty bottle, along a small, white and red pill. These she gave to Louis. She turned from him to glance out door way into an abandoned hall, admitting the gust of wind and decay. Her skin prickled. "We'd better get to the incinerator." -05:04 Dec 15
Samuel Holt: ((momentary afking)) -05:05 Dec 15
Louis: She had brought the meds. She had thought of everything. She had promised him the incinerator, and delivered. It was only her. She... the Kadian... the only thing in his life that was constant... the only thing that kept its word. He slipped the pill into his dry throat and sloshed down the rest of the water, almost gagging. The bottle dropped from his twitching hand and rolled beneath the desk, consigned to the layers of dust and cobweb like everything else in this room. "Do they..." He swallowed. "Do have gurneys in this place? Trolleys? It would make it easier." -05:08 Dec 15
Annie Tyler: The question almost sounded accusatory, and Annie lifted her chin stubbornly, slipping her hands into her pockets. What was he, a cop? "'M meeting someone. Have you seen him?" It hadn't escaped her notice that his car wasn't out in the drive with the others, or anywhere along the road here. But maybe he'd come here on foot. Her fingers clenched around the folded-up paper in her pocket, thumb running over the slight impressions from the pen. His pen. -05:09 Dec 15
John: "The only people I've seen are you and Sam here," John said with a motion of his head to the other man. "I was rather hoping not to meet anyone, to be honest. I'm trying to do a bloody story on this place." He was being rude again. Sighing, John turned and extended the woman his hand to shake. "Sorry, just a little tired. I'm John." -05:12 Dec 15
Annie Tyler: She cracked a smile. Maybe he wasn't such a bad sort, after all? "Ta. I'm Annie." She accepted his proffered handshake, a bit self-conscious as ever at the way the coat bunched over her stomach tellingly. It was rather a bit difficult to miss her condition. -05:17 Dec 15
Dr. Kadian Lye: "Good idea, Louis," Dr. Kadian nodded, smiling at Louis. "I'm proud of you for remaining calm." Her aching shoulders and arms certainly appreciated it. They did not search long, in one of the rooms was a tattered, graffiti-scarred laundry trolley. Dr. Lye kept herself from flinching with every high-pitched, haunting creak of the trolley's rusted left wheel. -05:17 Dec 15
Samuel Holt: Sam was quietly listening and observing to the two as they exchanged words. The girl was young, though not too much younger than he. John was getting irritating, going at the girl a little hard with questions and a pretty rough tone. Sam had since taken out his notepad, taking additional notes himself. He particularly noted the other man's notepad. "Definitely not meeting me, and obviously not meeting him. So, ah, no. Haven't seen anyone else." Finally, Sam brought his own torch up and began to illuminate the deep, tall shadows. "Creepy place," he said; quite the understatement. -05:19 Dec 15
Louis: CREAK! CREEEAK! CREEEEEEAK! The trolley's wheel squeaked as Louis pushed it along. They had stuffed the body inside and Louis was doing the pushing now, leaving Kadian free to lead the way with her flashlight. She loved the way her body moved, the sway of the hips beneath her jeans and the bob of her shoulders beneath the sweater. She moved as if she was alive... not like the others... not like the ones who brought his dark thoughts to the surface. They were marionettes and insect-puppets... they were parodies of life.... they threatened him. But not her. She was alive... a will o' the wisp who he followed gladly. His only companion in these waters. -05:22 Dec 15
John: Something began to echo from further inside the building, a strange creaking noise. John couldn't help but shiver a little; this place's atmosphere was, as Sam put it, 'creepy'. "That's... somewhat off-putting." He turned to the other to. "Well, might as well get started. This way." -05:23 Dec 15
CREEEEEEEAK! -Louis

Samuel Holt: Pausing, Sam looked up as he heard the creaking creak of a... creak. He wasn't quite sure what it was, but the sound echoing in the dark made it slightly-more than terrifying. "Off-putting. Ah, a pretty... colourless way of describing it." Staring into the darkness, Sam pulled his collar close again and ventured after John. -05:28 Dec 15
The rotting, decaying smell only grew worse as the new arrivals to Harper's Vale went further into the old relic. It was a constant presence, so thick and oppressive one could almost touch it. Water ran down the walls as outside, the rain only grew steadily heavier. What natural light might have come from the sky was blocked by the thick clouds; the only sources of illumination in this dark place were the flashlights... -John

Annie Tyler: "Where are we going, exactly?" The creaking noise made Annie's stomach churn. Then again, everything made her stomach churn lately. At the same time, though, she couldn't help but wonder... was it him? She tagged after Sam and John, stepping carefully so as not to trip up again. She didn't want to be left alone in the dark. -05:30 Dec 15
Samuel Holt: The beam of light coming from his torch was bright and comforting. It was a powerful ultraviolet beam of the heavy variety, enough to club someone successfully with. Sam held it up over his shoulder, next to his head with the beam coming out the bottom of his hand-- he was holding it as a cop would. "Smells pretty nice," he said aloud in a conversational tone. "Don't have a clue where I'm going. None of the locals had a map. Oh! Ah, a map. Might be one posted up in a... office? You see an office..?" -05:31 Dec 15
John: "I'll save all the fancy metaphors and imagery for my readers, I think," John chuckled, "They lap that sort of shit up. We should stick close together; no wandering off alone." They moved out of the foyer and into the first part of the main wards; long, wide corridors with graffiti-smeared walls. "I'm going to give this place a once-over, I guess. Maybe snap a few photos for the article. Then I'm getting the fuck out of here; this place is a death-trap." -05:31 Dec 15
John: "And a map probably won't help that much; a lot of this place has collapsed." -05:31 Dec 15
Annie Tyler: Annie fished out her mobile, using it as a makeshift torch. It didn't work quite as well as the mens', but it was something. "I really need to find my fiance. Will one of you help me? Please," she added, turning wide blue eyes on Sam. He wouldn't leave her, would he? He was so much nicer than John, and the writer was already intent on leaving quickly... -05:35 Dec 15
Louis and Kadian pushed the trolley through the main ward of the building, the sound drowning out anything else that might be heard in the walls of the asylum. And somewhere nearby, something began to awaken... -John

Samuel Holt: "Wait, ah, your... fiancee, decided to get himself lost in here?" Sam asked, puzzled and curious all at once. "Did he say he'd meet you out here, or...?" -05:37 Dec 15
Dr. Kadian Lye: Dr. Lye had to keep one hand cupped over her mouth and nose the further they went in. There was something in the air. Some kind of dust or mildew that enflamed her throat and sinuses, making it difficult to breathe. The flashlight's weak beam shined ahead, mostly succeeding at illuminating the floating dust particles, and not much else. Dr. Lye spared a glance over her shoulder at Louis, before abruptly stumbling forward. Her foot caught in a hole rotted in the floor. -05:38 Dec 15
John: "Bloody strange place for him to be, isn't it?" John said, glancing over his shoulder and trying not to think too hard about that squeaking sound, "Does your fiance make a habit of venturing into comdemned old structures on his own?" -05:38 Dec 15
Kadian's foot crashed through the rotting floorboards with a wet crunch, echoing through the ward... -John

Louis: She shouldn't be here... not amongst this waste. It marred her... it touched her grace. Louis stopped the trolley as Kadian stumbled, his thin blue eyes watching her. "Do you need to rest? I don't mind stopping." Such manners he had. Kadian had taught him those as well... from the very first session when she had fought back against his teenage spite. She had begun shaping him from the very first day... and now... now that he had done this thing... he wondered if she was disappointed in him. "I can go on alone... just show me." -05:41 Dec 15
Annie Tyler: "He sent me a letter," she said defensively. It was going to be just like with the police, wasn't it? When she'd told them he was missing. One look at her, and they'd decided what had happened. But they were wrong. He wouldn't leave her. He wanted the baby. And the letter proved it, the letter she was fingering again for reassurance. "He said he'd be here. He's in trouble." -05:41 Dec 15
John: To John, it sounded like Annie's 'baby-daddy' had done a runner when he realised he was going to have to shoulder some responsibilities if he stuck around, but he decided not to pass comment; being a bit stand-offish was one thing, but there was no need to be horrible to these people. Then he heard the crunch sound from up ahead. "What the fuck was that?" -05:44 Dec 15
Samuel Holt: Sam peered curiously up and around, the bright, almost blue beam of light dancing around. It illuminated, but also cast it's own shadows that danced on the graffiti-covered walls, in turn making those colourful pictures curve and twist in terrifying ways. Sam decided not to look. "So, ah, your man's in trouble and hides out in the country. I understand that. But meet you in this old place... It sounds a bit off, if you ask me, but hey. You, ah, know him better'n I do." Then he heard the noises, a wild line hissed out of John's mouth, and Sam was peering around once more. "It sounded like a footstep. Above, or ahead..." -05:47 Dec 15
Dr. Kadian Lye: "Don't be ridiculous, Louis," Dr. Lye muttered, devoting most of her attention to freeing her foot from the hole. "If I didn't want to help you, I would have told you so." She righted herself, dusting the film of dust away from her damp clothes and skin. "Sometimes, you fall down." Dr. Lye grasped the side of the trolley, using it as a kind of support. "Whether they get help, or they do it alone, they always have to get back up." -05:49 Dec 15
Dr. Kadian Lye: If Dr. Lye was going to continue, the words were lost. Her head jerked to somewhere behind them. "I think...I think I just heard a voice." -05:50 Dec 15
From the hole in the floor Kadian's foot had just left, a hissing sound began to eminate... -John

