With the doors closing behind him, other than the sliver of light coming from the cracks, Frank stood in the darkness of the building. "I can't see a thing," he grunted to his frustration. He reached into his pocket to pull out a small flashlight that he would always keeps with him. Being a superintendent, he always keeps one in handy incase of black outs. He shone his light at his surroundings. There are stairs that led to the second floor and before them is a dark hallway.
Deciding to try his luck on the first floor, he took a step forward, but then he kicked something on the ground and sent it sliding a meter away from him. He pointed the flashlight at the object, seeing it was a bunch of papers folded up together. Frank picked them up and unfolded it, revealing to be a map of the apartment building. He smirked to himself, feeling glad now that he should be able to find his way.
He browsed through the map trying to look for his exact location, but he noticed some red scribbles and arrows written usually on doorways, probably hinting which one could and couldn't be entered, which made it more convenient for him. Now he shouldn't have the trouble of figuring out which doors he can access, unlike Henry who has to bear with searching every single door himself.
"I hope he's doing fine," he thought out loud.
A faint noise made its presence to the old man., he quickly pointed his flashlight in all directions, finding the source of the noise. His paranoia rising, he took deep breaths to calm himself down and he listened carefully to the faint sound. It was barely audible but he came with the conclusion that it may be coming from the second floor.
Looking at the map, he checked for any rooms he could enter. Then he heard shuffling noises from up above. Henry was on the other side of the building, so he could only assume the he wasn't alone. "Who's there?!" he called out, his flashlight shined on the second floor banister. A green figure suddenly dashed for the hallway. Not hesitating, he ran up the stairs, begging for the person to stop. "Please! I need to speak with you!"
Reaching the second floor, pointing his flashlight down the hallway. The figure stood idle at the very end, facing Frank. Now observing him from the front, he looked exactly like James when he last saw him. "James!" he called out to him. He couldn't believe that his son was in front of him, but he was unaware of why he was fleeing from him. James just stood still and unresponsive, staring at Frank waiting for the next course of action.
Frank moved forward and at that instant James opened the door beside him and entered it. Frank dashed for the room, the door still ajar he carefully opened it so he wouldn't alert James. He also realized that the noise he heard from the first floor had become more vivid to his ears. It was the familiar static from his dreams, coming from somewhere in the apartment.
Frank looked back and forth the room, seeing no sign of James. He entered the room. Not only did it lacked furniture but it's a mess. Wallpaper pealed off the walls and he can see some sort of red-yellowish grime on the walls and he'd kick dust with each step.
He listened to the static once more, leading him to one of the apartment bedrooms. It looked no different from the living room itself, but a lone radio sat in the center of the room. Frank picked up the object. "Wow, I haven't seen these radios in ages," he commented, turning it all over to inspect it. "But what's it doing here?" By the lack of dust, someone had placed it here recently.
He placed a hand on its dial to turn it off, but then the static suddenly got louder.
"What the?" Thinking that it was broken and of no use, he tossed it on the ground and turned to leave but something stood blocking his path. It wasn't the same figure that he chased after. The figure's arms were absent and it's torso shook like it was in agony. The light from Frank's flashlight made it hiss in irritation and it moved in on the old man. "S-stay back!" he ordered but his demands were ignored.
Instinct told him to either run or fight, but with the laying figure blocking his only way out he had no choice. He balled his hands into fists and he waited for the creature to come to him, but it stopped and it started shaking even more violently. Even with the static in the air, he can still hear a noise coming from within the creature and in a matter of seconds it opened it's mouth and spewed some greenish bile at the old man, who then jumped out of it's path but he accidentally dropped his flashlight and it broke when it met the ground, leaving the room in darkness.
The liquid made a splash on the floor, and Frank watched in horror as smoke rose from it and the wood began to melt before his eyes.
He got back up to his feet and didn't wait for it to come to him anymore. He walked up to it and as hard as he could, he punched it two times in the chest, hearing it's cry of pains. Allowing it no time to spew out acid again, he landed punch after punch, sending it back to the door way. He begun to feel exhausted but luckily the creature fell back and he landed one hard kick to it's chest. It twitched momentarily then it became motionless. Frank looked down at it, nudging at it's sides to see if it was still alive. "What the hell is this thing?"
He also took notice to the sudden silence. The static had disappeared when the monster was defeated. He picked up the radio again, hoping that it was still in working order. He assumed the static worked as some sort of monster detector. This'll be useful, he thought, shoving the small radio in his coat pocket.
Then his lips were pulled into a smile. "James led me here to find this," he felt glad that his son, or maybe an illusion of him is trying to help him. Now more than ever did he feel determined to find out what happened.
----
Henry jogged down the second floor hallways, checking any door that came in his sight. He'd also occasionally run into a creature every corner he meets and he'd also know when one was near when ever his head began to throb to his displeasure.
Most of the doors were jammed and the rooms he could enter didn't hold anything of value. He groaned when his temples begun to throb painfully once more. Readying his pipe, he spotted the creature who was still unaware of his presence. To save energy and time, he made a run for it, being as quiet as he could. Reaching a corner, he sighed when his migraine slowly faded.
He continued again, reaching a hallway that was blocked off by a metal grate. He checked the doors near it. Finding another apartment he could enter.
