Anxiously playing with her fingers, Ray watches the elevator doors slide open in front of her.

The surroundings on the next floor are a lot different than what she had just become accustomed to below. As she steps out, she's hit with a musty, dank, near mold-like scent mixed with garbage and dirt.

She quickly realizes where the source of most of the nasty smell was coming from- big dumpsters on either side of her lined against the wall.

Ugh… it smells awful down here.

Fighting the urge to hold her nose, she wanders forward and then stops reflexively upon seeing an actual street in her path. She glances around to find an exit or entrance, or at least a reason for the street, but it seems to simply be there as decoration.

An odd choice of decor, but she can't imagine that the people who come here care much for how things look. Especially since it seems like hardly anyone has come through here at all. It looks just as abandoned out here the floor below, if not a lot dirtier.

She goes to turn around, maybe try and reach the next floor, but she halts. Immediately she realizes that the elevator has stopped here, with no option to move on. She must be stuck here.

Turning around again and frowning at the unfriendly place, her brain whirs with thought. Am I inside a building…? There's really something wrong here. Anyway… where's the way out, then?

Slowly she starts moving, down the darkened hall in front of her. It's not exactly the path she wants to follow, but right now, she has little to no choice.

When she reaches near the end of the hallway, a strange clatter from nearby brings her to a stop.

What was that…?

I've gotta hurry… I don't feel very safe here. Shivering a bit and drawing her jacket in around her torso, she turns the corner, hoping not to see anything suspicious. Thankfully, her prayer is answered— but what she does see only adds questions onto questions.

It's simply more and more unfamiliar territory, dirty, cluttered, and a bit unnerving. She exhales, becoming a little more agitated.

...I don't recognize this place at all… Why am I here?

As she questions herself, her eyes catch something pinned up onto the wall. A slightly torn and battered newspaper…?

That newspaper… could it shed some light on this place? Foolish as it might seem, she edges closer to the soiled and yellow paper, struggling to read what's left of it.

"'A Reckless Murder?'" she whispers aloud, eyes scanning it quickly. Some of the words are hard to make out, some worn away or too faded. Still, she can make out the gist of most of the words.

"'The body of a male was found… The body has gaping wounds seemingly inflicted by a sharp blade. Authorities are treating it as a murder. Since last month, a string of similar murders have taken place in the state… No association or similarities have been drawn with the victim, so nearby residents are asked to exercise caution.'"

An article about a murder… Why is this here? Nothing makes sense in this place. Ray rereads the passage a few times, hoping to make it add up to something in her memories, but nothing registers.

...No clues after all. Guess I'll keep moving.

Sighing to herself, she moves past it. A cool breeze rolls along her bare legs as she walks by what looks like a very dark alley. For a moment she ponders wandering down that way, but it quickly is wiped from her mind. It gives her the creeps- maybe she'd traverse it later, though.

Speeding up her pace, Ray continues down the long stretch of road. The lack of other human beings is starting to wear on her, and the further in she goes, the more decrepit and ominous the whole place seems. There's trash and graffiti every which where, like troublemakers had come through and vandalized the place.

Something up ahead catches her eye, and she struggles to make out what it is in the dim yellow lighting around her- until it causes her to inhale sharply in surprise.

In front of her lies what seems to be a crossroads. To her left is another hall leading away, and to her right is what look like a boarded up storefront, the neon colored edges of it a strange contrast to the otherwise brown and discolored surroundings. But what really captures here attention is the street blockades in front of her- and behind those, the massive amount of deep red splotches tossed along the walls and ground.

Moving closer, the hairs on the back of her neck stand up with a trickle of fear running through her system.

Is that… is that what I think it is…?

It looks like… blood…

Why… Why would blood be littered across the floor here like this? The continual questions continue to add up in her mind, piling up insurmountably at this rate with no sign of answers.

Nearby happens to be another alley, but right now, she just wants freed from this place. She's starting to feel paranoid- like someone is watching her from somewhere.

...I've got to hurry and get out of here.

Getting herself composed once more, she quickly heads down the brighter-lit alley and maneuvers her way through, following it to the right and praying that she might find reprieve somewhere.

Amidst her wandering she turns a corner, and to her surprise, she realizes that what lies in front of her is another elevator. Instantly she hurries near the battered looking, vandalized device, nearly running in her haste to get out. Yet, though she tries to pry open the door with both hands, it doesn't budge. No keyhole or unlocking mechanism lies in her sight, and her heart sinks.