Dr. Kadian Lye: ("whether you get help, you still" damn rewrites) -05:51 Dec 15
John: Voices began to echo from further down the corridor. "I... do believe we're not alone in this place, you two," John said, as calmly as he could. This place was starting to get to him in a way all the other sites he'd visited had not. -05:52 Dec 15
Louis: Louis looked down at the hole, then ahead. Instinctively he left the trolley and stepped around to put himself in front of Kadian. He took a length of wood from the remains of a shattered bed, turning it so the protruding nails glinted in the beam of Kadian's flashlight -05:52 Dec 15
Annie Tyler: Annie's heart began to pound. Footsteps... and was that a voice? It had to be him; who else would be here? Clutching her mobile, she sped her footsteps. -05:53 Dec 15
Samuel Holt: "Just some other folk exploring these, ah, ruins. Nothin' to worry too much over." Sam had since produced a pistol however; he took no chances. It was a small thing, snub-nosed and black-matte. It was a revolver, most-likely a .38. Normally Sam wouldn't have played that card of his, but his head started to ache, and when that happened, things were... off. Not bad, just... off. -05:55 Dec 15
John: "The fuck..." John hissed as his eyes fell upon the pistol, but he stopped himself. No time for panicking just now. His arm snapped out to stop Annie from pushing ahead. "We stick together, remember? We have no idea who this could be." Turning to face the corridor, John called out, "Hello? Someone there?" -05:57 Dec 15
Dr. Kadian Lye: Fright seized Kadian's heart, sending ice through her blood, propelling her into fright or flight. When her eyes caught the glint of the nail, she willed her heart to beat again. "Louis, calm down. Think about what you're doing." Her voice was even, commanding. "Whatever or whomever made that sound, a weapon won't make this any better." He had immediately triggered into an aggressive mindset, that wasn't a good sign. Perhaps he had suffered more trauma than she had initially thought. She heard someone calling down the corridor. "Louis, whoever it is, they are not here to hurt you." -05:59 Dec 15
Annie Tyler: "Love! Is that you? It's Annie." Her voice trembled along with her. -06:00 Dec 15
Louis: Louis twisted his head to peer into Kadian's eyes. The 2x4 was still in his hand, trembling as his arm shook. "The body... they can't find it... they can't take you away... tell me what to do, Kadey.... Do we.... should I?" He didn't need to finish the sentence. The hole in the floor was hissing, but to him it was like white noise. His senses were tunnelling, leaving only her face amidst the darkness.... as it has always been. -06:01 Dec 15
Underneath Louis and Kadians' feet, something started to scratch at the floorboards... -John

Louis: He snapped at Annie shouted, taking a step forward, raising the wood, his whole body shaking. -06:02 Dec 15
Louis: What was that? Did he really hear that? Sweat stung his eyes. His breathing became ragged. -06:02 Dec 15
John: No answer. Never a good sign. Cautiously, John motioned for the others to follow him as he began to move down the corridor again. -06:02 Dec 15
Dr. Kadian Lye: Dr. Lye's eyes darted down to the floor, widening in terrible realization. "Louis..." -06:03 Dec 15
Louis: They can't take her... the twitching things, the dolls, the marionette world of semblance and deception. He couldn't let them swallow his angel... -06:03 Dec 15
Something began to build up at the back of Samuel's head. Like a migraine beginning it's onslaught. Something about this place... wasn't right... -John

Dr. Kadian Lye: "GET BACK!" Kadian's hands tangled in the material of his jumper as she wrenched him back. -06:03 Dec 15
Louis: He wasn't ready for such a strong pull. He reeled backwards, stumbling, his back colliding with the edge of the laundry trolley. He toppled over and into the cart, landing atop the body of his partner, the black bags being sucked into his mouth and nostrils as he gasped. -06:05 Dec 15
Samuel Holt: Sam held his gun barrel-down, but his thumb sat on the hammer, ready to pull it back and bring it to bear. He walked in step with John, keeping a half-step behind him; Annie's calling out went unheard by Sam. Suddenly, he felt a terrible surge in the back of his head. It was one of his headaches, but not like before. It pounded away his head, like a hammer smashing in from the inside. He hissed in pain, but did his best to keep his attention for what was coming. He felt it-- something was coming, and it was all he could to make sure the something wasn't... bad. -06:05 Dec 15
John: A woman's voice echoed down the corridor; John increased his pace. "Who the hell's there? This isn't funny!" -06:06 Dec 15
the scratching was getting louder, moving all about underneath the floorboards... -John

Annie Tyler: A woman... He was with a woman? Why? How could he do that? This couldn't be right. It was a mistake. He would have an explanation, and it would all make sense as soon as she saw him, talked to him, held him in her arms. Everything would be better. -06:08 Dec 15
Dr. Kadian Lye: Now is not the time to panic. Do not let this register beyond a rational level. There was something beneath them, or the floor was about to cave in. Louis is in the trolley. "Hngh!" With a grunt, Dr. Lye helped pull Louis out of the trolley, barely giving him enough time to right himself before she tugged on his wrist. "Run!" -06:10 Dec 15
Samuel Holt: The gun was finally brought to bear, gun hand resting over the crook of the wrist of the hand holding up the flashlight. It was procedural police work, keeping the light where he needed to shoot. "Whoever it is needs to step out already. We won't call the police or nothin' if you're a bum or anything, just... come out!!" -06:11 Dec 15
There was an ominous snapping sound as the pair began to move the trolley... -John

John: The woman's voice called out for someone else to run. John broke into a run. "Just a bloody moment! Who are you people? What are you doing here?!@ -06:13 Dec 15
Louis: The trolley... the body... George... NO! Louis had spent so long in her embrace, guided by her words. He didn't think twice. He twisted his hand and gripped her wrist with his. They ran, back down the corridor and into the laundry room, hounded at every step by the scratching cacophany. He still didn't know if she heard it too... if it was something more than the rattle of bones inside his head. -06:13 Dec 15
John: ((That was meant to be a ", goddammit >:[)) -06:14 Dec 15
Louis: The trolley was left behind... the 2x4 lain across the bagged body. -06:15 Dec 15
Annie Tyler: "Don't hurt him!" Annie shrieked, and broke out into a stumbling run, keeping on John's heels out of desperation. -06:16 Dec 15
Samuel Holt: Sam blinked rapidly as the scene unfolded. John went into a full on sprint as a disembodied voice yelled out a commanding, fear-filled shrill of 'Run!' Sam shoved the pistol into the shoulder holster under his coat and took off after the two-- there was no way in hell he'd get caught alone in this bloody haunted hospital! -06:16 Dec 15
Louis and Kadian pound into the laundry room... -John

John: ...and were greeted with this sight. -06:18 Dec 15
Dr. Kadian Lye: Kadian's grip on the flashlight tightened. Dr. Lye's grip on Louis's hand remained relaxed. She didn't want to go in here, but there were people in the corridor calling to them. Did they not hear the scratching in the floor? It would be better to hide in here, with the haphazard graffiti of some teenage artist. -06:21 Dec 15
Dr. Kadian Lye: She couldn't let them find Louis. If they looked into the trolley, it would be all over. Silently, Dr. Lye guided Louis into the laundry room. -06:23 Dec 15
Louis: The world was spinning now... a scratching, spinning, thumping world... the marionettes in dance. Louis paused in the doorway, hands on knees, catching breath as he watched Kadian's flashlight cross the latticework of lunatic scrawl. Then a fresh tug on his hand reminded him of the urgency. As Kadian switched off the flashlight they closed the door of the laundry room and slid down behind one of the bathtubs, lying against each other and flattening themselves against the tub. And there they steadied their breathing, and hoped the world would pass them by. -06:23 Dec 15
John: Up ahead was an old trolley, one of the hospital gurneys with an object wrapped in black bags. Atop this rested a heavy piece of wood. John came to a stop next to it. -06:25 Dec 15
John: "Hold up," John called to the other two, looking down at his discovery, "This looks fresh." -06:26 Dec 15
The duo crouched behind one of the bath-tubs and for a minute, all was silent. -John

