A/N: I told myself I would be more productive with the new year, in terms of writing and posting- and then inevitably noticed that this story had gone basically a full year without an update, which was a huge surprise to me. I thought it had been like, a few months. So first off, let me apologize for that. The past year was not a good one for me, but it eventually got better- and it ended off a lot better than it started.
So I've had this chapter sitting around for the most part of the year. I was just never happy with it, and I realized I messed up on the storyline- but I would have to go back like 2-3 chapters to fix it. And I'm not going to do that, I'm just going to figure it out on the go. As I mentioned before, this is actually a re-write of an older version of this story, that I also never finished, and this chapter right here is where the last version ended too. Which means that everything from here on out is brand new to me as well.
Again, I'm sorry for the lack of updates. I've been getting your messages and I promise I wasn't ignoring them- I just hit a wall and lost motivation. In actuality, I'm not even happy with this chapter, I had to cut a LOT of stuff out of it, but I couldn't keep stopping myself from working on it. I even have the next chapter already drafted out, but I could never work on it because this one kept holding me back.
Anyways, this note has gone on long enough, and you guys aren't here for me (lol). So to those of you who are still around, thank you- and I promise the next chapter will be better.
The noise was enough to stop him in his tracks, more out of anticipation than anything else.
The ringing was always spontaneous.
It was impossible to predict.
That was the only advantage it had over them- and yet it was the only advantage it needed.
[It could provoke the perfect ambush.]
And yet, Joseph felt like he had been bracing himself for it this time; as though he knew their luck with avoiding it had run down. Then again, it wasn't often that he, Sebastian, and Kidman got to spend their time in silence- not peaceful silence anyways. There was always another one of those creatures crawling around, forcing them to hold their breath and be still.
It was expected that their time here wouldn't go without being punctured by something.
In retrospect, with everything else they had experienced in this world so far, something as simple as a high-pitched noise should've been the least of their concerns.
But it wasn't always just a sound; it always brought something else along with it.
The ringing knew how to make a situation worse.
It was like a harbinger.
...
But not this time.
This time, it rang out, and... nothing came to follow it.
Joseph anticipated the pain in his head to come roaring back; he expected to feel the continuous agony that made his body feel like it was being ripped apart at the seams, stripped down to the bone.
But he didn't feel anything.
Nothing more than a weird, almost sinking kind of feeling that washed up and spread throughout his body. It had an odd effect of making him feel both heavy and weightless at the same time- almost like he was being suspended in water, in some kind of way.
It was difficult to describe in the moment.
It was nothing like he had experienced before, which was saying a lot given his experiences here so far.
But that was it.
That was all that he felt from that perpetual ringing sound.
And with that sort of realization sinking in, realizing he couldn't feel anything, only made the experience more uncomfortable.
Joseph didn't know if he could move or not, or if he even had control over his own body to begin with. For all he knew, something else had grabbed control over him once more, and the sensation that he was feeling right now was just some subconscious form of autopilot. Or maybe his subconscious had finally been ripped clean out of him, and this was just the feeling of his body being left behind.
[But given how agonizing each experience with that sensation had been so far, he didn't exactly see the ending product being so painless.]
This was something different; it had to be.
Every time something else- someone else- had gotten into his head, Joseph had been aware of his actions. He knew what he was doing, he knew what that something, that someone was making him do; he just couldn't stop himself from doing it.
This time, though, he was completely blind.
He didn't feel anything; he couldn't acknowledge anything.
And the thought of moving never crossed his mind, only the questioning of its absence did.
It was like his mind couldn't figure out how to process what was going on, and was simply waiting for the ordeal to pass. It felt like he was at the point where he simply accepted that this was just another thing that happened here; that this was just another ordeal that happened to him, and that by this point, he had simply gotten used to it.
...
The ringing only lasted a few seconds; just a touch, a pause in the moment of things, before it stopped.
And yet, it felt as though hours had dragged on somehow.
Like time had come to a complete stop for him, and no one else.
Joseph's body ached in the aftermath of it.
It ached from imaginary scars that had been left behind, bringing back the haunting pain of feeling himself being gutted alive. It wasn't real, it couldn't have been, and yet Joseph swore he could still feel the cut of a cold blade running through and under his skin.
[It felt like he could find the crude stitching underneath his uniform though; he could find the placeholder keeping his skin and organs together.]
Despite the odd calmness of the ordeal, it was only apparent in the lingering silence afterwards just how disorientating it had been after all.
In the stillness, Joseph had the distinctive feeling that something had happened during that standing time; something he couldn't remember. It was like his brain had tried to shut itself down to what was going on, like it had tried to protect itself from something he didn't see, or from something he couldn't understand. Or maybe it was protecting him from something he had already seen by trying to get rid of the memory altogether.
