"Silence? Are you still in there?"
A clawed hand moved in front of my face. I snapped out of my small moment of unpleasant nostalgia. What did he want?
"Oh good, you aren't dead," he said, not sounding all that glad. "She's going to kill me if I don't bring you back soon, so I have to take you to the other side of the asylum."
He mentioned that "she" again. "She" is obviously the same person I've been hearing for the past few months, but I didn't know of her identity, and it was obvious that he did.
We walked down the hall in the same silence as when we entered. Until Blackened decided to break it.
He chuckled. "She can't reach you on this side of the asylum, that's why she didn't want you to come over here," he explained once we were halfway down the hall. "I, on the other hand, believe it's your choice on which side you'd rather be on." He waited for me to respond, facing me and making a disappointed grunt when I didn't respond.
"Your silence does get a little tiring, Silence."
I smiled at that, his constant need to speak was getting tiring. He made an irritated sound when he saw my reaction. I kept walking, occasionally pulling on my hair, when suddenly I was screamed at.
"Oh thank goodness. I thought he had done something to you." It was the soft voice. Sound was what she was, that's what I'll have to call her.
"You really don't trust me, do you?" Blackened says words full of accusation and edge.
"No, I don't. Who knows what you could have done while she was out of my reach?" Sound asked.
He just shook his head and kept his pace. I wondered why the two of them refused to get along. What happened to the two of them?
"You know, you are a bit different from the other humans. I like you, you're a little better than the beasts I have to deal with." He chuckled at his backhanded compliment.
We were approaching the other side of the hall, as vines became more apparent, and eventually overpowering the back tar on the walls. Once we got to the familiar hall I was in before I decided to follow him, he stopped, watching me for a moment. Thinking, it seemed.
I walked forward, but his nonexistent eyes seemed to follow me. He soon realized what he was doing, and made a sound like he cleared his throat. "I don't need anything on this side of the asylum, so I won't be following you any farther," he explained.
With that, he turned to leave the room. Halting briefly to tell me one last thing. "You're welcome to visit this side of the asylum any time. I know it gets lonely being on your own, so..." he trailed off, turning his head back to the direction he was headed, and disappeared down the hall.
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It rained while I was with Blackened. The vines were dripping with water, and I pulled a few leaves from them, chewing them to get the water from inside.
I sat in one of my cells that night thinking about what I saw on the third floor. The creatures I had seen there were so unfamiliar. Maybe he had some sort of control over that half of the asylum, but if that was the case, who controlled this half?
"I hope you aren't thinking of him again," Sound's voice rang clearly in my head.
I stayed quiet and started to pick at the wall in front of me. My hair sprawled out on the pillow. I never knew that the Blackened, or any creature for that matter, was capable of being that delicate. I was ready to have to deal with scratches to tend to on my scalp.
Sound had an obvious distaste for him since she was set on having me feel the same. If I was being honest with myself, I didn't trust either of them too much.
It's true that Sound has helped me on multiple occasions, but that didn't change the fact that she could take advantage of the trust I've given her.
I turned and stared at the ceiling. I've been alone for so long. Sound has only been with me for a month and Blackened only appearing a few days ago. There's a chance I can't really trust these two, they could both be no more than illusions used to lure me into a trap.
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I woke up the next morning, thinking about what Blackened showed me. If I was right, and there were more creatures on that half of the asylum, then it would make sense for me to go and mark them down. Not only that but there could be an escape over there as well.
Though, before I could do anything, I would have to check the scratches on my arm. I looked down at the dark brown bandage wrapped on my forearm. I sighed and sat up, pulling my fingers through my hair. I headed to the door and did a final take, making sure I didn't leave anything in the cell. Once I was sure that I had everything, I left.
The infirmary was still in the same mess it was in the last time I left. Luckily, I still knew where everything was. The bandages were left not put away and on a shelf. I grabbed them and began to unwrap my arm.
The scratch was healing up quite nicely, but I could already tell it was going to leave a scar. The area around the wound was a bright red, contrasting my pale skin. I scowled at the marking and prepared to disinfect it. I looked around the room for any form of disinfectant. A small bottle on the floor, luckily the cap was on and none of the contents were spilled out.
I picked the bottle up and used a small piece of the bandage to clean the wound. It didn't sting as much as it did before, but it doesn't mean it was painless.
I was rewrapping the wound when I heard a growl mixed with a whine coming from the corner of the room. I turned to the corner with confusion and a mix of caution. I moved to the corner, while the creature rustled underneath a pile of trash.
I reached out to move the trash in the way of the creature, one hand on one of my daggers. When I moved it, it was a NightWatcher, it had a deep cut on its hind leg. Black liquid pouring out of it. It caught my scent and immediately hissed at me, squinting its eyes and pushing itself back further into the pile of trash.
