"Zak? Where are you?" I called. The inside of the asylum was even colder than the outside, my teeth began to chatter. I had probably been walking for at least ten minutes and I hadn't even found a single camera or anything telling me that any of the guys were or had been in the East Wing of the asylum.
"Anybody?" I whispered. The wind wisped through the empty corridors, causing me to shiver. My flashlight began to flicker for the third time, so I started to hit it with my hand.
"Come 'on, come 'on!" I said as I banged it with my cold hands, but instead of it returning to it normal brightness, it died.
"Seriously?" I grunted, as soon as I made the noise someone mimicked the same grunt from behind me. I spun around in fear, but I couldn't see anything, it was too soon for my eyes to adjust.
"Hello? Anybody there?" I squinted my eyes to see further down the corridor, I swear I saw someone move at least 40ft down the hallway. "I saw you move! Who are you!" I yelled. I know I saw someone move.
It all happened so fast. I took one step toward the end of the hallway, only to hear the same grunt I had heard seconds earlier, then someone began running at me. The sound of heavy booted footsteps bounced off the broken tiled floor and came toward me. In response, I shrieked, crouched down and hugged myself waiting for someone, or something to attack me. But nothing came.
After I calmed down my breathing and heart rate, I stood up, and found no one was there; the hallway was empty besides me.
I felt like crying. I had never experienced this before, this all was so new. I rubbed my face with my hands and let out a deep shaky breath.
'You just have to find Zak'
I looked down the hallway again and yelled. "Stay the fuck away from me!" I knew it was probably a bad idea to aggravate the spirits, but I was pissed, scared, tired and, cold. I just wanted to find Zak.
Just as I turned around to face the opposite side of the hallway and continue my journey through the asylum, a sudden stinging feeling came over my cheek and neck. When I touched it, it was burning hot.
"What the fuck" I whispered. I needed to get out of this hallway as fast as I could. So I ran as fast as possible, not before I heard the spirits said their goodbyes.
"Buh-bye Charlie" they whispered.
****************
My face was still burning by the time I reached the fourth floor. My eyes had adjusted to the dark just enough I could tell where I was going. I was definitely lost. I knew I had probably been wandering around for at least an hour or more. I also knew that it definitely wasn't Zak who called for me to come into the asylum. My best guess was that the guys were on the complete other side of the Asylum. I was definitely in the East Wing; last I saw they were in the West Wing. From what I'd seen in the rooms and scattered throughout the hallways, this was probably where they kept the elderly and children. Old and rotting away toys were littered all over the place; headless dolls, limbless teddy bears, you name it. The place was falling apart, the ceiling looked like it was going to cave in at any second and I still had two floors above me.
Jay would've been back at the bus by now. The minute he figured I was gone I know he would've alerted my dad and the rest of the guys.
"Please find me" I muttered. I slid my back against the wall, hugged my knees to my chest and rested my head between them. I was getting so cold.
I began to hum that same tune I was singing while wondering the outside of the bus.
Now lay me down to sleep
I pray the lord my soul to keep
Should I die before I wake
I pray the lord my soul to take.
If you die before you wake
Do not cry and do not ache
Nothing's ever yours to keep
So close your eyes and go to sleep.
My eyes were so heavy I felt like I was about to pass out. Not soon after I began to feel nauseous and dizzy. I groaned from the newfound feelings.
"She's coming" someone said. It was a young girl's voice, I hadn't heard it before. I looked around but obviously no one was there.
"Who's coming?" I began to play along.
For a few seconds it was complete silence, and then the voice answered, but was much closer to me than before.
"Helen" it whispered, and then a gust of cold air hit me.
I stood up right after. I remember Phillip's interview from earlier today. He said Helen was a bad spirit.
'Got to go, got to go, got to go' I said to myself. I wasn't going to sit here and wait for Helen to release her evil wrath upon me.
"Upstairs" the wind howled. So upstairs I went.
************
When I reached the sixth floor I realized half the roof had caved in. It was much dirtier than the rest of the asylum and there were dead leaves and debris everywhere.
I looked around and in the corner of my eye something shifted. As I turned my head to get a better view I noticed it was a person, it was Rosemary. She was standing in a room with a giant broken window, taller and much wider than the two of us standing there. She was in the window frame, if she moved even half an inch she would fall, but obviously not to her death. The even scarier part of this was she was humming the same lullaby I was humming earlier.
"What do you want from me?" I shakily whispered.
Her pale finger pointed toward a light coming from one of the windows of the West Wing of the hospital.
"Dad!" I whispered. I stepped closer to the edge of the window. It must be him and the guys investigating one of the rooms. He was so close, but yet so far.
"Is this why you took me here?" I asked. "To help me and show me where they are?"
Is she helping me find my dad?
She just continued looking out the window. The more I looked at her from the small amount of distance apart we were, she looked like a regular girl. Even though her white dress was torn and dirty, along with a pink bow tangled in her long greasy blonde hair, she looked like an actual living girl.