It had tried to break that link to keep him and his subconscious together.
[It was said that the human mind would always break before the body.]
[It was never about how much the body could handle, but how much the mind couldn't- and that was something Ruvik was an expert in.]
When Joseph blink, when he tried to pull himself back and concentrate on the environment around him, all he could see were filtered colors running behind his eyes. A haze of messily pieced together images of the room they were in, or at least, it looked like the same room as before- and God, he hoped it was.
He was in a bad enough place as it was mentally; he couldn't adjust to a sudden change of scenery right now.
It didn't take long, just a few shallow seconds at best, before everything, senses and images alike, caught up with him.
And the blurred images and colors fell back into line, and confirmed that he was still in the same room.
And it was almost depressing to realize just how relieving such a small thing like that felt.
Just a few seconds of relief, of pretended control, before Joseph felt the crushing weight of his own body trying to collapse in on itself.
Every one of his senses came rushing back to him, scrambled and out of order, which only brought on this cold realization that something really must've stopped him from feeling all of this before. A cold realization that his mind had actively tried to separate itself from the current situation- whatever it was that he didn't see, that he didn't experience.
Joseph felt something push by him, practically shoving him out of the way with the motion, and throwing off his barely-stabilized sense of balance. Despite the dull, aching pain in every limb, his body still managed to react enough to catch itself on whatever was nearby- a piece of furniture of some kind, maybe it was the fireplace mantle, he didn't know.
It was enough to keep him from collapsing at least- although the sudden movement was enough to bring on the familiar sense of dread that he was going to vomit again.
"Kidman!"
Joseph flinched at the voice that broke the silence in the room, the growing silence in his head, which brought to focus an odd new sensitivity to loud noises it seemed.
It didn't take long before he felt a heavy hand on his shoulder, one that came with a tight, vicing grip that felt like it was trying to dig into his skin; a grip he was beginning to get all too familiar to.
"You two are going to be the death of me."
A more muttered response followed this time.
One that he probably wasn't supposed to hear, but did.
Still, the familiarity of the voice, the phrasing of the remark brought him back to his senses- if just enough for him to recognize who was talking.
"What happened?" Joseph started, fully aware of how incoherent he sounded out-loud. His own voice sounded muffled and distorted when it echoed back to him; he wasn't entirely convinced that he didn't just slur completely through the words.
"I don't know, Kidman just took off," Sebastian replied, sounding agitated with the statement; although it didn't take the man long to shift his attention to what he thought was more important. "You alright?"
Joseph nodded in an easy response, knowing that it would take longer to formulate the words in his head. Still, the subtle action made the weight of his head feel as though it might snap his neck. "Yeah, I'm... I'm fine," he managed to started, "I just- my head is killing me."
He tried to straighten himself up despite his own physical inconsistencies, convinced maybe that a better posture would suit his ailments better. But Joseph felt the tight hold Sebastian had on him keep him anchored in place; at least his movement was enough to tip the other man off though, and he felt Sebastian reluctantly loosen his grip.
Not by much though.
"It's not as bad as before, but I don't know if that's a good thing or not," Joseph continued.
Given this place and his own track record, it was probably a given to which answer it was.
"Come on."
Those two words were the only warning Joseph got before he felt Sebastian practically haul him over to the nearest chair and push him down into it. He wasn't going to complain about the needed support, but it went without saying that Sebastian didn't exactly have the best bedside manners when it came to, well, anything really. And it was almost harrowing to admit just how easy it was for the man to throw someone around.
Somehow, even being off of his feet didn't fix the uneasiness that had settled into every limb. Joseph still felt heavy, and uncoordinated- and like he was going to keel over and vomit at his feet at any moment.
It wasn't just his head that hurt.
It was his entire fucking body.
But he could still put pieces together, and he wasn't about to forget that they were missing a piece of the puzzle here.
"Don't worry about me, you need to find Kidman," Joseph started.
"She's not the one I'm worried about," Sebastian replied.
"She should be," he reiterated over the Lead Detective. "Look, I can tell you right now that I'm not moving from this spot, so you're wasting your time on me. But there's no telling where Kidman went, or where she's going. Something must've happened that we didn't see- we have to make sure something doesn't happen to her now."
It was easy to tell that Sebastian was at an impasse with the situation.
And given the slight furrowing across his brow, this was not the first time he had had to make a split decision between him or Kidman.
And there was no doubt that this wouldn't be the last one either- which had to be grinding on the man's nerves by now, implied by his earlier remark.
"We got to the church too late. I don't want a repeat of that situation," Joseph finished.
Unfortunately for Sebastian, he was still coherent enough to know his cards- and know when to use them.
So that was it for the argument.
