Hello again! Thank you to the people who reviewed, it is greatly appreciated. For some reason my line to separate my Author Notes from the story did not appear on FanFiction. I am going to try a series of "X's" to see if those show up. I hope you enjoy chapter two!

Sophie awoke with a dull ache throbbing in the back of her head. She reached up a hand to tentatively touch her ailing skull and was relieved to feel a small bump but no blood. She groggily looked around at her surroundings and discovered she was still in Mrs. Rowley's office. She stretched her neck to look around the desk to check on Mrs. Rowley's ghost but nothing was there. No body and no ghost. Not even so much a drop of blood remained where once a pool had been. She furrowed her brows in confusion. Could she have imagined the whole thing? Was she, as she feared, slipping into madness? She pushed the disturbing thought to the back of her mind, she didn't have time to evaluate her psyche at the moment. On the plus side, it appeared the hooded man was gone.

She stood on shaky legs, grabbing the desk for support as the room swayed before her eyes. She leaned against the desk to gather her bearings, closing her eyes in contemplation. There was something missing. What was it? She opened her eyes in realization. There was no noise! For the past two years she has been surrounded by a cacophony of noise from the dead: tearful confessions, ugly whispers, cries of help. Now there was only silence. Not even so much as a ticking clock to fill the deafening void of nothing. Where were the footsteps of the workers? Where was the humming of car engines as they passed the building? Something was wrong.

Not being able to take the quiet anymore, she made her way to the door and slowly opened it, looking into the hallway. The coast was clear. She stepped out into the corridor, the hair on the back of her neck standing on end. She felt like she was being watched but no one was there. At least no one that she could see. She made a move for the exit but the loud creaking of a door stilled her feet. Her heart raced erratically as she slowly turned around to see the cause of the noise. A door was now indeed open at the opposite side of the corridor but no one had stepped through it.

"H-Hello?" She called out, her voice breaking from fear. She jumped at the sound of a dull thumping noise that drifted through the doorway. She should leave. She really should, but something drew her to that repetitive "thump, thump, thump." What if someone was in trouble? An image of Mrs. Rowley's still form shot through her mind and she knew that she couldn't just leave, she would never be able to forgive herself. She pulled out her phone, thinking to get the police involved if need be but, oddly enough, she had no bars in the middle of a city. She quickly ducked back into Mrs. Rowley's office and picked up the receiver to the landline but she was met with only silence. This was insane, had the whole world simply disappeared? She hung up the phone in defeat, it looked like she was on her own. Sophie scanned the room for anything useful. A heavy looking paperweight of a gargoyle caught Sophie's eye. She picked up the small but dense object and tested the weight in her hand. It was small but it would provide some semblance of protection. Now semi armed, Sophie made her way back out into the hallway and toward the noise. She wished that James was with her. He could take the lead and tell her what lay ahead, but he was still in the car. She could do this without him. No, she had to do this without him. If she truly was to be cured she had to learn to live again without James's constant guidance.

As she approached the open doorway the "thump, thump, thump" increased in not only sound but also in speed. The sudden change in the noise made her feel uneasy. She should turn back but she was only a step away from the open doorway. Taking a deep breath, Sophie worked up the courage to take the last step. Coming in full view of the room, her breath caught in her throat. On the opposite side of the office there was a doctor constantly hitting his head against the wall. A large smear of blood stained the wall where his cranium met the brick. She felt her stomach drop at the sight. This man was clearly insane. Could he be an escaped patient dressed in a doctor's clothing? She didn't want to find out. It had been foolish of her to come down here by herself. She could be on the road by now, safe and sound, if she had only left like she originally planned. Taking a cautious step back, Sophie made her way to the exit. She had had enough of this craziness. She was leaving. She took a few more steps when her legs froze. The sound had suddenly stopped and was now replaced by a new noise, footsteps and heavy pants of breath that sounded like angry growls. Sophie didn't look back, she just ran for it.