I rolled my eyes at its aggressive state and squatted closer to it. Its leg seemed to have been bleeding for a while now, and it could get infected if it wasn't taken care of. I sat watching the creature, which was facing me with cautious, blank eyes and contemplated on whether or not I should, or could help the creature.
I glanced down at its leg, still bleeding, and then its milky eyes. I sighed and reached for it, to which it growled and snapped at me. I pulled my hands back just in time, holding them up so it could see I wasn't trying to hurt it. It eyed me suspiciously, then relaxed, just a little, and let me look at its leg. I reached for it again, this time it allowed me to pick it up.
I looked around, holding the small creature in my arms. I had nowhere to place it but on the counter. So, that's what I did, after placing it, I used some of the disinfectants on its leg. The creature's leg jerked back, and he released an all too familiar hiss.
I looked up at the creature, whose blank empty eyes were on its leg. Then I saw it. Its left ear had a cut in it, just like the one a few days ago. I shook my head, a bitter smile forming on my face.
It's a small asylum. I continued treating its small wound and bandaged it. When I was done I backed away from the creature, making my steps audible so it knew where I was.
The NightWatcher stood up, flexing its leg back and forth, and eventually putting lightweight on it. After a few tests, it purred and leaped off the counter, with odd ease for a creature thought to be blind. It then sat in front of me, watching me.
I eyed the creature for a moment, then turned to leave the infirmary. Then I saw in the corner of my eye, that the creature stood up, prepared to leave with me. A brief look of curiosity flashed across my face. Was it... following me?
I walked out of the room, and to answer my question, the NightWatcher did also. I shook my head, the last thing I needed was another mouth to feed and another life to take care of. I turned around to face the creature, it was still watching me with its unseeing eyes. Its ears twitching, listening for my next move. I slowed my breathing, making it more shallow and difficult to hear, and slowly walked away, my feet lightly touching the ground, like a feather falling from the air.
I thought my silent steps would prevent the NightWalker from being able to hear me, but to my surprise, it followed me after I moved a few feet away. I sighed, it must have better hearing than I thought. I didn't need this right now but how am I supposed to get rid of it.
I looked around, but there was no way to get the thing to leave me alone. I sighed and continued my daily routine.
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It's been a week since I found the Nightwalker. It still hadn't left. It would stare at me while I completed my routine, watch me as I fell asleep. I could hear it leaving every night, just to come back later on and fall asleep a few feet away from me. It would be watching me as I woke up in the morning.
I eventually got used to the creature watching my every move. It could be helpful at times as well. When I needed to remove vines in my path, or when I was hunting small creatures, like the SmallOnes, it would be able to help out. I could also use them as an opportunity to study the NightWatchers more closely.
Now I was in one of the empty cells, and the NightWatcher was next to me curled up and asleep. I sighed and looked at the ceiling. My eyes follow the vines wandering around. I subconsciously placed my hand on the NightWatchers head. To my surprise, it purred and leaned into my touch.
I froze for a moment before deciding to continue to pet it. Its skin didn't irritate my hand or prick me, so I wasn't in any harm by doing so. I stared at the wall for a minute, my mind going temporarily blank. I stayed silent until a familiar voice rang in my mind.
"Silence?" a voice sang, "Are you in there?"
I froze and prayed to whatever god might be in this place, hoping that he didn't know where I was. That he'd continue walking and leave me alone.
They didn't answer.
"Silence, I know you're in there."
I sighed and rolled my eyes, taking my hand off the NightWatcher, who gave a soft whine in protest. I got up and opened the door to see the towering figure standing above me. Shame on me for thinking I was finally free of his presence.
"I haven't seen you in a while, so I thought I'd come to find you," he stated, watching me with his featureless face.
The NightWalker came up behind me and sat at my feet. "What's this? You even have a little pet now!" he exclaimed. I rolled my eyes and leaned up against the door.
"You know. I'm starting to get the feeling you don't want me here, and I was even thinking of inviting you to my side of the asylum..." he said, his voice mocking sadness and disappointment.
When he mentioned the other side, I perked up.
He chuckled when he saw this "Interested? I thought you'd be. Oh, and don't worry about her, she's perfectly fine with it." Her, referring to Sound, who' been awfully quiet the past week.
"Come on, now. And you can bring your pet with you if you want, the more the merrier," he said, gesturing to the NightWatcher, and turning around expecting me to follow.
I wasn't completely sure about moving. I had everything I needed on this side of the asylum, and I knew nothing about the other side. Though, I did have trust. I trusted that even if there were things on the other side that I didn't know about, Blackened would assist me. I hoped I was right to put that type of faith in him because both the NightWatcher and I followed right behind him