If there was one thing they both shared regrets in, it was with whatever happened at the church, and with whatever happened to Kidman while she was there. It wasn't something he liked to think on, so Joseph was pretty certain Sebastian didn't like it being brought up either- which of course, only gave him leverage to use in a situation like this.
Which was not something he was proud of.
But if it pushed for the right decision to be made, than so be it.
"Fine, but don't move from here, got it?"
Joseph waved him off and somehow heard the sound of Sebastian's footsteps taking off without actually seeing the man move away. With the situation in the process of being taken care of now, he slumped down into the chair underneath him, and willingly let the weight leave his body.
It felt like they had been purposely sabotaged right as they were almost out of here.
This was something they should've known would happen, something they should've anticipated.
And maybe they had all been subconsciously bracing themselves for it, but Christ- couldn't they just catch this one break?
They were so close to escaping this mansion...
Or at least, they were close to escaping this floor of it.
He was fairly certain that whatever was behind that locked door was just another piece of this continuous maze.
[It didn't seem like this mansion was going to let them off this easy.]
Still, despite the ongoing manner of their inevitable sabotage, Joseph couldn't shake the curiosity of why Kidman had bolted away from them.
The last time the three of them had experienced that high-pitched ringing was back in the church; it was just after their unpleasant reunion, and just before they were all thrown down into the catacombs.
It wasn't exactly the greatest memory to have, but it certainly wasn't the worst one so far.
After all, their first experience with the sound had been back in the basement of the asylum- again, after another stressful reunion, and just before they had all been pulled through the pool of blood at their feet.
And again, not exactly the worst thing to happen.
[Jesus, this place really didn't like having the three of them together.]
He and Sebastian had just barely gotten to the asylum in time to rescue Kidman from drowning.
But they had been too late getting to the church.
And the injuries Kidman had sustained from whatever had happened there was a testament to the severity of that situation.
So maybe the ringing reminded Kidman of what had happened each time they were together, and each time they had been separated.
And how each time, something more serious, something more severe happened to her.
Just like how he knew that each time that bell went off, something bad was going to happen to him.
Joseph subconsciously moved to brush the back of his hand across his lips- and even with his glove on, he still felt the slickness of blood between it and his skin.
Another nosebleed.
It seemed inevitable.
Especially given that every time he blinked, Joseph saw red afterimages flicker in front of his eyes. He saw ghost images shift in and out of focus, leaving behind a hint of its presence in the corner of his vision; a white figure that seemed to carefully evade his direct line of sight. Every time he blinked, it seemed like the figure moved closer and closer, drawing a cold sweat to his skin.
The growing fear was enough to convince him to remove his glasses, hoping maybe the images would blur out of his vision.
(Out of sight, out of mind.)
... Despite everything that was going on, Joseph didn't feel like a Haunted.
Not yet at least, but he wasn't feeling anything that he hadn't already been experiencing up till now.
He felt worse but there seemed to be no progression with his ailment.
No bruises or open blisters, at least.
It didn't make sense, but Joseph wasn't willing to question it right now- or take it for granted.
The cold sweat turned into beads against his skin and it was getting increasingly difficult to ignore the chill. The cold turned into a pounding ache that throbbed in his joints, that made his limbs and skin feel tight- like something was coiling underneath his skin, wrapping itself around his bones. When fingertips brushed against his jaw, feeling a particular painful throb mimic a cracked mandible, Joseph swore he felt something under his fingers.
A subtle bump or two, like something was trying to pierce through his skin from the inside.
Joseph didn't know how long he stayed there, how long he was by himself in that room before he heard the sound of a door opening. It could've been another Haunted for all he knew, but he felt himself reluctant to act on the suspicion of one. Given what he had been through in just the past hour alone, all he wanted to do was stay here and risk the damages done.
The sudden, gripping hold on his shoulder barely even caught his attention.
And had it been from anything dangerous, it would've been able to get a kill shot on him before he even had a chance to react- let alone see what it was.
But when Joseph looked up to catch the sight of purple-hue eyes staring back at him, he knew everything else would've been less dangerous than her.
"You alright?" Kidman questioned, as she stood in front of him now, half-leaning down so their faces were on the same level with one another. Even if his vision couldn't see it, he could still hear the open touch of concern in her voice.
"Yeah," Joseph assured, or tried to at least. He was pretty certain that what he was saying wasn't matching how he was looking. "I'm fine, given the circumstances. I could be worse off."
He could've been Haunted after all.
Or he could've been transported somewhere else again.
Or just, overall, he could've been dead.
That was always a possibility.
"Are you okay?" he asked in return, as he rubbed at his eyes with one hand before he moved to put his glasses back on- only to stop when Kidman's hand reached out and stopped him. Joseph didn't even question the motion either; he just stopped at the weight of her hand on his. "Sebastian said you took off after that sound," he continued without pause.
