Before I start… AnimeSola, your reviews are why I still write this. I LOVE YOU!…Yes. I'm done. Don't worry.
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Shaking hands grabbed Matt's neck from behind and heaved him backwards. Still, two claws dug into his right cheek, causing him to cry out. Blood spurted out through two long gashes, not affected by Matt's feeble attempt to stop it with his hands. Stunned, Matt watched the creature lick its bloodied claws as a screaming Mean pulled him backwards.
You never realize how very much it hurts to be slashed on the face by a big freaking literal hell-demon until you experience it for yourself, Matt thought as he clasped his face, turned around, and ran at Mean's heels. Yet another growl sounded from behind them, driving them to flee faster.
From behind them, a rhythmic tapping sound started. Matt looked over his shoulder, and saw the thing scampering towards them on all fours, looking vaguely reptilian. As he turned back and ran faster, he had a vivid mental image of the thing's face burned into the back of his eyes, shiny string of drool and all.
Mean ran to the door of the bookcase room, and screamed. A second behind her, Matt saw that the doorway was now blocked by what looked like one of the shelves in the room. Keep going; don't stop, Matt thought as he grabbed Mean's arm, hauling her away from the blocked door. She started to cry as Matt pulled her away. Stop it, Matt tried to say, but panic had frozen his mouth. They stumbled forwards, and rounded another corner. Matt felt tears running down his face. He raised a hand to wipe them away, and noticed that it was actually blood pouring out of the two cuts.
A painting fell from behind them. They both looked back to see the thing scampering over it, nails leaving deep marks in the canvas. Mean screamed while Matt dug his nails deep into the chair leg still grasped in his sweaty hand. The thing opened its mouth, flashing a rather moldy-looking tongue.
Matt stopped. His bare feet skidded painfully on the rough carpet, and his hand probably wouldn't be able to let the piece of wood go for days. The creature hissed yet again, and lunged for Matt's neck. Practically screeching, he swung the chair leg in a wide arch. Wood connected with skull (hopefully), knocking the thing into the wall. Distantly, Matt heard Mean stop, but he was just standing there motionlessly, a dull ache in his hand. The creature started to push itself up, and Matt vaguely thought to hit it again. A bit of blood entered his mouth, and he tasted the copper. Bringing up a couple fingers to the cuts, he noted that they weren't clotting. Aren't they supposed to? Matt thought. Should I feel dizzy? Or should I beat the little scamp's head out? Or should I taste some more blood, or-
Mean interrupted his thoughts by whacking the creature's head. Blood splashed onto their ankles, and Matt stepped back against the far wall. Is it like getting AIDS? Matt thought, then hurriedly reached down and wiped the dark red blood off his bare legs. He only succeeded in smearing it, and shivered. The blood was cold, and thick- wasn't that only what the blood from corpses was like?
"Mean," he whispered. She didn't hear. Tears streamed down her face as she continually hit at a big dent in the thing's battered skull. Matt shook his head quickly. "It was dead." He said, louder this time.
The chair leg snapped with a loud snap. Mean dropped the end, and knelt down next to the corpse. Tears left watermarks on the light blue carpet, but were rapidly being covered by a growing puddle of blood. Matt grabbed her arm and harshly pulled her away from the body. She stumbled a few steps, then collapsed at his feet.
"I…I can't do this, ok?" Mean stammered in between fits of crying. "Everyone's dead! Nobody cares if we give up, so let's just let go. It's not like-"
With one fluid motion, Matt dropped her arm, turned around, and started to walk away. Mean was crying again, but Matt ignored her. She's given up already?, he thought, with a little surprise. Well, that…that sucks. Too bad, really. It'll be cold. Ice and fire, wind and earth…
Matt stopped walking. Craziness was not allowed in his mind today. He mentally tried to relax, clear his mind, and just deal. Misinterpreting his halting for something to do with her, Mean crawled towards him, and put a hand on his foot. "Please…" she moaned.
Like snapping out of a dream, Matt reentered the moment. "Get up," he said hoarsely. "And let's roll." She practically jumped up, wiping a few last tears away from her eyes as she did so. Turning around again, they both walked away from the thing's body.
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The hall was horseshoe-shaped, Matt soon found. The door at the end of one side was like the one with the fire design, except it showed a circle with two parallel lines crossing the middle. Matt glanced back at Mean, but she was off in her own little world. Sighing, and preparing for the worst, he reached for the handle.
It growled.
As one, Matt and Mean turned around. The thing limped towards them, blood trickling from the large dent in its head. "How the fuck did…" Mean muttered. Matt noticed that they both had dropped their chair legs. Edging backwards, he placed one hand on the doorknob as he watched it draw near.
Seemingly not knowing about the crater in its head, the thing growled again and pounced, claws extended. Matt flicked the handle, and opened the door by pushing Mean through. He whirled around the heavy wood, and slammed on the creature. With a loud thunk, the claws dug into the door, and were quickly withdrawn. Matt noted the lights go out through eight or so little holes, just as the new room was illuminated.
They were in a bedroom. The walls were a vibrant orange, with swirls of red randomly spaced. The bed had a deep cherry wooden frame, with matching comforter and pillows. A dresser sat in the corner, and a desk sat next to it.
"Damn." Matt said, still shaking thanks to the re-walking dead back there. "We're trapped, aren't we?" Mean just shivered, and looked like she was going to cry again. She'll be fine, Matt told himself. He stepped over to the desk and opened the drawers. Pens, paper, envelopes- all the exciting stuff. Mean just lay down on the bed.