"You're sad" she whispered. "Lonely"
What is she talking about?
"I was sad and lonely" she whispered and pointed down at the ground six stories below. "So I jumped" she giggled after just she most likely reminisced her death.
She turned around and looked at me. Scratch whatever I said about her looking like a living girl, her eyes were as cold and dead as stone.
Then she held out her hand toward me. "Jump with me" she smiled, and then looked at the exposed scar that ran upward on my arm. "No one can hurt you anymore if you jump with me, you'll be safe with me" she just stared at me coldly, as if it was supposed to reassure me.
I wanted to step back and run away from her, but I don't know what overcame me. I started to walk toward her. When I grabbed her hand, it felt like when I grabbed Zak's hands earlier after I found him, but so, so much colder. The moment our hands clasped I felt as if I wasn't in control of my body. I couldn't take my hand out of hers no matter how hard I tried. Right away, all of her sadness and loneliness transferred right to me. I felt her pain, misery and loneliness as if it were my own. Jumping didn't feel like such a crazy idea anymore.
She looked at me. "Ready?" she smiled, exposing her yellowed teeth. Just as I was about to nod a familiar voice interrupted my trance.
"Charlie!" I snapped my head back.
A familiar man was at the entrance of the large room, with a look of pure terror on his face. I recognized him, but I couldn't figure out who he was.
I furrowed my eyebrows and tried harder to figure it out, but when I couldn't I just looked back out the window and stepped closer to the ledge.
"Charlie! It's me! Come back here! Talk to me!" the man yelled.
I looked at Rosemary. "Don't listen to him, listen to me" She whispered. She was in control.
"Charlie!" he yelled again. My inner self was drawn to him, I wanted to go to him, but Rosemary wouldn't let me.
He started to walk closer to me; causing Rosemary to yell at him, telling him to stay back. But when she yelled at him, it came out through me; she was using my body for her own needs.
"Charlie! Listen to me. You can fight this! You are stronger than this, please Charlie come back to me!" the man pleaded.
And so I did.
I used all my strength to let go of Rosemary's hand, and in return she shrieked, and fell off the side of the building. The second I let go, all the power in my body drained, and I puked.
Zak came rushing toward me and hugged me tighter than ever.
"Dad?" I whispered. "Why did I do that?" I groaned, and puked again.
He didn't answer, he just kept hugging me. "I didn't know who you were" I cried. "She wouldn't let me let go of her hand, I tried so hard" Tears were rushing down my face.
Zak looked up at me with a confused face. "What? Who wouldn't let you let go of her hand."
"You didn't see her?" he shook his head.
"Rosemary... the one I saw earlier. I didn't know what was going on and then all the sudden I was on the edge of the rooftop and then you were here calling for me." I wiped the tears from my face and hugged him back.
"I'm so sorry dad I knew I shouldn't have come in here." I started to cry again.
"I told you Charlie, I told you to stay on the bus, why didn't you listen to me?" he sounded angry.
"I was outside the bus, just getting some fresh air. Then I heard you calling for me to come in cause you need help or something" I sniffled. "Then halfway through I realized that it never was you who called me, but it was too late, I was already so lost."
"It's okay Charlie, it's okay. We need to get you back to the bus you must be so tired" he was still hugging me, he was so warm.
After we stood up, a sudden realization came to me. "How did you find me? I couldn't find anyone"
He reached into his pocket and pulled out the Ovilus. "This thing kept saying your name, over and over again. Then it started saying other things like, jump, fall, floor six, taken, lost. Then it went back to saying your name...what happened to your face!?" his voice went from normal to loud so fast I jumped.
I immediately touched my face, it was still burning hot. "What are you talking about?"
He pulled out his phone and used his flashlight. "Oh my god" he muttered. "These have got to be the most violent scratches I have ever seen"
"What are you talking about? I demand answers" Zak quickly took a picture. In response my mouth opened wide. I had three scratches on my face. They started from just below my eye and ended at my collarbone.
"Oh" I said.
"What?" Zak asked.
"I definitely know why these happened"
"Okay, you can tell me later, we need to get you out of here". Zak grabbed my arm and we started making our way through the corridors. All the sudden I felt like all the energy was drained from my body; again.
"Uh, dad?" I asked, and then I dropped, not before Zak grabbed me just before I hit the ground.
"Charlie? What's wrong?" Zak was worried.
I moaned. "I can't get up"
"Okay. We are getting out of here, now" Zak muttered and literally bridal style carried me out of the asylum. The entire time I was fighting him, telling him that I was fine and I could walk myself, but he was having none of it. He carried me down all six floors and the entire way to the bus.
Just before we started the bus and left the asylum I looked over his shoulder and saw Rosemary standing at the main doors of the Levik Asylum, waving goodbye.
Then everything went black.