"What's wrong with your eye?" Kidman started instead.
"That's a little insensitive, don't you think?"
"That's not- Jesus, Joseph, that's not what I meant," she reiterated, sputtering through the words- and Joseph swore he could hear what sounded like someone in the background laughing. "Your eye's all bloody, it looks like someone knocked you in the face- and hard, at that. Sebastian, come look at this."
Joseph watched as another blurred figure stepped into his line of sight and moved in closer.
As long as it wasn't that same white figure from before, it didn't bother him.
"It looks like he blew a vein in his eye."
"Yeah, but that wasn't there before," Kidman reminded. "We've only been gone for a few minutes at most and suddenly he's got a blown vein?"
"It could be a reaction to that sound," Sebastian offered.
"Maybe, but we've heard it plenty of times already. None of us have had a reaction like this before."
"Okay, first off, I'm still here," Joseph started, interrupting their apparent private conversation, "so don't talk like I'm not in the same room with you. Second, what does my eye look like? Is it just blood in the white of the eye? Does it look like there's any swelling around it?"
"It's just blood," Kidman answered, "and not a lot of it- yet."
An odd point of emphasis, but she wasn't wrong.
"If that's the case, then it's probably nothing more than that," Joseph assured. "It could be, give me a minute- subconjunctival hemorrhaging, which is common- and I only know that because I've had it before, multiple times even. It's harmless and painless, so we can leave it at that."
"Why would you have it now?" Kidman continued to press.
"I don't know, it could be anything from the stress from vomiting, to an offset of pressure building up behind the eye- or just me basically rubbing them all the time," Joseph answered. He was a little caught off-guard by Kidman's insistence in getting an answer; it wasn't really like the woman to show interest in much of anything. But given their circumstances, there was a cause for concern and safety to be taken into account here. "Twice before was from being sick, and once was from a car accident- and once was from someone I'm not going to name."
Joseph pulled his hands free from Kidman's grasp and slipped his glasses back on, bracing himself for the usual headache that followed after. When he blinked this time, he no longer saw the white figure lingering in the corner of his vision, but he did see what looked to be some kind of a white haze floating around them. It alleviated the fear by some degree, but the cold sweat on his skin remained.
"Like I said, it's harmless for the most part, and it doesn't affect me in the slightest."
"You sure?" Sebastian questioned, not quite looking convinced by his argument.
"I can't be positive given the circumstances, but at this point, it's already here so there's nothing we can do about it," Joseph replied, which only seemed to worsen his argument- but there was no lie in his statement. "I think it's safe to say that I'll be fine for the time being, so let's try to run that course for as long as we can," he continued, before he pushed himself to his feet- noticeably causing the other two to step back. "We have more important things to worry about. We should see if that door is open now- and see what's finally behind it."
Joseph picked up on the subtle clues that Kidman and Sebastian wanted to stop him, that they probably wanted to keep him from getting up- more than likely doubting his regained strength. But on the same hand, they seemed to have gotten the hint that he wasn't going to listen to them.
He understood their motives well, and he couldn't blame them for worrying. God knows he would be too if the scenario was switched.
But he was slowing them down enough as it was, and if they wanted to make some kind of attempt at getting out of here, they needed to keep moving forward regardless.
(And they all wanted to get out of here.)
"Alright," Sebastian spoke, seemingly willing to give up on the fight as it was. The man seemed to be doing that more often now, reluctantly so. "Let's see what's behind that door- and see if it was worth all this fucking trouble."
"I doubt it," Kidman replied.
Yeah, Joseph did too, but they didn't really have much of a choice right now.
The only way out of this place had to be through that door- and if it lead to a dead-end than they were out of luck of where to go from there. At this point, they couldn't even toy with the idea that there wasn't some form of exit behind that jigsaw-rigged door.
Joseph followed Sebastian as the older man started out of the room first, and he watched as Kidman followed up behind him. He felt the subtle brush of her hand across his back as she slowly moved around to walk next to him instead.
"So what happened earlier?" Joseph asked. "Why did you run?"
He felt the way Kidman's fingers toyed with the buckle on the back of his vest, as though she was trying to prolong giving him an answer. She looked exhausted, completely beaten down.
"Because the last time I heard that sound with the three of us together, it didn't end well," Kidman finally answered. "I heard that sound back at the church too, just before everything went to Hell. Told myself that the next time I hear it, I wasn't going to stick around to see what would happen- which, for once, it doesn't seem like anything did."
So he was correct in his thought process from before.
She did run because of whatever had happened at the church- as well as whatever had happened after they had been pulled through the blood pool.
She ran because past experiences told her that whatever was going to happen this time, was going to be worse than what she had faced already.
"Nothing that we know of," Joseph reminded.
"Don't jinx us."