And then the scratching began again in a frenzy, from somewhere in the pitch-black room. -John

Annie Tyler: If he'd been here, he was gone. Out of breath, Annie slumped against the wall, gasping and choking on a sob. Damn it. Where was he? She needed him. Pulling the letter out of her pocket, she clutched it to her chest, her other hand on her stomach. -06:29 Dec 15
Samuel Holt: Sam stopped a few paces past John. He slumped over to rest on his knees, breathing hard. He wasn't in the best of shape, and that mad sprint had taken a lot out of him. "W-what," he took a breath. "Is that?" -06:30 Dec 15
John: The shape the bags came to form fitted perfectly upon the gurney. John's heart began to pound in his chest. "I..." -06:31 Dec 15


Dr. Kadian Lye: Kadian's back was pressed against the cold metal of the washtub. She closed her eyes against the scratching, willing herself to remain calm. Her face was pressed into Louis's chest, submerged in the scent of blood, dirt and sweat. Her world had compounded to the cold, the darkness, his scent and the scratching. Dr. Lye came up for air. "Louis, we have to find a way out." -06:31 Dec 15
Somewhere in the laundry room, someone laughs. -John

John: John poked the bags. Whatever inside it was solid... fleshy. "...I..." -06:33 Dec 15
Annie Tyler: Straightening, Annie looked at the trolley, troubled by the conversation despite her fatigue and heartache. She'd watched enough crime shows on telly to recognize that shape. "Oh my bloody Jesus," she choked. -06:33 Dec 15
Louis: Louis's whole body convulsed and he broke contact with Kadian, swinging up onto his feet. Unconsciously he had snatched Kadian's flashlight and now flicked it on, the beam of light shooting like a bullet across the laundry room and to the source of the laughter. -06:36 Dec 15
John: ...a figure stares back at Louis, his form illuminated by the flashlight. -06:37 Dec 15
John: John broke into a cold sweat. This was the last thing he wanted to deal with right now. 'Haunted' old buildings he could handle. Dead bodies were not his department. "We need to get the hell out of here and call the police". -06:39 Dec 15
Slowly the figure, covered in dirty rags that concealed most of his form, slowly rose to his feet, chuckling all the while and staring at Louis. In his hands a rusty blade was clutched. -John

Samuel Holt: "Use your mobile? I, ah, don't carry one normally." He didn't say that precious, intricate elctronics like a cellular mobile didn't work for him if they stayed near him too long. That said, Sam actively searched what was in the bag, discovering the macabre thing that John and Annie both felt was underneath the dark coverings. -06:41 Dec 15
Louis: For the first time in 5 hours, Louis's arm became still, the flashlight pointed squarely at the apparition. His breathing became shallow and he waited for Kadian to stand up beside him. He couldn't move... -06:42 Dec 15
Pulling back the bags, Sam found himself staring at the dead corpse of a middle-aged man. -John

John: Reaching into his pocket John withdrew his mobile. No signal. Bloody typical; old buildings like this tended to block it. "Can't get any bars this far into the building. We should get out of here." -06:43 Dec 15
Annie Tyler: "What are you doing?!" Annie screamed, covering her eyes. "Bloody fuck!" -06:44 Dec 15
Dr. Kadian Lye: Sam did not stand up immediately, by the way Louis had stilled, she knew what he could see was frightening. This allowed her to set that aside, since she already knew what she was about to see would be terrifying. Instead, she remembered the words scrawled across the wall. 'Mother' 'Therapist' 'Enemies'... -06:44 Dec 15
Samuel Holt: "Yyyep," Sam said dully, little emotion in his voice. "A dead body. Fairly fresh, too, from my guess." A pen suddenly appeared in Sam's hand, replacing the gun that had once been there, and he started pokling and prodding at the body, checking it as a forensic officer would. He took the time to jot down his discoveries, including an estimated time of death... with that same pen. -06:46 Dec 15
Dr. Kadian Lye: When she did rise, it was with a slow, professional movement. Kadian's heart seized at the sight of the thing. Dr. Lye's eyes remained steadily trained, her voice even. "Neat, even lines. Consistent handwriting...You've been at this a while..." Dr. Lye nudged Louis. -06:47 Dec 15
Dr. Kadian Lye: She tried to gauge the distance to the door, without betraying her thoughts with her eyes. -06:48 Dec 15
Placing the blade against the wall, the figure began to walk towards the duo, his weapon scraping along the stones menacingly... -John

John: John was not in any mood to hang about. As soon as Sam had finished writing down details, he started to move. "Let's go. I do not want to be here anymore. Fuck this place, fuck this article." And hey, he'd found a far more interesting story to tell now. 'DEAD BODY FOUND IN ASYLUM'. -06:50 Dec 15
Louis: The bathtubs were between them... four little obstacles between themselves and it... assuming such a thing was a trouble by the corporal niceties. Louis tracked the figure with the flashlight, his arm moving an autopilot as if the creature itself was directing it. He heard Kadian's voice, speaking out to the thing, which only made his mind spiral all the more.... as if perhaps his angel and this demon were conversing on his fate. He felt her nudge him but didn't know what it meant. He was transfixed. -06:50 Dec 15
Annie Tyler: "I'm not leaving," Annie said flatly. "Not until I find him." -06:52 Dec 15
Samuel Holt: "You know," Sam started, his tone surprisingly calm. His head still throbbed, a constant throbbing bouncing around his head, but he did his best to ignore it. "Aside from, ah, our three cars, no one else could be here. Or at least, not anywhere we could, ah, see. So the real question is, how'd this get here?" -06:53 Dec 15
John: "Miss," John began, turning to Annie with an eyebrow raised, "there is a dead body in this building, and what sounds like two murderers running about. This is not somewhere you want to be. I'm sure the police will find your fiance if he's here. Now let's. Get. The. Fuck. Out of here." -06:53 Dec 15
Dr. Kadian Lye: "Unresponsive. No need to talk about it, just yet." Slowly, ever so slowly, Dr. Lye took one step back. "You just keep up the writing." She babbling mechanically, falling into her role to fill the void that fear had ripped into her thoughts. "Louis. Door. " Kadian reached into her ugly canvas purse and gripped something. -06:54 Dec 15
"Shouldn't have come here..." the figure hissed, swinging the blade in front of him as he moved ever closer... -John

Annie Tyler: "I don't care!" She waved the letter in his face, temper flaring. "He's here somewhere! You don't understand!" Her eyes began to prick, and she bit her lip to keep the tears back. -06:56 Dec 15
Samuel Holt: "Two murderers? So you picked out two distinct voices and foot patterns too?" Sam hadn't looked up from the body, but he had taken note to the distance that separated them now. He would be quick to close that gap; he was just as terrified as they all were, but a professional curiousity trumped the fear. -06:58 Dec 15
Louis: It would stay here... it would do as it was told. That's what the dark things did, when Kadian spoke... they kept away. If this thing was anything like him... if the abyss in its eyes was anything like that in Louis's soul, then it would stay... at least for a moment.. at least for a moment. Louis turned slowly exposing his side to the creature. His mind became awash with thoughts - the image of its blade slicing his flesh, parting the ribs and piercing his internal organs. Sweat dripped from Louis's face as he took a step towards the door. His hand reached out, trembling, for the handle, whilst his other let the flashlight drift and leave the creature in half-shadow. -06:58 Dec 15
John: "Either two of them, or one murderer who talks to someone who isn't there." John looked around. "Kind of fitting, given the location". -07:01 Dec 15
Dr. Kadian Lye: Dr. Lye stayed rooted in place until she heard Louis turn the handle to the door, the light flickering on the figure. It didn't matter, he was close enough now that she would not have to aim. Her keys jingled as she swiftly drew them from her purse, finger pressed to the nozzle of the mace on her keychain. Kadian covered her nose and mouth with one hand as she pressed down, emptying the contents into the figure's face. She squinted to protect her eyes from the burning fumes as she turned and ran through the darkness, towards the door. -07:02 Dec 15
John: "Annie, I understand perfectly. I know you want to find him." John's voice had lost it's edge; he felt quite sorry for the woman. "But it's not safe here right now. We shouldn't be here. You especially." He looked down at her expanded belly. -07:02 Dec 15
The figure howled in pain as the Mace reached his eyes. He staggered back, flailing the knife about wildly. -John