...It has an emergency exit mark. This is definitely the elevator passage. But it won't open… There's not even a keyhole for me to even try to open it! What do I do now…?

Fighting off a way of despair, she turns around, steeling her determination. This can't be it. There has to be another way to get out of here, or some way to unlock it in this place, and she buckles up what courage she has and heads back the way she came, inspecting things as she goes to make sure she didn't miss anything important. She explores the abandoned floor, eventually finding herself in a wide room and with a door off to her left.

Of course, she quickly tries to open it, but discovers it to be locked almost immediately. With a huff, she gives up on it for now. There could be a key somewhere, right? There's got to be other places I haven't looked.

How big is this place…? she questions as she wanders, her footsteps the only sound other than her soft breathing. And why is there no one around?

There has to be someone here, anyone- but not a single face appears to offer her aid. Her feet wander aimlessly through the hall back the way she came, facing up against the boarded up room again.

A noise to her left draws her eyes to the small, secluded dark alley she hadn't explored yet. She edges closer, trying to figure out what it might be.

...Those sounds… is there an animal in here…?

Curiously she explore the dark alley, putting aside her fear and following the small noises. She finds herself in an open room, with a door up ahead and various trash littered about. A dirtied mattress is off to one side, and there's a few lockers to the right. As she approaches the door, she hears more of the tiny, shrill noises again, and looks up to spot the source.

Half-hidden in a hole dug into the top of the wall, a small gray bird chirps its heart out above her, rustling around on its perch but not attempting to fly away. Eyes widening, Ray steps closer, mesmerized by the cute creature.

"What are you doing in a place like this…?' she coos to the bird, her voice light and friendly. "Come here, little bird."

The avian chirps in response, like it understands what she's saying, yet makes no move to come down. It flutters around inside it's hiding place, as if anxious.

"...Are you weak?" Ray realizes aloud.

How can I get it down from there? I wonder if it's hungry…

Maybe I can find some way to get it down, or some food to lure it down…?

Feeling determined to help the small creature, she starts off with a side mission to ease the bird down from the hole.

There was another alley down the way, right? I should go check that out too. Using that as her guide, she puts on some speed and jogs her way there, no longer feeling as afraid as before. Perhaps there's something to having a purpose that makes you ignore if you're scared…?

A few minutes later, she traipses down the other darkened alley she'd only glanced down before. Following the light, she arrives in a musty smelling small room. Another couple of barricades sit in the middle of the floor, pointlessly surrounding more crimson stains like the ones she'd seen earlier, as well as a jagged hole cracked deep into the wall. There's more of the disorganized graffiti along the room too, and a newspaper article not far from her feet.

Edging forward cautiously, she reaches down, picking up the dirty paper and reading over what it has to say.

'A Back Alley Murder. A nearby resident was found in a town's back alley. It's believed to be a teenage boy, but his identity is unknown. The body sustained severe lacerations, and the incident is being treated as one of several serial murders.'

Letting the paper once again float from her fingers to the unclean floor, she swallows hard, eyes flickering back to the doorway hesitantly.

...Serial murders…

There's a gnawing, creeping feeling in the back of her mind, something beginning to blossom and plant seeds into her thoughts, but she can't put her finger on what it might be. The continual clues and strange messages she keeps encountering have only filled her with more and more confusion.

Is it… could it be possible, that there might be a murderer in here with me?

No- that's crazy. Why would there be a killer down here? But… But that might explain why I'm here, wouldn't it?

Trying to shake off her inhibition, she clears her head. That's not what matters right now- if I think about it and needlessly worry, I'll only have a harder time escaping.

Something softly catching the light draws her eyes, and she realizes that something is faintly glinting in the large crevice in the wall. Allowing herself to move toward it, she only pauses when she steps on something unnatural under her feet. Glancing down, her stomach immediately recoils.

Those nasty reddish-brown stains… she's stepping right on it.

"...!" She fights for a second to keep her composure, horrified and feeling her body dry heave for a moment in disgust. The smell of it, that which has once mixed with the dirt-ridden garbage reek, is now overpowering with her right on top of it.

The smell of blood… it's so strong.

Forcing herself to keep going, she falls to her knees near the wall- carefully avoiding the bloodstains as much as she can- and dips her slender fingers into the crack, finding it to be a little more difficult than she thought to even fit her own small hand within- but determined to reach it, she managed to loop a finger through part of the shining object and draw it out.