Stepping out into the main hall, the three of them paused at the grinding sound that was coming from the jigsawed door- and they watched as the last of the locking mechanism was pumped full of whatever red liquid had come from that brain machine. And once the sealing tube was full, it finally allowed for the entire mechanism to rotate out of place as the whole thing came undone.
It was the moment they had been anticipating, the moment they had been working towards- and yet Joseph could feel this overwhelming sense of dread wash over him as the door peeled open.
Only to reveal a single, office-like room on the other side.
It wasn't much larger than the opening hall itself, but the red carpet that was padded inside stood out against the bleakness of the mansion. The odd touch of color, red of all colors, made the room look bigger, and yet it also looked even less inviting than every other room in this place. Something about the sudden break of monotony made the room seem unappealing.
And yet, on the same coin, it was strangely disappointing too.
All of that work for a red room that offered little more than a single desk against the far wall in front of them, and another collection of unrecognizable portraits on its walls.
There was a subtly curtained exit next to the desk that implied that there was more to see, but there was little hope in the offer.
"I don't trust it," Kidman spoke, perhaps speaking from the same gut feeling they were all no doubt sharing.
"We don't have a choice," Sebastian reminded, yet seemingly hesitating himself before he took the first steps forward. "After dealing with three of those brains, we're going in."
Point made.
They had suffered enough to get to this point, they deserved to keep going regardless of what was ahead of them.
Moving forward, the three of them entered the new room- cautious of the new, unseen surroundings. After spending what felt like days in this mansion, the realization of a new, unexplored territory was almost more frightening than it was relieving. Despite this being a potential move forward, they had no idea of what was ahead of them; they couldn't predict the dangers, not like they could back at the asylum, back in the catacombs.
And considering the size of the new room, there didn't seem to be much offered in the way of progression.
Sebastian made his way towards the awkwardly placed desk, while Joseph moved towards the curtained hallway. He had no intentions of moving beyond the barely-parted curtains, but there was little else the room had to offer.
Keeping his distance, Joseph inched a hand forward and cautiously pulled the curtain back to give himself a better viewpoint.
Only to stare into the pitch darkness that seemed to swallow the corridor just a few yards from where he stood.
There was no way of telling just where the corridor went, or how far it stretched on.
Or if there was something at the end staring back at him.
The thought alone made his skin crawl.
The sound of papers being moved around pulled his attention away, and Joseph almost felt relief that he could place his mind on something else.
"Find anything?" Joseph questioned, as he turned to watch Sebastian flip through the collection of old papers on his desk.
He didn't realize until now just how filthy the desk was. It was covered in papers, most of which seemed too old to be legible anymore, while others were stuck to the desk itself; a faded, but obvious stain of blood was slathered across those ones, more than implying why the papers were glued to the wood now.
It reminded him of the desks back in the bedrooms, how they had been disheveled and abandoned just the same.
Somehow he didn't think this one was used for writing in journals though; not personal journals anyways.
"Nothing useful, just more... anatomy sketches," Sebastian replied.
More dissection papers, he meant.
Just how many times could you cut a person open and expect something different to be inside?
On second thought, Joseph didn't think the answer to that question would go over well for them.
"Anything interesting?" Kidman questioned, joining them quickly after stopping to look at one of the oil portraits on the wall. It seemed like she was making an effort to stick closer to them now- which was for the best. She peeked at the papers Sebastian was looking at, but given how quickly she pulled away, it was enough of a visual answer for her. "Should've figured."
"Most of this isn't legible anymore, but you get the idea," Sebastian noted, as he tossed the papers back onto the desk.
"Seems like this room's been sealed off for awhile then," Kidman spoke.
"Yeah, but the door was open when we got here," the Lead Detective reminded, "and given the pain in the ass way it had to be unlocked, I'd take it the door wasn't closed often. Which means that, Dr. Jimenez knew what he was doing when he locked it from the inside- which also means that that asshole has been here before."
Given this was an entire different world compared to reality, the discussion seemed arbitrary.
But it didn't change the fact that Dr. Jimenez knew what he was doing here regardless, which meant even in reality, he had been here before. Or even worse, he had been in this world before, which opened a whole new case on its own.
Joseph still didn't know much about the man, nothing more than knowing that he worked as a doctor at Beacon. And that every time they tried to interview him, Dr. Jimenez always had somewhere else to be, or he couldn't answer something due to confidentiality rights, even when they weren't asking about a specific patient-turned victim.
The man had been a hard-ass in reality, and it seemed like his attitude had followed over.
Sebastian had had more encounters with the doctor while they were trapped in this world, and had warned both he and Kidman not to trust him. While Sebastian wasn't the most trusting of people himself, there was certainly more to be taken in this account.