Samuel Holt: "Point," Sam said blandly, speaking to John and what he had just said. "You might scare a bit more than you want. Now, here's the best question of them all: -07:04 Dec 15
Samuel Holt: Which way is the front door?" -07:04 Dec 15
Annie Tyler: Annie's shoulders shook. "What if... What if they got to him too?" she rasped, pressing a hand to her face. -07:04 Dec 15
John: John put a hand on Annie's shoulder, hoping to reassure her. "I'm sure he's fine. The police will find him if he's here, okay?" He looked over to Sam. "It's back this way; I can remember the route." -07:05 Dec 15
Louis: He waited, and the flashlight beam reeled as he swept his other arm around Kadian, pushing her through the door ahead of him. He rushed through after her, yelling out as the creature's blade skimmed his back and sliced through his coat. He felt the tip bite into skin, the pain sharp and bringing his senses into focus. He ran down the hallway after Kadian, back towards the trolley. -07:05 Dec 15
John: Footsteps began to pound down the corridor. The murderers were coming back. "Oh fuck." He grabbed Annie's hand and pulled her into a run. "We need to move!" -07:06 Dec 15
And underneath the floorboards, the scraping began anew... -John

Samuel Holt: "Truthfully, now would be a great time to run. Or hide, and get answers..." Sam flipped his torch off and much of the light that lit the hall died out. His headache was growing ever harsher, but his questions far outweighed the measure of pain. -07:08 Dec 15
In the back of Sam's head, an image began to form. An image of something very, very old and too terrible to comprehend, trapped for thousands of years and desperate to be free once again... -John

John: John kept his flashlight on to keep the way ahead clear, fleeing down the hallway towards the foyer. -07:12 Dec 15
Dr. Kadian Lye: The sound of her blood thundering in her ears drowned out the sounds of the scratching. Instead, she felt, rather than heard, what was happening beneath the floor. As if the boards were her own bones. Dr. Lye spared a glance over her shoulder at the figure following her, and hoped it was Louis. A mistake on her part, as soon as she took her eyes off what was ahead, she collided into something-or rather someone hanging in the darkness. Kadian shrieked as she and Sam fell to the floor in a tangle of limbs. -07:13 Dec 15
Samuel Holt: Sam blinked in the dark several times, the image of John and Annie still lit in the black that surrounded them all. His vision obscured a moment, being filled with this terrifying, terrible image. It was too much to comprehend, too much to want to comprehend. It was terror incarnate, and something... malicious. Not angry, not evil, simply... malicious. "Okay, I want to leave now." And Sam went after the duo, his torch lit once more and terror speeding his flight down the hallway. -07:13 Dec 15
Dr. Kadian Lye: (Oops, thought Sam was hiding in the hall...) -07:14 Dec 15
John: ((WE'LL GO WITH IT; KADIAN JUST RAN INTO SAM)) -07:15 Dec 15
Dr. Kadian Lye: (LOOKS LIKE MEAT'S BACK ON THE MENU, BOYS) -07:15 Dec 15
Annie Tyler: Annie was barely keeping up, keeping a death grip on the piece of paper on her hand. "John, wait- Sam-" -07:15 Dec 15
Samuel Holt: ((He WAS, but he was too slow in flight! BAHAHAHAH!)) -07:16 Dec 15
John: The crashing behind him made him come to a halt, just as Annie called to him. He whirled around to see Same sprawled across the floor with a woman lying next to him. They'd caught up. "Oh, fuck!" -07:16 Dec 15
Louis: Something had her. Something had plucked his angel from her flight. Louis swung the flashlight forward, forgetting about whatever threats remained behind him. He saw the man tangled with Kadian beside the trolley. Was it the body... was it George returned from death by this place? He reached into the trolley, gripping the 2x4, and loomed over the two, ready to strike. -07:17 Dec 15
Samuel Holt: Sam hadn't gone a meter before being forced forward by a momentous force from behind. Something shrieked in his ear as he suddenly became entangled with whoever, or whatever had hit him. The torch skidded out infront of him, the light bouncing back into his face and stunning him for a moment. He tried to twist around; he couldn't. He spoke instead: "What the hell?!" -07:17 Dec 15
John: Another figure lurched out of the darkness, wielding the 2x4 John had seen on the trolley. The man raised it above his head, ready to bring it down on Sam. Swearing, John charged forward, shouldering into the man as hard as he could. -07:19 Dec 15
Samuel Holt: ((Annnnd I have to get up out of the blue. FUDGE!)) -07:20 Dec 15
Annie Tyler: Looking back to see the man standing over Sam and the woman, Annie felt her heart leap into her throat. When John rushed him, she screamed, running after him. "No! DON'T! DAVID!" -07:20 Dec 15
Behind the group came a terrible screech, as the knife-wielding figure stumbled out of the laundry room... -John

John and Louis were knocked sprawling as they collided with each other, the 2x4 sliding off into the dark... -John

Louis: Names yelled, voices, people. Something struck his sternum, and it was as if George had multiplied, the dark assailant outwitting him at every turn. He brought his arms around John and pulled him along as he reeled. The hit the wall and the 2x4 and flashlight hit the ground. There, in the crossed beams, they wrestled, but Louis was more solidly built. He got the reporter pinned against the wall, one hand round his throat while the other pinned his right arm. There was darkness behind Louis's eyes, spilling in like ink. He would crush the false life from this shadow... cut its puppet strings. -07:24 Dec 15
Dr. Kadian Lye: "Louis! No!" Kadian was struggling against the man in order to stand. "We have to run!" Her face was a perfect white mask of terror. -07:24 Dec 15
John: "Get the fuck off!" John choked out, reaching up and driving his hand into the man's eyes. -07:25 Dec 15
Blinded, the figure careered down the hallway, flailing the knife furiously as he went.. -John

Annie Tyler: "Stop!" As Annie reached the fracass, she pulled at John, trying to haul him off of David. She was surprisingly strong for her size. "Leave him alone! David! David, are you hurt?!" -07:27 Dec 15
Louis: Blinded... pain... the world spinning and scratching anew. He heard her voice - his angel - somewhere far behind. He didn't let go. He flung John down and then staggered, clucthing his eye - a mirror-image of the creature coming towards them. "KADIAN!" -07:27 Dec 15
Battling against the pain in his head, Sam clambered to his feet and staggered forwards, pulling the reporter back up. "We need to leave!" -John

Louis: He gripped Annie's wrist as she came towards him, blinking, half-blinded. "Kadian! Let's go!" -07:29 Dec 15
Dr. Kadian Lye: Dr. Lye had finally freed herself from Sam, and stumbled toward the trolley, gripping it and pushing with all her might. The trolley began to move forward as Kadian put her weight behind it. It began to build speed. She was going to ram it into the creature. -07:30 Dec 15
John: John was coughing and gasping for the air the madman's hands had denied him, but he started to run down the corridor, back towards the foyer... -07:30 Dec 15
Annie Tyler: She took David's hand, interlacing their fingers, and pulled him away down the corridor. They had to get away, away from these people. Sam and John thought he was a murderer, but she knew better. Making shushing sounds, she lead him hurriedly away, deeper into the asylum. -07:32 Dec 15
Sam turned, about to follow after John, but caught sight of the man grabbing Annie at the last second. "LET HER GO!" he yelled, gripping the heavy flashlight and swinging it at Louis' head... -John

Louis: The comforting sound of her shushing... just like in the therapy sessions. His heart felt warm again. With his eye reeling he allowed himself to be led, moving with Annie through the corridors into deeper darkness. "It's okay," he muttered as they moved. "I'll keep you safe. They can't get you." -07:34 Dec 15
The knife-man was seemingly unaware of the trolley hurtling towards him, still blinded by the Mace. He kept on coming, swinging the knife to and fro... -John

Louis: Something struck his head. He tumbled, falling to his knees in the nearest doorway. The world became spots of white and pinpricks of agony. He lost his grip on his angel. -07:35 Dec 15
Sam grabbed Annie by the hand and began to pull her down the corridor after John. "Come on!" -John

Annie Tyler: "No!" Kicking Sam, she struggled, reaching for David. "Let me go! What did you do to him?!" -07:37 Dec 15
Below the floorboards, something began to laugh. -John

Dr. Kadian Lye: Dr. Lye ducked her head protectively behind the trolley, the heavy thing had gained so much momentum she was having difficulty keeping her own feet on the ground. And then the collision. She could feel the figure hit the trolley, slam against the metal and fabric, but her feet kept moving, running blindly. She would not stop until she hit a wall. -07:37 Dec 15
Dr. Kadian Lye: The crash was drowned out by Kadian's scream. -07:38 Dec 15
The figure had no idea what hit him; the gurney slammed into him and snatched him up on it's path towards the opposite wall... -John

