Jack opened the door to the first floor hallway. Anne then thought of an idea. "I think I'll just bunk in one of the hospital rooms for tonight," she wearily said. The woman was extremely skeptical of the cowboy. She felt he was the one who saw her loot the body. Noticing his gear, she especially didn't feel safe and trust. Jack sighed. "Look, Ma'am, I want to help you out. Just- "Anne opened the door to the first floor patient rooms. She approached the first room. "Ma'am, please. This building isn't safe for you!" Ignoring the man's warnings, Anne was unfortunately not able to open the first door. She moved on to the second. Then she moved on to the third. She reached the room "C4," and still wasn't able to open the door. All of them have been blocked with debris. Anne was a tough woman, especially for her physique, which showed fat and muscle, but despite that, the debris was too heavy for her handling. Jack still tried to warn her. "Look, Dude. I'm just hoping to spend my night here and move on in the morning."
"You can't. You won't be able to get out."
"And why is that?"
"Just trust me. I made a spot for myself to be here. It's in the apartment building past Jack's Inn. Just come with me and you can-"
Anne already made her way to the second floor. As he tried to convince the woman, as stubborn as she was, she tried every single door. With little hope, she made her way back up the stairs to the third floor. The man followed her. "Look, Dude. Just go back to your spot." Anne's tone showed she was extremely irritated. "I'll be fine here!" Giving up, Jack sighed. When Anne started to open the room "S1," He felt like he had to stay with her until he knew she was safe to sleep. "I'll just wait until you're comfortable then," he replied in a solemn tone. Anne was extremely confused. None of the doors could have been opened. Anne made her way to "S7." She gave a gasp and a "fuck yeah," when she slowly opened the door. Jack had a really bad feeling in his gut. "Ma'am, please. I have a bad feeling about this." Anne ignored his final warning. The bed pillow was covered in blood. The room was rusted and molded. An opened suitcase looked like it hadn't been touched in years. An alarm clock had scribbled writing. It was placed next to the bed on the night stand. Jack did not like the condition of the room. The blood reeked from age. Pieces of brick had been taken off the walls. "You're going to stay in here?" He asked. The woman looked at the next bed over. While there have been no bed sheets, it still appeared to be deteriorated. "It seems pretty alright except the blood on the bed." Anne sat down on the one that didn't seem to be stained. "Just an old mattress here."
Jack noticed that a brick on the wall began to flake. He knew that was not a good sign. "Ma'am, pardon my bother again, but," Once Anne opened her tired eyes, she saw the room had started to change. Once she jumped off the bed, it seemed to become stained like the one next. The world changed completely. The old rusted room was nothing more than a gross blueprint. Jack grabbed Anne. "Please, whatever you do, stick with me." The Gunslinger had the young girl's hand. He quickly pulled her from the room, and made his way to the day room. "What the fuck is going on?" Anne panicked. Her expression was of worry. Her voice was in a vibrato. Once the duo made it to the hall, Jack threw the young girl into the elevator. It was the only thing that wasn't being taken over. Anne was on the floor. She almost hurled. "Dude. What the fuck is going on here?"
"Just stay calm and stick with me!"
"Are you doing this?"
"If I did, would I be trying to get you out of here?"
The elevator began descending to floor level. Jack had clicked to the first floor. However, the box past and began to accelerate. "Dude! Did a wire break or something?" Anne began to scream. Jack lost his balance. He crawled to the girl as fast as he could.
Everything turned black.
Only minutes have passed. Jack faintly heard his name. Once he opened his eyes, he was suddenly blinded by a flashlight. "Are you alright?" The woman grabbed his hand. She helped him up. "I don't know what this place is, but I'm freaked out." Anne's voice was shaky. Her eyes showed worry. The girl turned. The basement was dark and rusted. It looked like a morgue. Stretchers and bodies were rampant. Anne moved the light a bit more. Her eyes inspected the shape of the figure. It matched the stretcher next. The foot of the shadow had moved, but not the body itself. Anne screamed. Her arms wrapped around Jack's. "This isn't cool, Man. This is not cool." The man dragged her over to the stove. Ash still burned. Jack asked Anne to remove her flashlight. Reluctantly, the girl unwrapped the duct tape. The Gunslinger inspected the human-sized stove. "There's a passage on the other side. Maybe we can get back up through here."
"… Going through a stove? Dude. What if you're just seeing this? What if you get locked in here and burned?"
"Trust me."
"Are you for real? Going through this thing?"
