Author's Note: Again, thank you so much for the support. The action finally begins! Susan goes through some character development in this chapter. I might start drawing my favorite scenes from the chapters. Thank you for reading! Please enjoy Chapter 3!


Getting chased by a cannibal wielding a buzzsaw was not high on Susan's "FUN THINGS TO DO WHILE LOCKED IN AN ASYLUM" list. The man came running around the corner with the saw high above his head. Waylon and Susan felt glued to the spot.

"Run?"

"Good idea!"

Grabbing her wrist, Waylon bolted down the hallway with Susan stumbling behind him. The cannibal screamed at them, and, to Susan, he seemed to run faster at the sight of his prey. Waylon made a sharp right and kept to the shadows, causing Susan to lose sight of the madman. The sound of the buzzsaw was fading and their panting became the only sound besides the buzz of flickering lights. Sliding to a stop, Waylon crumpled to his knees. Susan leaned against the wall and didn't take her eyes off the hallway they'd come from.

"I don't suppose," Waylon gasped, "You still have that scalpel, huh?" Susan felt around her pockets.

"No...Dammit, I must have dropped it," she growled. "Not like it'd do much good against a buzzsaw."

Waylon stood up and looked around.

"I think...If we keep going this way, we can get to the Northern hallway and that leads to the radios. We're getting close." Waylon let a smile spread across his face. "Maybe we caught a break. Maybe we-" The sound of the buzzsaw cut him off as the cannibal came barreling down the hallway.

"Feed me, feed me, FEED ME!" he screeched. Susan yelped and started running again. She heard the footsteps farther behind her as she tried to get away. It seemed like she was tripping over everything on the ground, but she scrambled into one of the offices and slammed the door shut. Panting, she closed her eyes.

God, if I ever get out of here alive, I take back everything I ever thought about you.

Susan opened her eyes and turned her head.

"Waylon, we gotta-" Eyes widening, she frantically looked around the small room. The whole time, she'd thought Waylon was with her! Susan pulled at her hair and felt panic rising in her chest.

Calm down, Valenti! He couldn't have gotten too far.

Putting her ear to the door, she listened for any movement. Her blood froze at the sound of bare feet slapping on the ground. She stumbled away from the door and slid under the single desk in the corner. The sound passed her door and was gone. She waited, holding her breath, for the door to slam back open. Minutes felt like hours. Eventually, she was satisfied that he was gone and crept back into the hallway. The lights were dimmed in some spots and out in others. Keeping to the shadows, she backtracked the way she'd come. The silence was unsettling and even her heartbeat sounded too loud.

"Keep running! We're almost out!" came a voice up ahead. Susan watched as two doctors scrambled passed her hallway and another door slammed shut. She rushed to the door and pulled at it, grunting with the effort, but it stayed locked. Frustrated, she kicked at the door. Why couldn't any of the doors be unlocked? The light above her head flickered as she sullenly began her search again. Slowly turning the corner, she almost ran straight into the madman.

"Mine! You are mine!" he exclaimed. Susan's hair stood on end as he swung the buzzsaw at her. Ducking, she bolted away from him.

"You need a new hobby!" she panted. Her feet stung from stepping on debris and her legs were beginning to feel like jelly. Worse, she had no idea where she was going. It was almost like this guy was herding her somewhere.

Skidding across the ground, Susan entered in what looked like a locker room. She could hear the cannibal getting closer. His gait had slowed down. Susan closed the door slowly and looked around for an exit. To her dismay, there were no other doors, no vents, nothing. She could feel herself shaking. She didn't want to die. Not now. Not like this. It was a dumb idea, she decided, but it had to be done. Susan opened up the closest locker and jumped in, trying to control her panting breaths.

The dark room lightened up as the door creaked open. Susan bit her lip. She looked through the holes in the locker door and could see the haunting silhouette standing in the doorway. His weapon hung at his side.

Now that she got a better look at him, she felt her stomach heave. The man was completely naked with blood splattered all over his body. His beard was decorated with organic material that Susan couldn't stare at for long.