Matt stepped over to the dresser. Each drawer was empty, save for a sheet of orange liner paper. Oh, for crying out loud! Matt thought angrily. It's a DRESSER, people! Clothes! For cold people! Ok, for me, more specifically! Pissed off now, he slammed the last drawer shut and flopped down on the bed, next to Mean.
"…See anything?" she asked faintly.
Matt didn't answer. They lay in silence for a moment, until Matt muttered, "We're going to die soon, right?"
Although he didn't see her, Matt knew that Mean smiled. "Hence my breakdown." She snapped.
Matt rolled off the bed. He wandered around the room aimlessly, then began telling himself to search for another way out. There's not going to be a secret passage, you know, Matt thought. Oh, great. Quit thinking before you go insane. Cause that's bad. Like-
"What's the plan?" Mean asked, interrupting his thoughts.
Matt looked over at her as she sat up. "Well, since I've done so great at trapping us in a fucking bedroom, you can be our tactician for a while. Give it a whirl, girl. You'll like it."
On her feet now, Mean stared at Matt, mouth hanging open. "Are you insane or just cranky?" she asked.
He turned away. "Insane, cranky, tired, incurably depressed- it's all the same."
With a small smile, Mean said, "Well, you get slack. Here's the plan." She paused. "Don't think about anything that happened tonight. Run." She ran to the door, flung it open, and bolted into the hallway.
"And I'm insane," he muttered angrily, as he ran after her. Lights quickly switched from the bedroom back to the hallway. The creature had left a slick trail of blood in its path, forcing Matt to run along the side of the hallway. Mean turned the corner, then went into the bookcase room. It's open now? Matt thought confusedly.
He almost collided with Mean for the third time in twenty minutes. "Stop it," he said bitterly. She just pointed to the left. Matt looked, and saw that all the bookcases were gone, along with the table. A lectern sat facing the wall. On it was a single white piece of paper and a golden key. Matt picked up the paper, and read the words within the elegant border.
I know you want out. You're strong, both of you, but you're not quite good enough. It'll take more than blind luck and adrenaline to make it out of Raccoon alive and well. But seeing as I've no other alternative, you'll have to do.
This key opens a door into the main asylum. Go back into the bedroom, and sleep on it. You'll find a way.
Two will join your number soon. Be wary; they're weaker than you. What will be entrusted to you is more important than human life.
Be wary at all times, in all places. Nothing is ever as bright as it seems, Maria.
Remember, there's a way out of every problem. No consequences will befall you unless you let them, Matt.
Wordlessly, Matt handed the sheet back to Mean. Grabbing the key, he made for the door, Mean following him and reading at the same time. The cold metal felt good in his hands. He lifted the key up, and looked at it. A polished red stone was embedded into the handle. Matt shivered as he ran his finger across it.
Matt opened the bedroom door, walked in, and shut it after Mean. The lights transferred back to the bedroom again. He turned to her, and said, "Maria?"
"Well…come on…my legal name's not Mean, y'know…" she stumbled.
"I like it." Matt said quickly. Taking the paper and glancing at it once more, he said, "What…what does this mean?" He waved the paper around for effect.
"Key." Mean said simply. Frowning, Matt handed it over. She stood onto the bed, and put it into a hidden hole in the ceiling. "Writer guy's too obvious…sleep on it, I was lying here for ten minutes…" she grunted. Awkwardly, she twisted the key. The bed began to shake. Mean reached a hand out towards Matt. He took it, and stepped onto the bed, which started to descend slowly.
"Whoa…is this such a hot idea?" Matt asked. "Y'know, not complaining, the writer guy must have killed that thing back there and stuff, but still. Going underground when…when…y'know, the whole living dead experience." He trailed off after a minute.
Mean smiled weakly. "Well, you said I could be the tactician. And hey, trust my tact, will ya?"
Vaguely smiling, Matt sat down just as the top of the mattress reached floor level. "Alright, faith in tact. Anyways… why is this moving so slowly?"
Mean flopped down onto the pillows. "Can't say," she said quietly. Great, Matt thought. Another mood swing. Man, one second she's practically peppy, and now she's all…drepressy.
He tried to relax, but it was hard to stay still when the last of the light above was slowly becoming farther and farther out of reach. As if his thoughts had drawn a cue, they soundlessly turned off. Can't say I love this, Matt thought. Stretching out, he forced himself to rest for a moment. Thoughts he had pushed away during his encounters with Adam, the creature, and, y'know, the reanimated corpses all rushed back into his mind. His arm started to throb with pain again, making Matt wince. How long has it been? Will it be morning soon? he asked himself.
Seconds later, the bed stopped with a loud screeching noise. The wall next to Mean opened up a bit, but stopped without notice. A thin bar of light streamed into the tunnel. "Um…shouldn't that open more?" Matt asked quietly. He crawled over to the crack, and tried to pull the doors open. A second later, Mean joined him. They pulled one door back a bit, enough to squeeze through.
"Lobby," Matt muttered. "You or me?" he asked.
Mean shook her head. "You go. I'm…claustrophobic. I can't…"
Frowning, Matt stuck his head through the door. Turning sideways, he managed to get his chest out. Pushing down on the doors with his hands, he pulled his legs out and fell to the floor. Glancing around the room, he saw that he was in a lobby similar to the one somewhere above them in the hospital.
"Your turn," he said to Mean. She put a shaking hand out towards him, then screamed and leapt back. Matt whirled around to see a majorly pissed off Adam running towards him, claws pointingat his head.