Gilbert ran aimlessly though the empty rooms for what seemed like hours. "I'm going to go insane if this goes on for much longer…" he said to himself his thoughts were interrupted by a loud groan. This one was nothing like the others…this one was human. "Hello? Is anyone there?" he then walked blindly into the dark, hoping for a response.
"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…" the noise came again. "I, hope I am not interrupting anything!" Gilbert said and suddenly thought "What am I thinking? Whatever is groaning, it is in serious pain." Gilbert could not finish his thoughts because he found himself falling down! "AHHHHHH!" he screamed until he landed on something. At first, he thought it was another pile of bodies, that he has seen everywhere. That is, until it started talking.
"Ow…" the lump said "that last step is a big one, is it not?" Gilbert could tell the pain in his voice. There was something about the way he talked. Gilbert was almost positive he was Russian, but then again, his voice may be a little muffled. So then Gilbert quickly got off of the man.
"Have you been down here for long?"
"Da…fell down about three hours ago. I'm fairly sure my leg is broken. I thought I heard someone else upstairs. You have very loud shoes mister!" the man said. This made Gilbert look down at his shoes and he then remembered that he had his best dancing shoes on. Not really fit for walking.
"Hehe, sorry about that…I was supposed to meet this girl I like. When I got here, she called me and said that she is somewhere in here. Happen to see a girl that has long brown hair, and goes by the name Eliziveta?" Gilbert asked. He started to feel comfortable around this guy, probably because it is the first human that he has seen in hours. Also, this man seemed powerful…which worried him at first, but if the guy could move, he would have.
"Net…I am sorry. Wait… does she wear an apron?" "Yes!" Gilbert exclaimed while his eyes grew bright with hope. "I might have seen her briefly, when I first fell. But the pain knocked me out soon after. Now it is my turn." The man said. "Huh? Your turn for what?" "To ask a question! What is your name? Mine is Ivan." "Oh, my name? I…I can't remember! Wait a minute! GILBERT! My name is Gilbert…"Ivan looked at Gilbert with concern "You're showing the first sign…you need to have a light source! My bag is somewhere around here…it has a lantern, turn it on, and then you can take it. I need to see how bad my leg is. Something fell on it so I want to see if I can get it off."
"Wait…do you mean that, after you check out your leg, you mean you are going on your own?! No! I need someone to walk with…it seems you know something about this place! There have been creepy ass moans and groans that you have had nothing to do with! So please, will you come along with me? I don't care if you slow me down. Men have to stick together!"
"Ha-ha…you really are insane, aren't you? Oh well. I go with you then…but grab the whole bag! It has some stuff I've picked up along the way! There a couple notes in there that I can't really understand. Um…I've not really studied English or Prussian too much." Ivan told Gilbert. Gilbert looked over at the satchel then saw a lantern next to it. He noticed that the satchel felt wet. "OH GROSS! That is really NOT awesome. What's on this thing anyway?" Gilbert yelled to Ivan. Ivan just looked over a little and said "I guess I've taken a heavier lose than I thought. That there is some of my blood, that's not very good." He looked a little frightened from what Gilbert could tell. It is hard to know if he truly is worried. He only just met the guy and he has kept a faint smile on his face the whole time. "Why is this not good? I understand the fact it means you lost some blood, but you seem more concerned than that…" Gilbert said to Ivan. Ivan just looked at him and said "You really don't know, do you? Well, there are odd creatures in the castle. They are terrifying to look at and just hearing them drains your sanity with every second you wait. None of them speak, only groan. But all I know is that they were made to kill anyone who comes into this place. That is one of the reasons I ended up here. I was running from one of them and then the floorboards came lose and next thing I know, I'm under a rock yelling for help. They can smell fear and, like a shark, can smell blood from very far away." This response scared Gilbert a lot more than it should have. It was like Ivan had been studying the monsters, like he was the one who had created them. But then again, he seemed too afraid of them to have made such a monster.