A small, bronze key drops to the floor, and she scoops it up into her now-filthy hands. She eyes it with thought, questioning why it would even be placed in such an odd hiding spot.

This key… What door would this go to? Wait! There was the one from before- the locked one down the hall. It's worth a shot to use it there, right? Since the elevator door doesn't have a keyhole… Maybe I can find the mechanism to open the elevator with this!

Gripping her new glimmer of hope in hand, she stands up, prepared to leave at once- and then she notices some smaller writing, off to the side of the crack that she had practically ignored. Ray squints at it, trying to read the blackened scribbles.

'Someone befitting awaits you on each of the floors. Each are bound by a rule to never leave their floor. If you value your life, you have no choice but to ascend the floors.'

Someone… 'befitting'...?

The newspapers about the murders flash through Ray's mind, and her eyes widen as she starts to piece together small parts of this large puzzle laid before her. The 'play start' comment when she began this journey, the clues laid around…

Could I run into a killer here in this place somewhere? There's someone on each floor, but I haven't seen anyone yet. Could that be true? Swallowing, she grips the key in a tight fist, bracing herself.

...Maybe there's no one here after all. Maybe it's lying just to scare me.

Either way… I don't want to meet anyone on this floor.

.x.X.x.

Back at the locked door from before, she hastily inserts the key, twisting it with hope.

It clicks, and unlocks for her. Instantly she feels relieved.

However, once she steps inside, the relief is quick to leech away. The place looks like a rundown kitchen from what she can tell. Leftover dishes are in various places, boxes left empty of food lie on the floor, and in the middle of the room is another blocked off space where blood colors the ground and part of the steel counter. A few lockers sit off to the left, and another door lies at the far end of the room.

Somehow, this place feels… touched. Like someone has recently used it, she notes to herself. Moving further into the room, another newspaper on the wall catches her interest, along with a tray on the counter beneath it with a full syringe sitting abandoned.

Another article about murder, she realizes upon closer inspection of the paper. There's so many of these here. Are they supposed to be telling me that the person responsible for these murders is on this floor…?

This time, the story is about a man named Jon Smithee who was killed after having boasted about his new car. Ray frowns at it for awhile, not wanting to put too much thought into what it says, then tries to put it out of her mind, instead walking to the other door and cautiously trying the handle.

The knob easily turns, and she wanders into what appears to be a dining room. A large steel table sits in the center of the room surrounded by matching benches, and to her right is a row of closets and cupboards, even a ratty couch and a few soiled mattresses in the corner. The shelves are filled with dishes and food, making her stomach rumble in anticipation, but as she gets a closer look at them, she realizes with disappointment that most if not all of it has expired long ago.

Yet another door lies ahead, but when she tries to open it, her luck seems to have run out. It's solidly locked, unfortunately for her.

What do I do now?

Without much other choice, she starts rooting through the room. Starting at the biggest box near her, she finds that such a large container only holds a single bag of unopened snacks.

What a waste for a box this big to be empty, she thinks regretfully. Heck, it even looks like I could fit myself into it, with room to spare.

Still, maybe I can save these snacks for later. I'm a little hungry now, but I don't want to eat them all right away, especially if they're the only good food around.

Wait- that bird! Maybe I could lure the bird down with these?

Jumping to the conclusion that it's worth a shot, Ray quickly runs a scan through the remaining closets, drawers and everything in the room and the next, but finds nothing more to help herself. Deciding to give it another once over again later on, she hurries back to where she found the bird, her excitement to rescue it filling her heart.

"Little bird, I'm back!" she calls out to the creature upon arrival, spotting the bird in the same place it had been when she left it. "Will you come down if I give you some food…?"

She pulls the bag of snacks out from her purse and opens it. Pouring some of them into her hand, she raises it toward the little animal, urging it toward her.

She's surprised when the bird practically throws itself from it's perch in an effort to reach her, fluttering it's wings as fast as it can. It doesn't make it far, however; spiraling to the ground unceremoniously, it flaps its wings helplessly upon the floor, chirping in distress.

Is it hurt? The questions rings through her mind as she steps closer, answering it a moment later as she spots the bird's left wing. The appendage is laced in blood, looking battered and cut, the wound gruesome to look at. It looks so painful…

Without thinking she hurries to its side, kneeling down beside the pitiful bird. She offers a tiny smile to it, trying to be comforting.