And considering the doctor's potential ties to Ruvik, it went without saying that they couldn't risk it.
Kidman stepped back before she brushed past Joseph and moved towards the thick curtain, pulling it back just the same as he did- with just as equal apprehension about it.
"Doesn't look inviting," she noted, "then again, what has?"
"It's the only way to go," Joseph reminded.
"Don't remind me."
Despite working so hard to finally get the door open, they were all hesitating to move forward.
Something wasn't setting right, more so than usual.
"So who wants to-" Kidman started, before something behind them cut her off.
It wasn't a sound like the screaming of the Haunted, or any other creature that they knew of; it was just a subtle thump, like something falling to the ground. But it was enough to set them on edge, as the three of them turned in unison at the sound.
Only to discover that one of the paintings behind them had fallen from the wall and was now lying face-down on the ground.
It was harmless, and yet, that constant uneasy feeling still continued to wash over him.
The ornate frames each painting had been showcased in were heavy and sturdy enough to require two hanging points on the backs. They wouldn't just fall off the wall for no physical reason.
It wasn't impossible, but in this place... nothing happened without a reason.
And the reason came upon them in a disembodied shriek that filled the small room, tittering on the edge of rupturing his eardrums at the sudden intensity of it. It was bad enough, Joseph felt a moment of vertigo hit him, threatening to overtake his center of balance in the few seconds it took for the shrieking to pierce the silence.
It was quick to get caught up in the sound, in the newly awakened throbbing in his head now, but that didn't prevent him from seeing just what was creating the scream itself.
An equally disembodied arm tore its way through one of the remaining canvases, ripping the portrait to shreds in its wake, and causing blood to spew out with its rupture.
Outstretched fingers, a mix of charred red and black, grabbed at the empty space before it, before they began to slash out in an open swing- as though desperate to catch someone in its grasp.
And given how they were only feet apart from the elongated arm, now stretching free, it wouldn't take much for one of them to be caught.
The screaming, almost human now, only got louder the longer it went on.
The ear-piercing shrieks echoed and filled in the empty air around them, almost making the atmosphere thick with its presence.
The sound vibrated inside of his bones, in his gut, and scraped around the inside of his skull.
Joseph felt Sebastian's hand grab his arm and he felt the man push him back towards the curtained exit behind them.
Sebastian's lips were moving, but he couldn't hear a damn thing over that creature screaming- although he was pretty certain he got the gist of what the man wanted him to do.
There was blood pouring out of the ruined portrait now as a second arm pushed its way out of the splintering frame, cracking and breaking it in a desperate bid to get free. The hands, much too large to actually be a human's, scratched and tore at the surrounding walls, before they swung forward and dug fingertips into the drowning carpet now.
And that's where it found what it was looking for.
Leverage.
Something it could use to pull itself forward.
[Something it could use to pull itself free.]
Unable to tear away from the sight, Joseph watched as a black liquid began to pour from the splitting wall now, spilling down to the floor in slick, moving sheets. But there was something in the way the blackness parted, in the way it moved as a form began to emerge.
A second pair of hands, more acquitted to being human sized, grabbed at the frame and began to pull through- revealing a body connected to the monstrosity before them.
The idea that something was attached to the screaming, to the hands was the breaking point.
Stumbling back now, Joseph turned and followed after Kidman through the heavy curtains, ducking into the pitch-black darkness on the other side. It wasn't exactly the best option here, but Christ, whatever was behind them was certainly not any better.
Despite its appearance, the corridor just went on and on ahead of him; stretching on endlessly. The impending darkness that had once felt so close, now seemed to be moving further and further back. It never relented, it never faded- there was no implication given that it was even reachable.
It always remained just a few yards ahead, always just out of reach.
It didn't take long before it felt like he was just running in place instead.
But there was something hiding in it.
There had to be.
(There always was.)
It was only when Joseph could no longer hear that screaming behind him did the thought of stopping even occur to him. He had been chased far too many times to consider silence a definite answer that whatever had been giving chase had finally relented. At the moment however, it felt like any and every sound had gotten swallowed up by the darkness around him. It felt like a void, like a black hole of some sorts.
If that thing had decided to give chase, Joseph couldn't hear it.
But he could hear something though, something that seemed to echo just under foot.
It sounded wet, like he was running through water.
It was just enough to convince him that not everything had been silenced.
Joseph came to a slow stop at the realization now that it felt like he couldn't breathe. He found himself stammering through the next couple of breaths, wondering if he hadn't been breathing the entire time he was running. With all the times they had gotten chased before, he figured he would've adapted to it- if anything, out of survival instinct.
But something felt off about this encounter.
Something he couldn't describe, that he couldn't shake.
Every chasing encounter so far had felt different, but this was more so than the others.
