The Asylum - Part 2

Making my way through the vents was harder than I thought. The sheet metal plates were rusted and old, rubbing my knees and hands raw. After a few minutes of crawling, I saw the end of the vent. The same hatch was covering the exit; I would have to open it to be able to get out.

As I got closer, the light coming from the other side of the hatch was enough for me to turn off my night-vision. I had used up one of my batteries navigating through the vents, as I could not see a thing in the pitch black. I pressed the night-vision button and the low hum from my camera stopped.

I reached the hatch, and looked down through the slits in the metal to see where I was. It was another security room. The lights were on, and it had five monitors on a table on the far right. A chair in front of them was ripped, causing the cotton from the inside to fall on the white tile floor. A small window next to the door on the left was the only way to see out of the room. A dead plant and another set of three lockers was on the far left.

I set my camera down and and put my hands on the hatch. As I started to push, the door to the security room opened. In stepped the same thing that had been following me since I entered the asylum. It's big belly bounce with every step, and it's shaved head and scarred face was as ugly as ever.

One thing was different; it was not carrying it's axe with it. Maybe it left it somewhere? It closed the door and walked over to the computer monitors and stared at them intently. Only now did I see what was on the screens. It was the asylum.

The monitors displayed different hallways of the building. One screen had the main lobby where I had first entered from. The second and third were hallways I had not seen before. The fourth was the hallway right outside this room, as a painting I could see on the screen was one I could make out from the small window by the door. The last screen displayed the room that led to the Male and Female Ward, also the room where I had first entered the vents.

It used the cameras to locate me. It looked at each monitor, then roared at threw one of them against the wall, causing the screen to crack and go black. It breathed hard for a moment, then headed to the door. "Filthy worm," it growled. It went outside and closed the door. From the monitor that displayed the hallway right outside, I saw it open a metal gate, and walk through. It closed.

I waited a few moments before I tried to open the hatch again. This one was a bit harder to pry loose than the first, but it finally came off. It crashed onto the floor underneath me, causing a loud smash. I stayed in the vent, half expecting the thing to come running back, but it didn't. I grabbed my camera and jumped down, landing besides the hatch.

I brushed myself off and started recording again. I looked around the security room. Nothing was on the bare cream-colored walls. I was about to head out of the room when movement on one of the monitors caught my eye. I walked over to the screen and couldn't believe my eyes.

It was a woman. She looked around 25 and had light brown hair and greenish eyes. She was wearing a black leather jacket and blue jeans. Her knee-high black boots clicked on the tile floors. She was on monitor three, a hallway that was completely new to me. She seemed tired, as if she had been running for quite some time. Stopping for a breather, she looked behind her, then stared directly at the camera.

I almost took a step back. Did she know I was looking at her? She continued staring at the camera, then spoke.

"I know you're there," she gasped. Her soft voice made me forget I was trying to find my way out of an asylum that was anything but abandoned. "Listen, I'm stuck here, too. That thing is after me. We need to find each other. I'm in the Male Ward. I don't know how we're going to get together, but we have to. Go to room 066 in the Ward, I'll be hiding there. My name is Alice." A banging noise from behind her made her stop.

"I have to go. See you soon." She ran off just as a door behind her opened. Sure enough, the thing was on her tail. It stopped where Alice had been just seconds before, and looked at the camera. I felt like it was looking straight at me. It held the gaze for a moment, then smiled. Suddenly, all the monitors went black.

I had to find Alice. She was the only sane person I had seen since I entered this place. The only problem was she was in the Male Ward, and the gate to enter it required a key-card. I needed to find it.

Walking out of the security room, the hallway outside gave me a choice. I could go left into the darkness, or right and through the same metal gate the thing went through. I decided to go right, as that was the way it went to chase after Alice.

The gate was open. I slowly pushed it ajar and stepped in. Closing the door behind me, I looked at my surroundings.

I was in a sort of lobby. A desk sat in the middle of the room. A door behind it and to the left and right were all shut. There were plants in the corners of the room and the white walls were bare.

I walked to the desk, and to my surprise, found a ring of key-cards sitting next to a computer monitor. I put my camera in my jacket while I examined the cards.

All of the cards had codes for metal gates, none had the M-W I needed to be able to enter the Male Ward and find Alice. After looking around the desk, my hopes of finding her diminished to near nothing. Suddenly, the metal gate directly in front of the desk opened, and my heart dropped.

