Katie was thinking of home; her mum, her dad, her little sister Mary… It all seemed so far away as she walked through the doors of an unknown building in an unknown town with a boy she rarely spoke to and a man she'd met only 30 minutes beforehand. She knew almost as soon as she stepped through the door that they weren't going back to the bus with a team of paramedics. In short, the hospital was empty. There were no people outside, no people inside, no lights, no cars, no ambulances, no nothing. The whole place was illuminated by a soft, grey light which seemed to come from the fog, so even though it was the middle of the night, they could see quite easily.

Philip marched into the hospital lobby and methodically jumped over the reception counter, opening files and folders with a very serious and concentrated look on his face.

'What are you looking for?' Katie asked, sidling over to him and rubbing her bare arms in an attempt to keep warm.

Without even looking, Philip took off his jacket and tossed it to her. 'Put this on or you'll freeze to death. It's bloody cold in here.'

She smiled sadly. 'Thanks.'

Chris was trying all the doors, but not one would open. They were all locked or jammed shut somehow. Many of the doors that were jammed resembled the door of the school bus; the frame had somehow moulded itself to the door in a grotesque, almost sexual manner. He began to get frustrated. Every door was locked!

Suddenly there was a loud bang, and the large double doors that they'd entered through slammed shut violently. All three of them jumped out of their skins, Katie letting out a short, shrill scream. Then the most bizarre of things happened. Unseen forces in the walls reached out around the door, melting and fornicating with its pristine white glow. The door seemed to pulse as it fused with its frame, and this glow seemed to spread throughout the lobby, instilling fear into their very cores, though they didn't quite know why. The light seemed to dim, and they knew that the hospital did not want to let them go.

Chris ran over to Philip and Katie, not wanting to be alone during this peculiar transition. Philip glanced around fearfully before continuing with his search of the documents, increasing his pace like they had to leave fast.

'Find a door guys! We have to leave here, soon!' Philip whispered urgently. The very air seemed to vibrate, but they could see each other very clearly like it was the world that was changing and not their fragile minds.

'What the hell is happening?' Chris asked, running his hand through the air, noticing how it became distorted. His hands were aflame with a colourless fire it seemed, and as the glow in the walls increased they began to burn.

Philips eyes opened wide. He'd seen this before in his dreams. Was he dreaming now?

Strange sounds began entering their heads, innate instinct causing them to huddle together in the corner furthest from the entrance, which seemed to be the epicentre of the chaos. The small television at the reception desk exploded into life, white noise adding to the insane sounds they were hearing. Katie fell to the floor with her hands pressed tightly against her ears, and was the first to witness the light green lino crumble, blacken and float off into the air as ash. She looked up and saw a similar thing happening to the walls, and ceiling to. Chris and Philip ducked down behind the counter with her, hands over their heads in one last protective stance. Then the light disappeared completely…

…When he awoke, a stale, putrid smell invaded Philips nostrils. He opened his eyes and saw that nothing had changed. This was certainly not a dream. He was standing on a rusty iron mesh which covered the entire floor. Underneath it was pure blackness; an endless abyss. The walls were draped with white, blood stained sheets and pulling one aside he saw that wire mesh was beneath that also. He stood up and looked around, trying to take in the frightening and dramatic change that had happened to the previously dull and featureless hospital lobby. There was no sign of either Chris or Katie, which deeply worried him. They had to be found.

Stepping out from behind the desk he began to calm himself down using a series of deep breathing exercises. He noticed that all of the doors were still jammed shut, but there was a corridor to his left that led deeper into the hospital. He looked at the folder he still had clutched in his hands. There was a map underneath the burnt and blackened pages, and he wondered why it alone had remained in such good condition. He still had no idea which room his mother was supposed to be in, and now that all of the files had mysteriously burnt, he knew that he would just have to look for it himself.

'I was led here,' he mused. 'Roger led me here… Did he know that this was going to happen?' He continued down the hallway, and was greatly disturbed by the strange things that he saw: tables with what looked like burnt human remains on them, empty wheelchairs that were splashed with blood, brutally oversized knives and surgical scissors. He picked up what looked like a large meat cleaver, and feeling its weight in his hand, felt much better.

