Promo

The moment the metal pipe hit the glass and broke it, breaking the pipe as well, was the moment something made a thump in the vent behind me. I foolishly said "Yes!" and I heard something hit the ground. I was fast. I dove into the room and crouched down under the broken window. I was lucky that the glass shards were too large to make much of a noise. I peeked out in time to see a large black spiked and bloodied tail descend even further from the vent opening in the ceiling and then came a tanned and blacked limbed boy wearing a white t-shirt and grey shorts with hollow black dripping eyes and silver hair. The end of his limbs was black and the fingers and toes looked like claws, like most of the patient's fingers and toes were, developed to look like and act like claws. Or rather to be claws.

The boy let out a hissing growl and then started walking towards me on all fours, doing what I can only assume is smelling. It then started walking forward, letting out hissing and growling sounds that sound sounded like a wailing child. The click-clack sound of his claws when he walks doesn't make it any better. Then again, most patients have something that just made them worse when they were walking.

I crouched even lower and held my breath. He didn't have sharp eyesight or he would have seen me already. Also, judging from his sniffing, I assume that he actually has a bad sense of smell compared to the patients that are like him. I think his project or strand was called hunters. He still can smell better than a human can so he knows that I am in the area but unless he is right next to me he won't smell me out, which only leaves his hearing. He probably has sharp hearing. Once he gets close enough he'll stop sniffing the air to hear me and if he gets within six feet of me I'm screwed.

As if proving my point the sniffing stopped. He was close, probably twelve feet away from me. I only have one option right now. I grabbed my noisemaker and threw it out the window behind him. Just as the boy got in range to hear me breathing the box landed and started making its loud and obnoxious clicking and clacking noise as well as its high-pitched screes.

The boy let out a snarling hiss before rushing over, his tail flying through the window for a brief second nearly slicing my face open. Then he was gone. I peeked and saw that he was standing over the contraption, pawing it and sniffing as if confused as to why the box was here. That was probably it. The patient himself looked to be eight years old but that is due to his body size and as I learned patient body size normally increases after the procedure. That means in reality the boy might be seven or six. And since some patients have their IQ dropped, the intelligence of the kid in front of me was that of a toddler, only more messed up as he is, well you know, killing people.

I backed up and went to the table and picked up the Omi-tool. I need it for this area's door. Area E eh? Sector 64. This office and lab area seemed to have been a final retreat path. I would love to know more about what happened but that would take up time I didn't have, especially with this new patient around. Judging from the sketch from Julia Spaserenso he was one of the patients that were hunting them but he wasn't one of the major ones and he would only attack after too much noise was made or sometimes when they stumbled upon him eating. In other words, he isn't much of a threat.

However, that doesn't mean he wasn't a threat. He just wasn't there but he did enough damage or scared them enough for the group to make a protocol on him. It is a shame I don't know it as the paper was burned off.

I decided to leave through the open door. I went out and went to the left. The noise was still going which means the patient was still distracted. I made my way to William Wennir's office and opened the door. Of course when I did so there was a loud sound of something smacking something full of bolts like a whip. That was my noisemaker. It let out one last scree before falling silent. I then heard a curious but satisfied whine before the resuming of the now faint click-clack of the patient walking began.

I walked over to the metal door and used the Omi-tool on the door. The metal door gave a creaking noise before sliding open. I heard a responding screech and I knew my cover was blown. Inside the room that the metal doors locked behind were an operating chair and a dark wood table. Medical tools were on the table and the chair was black with the cushion being red. The room had nothing else and looked dusty and abandoned even more so than the facility around it. I could tell that this was not a fun room.

I looked at the chair more closely and saw that there were handcuffs hanging from the arms. It looked like more than a few were missing. Dried blood was on them. They seemed rather small so I wonder if they were used on a lanky person. The room was also awfully cold and there was an air of dread that I couldn't shake.