It was the thing. It had finally found me. It started at me, as if examining a piece of meat. Then it smiled.

"Found you," it said. I pulled out my camera and ran back to the door I entered the lobby from. It was running after me; I could feel the floor shake under it's weight. I ran into the security room and closed the door behind me, making sure to lock it. From the small window in the room, I could see it slowly making it's way to the door.

I had to get into the vent, but this one was way up in the ceiling. I looked toward the monitors on the wall and saw the chair in front on them. I pulled it under the vent and got up.

The thing started to break the door down. Each bang made my heart skip a beat. I put the camera back in my jacket and grabbed onto the edges of the vent. As I pulled myself up, I heard the door break down, and the thing stepped in.

I had just barely managed to get in the vent when the thing reached for my leg. It only brushed my shoe. "You pig!" It screamed. It picked up the chair and threw it at the vent. It bounced off and hit the floor with a thud. The thing breathed hard, then walked out of the room and headed back towards the lobby. I sighed a huge sigh of relief.

Once again, I pulled my camera out of my jacket and started to record everything again. That was way too close. Who knows what it would have done to me if it had caught me. One thing was clear; it did not want me in this asylum. This only made me more desperate to get out of this place.

Making my way back through the vents was as hard as the first time. I was not fond of small, cramped spaces, and these dirty vent pipes were not helping. After a few moments, I saw the end of the vent, where I had first entered from.

I reached the end and turned on my night-vision; the low hum of the camera returned. Putting it to my eye, I saw the first sight since I entered The Crane that made me smile; the Male Ward's gate was open. My smile quickly disappeared, though.

The Male Ward was closed before I entered the vent. Not only had the thing seen me get into the vent, I was sure it knew I wanted to find Alice. Maybe it was setting up a trap, deliberately leading me into the Male Ward. What if Alice had managed to escape and that was why the gate was open? I shook my head and put those thoughts in the back of my mind. Over thinking things here would only hurt me more than it helped.

I jumped down and noticed the vent's hatch I had placed on the desk when I first opened the vent was gone. I looked around, but sure enough, it was missing. I walked towards the Male Ward, debating whether or not I should enter. Alice had told me she would be there, and I didn't think she would leave. I decided to go and look for her.

I walked over to the gate when I heard running coming towards me. The noise was getting closer, and through my camera's night-vision, I saw what it was.

It was the same man I saw in the straight jacket. He had managed to get out of it and was now running full speed towards me. I turned around and was about to start running when I was tackled from behind.

I slammed onto the floor and my camera went flying out of my hands. I heard it shatter against the wall and fall to the floor. The man was on top, pinning me down. I was afraid it was helping the thing locate me, but he spoke.

"Who are you?" he asked. His voice was ragged, and he was breathing hard. I could hardly talk with his hand on my head, pushing me down harder into the floor. "I don't mean any harm," I said. "I'm just looking for someone." "There hasn't been anyone her for ten years," the man laughed. He was clearly insane.

"I'll leave as soon as I find who I'm looking for," I told him. He got up and ran over to my camera. He picked it up and looked at it. "Hey! That's mine!" I shouted, getting up and taking it away from him. He chuckled.

The man had scars covering his face. He was crouching, as if he had not stood up straight for a long time, and he constantly had his hands in front of his chest.

My camera had a crack on the small pull-out screen, but the night-vision still worked and it was still recording.

"Have you seen a woman in the Male Ward?" I asked him, hoping he would tell m where Alice was. He looked at me, eyes open wide. "Oh, yes," he started. "Very pretty, so pretty. Like a flower, but Chuck hasn't seen a flower for so long. Chuck wishes he could have a flower. Can you give Chuck one?" The man was hard to talk to, and who was Chuck?

"So you've seen her?" I pressed. I had to know where he had seen Alice, he was my only hope of finding her now.

"Yes," he said, giggling. "Can you take me to her?" I asked. He looked at me. "Chuck may. But Chuck wants a flower. Can you give Chuck one?" he asked again. "Yes, I'll give Chuck a flower, but first take me to where you saw the pretty woman," I said. "Follow Chuck," he told me.

He started to walk towards the Male Ward, still crouching. I continued to record, and followed Chuck into the Ward. I had no idea where I would find a flower.