But it was when he stopped, when he tried to catch his breath and look at his surroundings, to see if they had changed, Joseph noticed something.
Something that would've been impossible for him to have overlooked before.
The floor beneath him was gone, covered now by a thick layer of blood.
That painting, that creature had spilled blood into the room behind them- but it wasn't possible for the blood to have made it all this way. Not unless he had been running in place. But even then, he would've noticed it sooner; he shouldn't have only noticed it now. Even just standing as he was, the blood almost covered the tops of his shoes, a good three-four inches; it would've been noticeable as he ran.
And yet...
The sound of similar splashing behind him drew his attention, and Joseph looked back to see that Sebastian and Kidman had stopped with him. He hadn't heard either of them this entire time- so to see them now, to realize that he wasn't alone, was an indescribable relief.
They were both looking behind them, as though expecting that creature to show itself charging down the corridor after them.
Which validated his own fears once more.
If that was the same creature as before, the one back in the asylum that had separated them to begin with...
If it had conjured all of the blood out of that portrait, if it had managed to flood it down this seemingly, never-ending corridor... it seemed to point to a single M.O. Which really meant only one thing-
"We have to keep moving," Sebastian started, looking just as out of breath, if not more. On the same hand, it seemed like the man had come to the same conclusion, that that creature had molded their environment to it's own advantage.
This was beginning to become it's domain now, and they had very little time to get out of it.
If they still had time to begin with anyways.
Joseph stepped back and started to turn, reluctant with the idea to keep moving forward, but also knowing they couldn't go back. His heart was pounding in his throat and it felt like his anxiety was through the roof; he simultaneously wanted to escape, and wanted to give in and just let the darkness swallow him. It felt like a fight on its own as he tried to make the first move forward.
He barely got that much done before something else caught his attention.
There was barely any movement between the three of them, but he could hear something pushing through the blood. In the corner of his eye, he caught the subtle rippling effect that bounced between them, just barely breaking the surface.
Within a second of hearing the noise, Joseph felt his body jerk back, as though someone had punched him hard in the chest just then. It was hard enough to force out a wheeze between his lips; a breath taken out of surprise. There was a moment of stillness as he waited for the feeling to pass, only to feel it get worse, to feel an odd sort of tightening in his chest.
He looked down to see those same burnt fingers against his chest.
Correction.
Through his chest.
Joseph wasn't sure if it was shock or disbelief that kept his mind from registering the pain that should've been radiating from the impalement wounds.
He was still breathing, even though each breath brought on the sensation of his ribs cracking against the fingers that ran through them. He tried to move, but felt how the fingers now curled themselves against his back; they dug in, nails first, stripping skin as they did so.
Just before they pulled him down into the blood.
And he swore he could taste the blood before he even touched it.
It was metallic; it tasted rusted.
Like barbed wire-
Joseph felt himself wake, heard the pop of air in his lungs when the first, hard inhale tore through his chest.
A controlled, conscious motion; the first one in what felt like a long time.
The hot air brought out the odd taste of metallic rust that seemed to burn in his throat and mouth now; it scorched all the way down through him, leaving a nauseating feeling in his stomach. The twisted pain was enough to fill the empty spots in his lungs, forcing out a cough, and tugging at the lingering pain in his ribs.
The sudden rush was enough to sober him immediately.
It left him confused, waking, unsure of what was going on.
Despite the onslaught of senses, Joseph forced himself to remain where he was- knowing better than to bolt in the midst of panic.
The rush of waking, the rush of senses, and emotions, sent the room around him into a blur.
With nausea already a knotted fist in his throat, he closed his eyes and held his breath, waiting for the movement to stop.
His heart was racing.
He could almost hear it pounding away behind his ribs, and echoing in his head.
It felt like he was torn between the ongoing pain in his chest and the rustic burning in his throat; he wasn't able to comprehend anything else. His mind was drawing an utter blank on what was happening, or rather, what had happened to begin with. He could barely catch his breath it felt- so trying to catch blurred memories that were quickly slipping from his grasp wasn't plausible, not in this state, anyways.
Taking a deep breath, in hopes it would keep himself from hyperventilating, Joseph stilled at the sudden pressure that touched against one shoulder.
A touch that moved from his shoulder to his face.
Cold.
"Hey- hey, you're awake."
Somehow, he didn't feel quite satisfied with that statement.
But he felt the touch on his cheek move to brush through his hair, gently pushing it away from his face with careful strokes. It was an odd gesture to wake to, especially here of all places, but... the human contact was something to be desired; it was a cold touch, but a comforting one nonetheless.
"You okay? Still breathing, at least?"
Joseph moved a hand to his face, brushing the other one away from him, before he pinched the space between his eyes. His mind was still reeling, still racing, trying to put together pieces that he didn't have.
