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Disclaimer: I do NOT own Clock Tower 3, this belongs to Capcom.

This is my one-shot story for Clock Tower 3. Dedicated to Crazy-Psycho-Chic. She's the only Sledgehammer fan girl EVER.
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Everything seemed like a blur, how did she get caught up in all of this? Running quickly down a hallway, out of breath, sweat dripping from every one of her pores as a deep voice rang out behind her. Calling the same thing over and over. "Alyssa! You can't escape." Alyssa swallowed hard; of course she knew how she ended up here. It was the stupid mistake of returning home, and staying in the household when clearly it was empty. But it was too late now. No matter what she did, she couldn't turn back time. Moving forward and staying alive were the only things that seemed to make sense at that moment.

Alyssa skidded across the floor as she sharply turned a corner, regaining her balance before running straight for the nearest door. She hastily took hold of the doorknob, twisting it and ramming the door with her shoulder. She collapsed into the small room, falling with a silent thud before kicking the door shut behind her. Alyssa caught her breath for a moment, her pulse slowing down to a normal rate. It felt like her heart would have exploded if she had kept running the way she did. She raised her head from the floor, and turned it slightly in the direction of the door she had just used.

She turned her whole body to a side angle, lowering her head once again. Her orange hair brushing the soft lush red carpet, as she peered under the small opening beneath the doorway. She could see nothing at first, just the dim light outside of the doorway, making its way into the darkened room to reflect upon Alyssa's facial features. Making her sweat and tears shine softly. Then came a shadow, following the figure of a largely built man whose footsteps echoed on the tiled floors.

Alyssa froze, her muscles tightening up. The footsteps drew closer to the door, pounding upon the floor with each step. The entire shadow now came into view, as well as a pair of well-worn black boots. They moved closer, and then stopped. Directly in front of Alyssa's hiding place. She bit her bottom lip tightly, a bead of sweat dripping from her forehead. Then, something happened that she didn't expect. The boots turned from the doorway, as well as the shadow. And they paced away, going farther from what should have been their destination.

Alyssa let out a loud sigh of exhaustion, and sucked in some air. She almost completely stopped breathing during those last few moments. She felt she had rested enough, but she hadn't put her guard down. Not just yet. Alyssa sat up from her bent position, climbing to her feet once again. Her legs trembling slightly. "Oh my goodness…that was a little too close for my liking." Was all she whispered to herself. Alyssa looked around the room in a daze; she didn't even know where she was. Back in the hallway, all she did was select a door. She didn't care where it lead, she had to get away.

The room was quite, almost peaceful. The soft carpeting cushioned her feet much better than the tiled flooring. By now, her eyes had adjusted to the darkness. She couldn't see much, but from what she did see the place looked like a dressing room. There was a large vanity mirror, its wooden tabletop littered with all types of makeup. As well as a coat rack, this was side by side with a bureau. Alyssa shook her head gently; she had to focus on what was happening now. She was positive that the large man wielding a sledgehammer was still looking for her.

Alyssa walked quietly over toward the same door she had entered from. She gripped the doorknob and twisted. No sooner than she had done this, a loud grunt was heard from the other side of the door. A sledgehammer plowed its way through the door, stopping directly in front of Alyssa's face. Before she could react, the door swung open, smashing its weight into her figure. Alyssa fell backwards onto the carpet. "Sledgehammer" as he was named in police articles, advanced through the doorway. Ripping his weapon out of the thick wood.

Alyssa screamed and rolled to the side, as the blunt object struck the area beside her. As quickly as possible, she leapt to her feet, dashing back out into the all too familiar hallway. She ran swiftly, hot air rising from her clothing and drifting off of her face. She reached a staircase, ascending it quickly. One foot moving in front of the other. Sledgehammer kept up quite well, he panted similar to a dog as he ran in a slouched over position.

When the staircase had ended, Alyssa burst through the metal "push" door. She didn't like what she saw. This had lead her to the rafters, high above the performance stage. She glanced over her shoulder, then back toward the rafters. Peering once again over her shoulder, she noticed Sledgehammer running up the staircase. Alyssa cried out and threw her arms in the air. She had no other choice. The rafters were her only escape.

Alyssa balanced herself, and then approached the nearest plank of wood. She stepped out onto it, the board creaked quietly. Sledgehammer had reached the rafters as well; he laughed like a maniac and snorted at the sight of Alyssa. She was so weak and helpless in this state. He approached the first rafter, but of course he wasn't planning on going across. "Alyssa…it's time to die." he cried out, raising his weapon above his head.

Alyssa turned her fear-stricken eyes towards him; they shifted up to the blunt object he held. "No!" she cried out. Sledgehammer laughed, bringing down his weapon with all the force he had. It hit the plank of wood dead on, cracking it in the middle. Alyssa readied her legs. As soon as the split reached her feet, the board cracked in half. Alyssa leapt through the air, grabbing hold of the next rafter over with two hands. The board that had broken crashed to the stage below.

Sledgehammer growled, but then smiled as he noticed something. Alyssa was having trouble. Her body weight swung back and forth, her first hand losing its grip. She now held on with one hand. It hurt so much; splinters were digging into her skin. Some piercing so deep that trickles of blood began to run down her arm from her hand. She did the unthinkable in that situation. Alyssa let go. Plunging through the air, the sound of Sledgehammer's laughter ringing in her ears.

XXX

Alyssa shot up out of her bed, her face stained with tears. She looked around frantically. It was daytime, she was in her own room. She sighed gently, using the sleeve of her uniform as a handkerchief. Alyssa smiled lightly. She was so glad that none of that ever actually happened. She stood up off of her bed, walking over toward her mirror. The reflection she saw looked tired. Turning away from her mirror, she sighed gently. Alyssa kept her head drooping to the floor. She headed to her door.

She felt something under her foot, along with a small clash of metal against the wooden floor. She picked up her leg, her brown shoe revealing what she had stepped on. It was the golden plate that was usually adorned on either side of her door. It was bent, cracked, and chipped. Alyssa lifted her head to peer in front of her. There was a large hole in the center of her doorway. She stood up, walking slowly over toward the gaping monster. Alyssa gazed through the hole, swallowing hard. What reflected on her face was a look of pure terror; she was left with no words. Left with nothing but a deep feeling scratching away her insides. For she saw only one thing in front of her.

A long, blunt object.
A Sledgehammer…propped up against the staircase.
A Crimson color shining softly in the morning sunrise…