"Are you hungry, little one?"

She pours some of the snacks onto the ground in front of her, and the bird chirps in what sounds like happy response. It starts pecking at the small bits with vigor.

"Good. Eat it all up now," she whispers, admiring the bird with softness. "...You're so precious…"

Already her brain is working, and her gaze is drawn back to that wing. That broken, motionless wing…

This won't do at all. That wing is a problem. A flaw.

Sating its hunger won't help it fly…

Already leaning in toward the bird, she whispers soothingly to it as she scoops it into her arms.

"I gotta make you all better. It's alright…"

A hand, gripping one wing… the other holding the struggling bird in place…

"...hold still."

.x.X.x.

"There you go. Now you should be just fine."

Ray smiles lovingly at the little bird, whom sits pecking away at the crumbs left on the nasty dirt floor. The wing looks good as new, still matted with some blood but now no longer seeping or open, and she beams with pride.

"...but I worry about you, little bird. So you're coming with me, okay?"

Again she pulls the bird into her arms, and it chirps at her, struggling a bit in her grasp. She gently keeps it safe half hidden in her jacket.

Moving to leave the room, before she's reached the exit, a loud noise on the other side of the wall jolts her with surprise. It was such a disconcerting change to the unaltered silence lately that she's taken completely off guard.

That sound, I think it came from the other side. But wasn't that boarded up? Maybe it's just rats.

Glancing down at the panicking bird in her hold, she frowns. It's frightening the bird, though… what was it…?

With even more hesitance, she picks up her pace and enters the bigger hall once more. No sooner has she stepped out from the passage, however, than something triggers behind her. A rush of wind, and she's barely turned her head to look before a thick brick wall slides across the opening, sealing her off from it completely.

It's closed… but how-?

"A-Ah! Wait!" Without warning the bird struggles free from her, somehow loosening her grasp on it and fluttering away from her haphazardly, dropping to the ground and hopping away, right in front of the boarded up door nearby. "No! I have to get out of here, stop!"

She tries to reach out for the bird, but it jumps away from her, evading her. She tries for a slower, gentler approach, hoping not to frighten it away.

"It's alright. Don't be scared…" Again it flies itself just far enough out of her hold, and she relentlessly pursues it. "Wait…!"

She seems to chase it in circles before it finally stops in front of the abandoned door once more, and she creeps up on it very slowly, noticing how panicked the poor bird seems. Is it afraid of me? Or is there something else that's making it so upset?

"Don't be scared, little bird," she coos to it slowly. "Let's leave this place together… okay?"

It chirps at her, and slowly starts to approach her. She smiles at it, extending her arms to take hold of it—

CRASH!

A mind-shatteringly loud explosion of wood, and splinters spray over her. The bird lets out a single screeching chirp, and Ray's eyes widen to the size of dinner plates as a figure steps down into the debris-laden floor, crushing it beneath his feet.

All she can absorb is the face covered in bandages and the psychotic wide grin carved into it, the hoodie covered in blood, their wild, strangely colored eyes as they grip their sharp scythe menacingly…

...Their laughter, etched in dark mirth and insanity, echoes out through the room like a harsh, dissonant melody.

"Wipe that stupid, smug look off your face," he cackles, enjoyment etched across his wicked grin.

"—And surrender to despair!"


A/N: Unbeta'd.

Raw content, m'dude.

Annnd here's the next update already. Like uh... wow. Usually I can hardly write so much in this kind of sitting. Ofc the next update will be farther along the line for sure, because I plan to stockpile chapters or something (LMAO cause that always works out amirite guys-)

Anyways, so here's chapter two. Longer, grittier, and we've finally introduced the man of the hour. I can't believe this fic's at 5k already and I'm only this far. It's gonna be a chunky adventure for sure. Just so you know, this fic is not top priority for me, but I do enjoy writing it, and it makes me a bit motivated to continue, so that's cool. Maybe it'll relight my fire.

So yeah, ladies and gentleman, hope you enjoyed reading this mess. Oh- and by the way, all the dialogue is going to be straight from the game or slightly modified to fit my needs. Sorry if anything seems wonky, too- I'm playing through the game as I go just to make sure I can add details and whatever and if anything seems out of order, that's probably why. Sorry in advance.

Thanks for reading!

~Disclaimer~ I love Ray and Zack, but I don't own them.