John: "He just tried to kill John!" Same yelled, continuing to pull Annie away despite her protests, "He can't stay here!" -07:39 Dec 15
John: ((HANG ON)) -07:39 Dec 15
Gur anzr &dhbg;Wbua&dhbg; vf nyernql gnxra. -07:39 Dec 15
[John is now known as: Samuel] -07:40 Dec 15
Samuel: ((I'll take over Sam for now)) -07:40 Dec 15
The figure screamed and went limp as he was driven into the wall, the knife dropping to the floor next to where he lay... -Samuel

Annie Tyler: Annie struck him viciously in the back of the head, wrenching free and tumbling onto the floor. She started to crawl back toward David. She would pick him up, check on his head, make sure he was still conscious. She would be a good fiancee, a good mother to his child... -07:42 Dec 15
Dr. Kadian Lye: Kadian's hands still held the trolley in a white-knuckled grip, the rest of her body had slumped over, wracked with deep, shuddering breaths. -07:43 Dec 15
Dr. Kadian Lye: Her capped syringe fell from her bag and onto the floor, gingerly, Dr. Lye took it up. -07:43 Dec 15
Samuel: Annie's attack was not something Sam had anticipated; he staggered to the side and slammed into the wall, losing a grip on Annie. -07:44 Dec 15
Samuel: The pain in his head grew even more potent; he could barely see through the haze of agony. -07:44 Dec 15
Dr. Kadian Lye: Placing the syringe back into her bag, Dr. Lye knelt to take up the creature's knife, before turning and heading back to find Louis. Her hands were shaking. -07:47 Dec 15
Dr. Kadian Lye: (Grumpy if that fucked something for you, just disregard it) -07:48 Dec 15
Samuel: ((No, it's cool.)) -07:49 Dec 15
Samuel: Slowly... painfully... Sam pulled himself to his feet, his hand reaching for the shoulder-holster and withdrawing the .38. -07:49 Dec 15
Louis: ... books... he could smell books... a library... the world was locked behind the grid of shelves... he was stuck... that's where the man put him... the bad man... the stranger.... -07:49 Dec 15
Louis: ...such a strong smell... the smell of worlds between the cracks... the spaces in between... where the bad man put him... -07:50 Dec 15
Annie Tyler: She discovered David sprawled inside the doorway a few feet away, pulling herself in, she dragged herself to his side, stroking his hair comfortingly and murmuring words of assurance. She was here now. -07:51 Dec 15
Louis: Louis opened his eyes in the darkness and turned onto his hands and knees. His head was throbbing. He crawled towards the only things he could make out - the cross beams of his and John's flashlights. -07:51 Dec 15
[Samuel Holt has timed out.] -07:52 Dec 15
Louis: Then something took hold him, stroked his hair... murmured to him. He slumped again. -07:52 Dec 15
Samuel: He turned slowly, leaning on the wall for support, and raised the gun towards the duo who'd just jumped him and his companions. "No-one... move. No-one move." -07:52 Dec 15
Louis: Her hands... Mother's hands... around him... between the crossing lines of officers. They had found him. They had taken him away from the bad man. Mummy was here.... everything was alright now... -07:53 Dec 15
Annie Tyler: Resting David's head atop her knees, she clutched at him, looking up at Sam with flashing eyes. "I won't let you hurt him. Stay away." -07:54 Dec 15
Louis: Louis squinted up at Sam. -07:55 Dec 15
Louis: ....Daddy was here too... he was talking with the officers... Mummy and Daddy... they had found him... taken him away from the bad man.... but... why did Daddy look so sad? -07:55 Dec 15
Samuel: "I don't know who you people are... but I know what you did. I've seen the body. You're coming with me to the police." -07:55 Dec 15
Louis: ...why did Mummy look so sad? -07:55 Dec 15
Dr. Kadian Lye: It took her a moment to register that a gun was being pointed at her when she came back to the others in the hall. Kadian's eyes had locked onto the woman holding Louis, first. She bit her lip, before turning her attention to the man she had run into earlier. Dr. Lye's voice was even, yet strained from exhaustion. "Please, put down the gun. We're not here to hurt you. That man, Louis, he's my patient." She tried to keep her voice clipped, professional. "I am Dr. Kadian Lye." -07:55 Dec 15
Samuel: "He's your patient, and you knew he'd brought a body here? I heard you shouting earlier. You're in on this, aren't you? You're fucking helping him cover this up!" -07:56 Dec 15
Samuel: Sam's grip tightened on the weapon. His vision was becoming clearer. "Everyone up. We're going." -07:57 Dec 15
Louis: Louis's lips parted, his voice thin and light... higher pitched than it should have been... "Tommy... where's my br--" He stopped. He blinked. He became aware again of his surroundings. His eyes locked onto Annie. "What...?" -07:58 Dec 15
Annie Tyler: "You don't know he did anything," Annie told him, petting David's head. Her eyes flicked to the woman, but she was trying to help David. She'd worry about it later. "All you know is there was a body. He didn't do anything wrong." -07:58 Dec 15
Dr. Kadian Lye: "I don't know what body you are talking about," Dr. Lye's brow furrowed with concern. "My patient and I have come here as part of his treatment." Dr. Lye kept her composure neutral, despite the accusations. "We were running from that thing. Perhaps it was responsible for the body you found." -07:58 Dec 15
Samuel: "Guilty people always run," Sam said, matter-of-factly. "Now everyone get the fuck up. Right now." -07:58 Dec 15
Annie Tyler: "Shh, shh," she told David, seeing he was awake. Her eyes shone with adoration. "Shh. You're safe." -07:59 Dec 15
Louis: Louis sat bolt upright, shoving Annie away. He reeled to his feet, then lost his balance again and ended up slumped against the wall. "Kadian..." -07:59 Dec 15
Dr. Kadian Lye: "Are you a policeman?" Dr. Lye put her hands up, to show him she did not plan to make any sudden moves. "Please, put the gun down. We have all witnessed something terrible. You're no doubt in shock." Her voice was light, comforting. -08:00 Dec 15
Dr. Kadian Lye: "Please, think about what you are doing." A pause. "Your hands are shaking." -08:01 Dec 15
Annie Tyler: "David! Calm down!" Annie held out her arms to him. He was scared, confused. He didn't recognize her from the shock. "It's alright!" -08:01 Dec 15
Samuel: ((BRB PHONE)) -08:02 Dec 15
Dr. Kadian Lye: (*pauses mid-mindfuck*COME ON GRUMPY JUST 5 MORE MINUTES) -08:04 Dec 15
Samuel: "Police consultant. And don't try to fuck with my head, lady." He frowned at the doctor, "I know what you're trying to pull. Let's just... everyone get out of this place and we'll figure it out, okay?" She was right; his hands were shaking. -08:05 Dec 15
Samuel: Maybe she was right...? -08:05 Dec 15
Louis: He focussed, checked his surroundings, caught sight of Kadian, followed her gaze to the gunman, noticed Annie behind him. He saw the gun again, pointing at his angel. With a sudden, thoughtless grace, he grabbed Annie's outstretched arm and spun, pulling her against him. With one hand he gripped her chin while the other held her arm, hyper-extended, ready to snap if the gunman did anything stupid. He held the girl there, facing Sam down. Now he and Kadian had a hostage to work with. -08:05 Dec 15
Samuel: And then suddenly 'David' had grabbed Annie and was holding his hands around her chin, ready to snap her neck. "GODDAMMIT, STOP. LET HER GO." -08:07 Dec 15
Dr. Kadian Lye: "Louis. Let her go. I'm alright." Kadian swallowed the bile rising in her throat. "Do your breathing exercises, like I taught you. " Dr. Lye kept her gaze on Sam as she spoke evenly. "We need to all just relax, put down our weapons and work together." -08:08 Dec 15
Annie Tyler: "David," gasped Annie, reeling. What was he doing? Had he lost his memory? "David, stop. You don't need to be afraid. It's me." -08:08 Dec 15
Louis: "I don't know you..." Louis snarled. He hadn't heard Kadian, and his hands were shaking again, increasing the pressure on Annie's elbow joint. She was one of them... a twitching puppet, made to fool him, mouthing words as the puppet strings pulled her face. He almost wretched, feeling her against him. She smelled wrong... so very wrong.... -08:11 Dec 15
Beneath the group, something began to whisper in a language that had not been heard in millenia... -Samuel