Next to where he'd found the knife was a door that was ajar. Every other door he'd come across was locked or jammed, but this one was already open. Tentatively, he entered, and was horrified by what he saw.

- - - - -

Katie awoke in what looked and smelled like a damp, fetid cellar of some kind. The walls were greasy with fungus and the floor was ankle deep in stagnant water. She leaped to her feet and brushed away the filthy moss that was clinging to her sodden clothes.

'Chris? Philip?' she called out into the darkness. The only reply was an echo. After it had subsided she listened carefully. There was a sound that she couldn't quite make out. It sounded like a siren of some kind, and was coming from above her. It was an air raid siren! The ones that warned the British of invading bombers during the Second World War. They wailed mournfully in the distance, and she couldn't help but feel very scared by them. She'd always found them haunting, and they seemed to fit the mood of the scene very well.

The cold draughts and echoes began to make her think that she wasn't in a cellar at all, but perhaps some kind of underground tunnel. She squinted into the darkness but couldn't see much; just flat grey walls either side of her and blackness in front and behind her. She looked up at the ceiling, thinking that there would be a trapdoor or hole that she'd fallen through, as she had no idea how she'd got from the hospital lobby to an underground tunnel, but there was none. She was very confused, very scared, and very cold. She was also beginning to feel very grateful that Philip had given her his coat, especially when a suddenly blast of cold air swept through the tunnel.

She couldn't decide which way to walk. Each way was as silent and black as the other, and she had no idea where either of them went. She decided to just take a chance, and began walking down the left hand tunnel.

As she plunged further and further into the darkness, another noise began to prickle her ears, and this sounded a lot more disturbing. It sounded like the rhythmic grinding of a large piece of machinery. A steady pounding echoed through the chamber combined with a grating squeal, not like the static, but like rusted cogs that were forced to work together despite the discrepancy. The dirty pumping made her want to turn and go the other way, but she was getting very tired, the cold water sapping the strength from her limbs, and she could see a faint light in the distance. She aimed for the light. Spurred on by a new found strength, she ploughed through the water, sloshing it all up her body, but not really caring about the added cold.

The light was closer than she'd first thought because it was coming from a keyhole. She'd finally reached the end of the tunnel! The door was small from what she could tell by feeling around the edge, and everything else around it was just flat wall. The door was the only way through but it was locked. Feeling cheated and dejected she slumped against the door and began to sob with frustration. She'd buried her hands deep into the pockets of Philips jacket and suddenly she was overcome by a horrible feeling of dread. Her hand curled around a small object and when she drew it out, she saw with what little light there was that it was a tiny key. Could it possibly fit the lock? Surely not. However she gave it a go and when the door swung open she was overcome by disbelief.

She entered the brightly lit room and as she did so the door swung shut and slammed behind her. She squinted at the light and noticed that she was in some kind of bathroom. She headed for the door and exited onto a train platform. She was in a subway; although how she got there from the hospital she had no idea. The light was dim, but at least she could see. She walked over towards the tracks, conscious of her boots echoing loudly around the station, and looked down both sides of the tunnel. When she'd awoken was she in a subway tunnel? She couldn't begin to comprehend how she'd have felt if a train had come at her.

She sighed and sat on a bench, still freezing from the cold gusts of air that were billowing around her. She decided to wait for a train, get a ride back to Brookhaven and visit the hospital again. In a now ordinary situation, she couldn't help but question whether or not what had happened had really happened at all. Maybe she'd been drugged and then dumped in the train toilets or something… She didn't know…

