~ Alright everybody. Ready for Chapter Two? Well, wait no more, here it is! :) I think this story's going to turn out good, and I hope you think so too.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot, and the evil beings soon to show themselves! ~

Chapter Two: Street Signs

Immediately after finding the tape, I shoved it into my jeans pocket and walked downstairs.

"Hey kiddo, did you get your tape?" My mother asked me.

"What?" I was out of breath, not understanding for a minute.

"Yeah, someone left a box on our porch, this morning I guess, and there was just that tape inside and a note saying it was for you." She must've seen my shocked expression, because then she said, "No, I didn't listen to it."

"Oh... Thanks. I'll see you later, mom." I said walking out the door. It was a Saturday, and I had to find Tony. I needed to know what this tape said, and he was the only way I was going to do that - his walkman.

I walked down the sidewalk to his house. No need to lie and sneek this time, since Tony knew the everything, so I went right up to his front door. When he answered, I asked him for his walkman.

"Why?" he asked, eyeing me warily.

"Tony, someone mailed me another tape," I lowered my voice, as if the air was going to care about my secret. If I could trust anyone with this, I hoped it was him.

"From who? Are you listening to yourself man? She's dead...," Tony's tone was one of pure bewilderment. I pulled the tape out of my pocket and handed it to him. "Jesus, you're serious? Nah...," he said and stepped back from the doorway, allowing me into the house.

"I didn't believe it either. Any other day I would've thought it was a joke, a prank, man. But after that dream I had, I just don't know." He looked at me, a questioning expression on his face, so I explained the entire dream to him.

After I finished, his face had become blank, and it was obvious he was deep in thought. And then he was up off of the bed, rummaging around in a closet. He pulled his head back out, and in his hand was the walkman. He stepped back over to the bed, and in an instant I had the tape into the player, pushing play as soon as the earphones were in place.

Hannah began in a frantic tone, speaking between sobs.

Oh God, Clay... You have no idea. It was... staged.... All... All of it, staged. The doctors, ambulance... nurses... doctor... Damn doctor... Pills...

She paused for several minutes, and had I not been able to hear her breathing, I would've assumed the tape was over. It seemed she was calming herself down. When her voice returned to the tape, she sounded as if she was fine again - scared, but fine. This time there was something very urgent, very serious, underlining her voice.

Listen to me, Clay, listen good. I'm not sure where, but he took me. Lucky the rag on my face slipped so irritatingly onto my nose... I was able to see a little bit. Lucky, I have a good memory.

Next thing I knew, Hannah was talking at the speed of light, and it took me a moment to realize she was rattling of street names. I motioned for Tony to hand me a pen and paper. He looked confused, but went along with it.

Hurry, Clay. We stopped there, and walked. We walked right. Last thing I saw... Big, blue, couldn't see what... Find me, Clay. Remember, he's not what he seems. Please, God, remember that.

And then she was gone again, but I could still here her breathing, and then in the background another voice came on. Very faintly, another girl whispered to Hannah.

"He's coming, give it-- oh... hurry!"

There was the faint sound of running, and then the tape shut off.

"Tony, we need your car. You got it runnin'?" He just looked at me, but didn't object. Instead, he led me out of the house and into the garage.

"What going on?" He asked me, but still got into the car. I copied him and got into the passenger seat, popping the tape into his radio.

We sat silent for all the time it took for him to listen to Hannah.

When it was over, I turned to him and said, "Street names." Understanding flooded his face, and then just as quickly dissolved.

"Wait a minute...," he reached under him, and when his hand came back out from underneath the seat, it was holding a map. He looked down at it, traced a jagged line with his finger.

"She said they turned right, walking. Then a big, blue thing...," His face flushed as his thoughts mirrored mine, and I didn't have to finish the sentence for him to know what I was going to say. Whoever this "he" was, he had taken Hannah to the old asylum. Which was actually very strange, since it had been abandoned for quite some time. But all the same, the only thing that could be big and blue like that in this town was that old place; it had a giant blue sign right at the front of the gate.

"What'd she mean, staged?" Tony looked at me for a long minute, waiting for me to answer, before realizing I didn't have one, and then pulled out of his driveway.

We drove in silence, with Tony occasionally asking to see the list so he could know where to turn. Eventually, we were right out in front of the giant, ominous building.

"So, what do we do now?"

"I don't know. I guess we should've thought that through," I said. "If she was kidnapped, there's going to be someone watching her. How do we get past that?"

"There's only one way to save her though, if she's really in there. I mean, we can't just go tell someone about this, because first of all, they'd think we're crazy, and second of all, even if they did believe us, what if we're wrong?"

"You're right. Well, then, are you ready?"

"No time like the present, I guess." In a second, Tony was out of his car. I did the same and soon we were both standing in front of the big blue sign, neither of us wanting to take the first steps onto the path that led through the tree-barrier that separated the asylum from the rest of the world.

I stuck my foot out, and the rest of my body followed suit, until I was walking at a normal pace again. Tony caught up and was right beside me, half way to the front steps, when we both stopped cold. Hannah wasn't here.

"Ah, shit."

~Well, what'd you guys think? Was it worth the wait? I have a third chapter I'm working on, too, now, so if you like this, there'll be more soon! :) Remember to review!~