She was about fifteen feet away from the exit when she was tackled from behind, knocking the breath out of her. She collapsed heavily onto the linoleum floor, her ribs taking the brunt of the impact. Fear filled her mind with such intensity that the world momentarily turned black. Without thinking, Sophie swung her arm around with all her might. Hoping to God it made contact with the man clawing his way up her body. To her surprise, a spray of blood and the sickening crunch of breaking bone filled the air. The doctor went limp above her. She laid there stunned for a second before shoving the slumped figure off of her. Her breath came out harsh and ragged as she stared stupidly at the doctor and his crushed skull and then down at her hand. She still had the paperweight! That little gargoyle just saved her life.

She examined the still form of the doctor. His nametag revealed his name to be 'Harley'. He was a middle-aged man of mid height with a receding hairline that was specked with white and silver hairs. All together he wasn't a frightful figure. It was the large, throbbing veins running through his face and yellowed, bloody eyes that made him fearsome. She had never killed someone before. She didn't know how to feel about it, she just felt numb. Would she go to jail? Did he have family? Did he really attack her or was it all in her head? All of these questions left her feeling nauseous. She pushed the disturbing thoughts from her mind and pulled herself to her feet, a shooting pain going through her ribs. She let out a hiss of pain and grabbed her aching ribs, thankful that she still had her life at least. She continued her journey to the exit. She had to get to a medical hospital and contact the police. Either Sophie had completely gone bonkers or something was terribly wrong at Beacon Mental Hospital.

She only made it a few feet before she heard a sickening ripping noise. Sophie turned around to see, to her horror, that Mr. Harley's chest had burst open, gushing blood onto the pristine white floor. Even more terrifying were the multiple arms that stretched out of his body, their fingers tipped with long, sharp nails. Sophie bolted for it. This couldn't be real. It couldn't be. What she just saw broke the laws of science and logic. Could this be hell? Had that cloaked figure actually killed her?

Sophie burst through the exit as an agonized shriek came from behind her. She raced to her car but she had two horrible realizations. The first was that James was no longer there. Where could he possibly be?! The second was that she must have dropped her purse after Dr. Harley had tackled her, meaning she didn't have her keys. She ran past her car hoping beyond hope that whatever had come through Dr. Harley's body was not following her. She rounded the corner of the hospital and was dumbstruck by what she saw. There was a small group of people entering into an ambulance. She had never been so relieved in all of her life. She ran toward them, shouting at them to get their attention. They all turned to her in unison.

"Please! You have to help me!" Sophie yelled in desperation. She reached them, panting heavily from her mad dash. "We have to get out of here, NOW! Somethi-" she paused momentarily, she couldn't tell them what she just experienced, they would think she's crazy. "Someone is chasing me, and they are extremely dangerous." There was a woman amongst them, a detective by the looks of her badge, and she stepped forward and nodded her head toward the city beyond.

"No offense, but we have bigger problems right now." Sophie knit her brows in confusion at the woman's brusque words but a deafening crash of metal and concrete interrupted her thoughts. Whirling around Sophie saw a building tumbling down in the distance, releasing a huge cloud of dust into the air. To her horror, it looked like it wasn't the only building. The entire city was in upheaval!

"Officer Connelly, take the wheel. We're getting out of here." The detective said, jumping into the back of the ambulance helping a doctor and a mental patient up behind her. Sophie wasted no time following them, she wasn't about to get stuck out here alone. She closed the door behind them but to her surprise they went in reverse instead of forward.

"What are you doing, officer?!" The detective shouted at the driver.

"Detective Castellanos and Oda are still inside. We have to at least attempt to save them." He responded, gritting his in teeth in concentration as he dodged the parked police cars in front of the building. Just as they reached the front entrance a man came running out of the door, severely limping as he did so. A loud explosion sounded right behind the ambulance. Sophie went to the back window and looked down, and down some more. Her heart jumped into her throat. The parking lot had collapsed into the ground!