Thump, Thump, Thump, Thump…

The rhythmic pounding of the strange machinery came again from nowhere. She didn't remember it stopping at any point, but the fact that it had just started up again made it abundantly clear that it must have done at some point. She leapt up from the bench and turned around in a full circle, trying to pinpoint the noise. It was coming from behind a red set of double doors to her far left. She ran over to them and flung them open, expecting to see some kind of demonic factory, but to no avail. Instead, a strange humanoid lay crouched on the floor, twitching uncontrollably. It seemed to be tied across a vending machine that had been tipped over and dragged to the centre of the room and its legs were spread apart in a macabre sexual position. Brown blood was gushing from some unseen wound, and the grating sound that she'd mistaken for rusted metalwork was actually the monsters ghostly wails. She wanted to feel sorry for the brutal torture, but the creature was so frightening that all she could do was press herself into the nearest corner and watch, eyes open wide with horror. The monster had a strange cylindrical head that thrashed around uncontrollably, the only distinguishable feature being a large steely pair of maroon lips that opened and closed in rapid succession. Its arms, or rather, upper body limbs were splayed out over the vending machine and had been cruelly nailed to it with some kind of large iron peg. Instead of hands, the creature had a large pair of dirty talons that sprouted straight from the wrists, and these flopped around on the ground making harsh clinking noises and tearing chunks of concrete out from under the shabby carpet.

The creature squirmed and bellowed out another mournful wail. In response, another noise from down the corridor to her left started up. A slow kind of 'Thump, Scrape, Thump, Scrape' that increased in volume as whatever it was got closer. In terror, but with a morbid curiosity that seemed to bypass her survival instincts, Katie inched her way towards the edge of the wall, peering round as to get a better view of the source of the noises. She tried to suppress a squeal.

A tall, humanoid wearing some kind of triangular steel helmet was clomping its way towards her. Its hefty muscled right arm dragged behind it a huge rusted knife or cleaver of some sort, and iron links of chains hung from the helmet and were dragged along on the floor behind it.

She ducked back around the corner, trembling with fear, eyes darting to and fro in the search for some kind of hiding place. In the end she hid behind a pile of crates, out of view from the Pyramid Head, although there was a tiny crack between two boxes which she could see out from. The Pyramid Head came stomping around the corner, dragging its massive blade along behind it, and it stopped at the restrained monsters feet. Its cylindrical head twisted side to side in an attempt to see the monstrosity stood behind it, and it gargled grotesquely as the Pyramid Head put on foot on the edge of the vending machine, lifted the knife, and plunged it deep into the unseen gap in-between the monsters legs, perhaps as some kind of sick, ritual rape. The monster didn't scream in agony like she expected it to, but rather belched forth a sigh of sorts, some perverted sense of relief or pleasure from the Pyramid Heads evil sacrifice.

The monster was no victim, just a disgusting sacrifice. Was she the victim? Was the whole event orchestrated specifically or her to see? The Pyramid Head pulled the knife out of the corpse's anus with a sickening squelch, and its rusted metal helmet turned to face the crates which she was hidden behind. She tensed with fear. Had she been discovered? The executioner stood up and turned its whole body to face her. She must have been seen. She knew it was only a matter of time before she too was murdered by that massive knife, so she quickly searched for an exit. There were the red double doors she'd entered through, the corridor that the Pyramid Head had come from, and another set of double doors, these blue, near to the crates. She new that they were the best option, but that she would be done for if the doors were locked. Alternatively she could try and dash past the Pyramid Head and go down the tunnel it had come from, although, she had no idea what was down there either. It would however give her more room to breathe. Perhaps. Maybe she was underestimating its speed, if so there was no way she could get past it.

She was running out of time. It was getting closer. She pondered for one minute and finally made her decision. Just as the Pyramid Head was right next to the stack of crates she kicked them harshly, causing them to cascade around it. In a moment of confusion it tensed, lifting the knife and spinning around to her direction. It gave her enough time to dart around it and down into the corridor which whence it had came. Unfortunately she had underestimated its speed because although she didn't slow one jot, the Pyramid Head was already gaining on her, knife in hand. At the end of the corridor was a small steel spiral staircase which descended into darkness once more, but almost as some kind of lifeline, a torch stood on the flat banister at the top. Thanking her good fortune she sped down the stairs, grabbing the torch as she did so and half expecting the Pyramid Head to be at her heels. She didn't dare look though, so she just kept running and running and running, deeper and deeper into the bowels of the subway…