Annie Tyler: "No," she sobbed. "You're hurting me. It's Annie. I love you." She felt like she was breaking inside, all over again, just like that night... -08:13 Dec 15
Samuel: Sam pulled the hammer back, levelling the gun at Louis' head. "Either you get your patient to let her go right. Fucking. Now. Or I pull the trigger." -08:13 Dec 15
Dr. Kadian Lye: She could hear the strange whispers, but she could not pay them any mind. Her focus was on Louis. "Louis. Let the go of her," Dr. Lye took one cautious step forward, afraid of starting him. "It's Dr. Lye, it's Kadi..." As she approached, she reached into her purse, closing her fingers around the syringe. "It's going to be OK. I won't let them hurt you." Just a few steps closer... -08:17 Dec 15
Samuel: "GODDAMMIT, I MEAN RIGHT FUCKING NOW DOCTOR." -08:18 Dec 15
Dr. Kadian Lye: Kadian winced, but ignored him, slowly, her trembling hand reached out to him, fingers brushing his hair from his face. "Louis..." -08:19 Dec 15
Louis: A false angel... she had touched him... laid her hands upon him and whispered to him with her words. Was she trying to trick him, this puppet-girl, this marionette playing games with Kadi's face. Darkness swirled behind Louis's eyes, but then he breathed. Kadian.... her perfume... she was behind him. Then her fingers... soft, warm... alive. His whole body relaxed and he pushed Annie forward towards Sam. He turned and beheld his angel in the gloom, letting her fingers rest against his cheek. "Are you okay?" his voice sounded of its own accord. -08:21 Dec 15
Samuel: Sam reached out and caught Annie just before she hit the floor, keeping her up. -08:23 Dec 15
Annie Tyler: David pushed her away. He let that... thing touch him. Annie stared at them, huge-eyed, watching as her world burned down around her. The whispers seemed to stoke the flames. Burning, burning away... -08:23 Dec 15
Samuel: Keeping the pistol levelled at the pair, he began to back away down the corridor, pulling Annie with him. -08:23 Dec 15
Dr. Kadian Lye: "Yes, everything is OK." Kadian released the syringe and brought her other hand up, tucking the stray strands behind his ears, so she could see his injuries. She was aware of the pistol pointed at them, but she kept Louis' attention, so that he would not turn around and see. "Let's go home, Louis." -08:25 Dec 15
Annie Tyler: Sam was trying to take her away again. She dug her heels into the floorboards, extending her hands, willing David to come to his senses, to come to her. He had to. It was the only way. If he didn't... -08:25 Dec 15
Samuel: "Annie, come on," he said quietly, pulling at her again, "We're not safe here." -08:26 Dec 15
A high-pitched whining sound was starting to eminate from below the floor, growing steadily louder... -Samuel

Louis: "What about..." he whispered... "What about the incinerator?" -08:26 Dec 15
Annie Tyler: "He was my love," she whispered, as the whining filled her ears. "I would have done anything. I would have been a good wife. I would have." -08:28 Dec 15
Dr. Kadian Lye: "This place isn't safe, we can't stay." Kadian was stepping back, tugging his hands, urging him to please follow her, to escape that terrible sound. "We'll go somewhere they'll never find us." -08:28 Dec 15
Samuel: "Annie, I don't think that's David..." Sam's head was getting more and more painful, the growing sound making his migraine worse. Whatever was below, it was waking up now... -08:29 Dec 15
Behind Kadian and Louis, someone was laughing weakly. The figure, trapped by the gurney. -Samuel

"Shouldn't..." he stammered out, coughing blood, "...shouldn't have come here. It's smelled you now." -Samuel

Louis: It was all she needed to say. Serenity came upon his face and he moved with her, following her again into the darkness. Their car was just beyond the woods. They could reach it in minutes. He longed for the smell of those leather seats, the warmth of the heater, the feel of her driving him. -08:31 Dec 15
Louis: He froze as he saw the figure again... wounded... laughing. -08:32 Dec 15
Louis: He pulled Kadian away, reversing his grip on her hand so he was leading. "Lobby," he muttered, before moving her back towards Sam and Annie. -08:33 Dec 15
"Tried... to get you to leave..." he was growing quiter now, his breathing heavier, "...before it was too late..." -Samuel

Annie Tyler: "If that isn't David, then where is he?" She looked up at Sam, her face a haunted mask. It had to be David. Had to be. -08:33 Dec 15
"...It draws people like us... like you... damaged goods... the unstable..." -Samuel

Samuel: "I don't know, Annie, I'm sorry," Sam managed to stammer out through the pain, "But we've got to go now." -08:35 Dec 15
Dr. Kadian Lye: Kadian's eyes widened in surprise as Louis suddenly took control. She tried to wrench free, take him back the way to the waiting room they had entered, but his grip was iron, his steps unfaltering. The creature's words rang in her ears as she was lead on. It? -08:35 Dec 15
Louis: Louis's eyes remained fixed on the man by the gurney. Was it... could it really have been trying to warn them all along....? -08:35 Dec 15
He started to laugh bitterly, tears running down his eyes. "...too late now. It has one of you already. Run... get out whilst you still can..." -Samuel

His head slumped down, his breather growing ever more shallow. -Samuel

Samuel: ((*breathing >:{)) -08:39 Dec 15
Dr. Kadian Lye: (Darth?) -08:40 Dec 15
Annie Tyler: "Go where?" Annie asked in a hollow rattle. "Why go anywhere if I can't be with him?" -08:40 Dec 15
Samuel: "Because..." Sam hissed, trying to stay on his feet, "...because you need to find him if he isn't here, don't you?" -08:41 Dec 15
Dr. Kadian Lye: "Louis, we have to run," Kadian whispered, tugging on his arm to jerk his attention back. -08:41 Dec 15
Suddenly, the man's head snapped up and he let out one final, terrible scream. "RUN!!" -Samuel

Louis: It was time to run. The noises in the hallway were getting louder, and he knew now that it was something outside his head. He turn and ran with her, through the darkness, towards the moonlight shafts that pierced the windows of the lobby. -08:42 Dec 15
Annie Tyler: Annie went limp, sagging against Sam, and let him pull her along. David wasn't here. He didn't love her anymore. Nothing mattered. -08:45 Dec 15
Samuel: "Dammit, Annie!" Sam hissed, staggering under her weight, "Now isn't the time to go to pieces on me!" -08:46 Dec 15
And beneath the floorboards, down in the foundations of the asylum, something ancient awoke. -Samuel

Annie Tyler: She grabbed at him, head spinning. There was fire... She had to get out. "Sam, help..." -08:47 Dec 15
Samuel: Sam pulled Annie close and leant against her, the pair of them holding each other up. "Don't worry, I got you. Let's go." -08:49 Dec 15
Samuel: Together, they began to limp down the corridor, back towards the foyer... -08:49 Dec 15
Dr. Kadian Lye: Through broken shafts of light and swirling darkness he led her. He was leading her through his world, this place of chaos and emotion, shadows and blood. She was locked in with him. She didn't know what was happening inside this place, and she did not want to. It was him, it was always him, who bore it. -08:50 Dec 15
The two couples fled back through the ward, past the old cells were patients were kept, past the offices of the doctors. -Samuel

Dr. Kadian Lye: They could see the hall ahead open into the great foyer. -08:51 Dec 15
Dr. Kadian Lye: (Oops) -08:52 Dec 15
And behind them, the asylum began to shift and change. -Samuel

Samuel: ((It's cool)) -08:52 Dec 15
A thick, tar-like substance began to bubble up from the floorboards, out from the cracks in the walls, engulfing the body of the ragged man... -Samuel

The whispering grew louder, now much more audible. It spoke in a language no human mind had heard in centuries. -Samuel

Louis: In the world of darkness and the puppet things, in the world of half-seens and half-burning desires, in the den of madness and uncertainty, he would keep his angel safe. He would lead her as she led him. Louis dashed across the lobby towards the doors, his lungs opening to breathing again the cool air of night. -08:54 Dec 15
Louis and Kadian staggered into the foyer first. -Samuel

Spread across the main doors was John, split in two, his body and organs engulfing the main doors and sealing them shut. -Samuel

His head remained visible, face contorted in an express of uninmaginable agony. -Samuel

Annie Tyler: Annie clung to Sam, her last fragment of stability in this smoldering wreck of what her life had become. Her body was wracked with pain, spreading out from her chest and going down, down... Annie gasped. "Oh no. No." -08:57 Dec 15
Dr. Kadian Lye: Kadian's hand tightened around Louis'. She wouldn't let this darkness take him, she would fight this mad world, reach as deep as she had to into the dark depths to pull him free. Dr. Lye covered her mouth with her hand to keep herself from retching at the grotesque sight. Instead, her eyes darted around, looking for another exit. -08:58 Dec 15
Samuel: Sam turned his head away from the gruesome fate John had suffered, desperately searching for a way out. -08:58 Dec 15
Samuel: He looked across at the other two. "Look, we're all in this together now. We can either work together and survive or die alone. What do you say?" -08:59 Dec 15
Annie Tyler: Annie couldn't look at David- or the man her heart told her was David- and the woman desecrating her memories of him. She couldn't look at John, either, his body a horrifying mess. The pain, the tightness, came back again. "Sam... It hurts." -09:02 Dec 15
Dr. Kadian Lye: "I'm for a bit of teamwork, right now." Kadian nodded, cold sweat prickling her brow. "There's a window in one of the side rooms, it's how we got in." Her eyes met Sam's. "Unless you know a way to break through this door." -09:02 Dec 15
Samuel: "Even if I wanted to, I don't think we could get through this door." His eyes moved to the right. "One of the windows, you say? Let's try that." He looked to Annie and pulled her close. "We're gonna be okay, Annie. But you've got to stay strong for me." -09:05 Dec 15
It was awake now, for the first time in many a year. The Lurker in Darkness, the essence of madness. In It's slumber It had called out... and they had answered. Just like they always did. The damaged. The broken. They came to answer It's call. -Samuel