Hmm? Something was moved from the corner. What was there I don't know but it was moved recently. But that doesn't make sense. Wasn't the door locked? Did someone come in and take whatever was here before locking it down with the Omi-tool? Proba-

I felt a breath of fresh air and I looked up. Above me was a gaping hole leading into the ventilation system. The hole was new and it looked like someone tore through the vent in order to get out, not get in.

Or they could have gone in that way….Wait. No, they were here, to begin with. They escaped and then grabbed whatever was there before tearing through the ceiling and into the vents.

So someone was left here for a long time, probably being tortured, and now they finally have escaped. I wonder which patient it was. Nothing in the sketches or protocols that Julia made said anything about a trapped patient seeking revenge. Maybe they just escaped or maybe they just decided revenge wasn't worth it and tried to escape instead.

I would much rather prefer the second reason since the first means that they are still here seeking revenge.

I peeked out of the door and saw the boy patient just outside. After staring at the doorway for a bit he hissed before he started sniffing. A sudden clang made him perk up and he started walking away to the left of where I am facing, down where I need to go.

I went back in and looked around some more. There was a stain like the one in the corner on the table which looked like paper. Probably was the notes he took on the patient here. I figured the person who was responsible was the very person who had this room in his office. That's Right Doctor Winnir! I know your secret ya sick bastard!

I left the room and peeked outside. The patient was nowhere to be seen. Maybe the reason he didn't come in was because of Doctor Wu's dead body? That probably covered my scent. Thank you, Doctor Wu. Though I disagree with you killing yourself you still managed to be helpful once again.

I went where the patient went. Not because I want to see him but because I had no choice. The elevator was that way. All I need to do now is get to the elevator and go to the area door so I can escape. I got what I needed here and now I know of what happened to Doctor Wu's group. With this, I can give the report to the Organization and they can stop sending those damn patients. I still won't join them. Not after the hell they just put me through. I also don't agree with what they are doing either. I mean the patients are a double-edged sword. They can't fully control them and one of these days they are going to realize that they are being tricked. Once that happens I'm gonna be far gone, hopefully with Connor and Karla and on our way back home.

I peeked the corner once I reached a crossway of going up or to the left. To the left I saw the patient stand up and open a door before going in, the door closing behind him but only when the tail was fully in. I guess the scanners worked for patients as well.

Seeing as I was safe for now I went to the left and made a right just before I was outside the door the patient went into. There in the middle was the elevator. I went up to it and opened the door...only it didn't open.

I opened up the power box next to it and saw that it was broken. Was it broken before? Why didn't I check before? Ack! Now I have to go and get a new fuse.

If I remember correctly there should be a fuse in the northeast corner. That is where I must go. I walked past The bloodstain on the floor and went past Doctor Emily's office which is the start of the northeast section. Three offices and a locker were in this section. I don't think I should use the locker if the patient comes this way as he would hear me enter. If anything just hiding should be fine.

I looked inside and saw that there was a strange machine. I think that is the machine that uses those nanobots, the RONOMs. Then that must mean the machine is a RONOM station. I could use it to repair stuff. I don't think I have time to repair the fuse that was in the elevator as it was seriously broken, slashed almost into three pieces. It'll waste time and make noise.

I walked past and entered the northeast section, greeted by the sign stating what section I am in. I opened the door to my right which had no windows and saw that it was a sample room. Many different samples were lined up on tables and shelves with their jars glowing to reveal their contents.

I decided it was best not to go in that room in case I knock something over. Now there are only two rooms left, one to the left and one in front of me. I decided to go to the one on the left which was tucked away in the corner. It kinda looked like a tiny house or something. I opened the door and went inside. Inside on the table was a fuse. I grabbed it and turned to leave when I noticed something on the desk. There was a picture of a family. One man with black hair, one woman with white hair and blue eyes, two daughters, one of them being a bleached blond color with blue eyes while another was wearing a red shirt with black hair and purple eyes, There also was a young man with black hair and blue eyes. Probably their eldest child. He had a charming smile.

On the back of the picture frame was the name Doctor Ava Singerburn. I guess that is the woman or the mother in the photo. So this is her office huh.