Jack made his way inside. He crawled up to where Anne was able to see the man jump from the other end. "Then jump in on your stomach. I'll drag you out!" Jack held his hands out. Anne hesitantly crawled in through the stove. He grabbed both her hands. He pulled until he fell back. The girl landed over his body, shook herself from the ash, and stood up. Jack, despite being a little disoriented from a small fall, got back up to his feet. The area was covered in chain and metal tile. Beyond all that was darkness. It only seemed like a walkway. Anne placed her flashlight back onto her backpack. She followed the man up the first staircase. At the end, they both spotted a monster they had never seen before. It was not large, but it was still creepy. The creature lacked a face. However, it was stitched, bleeding, and agonizing to look at. Jack pulled out his revolver. Placing a bullet in its head, the monster suddenly became incapacitated. As Jack and Anne passed, they made their way up the next staircase. The duo was alert that it was slippery. Blood was dripping from the top step. However, from the angling, both spotted a figure. The corpse was freshly killed. Its body hung from a rope, upside down, while hogtied. Blood dripped from the top of the head. Anne didn't have a weak stomach, but she hurled. On the other hand, Jack was used to seeing the sight.
The world Anne had just seen was an everyday thing for poor ol' Jack Marston.
The Gunslinger opened the door. The stairway wasn't even taken over. The hall of stairs was normal, yet still dusty as it was when the duo entered the building. Once Jack and Anne reached the first floor door, however, both spotted a book. Anne picked it up.
"My dearest,
Please do not be frightened. You share his world, as you share mine. You shouldn't be scared.
You will be with me and know you are safe.
I didn't want us to be apart.
And now, after so many years, we can be reunited.
I will be able to embrace you again, just as I had years ago.
-Stanley."
Anne handed the book to Jack. He gave a disgusted look. "Do you know this guy? I mean, we didn't see this book until now, and we've been through this door a thousand times. This is creepy."
"I don't know. And to be honest, I don't want to. It's probably a ghost."
"Maybe this 'ghost' is messing with our heads. This is the second time I stumbled across this book."
Anne turned the pages. The rest remained blank in exception to the first note she read. The woman dropped the object. Jack finally opened the first floor door. However, both realized they weren't home free."
The hall was taken over by the otherworld.
Anne ran to the front doors. She kicked them as hard as she could. "What the fuck is going on here?" Anne yelled. The girl then kicked the nearest deteriorated bucket. Jack looked around for any clues for a way out. "I've been here before."
"Where? To this crazy world?"
"Many times. We have to play by its rules. Then we'll get out."
"Okay, then. Rules, my Gentleman?"
"We have to find clues. We might be able to find a key out of this hospital, or we might find something else."
The duo traveled to the patient hall. Only two rooms seemed to be opened, to Anne's surprise. While Jack searched one, Anne searched the other. "Hey," Anne called from her room. "I found a hanger!"
"Well, I found some pins or something."
The two met in the middle of the room. The presented their founding. "Maybe we have to pick-lock a door?" Anne asked. The girl then approached the door to the outer hall. Jack held a pin. "I don't know how to pick a lock," Anne said with little hope. Jack used his skills to his potential. Once Anne heard a move of the knob, she smiled. The door opened to reveal another disgusting hallway. The girl turned the knob of the first room to the left. While locked, she took the opportunity to kick the door open. With Jack right behind her, Anne suddenly made her way to the shower room. Jack held the door open. The girl noticed the drain was clogged. She was glad there was no blood. The woman used the hanger. She dug it inside the drain. After a drag, she found a key. "Is it to get out of here?" Jack asked with excitement.
"Nope. It's to the pool."
Anne and Jack suddenly made their way to the pool room. However, they were disgusted that the tiles were stained in blood. Bodies had been placed rampant throughout the room. Guts have been spilled. Some bodies have been skinned. "Jesus Christ," Anne whispered. She placed her shirt over her nose to get rid of the stench. While Jack was used to the sight, he jumped over the bodies. "Hey. There's a vacuum on the other side," Anne pointed. "Maybe there might be something in there?" With the information in mind, Jack made his way to the vacuum. He was able to see that it was working, and didn't have any water. However, there was a pump connected to it. "I think we need to drain the pool," Anne suggested. Jack went on ahead and hit the button to the pump. The duo both suddenly left the room to wait.