"Where are you!?" the cannibal snarled. He walked closer to her locker and slammed open one a couple feet away. Sneering, he slammed open the next one. Susan stopped breathing. He was getting closer. Three lockers away. SLAM. Two lockers. SLAM. The locker right next to her. SLAM. Then his hand reached for her locker. It hovered above the lock. He was so close that Susan could smell his breath and she was sure he knew she was there. The door slowly began to open and Susan waited with a clenched fist. Maybe if she could catch him off guard-

A sudden crashing from the hallway made the cannibal's head snap away from the locker. He sniffed for a moment and grinned.

"Think you're soooo clever!" he roared. Reving up his buzzsaw, he dashed away and closed the door behind him. Susan was frozen in her spot as her locker door swung open the rest of the way.

"No way..." she muttered. "That's impossible." Stepping out of the locker, she stared bewildered at the closed door. She'd survived? So close to death and she'd caught a lucky break? Her gasping breaths turned into a giggle, then a chuckle, then laughter. Susan hugged her self and laughed. She had no idea why she was laughing. But the laughter was halted when she turned to the side and vomited.


Waylon's screaming was what finally drew her out of hiding. He didn't sound that far away, and despite the fact her feet were bleeding and her stomach hurt, she made her way to his screams. What could she do against a buzzsaw, honestly? The cannibal had found Waylon and had him lying on a table, from what Susan could see. The entire room looked like a crematorium. She stayed in the corner and watched. Waylon's eyes turned enough that he noticed her. They were almost pleading, but mostly warning her to run away. Susan shook her head. She wasn't going without him. That moment in the locker room seemed to have sapped her of feeling afraid. Now she just felt numb with a headache. The cannibal lowered his buzzsaw towards Waylon's neck as Susan picked up a brick and threw it as far as she could. The clunk drew his attention.

He cocked his head to the side, turned back to Waylon.

"You stay there," he drawled. "And cook!" Waylon yelped as he was pushed into the cremator. The cannibal darted away towards the noise. He left the room and Susan rushed to the closed cremator. She tugged at the lock on the door.

"Waylon! Waylon, can you hear me? Hold on!" The roar of the flames nearly drowned out her voice. She could hear pounding coming from the inside and a crack followed by a grunt.

"Susan?" Waylon called. Susan got the hatch open and peered through. Waylon was crouched on the opposite side, his glasses cracked in one lens. "Susan, thank God! I thought he'd gotten you!"

"How do I get to you?" Susan huffed. She didn't know how to turn the darn oven off and there was no way she could scale the wall. If they waited for the oven to cool, the cannibal would be back.

"Use the vent in the other room. I saw the schematics for the air vents a while back and it should lead somewhere close to the radios. When you get out, keep heading north. I'll meet you there."

"How long will you wait for me?" Waylon frowned. He hadn't thought of that.

"We'll...we'll give each other a half hour." he decided. Susan nodded. Waylon managed a smile. "Should be enough time for us, right?"

Susan brushed her hair out of her eyes and nodded. She winced as Waylon disappeared from her view and stood up. They were almost there. She just had to make it.

Her head jerked back suddenly as a hand pulled her hair from behind. She screamed out in pain. The cannibal! He lowered his buzzsaw slowly towards her exposed neck.

"Time to stop running, little one," he purred in her ear. "It will only sting for a moment."

Susan's breath hitched as the buzz saw came down. Time seemed to slow down. She pulled forward with all her strength and broke from his grip. The buzzsaw passed her neck and cut close to her scalp. She felt the weight of her head lift as the cannibal stumbled backwards. Not stopping to examing anything, Susan ran. She ignored the shards of wood and rock that stabbed at her feet. She ignored the pain in her body or the roar of the cannibal behind her. All she saw was the vent in the other room. Susan jumped for it and pulled herself up. She felt the whiff of air pass her foot as the cannibal made a last grab at her. He screamed in frustration and cursed at her.

She crawled away from him and when she got far enough away, she felt at her hair. The buzzsaw had made uneven cuts. Some parts were still longer than others, some were close to her scalp. She felt some blood on the back of her head, but it was small. Her thick hair must have softened the blow. Turning back to the lightened end, she couldn't help but grin. She'd escaped once again. Her head ached, but she smiled widely.

"Fuck you, motherfucker!" she grinned. Her smile only slid off her face when the buzzsaw cut against the metal and sent sparks flying. She squeaked and stumbled away from the shower, into the darkness with the anguished cries of a madman filling the void.