And now It was ready to extend It's terrible embrace once again... -Samuel

Louis: .....George... his partner... in the library.... they found the library together... Mr Keeler.... the bad man.... he left the house.... behind the shelves.... trapped behind the shelves.... the bad man... Mr Keeler... George... the smell of books... Tommy, where's Tommy, where's my brother, Tommy, TommyTommyTommyTommyTommyTommyTommyTommy.... -09:10 Dec 15
Louis: Mummy, Daddy, what have you done? Where's my brother? How did you find the bad man? Where did he go? How did you make him leave? Where's Tommy? Where did... Tommy....Mum..Dad...? -09:11 Dec 15
Louis: Louis was frozen to the spot, staring at John's desecrated body. -09:11 Dec 15
Samuel: Sam's head was reeling, an image of something dark and terrible fixed in his mind. He knew now what had drawn him to this place. -09:12 Dec 15
Samuel: He had been a fool. -09:12 Dec 15
Samuel: "We need to get the fuck out of here whilst we still can!" he yelled, shaking his head to clear the pain, "Now where's this window you were talking about?" -09:13 Dec 15
Louis: The bad man wanted a child... he took Louis... but he wanted something younger... something prettier. And he asked for it... he asked Mummy and Daddy.... he asked for an exchange.... -09:13 Dec 15
Louis: Mummy... Daddy... why do you look so sad? -09:14 Dec 15
Louis: Louis dropped to his knees in front of the doors, losing his grip on Kadian's hand. -09:15 Dec 15
Samuel: The whispering continued, maddening and incessant. He couldn't get it out of his head. -09:15 Dec 15
Annie Tyler: "Sam," Annie moaned, clutching at her stomach and shaking. "I need to get out of here." The pain wasn't going away. -09:15 Dec 15
Samuel: Again he saw It, something formless and impossible. -09:15 Dec 15
Dr. Kadian Lye: "The West wing, we passed the door on the way here," Kadian nodded at Sam and made to dash back to that waiting room, but Louis was like an anchor, holding her in place. "Louis! Louis, come back to me! We have to go NOW." Kadian's hand reached out, her fingers fluttering in front of his eyes. The whispering, it was getting louder in her ears. "Louis! Wake up!" The slap to his face echoed through the foyer. -09:16 Dec 15
Samuel: Furiously, Sam pushed the terrible, formless thing from his head and pulled Annie closer. "Come on, we're leaving this place. Stay with me." -09:17 Dec 15
Louis: "TOMMY!" Louis's head snapped to one side and he blinked again. Kadian was looming over him, caught in the moonlight shafts, radiant and everlasting. He gripped her hand again, pushing to his feet and running with her. He followed after her and the others, pushing from his mind the screams of George Stanway, the laughter of the bad man, the tears of his parents.... the years of misspent youth, angry at being the child who spared.... -09:20 Dec 15
Annie Tyler: He was so strong, so brave. Like David had been. Like she'd wanted Charlie to be. Gripping Sam's hand, Annie tried to pull herself together. She couldn't be left alone again. Not this time. -09:21 Dec 15
Samuel: Together, the four of them ran, through the hallways slowly filling with the black ooze, through the asylum to where Louis and Kadian had entered. -09:22 Dec 15
And beneath them, It let out a snarl. That which It had summoned where trying to escape It's clutches. -Samuel

Louis: "Desk," muttered Louis, and with a precision that only a removal man could muster in a time of crisis, he gripped one of the old desks and dragged it across the room and underneath the window. -09:23 Dec 15
The ooze grew thicker, gripping at their feet, trying to pull them down, down to where It waited below... -Samuel

Samuel: Desperately, Sam hauled himself over to assist Louis in dragging the desk over. -09:24 Dec 15
Samuel: ((TOO MANY 'OVERS', FUUUUCK >:[)) -09:24 Dec 15
Dr. Kadian Lye: "!!" Kadian knelt, drawing out the rusty knife she had taken up, and began to hack away the ooze that gripped her feet. She then took hold of Annie's hand and guided her toward the desk. "One of you jump first, so you can catch her," she instructed Sam and Louis. -09:26 Dec 15
Samuel: "I'll go," Sam muttered, pulling himself onto the desk. The ooze seemed to reach up after him, unwilling to let it's prey go. -09:28 Dec 15
Samuel: With a grunt, he threw himself through the shattered window, managing to slice open his arm on a piece of glass and landing in a heap on the grass outside the window. -09:29 Dec 15
Samuel: Staggering to his feet, he turned to face the window. "ANNIE, COME ON!" -09:29 Dec 15
Annie Tyler: Annie wriggled away from the ooze trying to entangle her, clambering onto the desk with difficulty. She looked over at David- No. Not David. -09:29 Dec 15
Louis: Louis held the table steady as Sam stepped up and reached for the window. His boots were filling with ooze, the skin of the feet blistering. He put his head on the table, snarling against the pain. "GO!" he shouted to Annie -09:29 Dec 15
Annie Tyler: Turning away, she dropped out of the window. -09:30 Dec 15
Louis: "KADIAN. GO NOW!" -09:30 Dec 15
Samuel: Sam was in position and managed to keep his head clear for long enough; he caught the pregnant woman and staggered back from a moment before sinking to his knees. -09:31 Dec 15
Louis: The ooze was eating at the table legs, the whole thing becoming rickety and rotten. Louis braced against it. -09:31 Dec 15
Samuel: Outside, his head felt clearer... but he could still sense It's presence inside the asylum. -09:31 Dec 15
The Lurker let out a howl of rage that shook the foundations of the asylum. They were escaping It. -Samuel

Dr. Kadian Lye: One hand reaching into her bag, the other gripping the desk, Kadian called desperately to Louis. "You have to go next!" The ooze had made its way up her leg, curled around her thigh. She couldn't let him see. -09:32 Dec 15
Dr. Kadian Lye: She uncapped the syringe containing the Diazepam. -09:32 Dec 15
The ooze was eating through the table at an alarming rate; it would not hold much longer... -Samuel

Louis: "NO!". He lunged upwards, seizing her by the shoulder and pulling her towards the table. "GO. NOW. NO ARGUMENT!" He started hoisting her. -09:33 Dec 15
Annie Tyler: Weakly, Annie clung to Sam, letting out a muffled cry of pain. It wasn't from the fall; it was from the tightness in her abdomen, the horrible, unforgiving pressure. -09:33 Dec 15
Samuel: "Give me... your phone," Sam managed to stammer out to Annie, holding out his hand. -09:34 Dec 15
Annie Tyler: "Oh God, Sam, it hurts," she sobbed, tears rolling down her face as she placed the mobile in his hand, her fingers shaking. "I can't-" -09:35 Dec 15
Dr. Kadian Lye: She wouldn't go without him, the table would break before he could get up. "No! Louis go first! Pull me up!" She was near tears now, trying to reason with him as he dragged her towards the window. -09:35 Dec 15
Samuel: "Just hold on," Sam reassured her, punching the 9 key three times... -09:36 Dec 15
Dr. Kadian Lye: She could inject them both with the Diazepam...They would just sleep through death... -09:38 Dec 15
Louis: He hoisted her onto the table, and as he did so the diazepam syringe slipped from her hand and plunged into the ooze. His angel was in his hands now. He made her climb, to grab the window and pull herself up. "GO!" -09:38 Dec 15
Samuel: "999, what is your emergency?" a brisk, authoritative tone came from the mobile. "I need an ambulance at Harper's Vale Psychiatric Hospital," Sam managed to stammer out, "Right... right now." -09:40 Dec 15
Dr. Kadian Lye: Kadian gripped the edges of the ledge, the broken glass biting into her hands and knees as she turned her back to Sam and Annie, reaching desperately reaching inside to grab Louis. "Help me pull him out!" Her voice broke as she called to Sam. -09:41 Dec 15
Louis: He was right behind her. He would follow her out, into the night, into the cool air, and they would run away to-- *CRACK* The table gave way with a might crash and Louis dropped, his breath leaving his body. He tumbed backwards, into darkness, his world becoming aflood with black. He landed in the ooze, and was lost. -09:41 Dec 15