In the meantime, Jack asked her to rest. "You look beyond exhausted." Anne shrugged him off. As both made their way to the second floor, Anne spotted a radio right in front of the door. She picked the item up to inspect. "This is so 90's," the woman remarked satirically. Jack questioned what she meant. "I mean this was way back in my time. You know, I haven't seen these things since I was little." At that moment, Jack really questioned how long he had been in the town. Once Anne opened the door, the patient room was covered in mold. The floor was damp. The doors that could have been opened have been covered in tape. However, the doors that couldn't have been opened were covered in wallpaper. Anne and Jack separated again. After removing a couple nurses, they both have come out to show their findings. Anne found a pipe. On the other hand, Jack found some health essentials. However, the item that has shown to have importance to the situation was a doll. "I wanted to show you because oddly, the doll looks like you," Jack said. Anne seemed to be slightly disgusted, but moreover frightened. "This is freakin' creepy. That book and now this. Maybe that's why I'm in this shitty dream?"
"I'm afraid that might be so."
Jack and Anne made their way back to the first floor. Once both have entered the pool room, the bodies have already been removed. The vacuum was clogged. Anne turned the pump off. Jack reached his hand inside the hose.
He pulled out a key.
Anne noticed right under the vacuum was the book. Out of curiosity, she looked inside it again.
"My dearest,
This world is too big. The afterlife is even bigger. I was there. It was crowded. That was why I wanted to come back, and bring you, too.
I found the Book of Lost Memories. It was in the small island beyond Toluka Lake.
I have yet to find the Obsidian Goblet.
Don't fret, Melissa. I will have the Goblet and Chrism. Then I'll bring you back. I promise.
Stanley."
Anne kicked the book. "Anne, we can get out. It's to the front," Jack exclaimed after cleaning the key in the shower room. The man was drenched. The woman sighed. "Dude. I thought things like this result to a monster battle. You know, with a giant monster coming out trying to kill us and stuff. And with monsters being here already, it's like it'll happen."
"It's happened to me before."
"Really?"
"Yeah. I mean, it shows they're not in books anymore. Now I can feel when the monster is close."
Jack and Anne made their way out of the pool room. After passing the patient hall, Anne was suddenly stopped by Jack. The radio began to emit strong static. Jack suddenly clipped it off. "Dude, what the-"
"Be quiet! He's here!"
"You're kidding?" Anne whispered.
Jack placed his hand on her mouth.
Anne began to hear a painful grinding. She then knew that the monster was making his way down the hall. However, from the distance, it showed that he was on the other side, moreover near the lounge. The duo, with Jack's hand still firm on Anne's mouth, ran straight to the door. Jack placed the key inside the lock. Once Anne turned her face, she saw the creature coming towards her. It resembled a humanoid but with a giant pyramid-shaped plate on its head. She suddenly became petrified. Jack suddenly opened the door. "Come on Anne!" He screamed. Jack grabbed the woman by the waist and threw her out the building. He then closed the door right before the monster reached them. He suddenly grabbed the girl again. They both made their way towards the bowling alley. "You see what I told you?" Jack suddenly said while catching his breath. "Are you alright?"
"Does shitting my pants classify as alright?"
"Trust me, Anne. That won't be a problem when you get used to it."
"Used to it?"
Anne cupped her hands onto her face. "You mean I'll be stuck here forever?"
"How am I to know how long you're stuck here? I've been a really long time."
"Sure, Jack-Off. How long have you been here for- a hundred years?"
"Feels like it, actually."
Anne sat against the window to the bowling alley. "Tell me, when did you get here?" While Jack was hesitant to tell the girl, he knew that if he was to gain her trust and help her, he had to come clean with himself.
"Since 1915."
"You're shitting me."
"No, really."
"You've got to be shitting me."
"I shit you not. I've lost count of how long I've been here. I don't know what the hell I have to do to get out, and it feels like I'll turn to dust if I do."
Anne scratched the back of her head.
"Dude. You've been here for almost a hundred years. Seriously."
Jack was able to see it. He was able to see that the girl in front of him took an appearance of someone from the future. Her hair was dyed- especially with purple tips. She wore a black T-shirt. She donned a purple flannel jacket. Jeans and high-tops completed her covering. "So you're like Doc, Huh? And I guess I'm like McFly." Anne yawned. In the process, she said, "Well, you know, 2014 isn't any better. Women walk around almost naked. Men do so and they get arrested for it. Music is tasteless. Politicians are shysters. Our doctors and lawyers aren't any better." Anne got up on her feet.
"You know, since you're this dude from the past in this horrible dream, I guess you can take me to your bunk that way I can get to my appointment with Planet Earth."
I probably won't get anywhere with this.
