MAE

"Am I late?" Mae had asked, barging through the doors of the Graham Building. Her blue skirt had been hiked up above her ankles to allow her to speed into the room, and her elaborate hairstyle, somewhat reminiscent of the complex updos of the 1800's, looked somewhat messy, as if it had fallen slightly out of its fancy bun in the girl's haste.

Of course the room was completely silent when Mae had entered, much to the girl's displeasure. She disliked drawing too much attention to herself. Mae was even more disheartened to see the expressions on the other teens' faces: most of them stared into the distance vaguely; some wore masks of rage. One boy had burst into tears.

"W-what have I missed?" Mae had asked.

One of the boys, handsome and well built, had given her a cruel smile.

"Welcome to hell."

One of the girls, Rosalind, informed Mae of the situation while the other teens packed their bags to take to their rooms. Of course Rosalind had wanted to know what kind of creature she was, to which Mae had responded that she was a clairvoyant. A group of the braver guys had gone in a group to see if there was any escape over the asylum's walls. They were unsuccessful. Apparently the walls were too slick, and the gate was locked and unclimbable in the first place. Not to mention the snow was picking up.

Nobody knew which team the intercom man had said Mae was supposed to be on, so in the end she decided to join Rosalind in Ward G. A sign at the entrance of the ward gave the room assignments:

Hino and Theodore

Elijah, Atticus, and Brennan

Rosalind and Alya

Tori and Anastasia

It had been quickly decided that Mae would room with Rosalind and Alya. Most people went directly to bed, not wanting to mill about knowing that at any moment they might be subjected to the tortures promised by the man on the speaker. Some still appeared to be in a state of disbelief, and Theodore had even said that he believed this all would prove to be some elaborate prank on the end.

Mae didn't think so. Something about the asylum seemed very... dark. A history that Mae could feel. She knew she was probably just being a little paranoid, but in this place, and with Mae's clairvoyant abilities, she couldn't be so sure. It was a miracle that Mae had fallen asleep at all. The fear that she'd seen in the other kid's eyes? It was real.

Mae woke up to complete darkness.

"Rosalind?" She called. She was lying on the floor as opposed to her old asylum cot, the chill of concrete seeping into her bones. "Alya?"

Her voice echoed, clearly she wasn't in her room anymore. "Hmm."

Mae stood up, brushing dirt off her nightgown.

"This is an odd predicament," she muttered to herself.

"Victims, creatures, monsters and the like, welcome to your first challenge," a voice said from a speaker over head. Mae could only assume it was the voice of the intercom man whom she had heard so much about.

"Your first task will be simple: find your way back to the Graham Building. I must warn you; the shadows harbor some deadly creatures. I would stay in the light as often as possible. You may now begin your first challenge."

Mae looked around. Wherever she was, it was too dark to see much. Dragging her bare feet across the floor and rubbing sleep from her eyes with one hand, she stretched the other one out, bracing against a wall that was almost invisible in the darkness. Shuffling carefully forward, she kept one arm outstretched for safety.

One thing was certain:

Mae had an almost psychic feeling that bumping into a wall would be the least of her problems.

VICTORIA

Tori was, in a word, freaked out. Sure, waking up in a strange place was scary. No one was denying that. Hearing voices? Now that was flat out terrifying.

Walking down the hallway, Tori could almost feel something with her.

Make it to the light, Tori coached herself, wrapping her arms tightly around her body. You're an Angel of the LORD. You fear nothing. No one is going to hurt you here.

While Tori did feel slightly better for a while, any confidence she had was shattered when she heard a scream further up ahead in the darkness.

The girl whipped around, sprinting in the opposite direction of the noise. She could swear she heard someone else's footsteps behind her, chasing her. Getting closer. Too close.

Then, mercifully, up ahead, Tori could see a light. Nothing too great. Just a dim speck in the darkness. A beam of yellow light that fell upon a white wall. As Tori raced closer, she could tell the light was coming from a discarded flashlight.

"I would stay in the light as often as possible." The intercom man had said that, Tori remembered. Maybe the light could help her lose whatever was chasing her.