- - - - -

Philip was truly sickened by the sight that lay in front of him. The dismembered corpse of a nurse lay splayed out on a hospital bed, face smashed beyond recognition, lower abdomen dissected in some kind of sick, hysterectomy. All around her lay tables and tables covered with more unnecessarily brutal tools; knives, saws, axes, even a power drill, all rusted beyond use and caked in dry blood. He could see that the nurse had been carrying a chart before, before this had happened to her, so he carefully removed it from her grasp, doing his best not to throw up. He looked at the list:

Flora Davies – Room 407

Elizabeth Morris – Room 19

George Rosten – Room 35

Gary Lawson – Room 79

Jimmy Stone – Room 163

Dahlia Snow – Room 201

Jack Cumberland – Room 311

Taking the map of the hospital from his pocket he found where room 201 was and marked it with a spot of blood which he reluctantly dipped his finger into. The room was 3 floors up, and so far he hadn't seen any stairs that he could use. Just as he was about to leave the room, the nurse violent began to shake, and a disgustingly low death rattle burned its way out from her rotted face. Philip turned and faced the corpse with a mixed look of horror and fear on his face. He tightly gripped his knife and slowly edged out of the door, closing it behind him. Suddenly there was a snake like hiss and he spun around to see a second nurse with an equally butchered face and lower abdomen leering at him evilly. He recoiled down the hall away from it, but saw that it clearly had hostile intentions towards him. Nurse 'Riley' according to the name badge lifted a short but solid looking lead pipe and began to stalk down the corridor towards him, hissing malevolently as it did so…

...daddy was in hospital getting his stomach pumped again because he drank too much again. Roger and mommy both had to carry him to the car, and I sat in the front with mommy whilst Roger helped daddy in the back. He was shouting at us, saying that his little club were the only people that understood him. Mommy did not like his little club, because they did weird stuff, and scary men in big black dresses kept coming to our house looking for him, but mommy was like, 'he doesn't live here anymore so go away!'…

…and it was suddenly much closer to him than it was before, nearly in striking distance. Philip jumped back and readied his knife/meat cleaver weapon, wishing he'd chosen one with a more pronounced point. The nurse hissed again, but this was cut short when Philip slammed the blade into the remains of its face with a meaty wallop. The nurse cringed away from him and began to spasm uncontrollably, like some kind of malfunctioning robot. Philip reached over and yanked the blade out, but the nurse was not finished yet. It grabbed his wrist with surprising speed and squeezed with surprising strength. Philip yelled as the nurses crusty hands dug into his skin, and raising a boot, stamped hard on the side of its head, forcing it to the floor. The nurse struggled feebly as he crushed its head beneath his foot like a rotten egg, greyish green, stinking matter splurging out all over the floor beneath it. He reluctantly bent down and retrieved his knife from the sticky mess, just as the first nurse somehow managed to open the door of the room he'd entered only minutes before, brandishing a small but deadly looking scalpel. This time ready, he leapt forward and slashed the nurse across its chest, spilling more of the green grey mess. The nurse shrieked and clutched at her breast, swinging widely with the blade. Philip kept way out of reach, as he had not idea how many deadly germs would get into his blood stream if he let it touch him. Throwing a table in front of him to slow the nurse's progress, he began to jog away from it, loosely following his memory of the map towards some nearby stairs.

Entering yet another deserted corridor he began to wonder whether or not he'd taken another wrong turning, but unwilling to stay in one place long enough for the nurse to catch up with him, he continued to blindly run around the vast halls of the hospital. Suddenly as he turned a corner he saw a figure in the distance. His first instinct was that it was a nurse, but it wasn't. This time it was much, much worse. Chris was dead. He must have been caught by the deranged hospital staff and split in half right there and then in the hospital. He sunk to his knees next the poor boy and wept a few tears of loss. It was such a terrible crime for a young life to be taken, and the realisation that his girlfriend and his mother were somewhere in this building made him all the more worried.

He picked the small scrap of red paper that was pinned to Chris's face and began to read.

'Philip. Come on! We've been waiting for hours for you to come. Its past visiting hours put I'm friends with the staff here so I managed to pull a few strings, you know how it is. Anyway, stay away from rooms 35 and 163. Jimmy and George are a proper pair of assholes! I don't want you to meet them little brother.

Hurry up! We miss you! xxx'