"The ground is disappearing!" She shouted. A sudden shift of the ground behind the rear tires filled her with panic, "I repeat, the ground is disappearing," she shrieked this time.

"Get in!" The officer yelled to the hobbling detective, thankfully moving the vehicle forward. The male detective jumped into the front seat and they were able to pull off just in time as the rest of the parking lot crumbled away.

Sophie collapsed onto a nearby seat, never feeling so relieved in her life. She was still alive…for now. She looked out the window, the city was in complete chaos. It wasn't just buildings falling, some were actually sliding. How was that possible? There were also no people in the streets. Did everyone just happen to be at home during, what she assumed to be, the apocalypse? What was even more disturbing was that there were no ghosts in the streets either. There would always be ghosts. Even after humans were long gone, the ghosts would remain. Of that she was certain. Come to think of it, the only ghosts she had seen that afternoon were James and Mrs. Rowley. Was that what made her uneasy before when she entered the hospital, the lack of ghosts? The thought of James filled her with sadness. He had disappeared. She didn't think he abandoned her. Not him. Never James.

"Fine, fine…fine…" Sophie lifted her head at the repetitive word in curiosity. It was a young man saying it. He was clearly a mental patient judging by his white clothes. At first she thought he was an albino except albinos don't have black eyes. She felt bad for him. He was clearly in great distress and judging by his browned teeth, not very well nourished. She turned her attention to the duo who were comforting him. The female detective was young and beautiful with dazzling purple eyes but there was something cold and aloof within their depths. The doctor was middle aged and reminded her a lot of Dr. Harley except this doctor had a beard and was a bit darker in complexion then the doctor she had killed. That thought made her nauseous. She still couldn't believe she had just killed a man. But she had to kill him. She didn't have a choice, he attacked her. Somehow that didn't comfort her. The doctor shifted as the mental patient became a bit more erratic and Sophie caught sight of his nametag, 'Jimenez'.

"Jimenez!" She exclaimed, not realizing she had spoken until the doctor turned toward her.

"Excuse me, miss? Do I know you?" She nodded her head in affirmation.

"Yes, my name is Sophie, Sophie Burke." His face paled. From the corner of her eye Sophie saw him move a metal briefcase beneath the seat next to him. 'What are you hiding in there, doctor?' She thought to herself. Whatever it was, she was determined to find out.

"I was not expecting you for another three days, Miss. Burke." He said, tension lacing his voice.

"Our first meeting was supposed to be in three days but Mrs. Rowley thought it'd be prudent if I came a few days early to get settled."

"Of course! Jane is always thinking of such things. She is such a thoughtful assistant."

"She's dead," Sophie blurted out, wishing she could take back the uncouth words immediately. "I am sorry, I shouldn't have announced it like that." She bowed her head in shame.

He shook his head, beads of sweat forming on his brow, "It's quite alright. I already assumed she was dead. I don't know if you saw but there was quite the massacre at the main entrance." She hadn't seen, she had entered through a side entrance. A massacre would explain the lack of ghosts. Ghosts could sense major events of death. They were drawn to catastrophe, it was like some macabre movie to them.

"I hate to interrupt your chat but don't you think you can concentrate on your patient doctor." The female detective's words made Dr. Jimenez blush slightly. He turned away from Sophie and turned his attention to the disturbed, young man.

"Leslie, you are safe. Please, calm down." Leslie. So that was the patient's name. She returned her attention to the back window but she was startled to see the hooded man in the reflection. He stood over Dr. Jimenez, looking at Leslie with a cold intensity. How did he get here? She whipped her head back to the cab but he was no longer there. She caught the eye of the detective in the front seat, he looked as confused as she did. Had he seen the man as well?

"Falling! Falling! Falling!" Leslie shouted. What was he talking about? What was falling? All of a sudden the tunnel they were driving through opened into daylight and the road disappeared beneath them. She had her answer.

I hope everyone liked chapter two! I am sorry there wasn't more Ruvik in this chapter. There will be a bit more of him in chapter three. Feedback is always appreciated!