Location: Mount Massive Asylum
Lake City, Colorado
18th September, 2013

The asylum looked like it had just crawled out of a horror movie. What the hell was I thinking coming down here in the evening? What if I take too long and the night rolls in? Goddamn, I'm such an idiot!

Well, I've already paid the cab driver. He's already driving off. I've got my flashlight in hand. I can't wait around any longer; I need Miles back.

Here goes nothing.


Blood, body parts and more blood.

That was all I could see when I timidly walked into the main doors of the asylum. I thought that the military jeeps were frightening but it all paled in comparison to the murder scene right here in the administration block. The smell in the air – it was just awful. It smelt of decay and death. I was gonna throw up.

What the hell happened here?

Murkoff was up to some pretty shady things, but what were they doing that caused so much gore? What did they develop? What did they release?

Numerous questions and no way for me to figure them all out. I needed to find him. It was probably a bad idea for me to be calling out for him; I had no clue what was lurking around in this horror house. But at the same time, I had no clue where to even start.

The first thing to keep in mind was not to step on anything bloody. Good luck to me.

Well, I guess that I would have to go wherever my instincts tell me. Although, I had to remember the way back to the exit, in case anything should happen.

I would take a gun from the few security guys who were lying dead around me but I didn't know the first thing about firearms. Even in a damned haunted mental asylum, I wasn't going to take the risk of accidently shooting myself. Go figure, Sam.

Instead, I picked up a nightstick and held it close to my chest as I made my way deeper into the administration hall. I was going to go wherever there was light.

"Miles?" I whispered so softly. Who the hell was going to hear me? "Where are you?"

It was eerily quiet. I couldn't tell if it was good thing or not.

I heard the single sound of metal falling behind me. I almost jumped. Who knew what that was?

I was about to walk past the security room when I saw that the bulky door had been completely ripped off its hinges, and that the monitors were still functioning. Perhaps I could find Miles on one of the screens. Stepping over the fallen door, almost slipping on a pool of blood, I glanced through the monitors. Nothing, not a single soul. "Damn it…"

Clang.

I froze in my place when the sound of metal hit the ground. It could be Miles, it could be literally anyone. But I knew I had to find out who it was.

I left the security room and walked down the hallway, towards the sound. "Hello?" I was met with a metal door, a red "EXIT" sign looming over it. I fiddling with the knob, but it was locked.

"Hello?"

I spun around instantly, my grip tightening around the nightstick. The minimal light allowed me to see the shadow of a lone figure. She appeared to be in a cardigan the reached the hem of her dress.

What the hell? "W-who are you?"

"I could ask you the same thing, sweetie," She replied, taking a few steps towards me, which prompted me to back up, but my back hit the exit door instead. "Hey, you don't have to be scared of me."

I begged to differ. When she stepped into the light, I could see her visibly. She wore a Mount Massive Asylum patient's gown, with her red cardigan over it. Her entire outfit had small cuts here and there, as well as some blood. Her tousled jet-black hair reached her shoulders, and I felt like her ice-blue eyes were piercing right through my soul.

"Are you lost? You don't look lost. You look like you're in this Godforsaken place for a reason." Shen then said. Her voice had a husky tone to it; it was inciting.

"W-what about you?" I asked in a quivering voice, the nightstick still in my hand.

She let go of a little laugh and said. "I'm not in this gown for shits and giggles, you know. I'm a patient," Immediately after her statement, she put her hands up, "But don't be afraid of me! I'm not crazy! Or at least… I didn't kill everybody here."

"Then who did?"

"I really don't know. When I heard all the commotion, I found a place to hide until it was all over."

"Oh…" The words came faintly from my mouth.

"I'm Dawn."

I was taken aback by her introduction of herself. "S-Samantha."

"Oh! What a pretty name!" Dawn complimented with a bright smile. "So, Samantha, you're clearly not a patient. What the hell are you doing here?"

I finally lowered the nightstick, hoping to hell that I wasn't making a mistake by doing so. "My fiancée. He came here. I'm trying to bring him home."

I saw her left eye twitch, but thought nothing of it. "… Fiancée?" Her eyes lowered to my left hand. "Oh my. That's quite the engagement ring."

"Thank you," I managed a little smile. "He's a journalist. His work brought him here. But I'm looking to bring him home."

"No offence, but even with that nightstick, you're still not scaring me. Where's the police in all this?"

"Murkoff. Their influence is strong. And I'm not waiting for a warrant."

"Wow," Her eyes widened at me. "This guy must be hella special if you're gonna crawl through this hellhole to find him. I'll help you. I know my way around this place." I remained quiet, to which Dawn gave me another smile. "I get it, I get it. I'm a patient! What's the guarantee that I'm not gonna turn around and stab you in the throat, am I right?"

I nodded meekly.

"I guess you'll just have to take that chance, little Sam."

I winced at that nickname. It made me feel so small, like I was a lamb. "I-I appreciate it. Really. But I'm going to have to do this on my own. I don't know you. I don't know what you're capable of. I just want to find Miles and go home."

She gave me a solid nod and stepped to the side. "I understand. Go on, Samantha."

I took small steps towards her, and then sped up in order to get past her. I lifted the nightstick up in preparation for anything but Dawn only kept silent, as well her eyes on me the entire time. I hurried off, but kept turning my head behind to catch glimpses of her.

"BEST OF LUCK!" Dawn screamed ecstatically with a big wave. "Don't get yourself captured or killed!"

I didn't reply. What was I even supposed to say?

I made my way back to the admin desk, thankful for the bright lights illuminating the place. I shuddered to think about the offices in front of me as that area was shrouded in darkness, save for the desktop computer screens, which were the only things lighting up the area.

I came to the conclusion that, if I was going to find Miles, I'd have to go deeper into this place.

Dear God. I don't want to run into something that I shouldn't. I nearly slipped on the pool of blood at the entrance of the office, holding onto the doorway for support. "Fuck me…" I exhaled in a breath.

I manoeuvred my way around the desks to the doorway at the other end, where there was light. It was a small area for filling cabinets that led to another hallway of this place, and that hallway was pretty well-lit, like the others. The question was, do I take a right or a left turn?

No sooner had I stuck my head out, I was violently pulled into this new hallway and thrown against the locked door opposite me. The sudden action caused me to drop the nightstick.

There was one hand tightly around my neck and the other pressed firmly against my mouth. My chocolate brown eyes were held captive by a pair of ice-blue ones.

"I told you, little Sam: I know my way around this place."


A/N: GASP.
IS THIS
AN UPDATE?

Hello, everyone! I hope this was a nice surprise and I'm terribly, terribly sorry for the year-long wait! But I think I finally got the inspiration for this story again. I really hope you all enjoyed the chapter! I've been waiting to introduce Dawn!