I looked around and saw that this office was much more lively than the others. It looked more like an apartment building than an office. Photos and magnets as well as toys and other stuff were scattered about. That plus the lightning of the office made this look so much more comfortable.

I was about to leave when I heard the sounds of the patient outside. I peeked through the blinds of this office which made it look even more like a house and saw the patient approaching from the direction I came from, sniffing the air and growling. His wails ruined the atmosphere of this office and reminded me once again that I am in a ruined facility with patients running loose mutated to be beyond human and killing everybody.

Just go right on pass. Please don't come i-

Oh, come on!

The patient walked right up to the room I am in and opened the door. He poked his head in and then slowly walked into the room. I was in the back corner. He was seven feet away from me. If he walked any closer he would hear me.

The patient made a satisfied yelp before turning around and walking out of the room. I peeked out and saw him walking down before turning and checking the room with no windows, opening the door, and going inside. This time however the door didn't close behind him. Sneaking past him was an option but if he just so happens to hear me…

I really don't want to find out how fast he is.

That only leaves one option and that is to go to the right. I went through the open door and quietly went to the left. Once there I walked down the hallway. After walking quietly as I could while making decent progress and stopping when I heard the occasional door open and close. I stopped to check where he was from me before I made it to the elevator. The patient was close behind, following my scent. He was in a room not so far behind me.

I went and opened the power box beside the elevator and replaced the fuse. I then clicked the activate button and closed the box. The box lit up green before suddenly blinking and going dark. I tried again with the same results.

"Ah, shit!" I hissed while opening the power box and taking out the fuse. I could tell the patient was close by. I quickly turned and walked into a room, opening the door. To get in. I knew he would hear this so instead of actually going in the room I walked away from it and crouched down and held my breath. The patient walked past the elevator and past me, stopping only briefly before going into the room. Just when I thought I was safe he poked his head out and turned to stare directly at me. Right then I had so many doubts flood my mind saying "What if he really isn't blind and he just can't see well?" when with a snarl he went out of the room and started slowly walking towards me.

Ahh. I'm dead. I thought grimly as he went closer and closer, drool dripping out of his mouth and his wails growing louder, sounding like the screams of the damned.

Remembering that I have another noisemaker I whipped it out and threw it behind the patient. It went off just in time as the patient just got within six feet of me. With a snarl he whipped around, his tail slicing the steel wall behind me leaving a scar before running towards the noise. Yep, he was definitely quick. That was less than a second. From the distance, he moved seventeen feet in less than a second. Running isn't an option against him.

I wonder if I shoot him enough will he back away? Probably not. He doesn't seem to be a husk and as I know from experience, patients that aren't husks are normally quite immune to bullets. By the time I drive him away, something else will come from the noise. That something else will probably be Clicker and I know that nothing can drive him away.

If Clicker came the boy patient will probably go away but Clicker is his own danger. If I take into account that there are a bunch of hallways here, his echolocation will be even more deadly. He'll find me in no time and then he'll kill me. I don't know if I'll die for real but I do not want to find out. Besides, dying hurts a lot and I am deathly afraid to die.

I shook my head. I need to just stay still and quiet for right now. I am pretty sure that I need to fix this fuse. If that is the case I need to fix it with the RONOM station and fix it. Thank God that the machines in this facility still are working.

I made my way to the room with the RONOM station fairly quickly, only stopping once to hide from the patient. As expected he destroyed the noisemaker faster than the first time like most patients after getting distracted by one a second time.

I opened the door and put the fuse in under the scanner and pressed the on button. Now I just need to wait for the machine to finish working. That means being very quiet.

Crack

Crap!

I accidentally stepped on a piece of glass from a beer bottle. I turned around and heard an inhuman screech. In a flash the patient jumped through the window, smashing it and sending large shards of glass everywhere, and tackled me to the ground where with one clawed hand pinned me and raised his left clawed hand, and slashed me across the face. Then he switched and his right clawed hand slashed me right in the throat. Pain flashed through me and after convulsing my vision flashes red then went dark.