Sister Catherine

Submerged in the impossible reality, the boy found himself standing at the threshold of an unexpected sanctuary—a verdant forest teeming with life amidst the crumbling ruins of the abandoned hospital. Towering trees reached for the heavens, their shadows stretching like silent sentinels against the luscious undergrowth. The serenity was punctuated by the distant, musical gurgle of a river, drawing him in with a promise of tranquility—a stark contrast to the harrowing chase he had survived.

This can't be real. It's like stepping into a twisted dream.

Says the boy, thinking to himself. Emanating a peculiar amalgam of peacefulness and creepiness, the forest embraced him in its expansive green arms. Though it provided a momentary respite from the relentless terror, it failed to quell his wariness entirely. As he ventured deeper, the rustling of leaves beneath his feet and the gentle sway of tree branches in the cool breeze brought a sense of uncanny relief.

What's going on here? Am I losing my mind?

Upon reaching a serene clearing dotted with gently rolling hillocks and patches of wildflowers, a haunting melody snaked its way into his ears. Across the clearing, he noticed a lone figure, a woman bathed in soft, dappled sunlight, her fingers gracefully dancing across the keys of a piano. Though classical and vaguely familiar, the music had a bittersweet quality that set his nerves on edge.

The boy paused, his heart caught between the lure of the soothing melody and the dread born from the nightmarish encounters he had endured. But the sight of the woman, enigmatic in her ethereal beauty, ignited a flicker of curiosity that overpowered his apprehension.

She's different, not like the others.

As he cautiously neared the woman, the details of her appearance began to materialize. Clad in a flowing white gown, her blonde hair cascaded down to her waist, glowing like a halo in the sun's soft rays. The striking resemblance to his previous attacker did not go unnoticed, yet something about her was different. Her eyes held a warmth absent in the cold, malicious gazes he had encountered so far.

Another threat? Or is she something else?

"Hello there," Sister Catherine's voice, soft and soothing, interrupted the boy's internal musings. She continued to play the piano, the notes weaving into the fabric of the forest around them.

She's not attacking. Maybe... maybe she's not an enemy. "Are you lost, my child?" Sister Catherine inquired, her gaze never leaving the keys. The music, haunting and delicate, seemed to carry an unspoken invitation.

Lost? Yeah, that's an understatement.

"I... I don't even know how I got here," the boy admitted, a hint of vulnerability in his voice.

"Sometimes, the path to understanding is obscured. We find ourselves in unexpected places," Sister Catherine replied, her fingers gracefully dancing over the piano keys. "But fear not, for you are not alone."

Alone. That would be a welcome change.

Balancing on the knife edge of trust and suspicion, he engaged with Sister Catherine, yet his mind bristled with the fear of deception. Her insinuation that the hospital was not a means of escape but rather an entrance was a shocking twist, further shrouding his predicament in mystery. As he stood before the mysterious woman in the serene clearing, the boy found himself ensnared deeper into the enigma of this eerily beautiful forest that the haunted hospital hid within its depths.

Entrance? What does that even mean? I just want out.

The realization that Sister Catherine was a nun dawned upon the boy like a gentle sunrise. However, the warmth of this epiphany was soon eclipsed by the protest of his rumbling stomach. Noticing his discomfort, the nun, with motherly concern, promptly offered him a meal. Despite his lingering apprehension, his gnawing hunger overpowered his skepticism, compelling him to accept her kindness.

Food. At least that's normal. Maybe I can trust her.

As they shared the simple yet nourishing meal, the comforting glow of the fire illuminating their faces, he ventured to question her about the strange circumstances of the hospital. His inquiry about it being an entrance prompted a significant pause from Sister Catherine. The term 'The Facility' spilled from her lips, sending a jolt through him as fragments of the note on the nurse's desk ricocheted in his mind.

Facility? This is getting more confusing.

However, her subsequent revelation was even more startling. The hospital, she explained, was but one of the five buildings composing the ominous entity known as 'The Facility.' But as her words flowed, her demeanor shifted subtly, her eyes flickering with a hint of regret and a trace of fear. It was as if she was aware of unseen watchers and had revealed too much.

Five buildings? What kind of place is this?

Seeing his growing anxiety, Sister Catherine consoled him with soft-spoken reassurance. She helped him to a comfortable sleeping bag, her serene presence offering a soothing contrast to the relentless chaos he had experienced. As the boy yielded to the call of sleep, her whisper lingered in the soft breeze, "Sweet dreams. We will see each other again. But remember, beware of strange gases and entities."

Entities? This just keeps getting crazier.

As the velvet darkness wrapped itself around the forest, the boy, left once again in solitude, was overcome with exhaustion. Despite the whirlwind of questions whirling in his mind, he found a comforting solitude in the rhythm of his own breath. The mysteries that surrounded him seemed less menacing as he drifted closer to the realm of dreams.

Is this a dream within a nightmare? Or is the nightmare real?

Throughout the night, he was caught in the currents of restless slumber. The dreamworld welcomed him with a theatre of eerie shadows and hushed whispers, surreal images and riddles that danced on the periphery of his comprehension. Each passing moment felt like a step closer to the elusive truth he craved, yet, the veil of understanding remained just out of reach.

Maybe the answers are in my dreams. Or maybe it's all just madness.

Three days had passed since the boy left the location Sister Catherine was once at. Eventually, he found himself near a riverbank. Walking along the edge of the river, he heard that strange, creepy music from three days ago.

That music... it's like a haunting echo.

Suddenly, the boy saw a man floating downstream. When the boy got closer, he noticed that the man wasn't moving anymore. He may be dead already. His body was pale and cold like ice, almost lifeless.

Another casualty in this twisted place.

Without thinking twice, the boy grabbed hold of the unconscious man and began pulling him onto the shore. After several minutes of struggling against the current, he managed to drag the body ashore and lay him on the grassy field.

Why is everyone here in such a sorry state?

With great effort, the boy stood up and walked over to the unconscious form lying on the ground. With trembling hands, he felt for a pulse. There was no surprise—the young boy believed his efforts to have been in vain.

Another life was lost. Is this my fate, too?

At this point, the boy looked up and saw a random wooden spiral staircase that went up into a white space. The boy stood up and quickly ran to the stairs. Surprisingly, there wasn't a glass door to stop him from entering. Cautiously, the boy climbed up the stairs, and when he was halfway up, he looked back down to see, much to his disdain, the forest started disappearing as if being deleted.

Every time I think there's a glimpse of normalcy, it gets ripped away.

Quickly, he raced up the stairs. As he stepped onto the last step, the stairs behind him and the opening vanished. The boy was now on the fourth floor. Relieved, the boy took a step forward without looking and fell into a large body of water.

Struggling, the boy managed to break through the surface just before drowning after having sunk pretty far due to the weight of his clothes and the things he carried; uncertain of how he fell into a body of water in the first place, the boy floundered to reach a dry surface. But no matter how hard or how long he swam, he seemed to be getting farther and farther away from his destination.

I can't catch a break. What's waiting for me now?