When he forced himself to open his eyes, he found the room in an discomforting state of stillness around him, but otherwise, settled in blotched images of blurred colors and fragmented lines. Eyes shifted to the hint of movement next to him and spotted the silhouette standing close by; there was more of a form to it, thankfully- enough for him to mostly pinpoint who it was.
"Juli?"
"Uh, yeah... yeah, it's me."
She seemed to hesitate with the answer, but then again, she was never referred to by her first name.
[So, why did he call her that instead of Kidman?]
He felt a sigh of relief escape him, with no cause other than just knowing that he wasn't alone.
"We- I didn't think you were going to wake up," Kidman started. "You hit your head pretty hard, I figured you got a concussion. Once you went lights out, I thought that was the end of it."
Not very comforting, but a logical reason.
"I don't... I don't think it's quite that serious," Joseph assured, although knowing he had no real proof of it- other than the fact he woke up. "... What happened?"
"You were pulling those nails out of your arm, while Sebastian and I decided to work on that brain puzzle he found," Kidman started- and it was notable that she was speaking slower than usual.
Probably to make it easier for him to keep up with her words, which he appreciated considering she was answering a fairly important question for him.
"Between the two of us, we had it figured out- for the most part anyways, but apparently we weren't exactly accurate. Should've figured that Ruvik would want to be precise about everything," she continued. "Anyways, it felt like we got stabbed in the head instead from the fuck up- and we both damn near passed out from it. I got sick and ended up joining you in the bathroom, where apparently you were suffering from the same ordeal, even though you weren't directly involved with it. You passed out after that."
Something about her words felt off.
Joseph couldn't pinpoint why they did, but he also couldn't shake them off either.
They just... sounded familiar. Like he had heard that answer before- like he had asked that same question before. Which wasn't possible given this was the first time he had been through this scenario. Unless he had woken up before, and this was the second time they had gone through this conversation- but Kidman would've made a remark about it.
Right?
No, it was just him; he was still clearly disorientated and out of it.
He just needed to give himself some time to let things fall back into place.
Taking a deep breath, in hopes that it would clear his head, Joseph stilled at the weight that now felt heavy on his chest. It felt like someone was pushing down on him, forcing ribs to bow slightly underneath the pressure. It didn't hurt, and there was nothing there, but he felt the air pockets in his lungs ignite from the touch.
It felt like there was someone screaming in the back of his head- faint, and distant; he couldn't make out the words, or the sound almost, but he knew something was there. It didn't make sense, but there was this feeling of dread like it was trying to tell him something that he already knew- or should know, but couldn't remember.
He didn't know why, but he felt that impending sort of feeling, like he needed to leave, he needed to move or else.
He didn't know what was behind the 'or else' part, but he also didn't want to know.
Wordlessly, Joseph pushed himself up, ignoring the tight pain that pinched down his back; his own body urging him to stop. He ignored the objecting hand that touched at his shoulder, gripping it briefly, but not nearly enough to stop him from moving.
"You really shouldn't get up," Kidman advised, "- not with that head wound of yours."
"Where's Sebastian?" he questioned instead, as he forced himself to his feet, brushing her aside during the motion. It was only when he was at his feet did he feel that weight centralize, and moved one hand to his vest pocket- feeling something inside of it, although he couldn't remember what. He knew it was something important though, something they needed, but he couldn't think of anything past that.
It was a small touch of a memory that set off what felt like a chain reaction though.
It triggered a black light of memories that touched and went as they passed through him; never standing still enough for him to focus on, never staying long enough for him to get a grip on. But the more of them that came through and disappeared, the deeper this feeling of dread swallowed him up.
He was missing something- something he couldn't recall, something he couldn't pinpoint.
But it was something important, that much he was certain.
Joseph didn't hear Kidman say anything, but there was the assumption that she did as he felt her grab at his arm. It was like autopilot movements as he felt her pull him over to what looked to be an antique desk, before she forced him down onto the chair she had half pulled out with her foot.
He had been so preoccupied with the weight in his pocket, that the moment he was sitting down again, he was almost blindsided by the pain that had come with standing upright. The pinching in his back had gotten more intense, and he felt it throbbing now in his hips and shoulders. The sudden movement, the shifting of blood, caused a painful numbing sensation to spread down to his fingertips, making his wrists, and the joints in his fingers ache even without motion.
Everything felt stiff and tender now, forcing him to acknowledge the pain that was still ever present.
There was clear aching in his bones that was getting harder to ignore now.
And the tight, sharp pull of his skin was more than enough for him to acknowledge why it was there.
He could feel his heart pounding faster now, felt the onset of what could be hyperventilation setting in.
He didn't even feel the hand that touched at his shoulder- light at first, but when he didn't respond, it squeezed tighter to get his attention.
"Joseph-"
"You alright?"