Dr. Kadian Lye: "LOUIS!!" -09:41 Dec 15
The ooze welled up around Louis, dragging him down into the depths of the asylum, down to where It lurked in the dark... -Samuel

Dr. Kadian Lye: She was going to jump back in, back into the darkness to find him. -09:43 Dec 15
Louis: "Why are you crying, boy? Don't you like my library? This is where I've studied... so much, so very much. But there's one thing I never learned, you see, boy. I never learned about the tough choices... the really hard ones. The ones that loved ones make. Well, Louis, you're going to help me witness that. I'm going to give your Mummy and Daddy a choice." -09:43 Dec 15
Louis: In the darkness and swirling memory, Louis's hand gripped something. The diazepam syringe that Kadian had dropped. -09:43 Dec 15
Samuel: Sam saw what the doctor was about to try and do. "No, dammit! Wait!" He snapped his free arm out and grabbed Kadian's arm. "Hurry!" he yelled down the mobile and hung up. -09:44 Dec 15
Annie Tyler: "Sam!" Annie curled against the ground, shuddering. The letter, David's letter, slipped from her hand. "Don't leave me." -09:44 Dec 15
The Lurker in Darkness laughed as It held Louis In It's grip. It did not see the syringe he held... -Samuel

Dr. Kadian Lye: "He's in there! He's in there!" Kadian struggled against Sam's grip. -09:45 Dec 15
Louis: "What's the matter, Louis? Don't you understand? When you love someone, you make choices that defy all reason... One day you'll learn that." -09:45 Dec 15
Samuel: "I'm right here, Annie! I'm not leaving you!" he cried out, struggling to keep the doctor from throwing herself back into that terrible place. "He's gone, doc! It's too late! You can't save him!" -09:46 Dec 15
Louis: In the darkness, Louis opened his eyes. "Yes..." he murmured as the ooze filled his lungs. "I've learned that now...." He tightened his hand around the syringe. "Kadian..." -09:46 Dec 15
Louis: He pushed the plunger down, releasing the diazepam into the ooze. -09:46 Dec 15
There was no air down in the dark. Louis was suffocating to death. -Samuel

But the syringe pumped the diazepam into the substance that eminated from the Lurker. -Samuel

Louis: His other hand went up... reaching up through the darkness... as he felt the ooze shift... -09:48 Dec 15
It let out a terrible cry of pain and anger. The meat had poisoned It, pumped It's form full of something that... that... -Samuel

Already It could feel slumber creeping back upon It. And It had not yet fed... -Samuel

Dr. Kadian Lye: "No! He's still there!" With a painful wrench, Kadian's had was free, and she was halfway plunged over the ledge. -09:50 Dec 15
The ooze was weakening, parting before Louis' outstretched arm... -Samuel

Dr. Kadian Lye: She saw the hand, but the couldn't quite reach... -09:50 Dec 15
Dr. Kadian Lye: She dropped her bag into the darkness, gripping the straps tight. "LOUIS! GRAB IT!" -09:50 Dec 15
Samuel: Sam couldn't hold her. If she wanted to get herself killed there was nothing he could do. He released Kadian and struggled back over to Annie. "We're okay, we're gonna be okay..." he stammered out, collapsing into the grass for a moment. -09:51 Dec 15
Annie Tyler: "Help them!" Annie shrieked, buckling with the strength of the contraction. -09:51 Dec 15
Louis: The drug of the asylum... the drug that had tamed so much madness throughout its dark history... the spirit that tamed the asylum... diazepam. Louis's eyes opened amidst the ooze and he saw the back, the anchor held by the hand of an angel. He reached up and grabbed it. -09:51 Dec 15
Slowly, he was inching back up to where It had pulled him down from... -Samuel

Samuel: Annie's voice snapped him back to the reality of his situation. He staggered to his feet and climbed up to help pull Louis out from the terrible pit of darkness he had been pulled down into. -09:52 Dec 15
Dr. Kadian Lye: Kadian was grunting from the effort of pulling the heavy man up, she breathed a sigh of relief when she felt Sam help her. And together, they hauled Louis from the ooze. -09:54 Dec 15
Sleep was overtaking It again... and without nourishment It would never awaken. It's rage was terrible; the asylum could not contain such a force. -Samuel

Louis: Glass cut his arms and legs, the pain refreshing and alerting him. He became aware of movement and hands upon him. He was being lifted out from behind the library shelves where the bad man had put him, while he waited for his parents to choose which child would survive. The bad man had fled, taking Tommy with him, and now Louis was alone, left to live a life knowing how terrible the choices are that one makes for love. -09:54 Dec 15
Samuel: "Come on, we've got you!" Sam yelled down to Louis as he and Kadian pulled him clear of the ooze and out through the window. -09:54 Dec 15
Louis: Louis came to his senses as he was pulled through the window, and then, with a wet thump, all three of them fell down onto the grass next to Annie. -09:55 Dec 15
The Lurker's wrath began to tear the asylum apart; the east wing was the first to go, collapsing into a rubble and ruin. -Samuel

The destruction quickly spread across the building; as the group lay upon the grass, Harper's Vale was torn apart by the death throes of the thing that lurked beneath. -Samuel

And then... all was silent. -Samuel

Samuel: Sam lay on the grass, breathing heavily. Only the rain falling from the sky keeping him conscious. -09:57 Dec 15
Annie Tyler: Woozily, Annie watched the others free Louis from the window, her vision fading in and out. She was so tired... The building was falling down, crumbling into pieces, just like her. Shuddering, she rested her head against the damp grass, pink hair sticking to her face. -09:57 Dec 15
Dr. Kadian Lye: Kadian was still clutching Louis, holding him close to her, afraid that if she released him, he would dissipate into shadow -09:58 Dec 15
Louis: Louis rolled over and coughed up the last of the ooze. Kadian was holding him and he leant against her, feeling at last a peace that eluded him for so long... -09:58 Dec 15
Annie Tyler: David's letter was bogged down by the rain, ink running and illegible, the folds sticking together. -09:59 Dec 15
Samuel: Slowly... painfully... Sam pulled himself to his knees. -09:59 Dec 15
Samuel: He looked over at Louis and Kadian. He knew he should stop them, keep them here for the police... -10:00 Dec 15
Samuel: ...but something told him that wasn't the right thing to do. -10:00 Dec 15
Dr. Kadian Lye: She could hear the sirens in the distance. Sam had called an ambulance, hadn't he? They didn't have much time. Angling her head to face Sam, "She looks bad, you should make sure she's OK." Her eyes held his, pleading for him to turn his back to them. -10:00 Dec 15
Dr. Kadian Lye: She was giving him an out. -10:01 Dec 15
Samuel: "I shouldn't let you leave..." he began, "...but go. Go now, before the police get here. I'll tell them I never saw you." -10:01 Dec 15
Louis: Louis lay in Kadian's arms, following her gaze to Sam, echoing her plea. -10:01 Dec 15
Dr. Kadian Lye: Kadian's face bloomed into a girlish smile, the joy glowing from within her. "Thank you. Thank you." -10:02 Dec 15
Samuel: Struggling to his feet, Sam picked up Annie and began to walk towards the oncoming sirens, turning his back to Louis and Kadian. He prayed they took the opportunity to leave whilst they could. -10:02 Dec 15
Samuel: "We're safe, Annie," Sam whispered, smiling down at the woman, "We got out of that place." -10:03 Dec 15
Louis: Behind them the woods awaited, and beyond that the car. Louis got back to his feet and took Kadian's hand in hers. "I'm ready, Kadian," he said, and in his smile there was more than simple meaning. -10:04 Dec 15
Annie Tyler: She was just barely conscious now, eyes closed against the rain. "Stay with me... Promise?" -10:04 Dec 15
Louis: "I remember now... why I did those things... I can help you finish your.... your work...." -10:05 Dec 15
Samuel: "I'm not going anywhere, don't you worry," he whispered back as the paramedics came sprinting towards them, holding a gurney for Annie. -10:06 Dec 15
Samuel: The presence in his mind was gone, now. He was free, and so were the others. -10:06 Dec 15
Dr. Kadian Lye: Kadian returned his smile, clasping his hand tight. "There will be time for work." Kadian shook her head, "first, let's go to bed." She let him lead her into the forest, into the unkown. -10:07 Dec 15
Some secrets are better left buried. -Samuel

Some truths are better left unfound. -Samuel

THE END -Samuel