Tori screamed, diving for the flashlight. In one fluid movement, the girl was back on her feet, flashlight in hand. Risking a glance, she spun around and shined the light on her chaser.

"Ouch! Too bright!" Her stalker screamed. He was an older boy with purple hair. Tori remembered him from the "dinner".

"Why were you chasing me? I was scared half to death!" Tori scolded.

"I'm sorry," the man said, running a hand through his hair. "I didn't know who you were. And with those... those things running around... I didn't want to risk any unwanted attention."

"Things? What things?" Tori asked, crossing her arms.

The man let out a laugh. "Oh yes, forgive me. I had to use a spell to see them. They're... Well, they appear to have been people at one point. Maybe past patients? Either way, they're essentially what I like to call shadow people, demonic spirits that lurk in the darkness and are generally invisible to the naked eye. Sometimes mortals claim to see them form the corner of their eye," the man explained. "It's a good thing you grabbed that flashlight," he added quickly. "They can't stand the light."

"Wonderful. Excuse me for asking, but what is your name? I didn't catch it at dinner," Tori said.

"Elijah. Elijah Killian. You can call me Eli. Now then, if you don't mind leading the way, it would seem we have to return to the Graham Building. If you hear whispers, please tell me. From our little chase I gathered that you can run. This is good. You may need to," Elijah said.

For a while, Tori and Elijah walked in silence. Although she felt safer with a light and a companion, Tori was terrified of the idea of these shadow people. She didn't know if angels could die, but she didn't want to find out anytime soon.

From what Tori could make out in the light, they appeared to be walking around some sort of service tunnel. Plain white walls, cracked concrete floors, and low pipes made up the entirety of the unattractive surroundings. Every once in a while, the pair would pass an inspirational poster, or a sign with medical instructions, like how to perform the Heimlich Maneuver.

Then, Tori saw the blood. She screamed.

"What's wrong?" Elijah asked, gripping her wrist and pulling her behind him.

"The wall," Tori muttered, eyes wide in terror.

Splashed across the wall was a splatter of dripping red liquid. Still wet, still moving. Tori moved her flashlight down, following the splatter of blood to its source; a slumped body leaning against the wall. It's head appeared to be fractured, the blood on the wall smeared as if the victim had slid down to his final resting place. Dressed in what appeared to be a white doctor's coat marred by fat red drops, the man had been older, maybe in his fifties.

Tori had to look away. She turned around, hugging her arms around herself. When she had finally worked up the courage to look back at the body... It was gone.

"What the- Where did it go?" Tori exclaimed.

Elijah shook his head. "I don't know. It's this place. It's pulling tricks on us. Places with so much negative energy tend to do that. We should get out of here as soon as possible. Let's go."

Still shaking, Tori stood still for a few minutes to to gather her thoughts. Then she resumed her place in the lead.

"How do you know all of this? The stuff about this place, I mean," Tori finally worked up the courage to say.

"I enjoy researching and reading. It's a habit and a hobby. I'm a sorcerer, you see. Its necessary for the job."

"Sorcery. Hm. I haven't had many pleasant experiences with magic. Most of the time the magic I've seen has come from the Devil," Tori remarked, rather harshly. It was almost an accusation.

"I assure you, dear. My magic has not ties to any demonic energy," Elijah said, wearily.

The two walked on in silence, a tension in the air between them. But it immediately dispersed as Tori's flashlight beamed on a stair case.

"Thank God!" She exclaimed. Dim white light filtered down the rusted metal stairs from somewhere up above, a promising sign of escape.

"Shall we?" Elijah asked.

For now, the worst was behind them.

XxXxX

Hello everyone! I'm finally dug out after snowpocalypse! We had close to 3 feet of snow. Any who, welcome to the first challenge chapter! Hopefully the next few installments will be longer, but I hope you guys still enjoy this one. Also, if you haven't heard, there is now a Fading Lights Roleplay Forum created by my wonderful and generous reader Cream of the Ice. Thank you for all of your work on the forum and the book cover! It's readers like you that make writing worth it!