He noticed a faint, rotten odor coming from the other side. Reluctant, he opened the door and an unbearable stench hit him like a punch to the face. He winced, his hand flying up to cover his nose. He looked inside and noticed a lot of flies in the room. "What the hell?" He gripped his pipe, even though his head didn't make any warnings of danger. Although he spotted a lone chair at the corner of the room where the flies seemed the most attracted to. He approached it slowly, his heart pounding nervously. Getting closer, he saw what appears to be a person sitting on the seat, but with the flies and odor in the room he can already assume that he was long dead.
He gazed at the man, noticing that he was wearing a green jacket. "Oh god," he gasped. He feared that this might be James, but he felt somewhat relieved when he took a closer look. He had dark brown hair, not blond like James. His curiosity fulfilled, he saw no more reasons to stay. Wanting to leave so badly, he dashed out slamming the door behind him. Taking a deep breath, the musty air in the hallway felt very refreshing.
A drumming made itself presence in the brunette's skull, but it was different from before. It was void of pain. He heard footsteps down the hallway.
"Hello?" he called out softly and heard no response. "Frank? Is that you?" He knew very well that it wasn't the old man, but his mind just denied it, fearful of who or what it might actually be.
A silhouetted figure passed the corridor. Henry, jogged after it, feeling the dull throbbing in his head increase. "Henry," a low, monotone voice whispered.
After making a turn at the corner, the figure was no where to be in sight. Henry sighed, then he jumped when a loud metal screeching echoed through the halls. He still felt the fast pounding in his head but the pain was back. He looked down the dark halls, empty with the exception of a few dead creatures he killed, their bodies left on the floor. Looking more carefully, he noticed light coming from underneath the cracks of one of the doors.
Just as he entered, a bright light shined in his face. He held his hand up to shield his eyes. Through his fingers, he glanced at the light. He then walked out of its range and saw that it was a flashlight. It was in the breast pocket of a life-sized doll dressed almost similarly to Henry which is what made the goosebumps appear on his arms, only the doll's shirt is gray and unbuttoned all the way down revealing a black undershirt. Its jeans were covered in some black and red stains. It had the same shaggy-brown hair but it was longer and tied back in pony tail. It also seems to be holding a kitchen knife.
The doll was slumped against the farthest wall in the room, with it's head leaning to the side. Henry eyed the flashlight in it's pocket and knew it would help him see better in the dark. He slowly approached it, afraid that it might suddenly jump up and try to stab him. He reached over and retrieved the clip-light with no problems. He sighed in relief.
Now with his new light, he shined it around the room for anything useful. He jumped when he suddenly felt a breeze on his thigh. He turned around to look at the doll which remained slumped against the wall. The doll's face had maroon buttons for eyes and someone had drawn a frown with a red marker, but what stood out the most is the bullet hole on it's forehead, the fabric and cotton inside is charred. Henry poked at it, the burnt fabric felt hot and jagged under his finger.
Then he heard the loud screeching noise again. Behind the doll were some windows that are boarded up, but there was a small hole above the doll. Henry peered through the hole, seeing the apartment's courtyard covered in fog. He heard the screeching noise once more and realized that it was coming from the yard. His eyes darting everywhere for the source, then he saw something moving. It moved slowly and heavily, each footstep making a loud thud. It revealed more of itself with each step it took towards Henry's direction. It looked like a man with an apron around his waist with blood splattered all over it, both his arms were also covered in blood, and on his head he wore a triangular helmet, almost resembling a pyramid.
Henry found the source of the screeching. He saw the man dragging a big, bloody sword behind him. It must've been sharp enough to leave distinct scratches on the concrete.
He watched quietly as the man moved through the fog. He made a mental note to avoid running into him for he could mean serious trouble. He kept watching the pyramid man trudging along the sidewalk, until the steel pipe slipped from his hands falling to the floor and rolling towards the center of the room. At that instant the pyramid man stopped, his helmet moving left to right meaning that he heard Henry's pipe fall.
Terrified, the brunette's heart began to beat rapidly. He held his breath, hoping that he won't find him, but he was on the verge of passing out when the man's helmet stopped, facing him. No, no, no, no, Henry begun chanting in his head.
The man just stood there, his helmet supposedly looking at him. Then it moved, once again facing the path ahead of him and he begun moving, now trudging at a faster pace.
"He saw me!" Henry panicked, moving away from the window. His head had stopped pounding moments ago, indicating that the area was clear but he knew that if he stayed where he was the pyramid man will find him.
Placing the light in his breast-pocket and retrieving his pipe, he ran out of the room and made for the stairs as fast as he could. But as soon as he reached the stairwell, he stopped immediately before falling into the large gap in the floor.
"What the hell?" he gasped. He knew that whatever made a hole this big would've caught his attention but he heard nothing other than the screeches from earlier. He directed the light into the hole, but he couldn't see any fallen rubble.
He turned, looking the other way spotting the stairs leading up to the third floor. He looked up and saw that the floor also met the same fate.
The holes were too wide to jump across so he had no choice but to return to the hallway and find another way out and he had to do so fast too because it was almost time for him to meet up with Frank back out front. He didn't want to picture Frank running into the pyramid man while looking for him, but he might be able to out run him since he moved so slow. But what if he tripped and fell? What if he ran into a dead end and had nowhere else to run? What if there's more than one?
Henry scolded himself for thinking about such things. "He'll be fine," he half-heartedly told himself. "Don't get so paranoid."
He sighed, and he begun walking down the hall, alert but still feeling worried at the same time.
Note:If the part with pyramid head made some of you go "wtf" then I can explain. All I can say is that I am fully aware of what he represents, and that I didn't include him for no good reason. I have a good reason why which I won't go into further details until furthur chapters. Thank you! :3