"I call them Grunts…" Ivan said. "They seem to grunt and groan. So I thought I should go by the one that is easier for me to say!" Gilbert smiled at the thought of how child-like this guy was. Suddenly a thought came over Gilbert's mind. "Ivan…why are you here in the first place?" Ivan just looked at him and said in a fairly low, kind of scary voice, "I was looking for someone very special to me…we were playing a game and then my sister ran in here. I came in here looking and I just can't find her." Gilbert couldn't imagine how frightened Ivan must have been right now. If his younger brother went into this house, Gilbert would have fallen on the ground crying right now. Maybe he could learn a thing or two from this guy. Gilbert's train of thought was interrupted by Ivan. "Hey…If you really wanted to help me out and have us both get out of here alive with that girl of yours and my sister…you should help me out from under this pile!" Ivan said with a hint of pain in his voice. Gilbert swiftly moved the rocks making a small space where Ivan could move out from under the rocks. Ivan then crawled out and winced with every movement he made. Gilbert could feel his pain coming out of his body. He could now see how bad the man's leg really was…it looked broken and all twisted at his ankle. He thought "How in the world was this guy able to take all this pain, talk to me, and not shed a single tear in the process?!" Ivan looked around then grabbed a faucet pipe that he must have been using earlier. It was covered with blood near the top. The 6 foot man pulled himself up and used the pipe as a walking cane.
"This pipe of mine has been faithful to me for years. I used it when I was a boy to protect myself from people who meant to do me harm. I see you are looking at the blood on the top…that was from the fall. I guess it splattered a little bit." Ivan said to Gilbert. Gilbert couldn't help but feel fairly happy talking to such an odd man. It was probably due to the fact he needs this guy to survive and stay sane! This was a situation that he could work with.
The went through the darkness for what seemed like a few hours and Gilbert attempted to make conversation with Ivan. But he soon learned that he is a silent man…or he is just in too much pain to respond properly. "You're pretty quiet now aren't you?" Gilbert said after a long amount of silence. "I am silent because we both need to save our energy for later on. If one of those Grunts come along and hear us and we are too busy chatting…then we are dead men walking. Also, my leg is hurting a lot so I will have to grunt between every word." Ivan replied. It was clear he was not in the mood for talking. Maybe if they find a "safe place" Gilbert will be able to look at Ivan's leg and help him out. As he claimed before, Men have to stick together, and if Ivan doesn't think Gilbert is useful…he might just leave. To tell the truth, Gilbert can't stand being alone. He had to deal with that the moment his younger brother left a while after his family died. If he is alone, he will go insane for sure.
Ivan suddenly opened a door that they nearly passed by. "Hey, there is some light in here! No blood…and this area have nothing ruined. I think it will be safe to stay here and rest up, da?" Gilbert nearly forgot that Ivan was Russian because they haven't talked in so long. Sometimes Gilbert finds Ivan's voice slightly soothing. It was an odd feeling that he hasn't felt in a long time. "Oh, I agree. If we rest we will have our wits about us. But first I want to lock and block the door for safety reasons." He replied. Maybe they could rest up and bond a bit more. If a monster comes along, Ivan would be less likely to leave a friend behind than a stranger he just met. Plus, he is tired. He hasn't had a wink of sleep for a while due to the fact he came here from a party. "Good plan. I will check the room out and then if it seems safe enough we will stay here for the night. I think I'll check the closet." Ivan said with a slight smile. He walked over and opened the door to find a knife in the closet. "Huh? That is my sister's knife! How did it get here?!" He cried with confusion in heavy in his voice. Gilbert walked over and saw that the knife was small but fairly sharp. He felt a slight urge to ask if he could take it, due to Ivan having his pipe…but he thought about how Ivan must be feeling unstable right now. He wants to find his sister and he wants to get out of here. But safety first so Gilbert said in a soft voice "May I take it…? Just for a little while. The moment we find your sister I'll give it right back." Ivan looked at Gilbert but his eyes softened "I will allow it. I trust you enough." He handed the knife over and checked around the room one last time before blocking up the door with a bookcase and locking the door. He turned back to Gilbert and smiled a bit "All clear! We can rest up for the night." he then walked over and lit a candle. The light was nice and soothing. Gilbert felt his eyelids grow heavy but he managed to stay awake. "Hey Ivan...how is your leg?" Ivan looked down to his leg with concern "not so good comrade..."