Silence

Chapter 8

It's been a few weeks since I moved to the other side of the asylum. I've seen a few new creatures and made sure I had marked them down.

There are the inklings, the little demons that like to rush out of every other door. I've adapted to the pattern of their movements and made sure to take note of them when moving throughout the asylum.

The Seers, had no features like the Blackened, but were covered in the black substance, and left an obvious trail wherever they went. They were extremely aggressive and seemed to know wherever you were no matter what you did. To make matters worse they seemed to be able to materialize out of the substance on the walls. I just had to avoid them altogether.

Finally, there were the ThinOnes, they resembled people, but sickeningly thin and covered in ink. They didn't seem to do much, even when I was in clear sight. They didn't really attack things that didn't threaten them. But they did just seem... sad.

New information aside, I was adjusting well to the new environment, especially with the help of Blackened. He occasionally came by to teach me the tricks of the asylum, and would sometimes help me stay safe while exploring.

Right now I was sitting in a hall full of ThinOnes taking notes. My NightWatcher was watching them and sniffing them every once in a while. One was watching me, not saying or downing anything. It seemed so sad but had no voice to tell me.

It reminded me so much of myself.

I closed my journal keeping the pen inside to hold my place and walked up to the creature. It was a few inches taller than me, but not overwhelmingly.

It had a nose and mouth, but the lips never seemed to move. It watched me without eyes as most of the creatures here. Though, I could tell they could all see with no problems.

I placed my hand on its cheek, in thought. Its face was smooth and cold, like marble. It made me so sad to see these creatures, but they were my favorite to be around. Silent company, but their presence was loud enough on its own.

The creature seemed to lean into my touch but still said nothing. I pulled my hand away and made sure I had all my things. I began to leave the hall, looking back at the ThinOnes one last time. The one I had approached watched as I left.

The door echoed when I closed it, emphasizing the silence that had filled these halls. Over time it had gotten more and more unsettling, but I only had to adapt to it. I made my way to my room. It was the only room I had completely to myself.

Even with the huge asylum to discover, there wasn't much to do. I usually spent time with the ThinOnes, ventured with Blackened, or-

Why don't I just see what he's doing? He usually approaches me, so why don't I check on him this time?

As I thought about this, I made my way to the huge room reserved just for him. It wasn't too far from mine, so it was in the same direction.

After a few minutes of walking, I made it to an inky curtain. Inside was the Blackened, who was in the further corner of the room. I watched him curiously, and made my way over to him, as I got closer he seemed to be... crying? At least upset.

As I walked over to him my foot hit something lying on the ground. The Blackened stiffened and turned to face me. The black substance usually on the lower half of his face seemed to cover more of his features than normal and was pouring at a faster rate.

"Silence?" his voice came out hoarse, confirming that he may have been upset. "What are you doing here?"

I gave him a look of concern, to which he brushed aside with a clawed hand as if swatting something away.