The Nightmare Has Begun

[You have entered the Administration Block.]

"Administration Block?" Scarlette softly whispered.

But since the place was not only dark but also quite silent. She was heard by everybody.

"Oh, you saw that notification, too? It seems like we're in a place called Administration Block." Nicholas said in a jesting manner.

"No shit, sherlock. You didn't have to repeat it." A light slapping sound rang out.

Ray seemed to have planted a slap on Nicholas's nape.

"Ouch! I was just joking man..."

"I know, I know..."

"Can't the two of you shut the fuck up?" Rose glared at both Nicholas and Ray.

"What's up? Calvin told us that there is no danger here. Why can't we make any noise before the real deal?" Ray raised an eyebrow and complained.

Philip furrowed his eyebrows.

Hugo made a sidelong glance at them and they didn't dare to speak anymore.

"Yes, that's right... I did say that there is no danger in this corridor. But did you guys already forget what the notification earlier said? There is danger everywhere in this place and none of us should never let our guard down while we're still in here. Something that you expect as the safe haven may not be completely safe."

Calvin's warning made both Ray and Nicholas ashamed. But they didn't dare to say anything, Calvin was now the leader of this team, so he had the right to scold them whenever they did something wrong.

"Damn, just how dark is this place? Can we really not use our flashlights?" Rose criticized.

Calvin glanced at her and was lazy to argue, "If you want to run out of batteries in crucial moments later, then go ahead... You can use that flashlight."

Rose visibly trembled upon being scolded. Although resentful, she didn't complain anymore.

Soon, the group arrived in the break room.

They took a small break in there while they prepared themselves to scale the air vent above.

"Who will go first?" Calvin casually asked.

He felt that the atmosphere was quite awkward since no one was saying anything.

Philip suddenly revealed a lecherous smile, "How about we let the girls go first? You know what they say, ladies first..."

He swept his gaze at Jane, Zahra, Scarlette, Medea and Jannette.

Jannette immediately furrowed her eyebrows.

Scarlette was greatly embarrassed after being stared upon, "You pervert! You just want us to go first so you can look at our behinds while we crawl!"

"Hey, hey, hey... You're jumping into conclusions! Why would I do something such as..."

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Slick and heavy footsteps sounded out of nowhere!"

"Shh!"

Calvin swiftly gestured to the others.

He covered Jane's mouth who was about to scream after being startled by the sudden change of the situation.

Calvin stuck his ear close to the doors and his pupils constricted.

Locking the doors, he gestured, "Go into the air vent! Hurry up!"

Hugo's face turned serious.

He immediately carried the newbies into the air vent with the girls going first.

Soon afterwards, he entered the air vent by himself and only Calvin remained outside.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The footsteps were fast approaching.

Calvin deemed that the footsteps possibly came from the blocked center corridor.

Crash!

A loud crashing sound reverberated and that was Calvin's signal to get the fuck out of the break room.

He made a break for the air vent and with the help of the powerful Hugo, he managed to enter it just in time as the person broke through the doors with both of his hands.

"Hiee-" Jane was about to scream when the man broke the doors, but her mouth was promptly covered by Medea.

She stared teary-eyed at Medea, the look of uncertainty and fear on her face could melt the hearts of anyone.

"Who... Who is that?" Rose softly uttered.

"He's probably one of the patients of this asylum..."

"Be careful, don't make any sound now..."

"We can't afford to have him notice us."

Calvin seriously said.

The man clad in a hospital gown seemed to have gone crazy as he repeatedly slammed his head into the walls.

"He's coming!!!"

"He's coming..."

"He's coming!!!"

He yelled at the top of his lungs before he turned around and ran back to where he came from.

He slammed the doors shut and when his footsteps couldn't be heard anymore...

Everyone within the air vent heaved a sigh of relief.

"Th-That was crazy..."

Nicholas whispered.

"Yeah... You'll see something crazier once we get down here..."

"Remember what I said, once we're out of this air vent. Everything will officially start and everyone must cooperate seamlessly with each other. Particularly you, Jane... Remove that habit of screaming whenever you see something shocking... That will get us killed."

Calvin gave a stern warning.

Jane gulped a mouthful of saliva.

The tears welling up in her eyes made her look incredibly pitiful, but she suppressed her tears and nodded her head.

"Mhmm... I'll do my best. I'm sorry..."

"You don't have to apologize. You have nothing to apologize for. You're just a frail young lady, and all your reactions so far are completely normal." Calvin comforted her with his words.

"So, does that mean that we are not normal?" Scarlette raised an eyebrow and even though Calvin couldn't see her. He could already imagine her red-hair subtly trembling in anger with her cheeks puffed as if she was pouting.

A bitter smile emerged on his lips as he shook his head.

He decided not to answer since there was no point to this conversation.

"Can you guys flirt somewhere else? It's nauseating to hear..." Nicholas jokingly said.

"We're not flirting..." Scarlette softly criticized.

Calvin merely chuckled, "Scarlette, hurry up! Move already! What are you doing there? We're sitting ducks in here."

"I know!" Scarlette fiercely replied.

While the group moved through the vent...

Philip, Nicholas, and Roy glanced at Hugo as Nicholas said.

"Hugo... You really did a good job letting the girls into this air vent first... Hehehe, you gave us such a good view."

Hugo frowned.

He could understand what they were talking about, but this wasn't Hugo's intentions at all.

Calvin could hear the soft whispers of the men as they ogled the girls above them.

Calvin lifted a cheeky smile and said, "Oh? Really? The view from below is good?"

"Dang, I can't see anything because Hugo is blocking me..."

"Wha..." Calvin's voice was loud enough for Scarlette to hear.

She hurriedly pushed her pants down and glared at the men underneath.

Rose was directly above the three, so the moment she heard Calvin's words...

She sent a kick with her naked foot directly towards Philip's head.

"Ah!" Philip exclaimed in alarm.

A fight ensued in the air vents, but it was quickly dispersed by Calvin.

"Continue that scuffle and this air vent will collapse!"

"Peep at me once more and I'll fight you to death! Don't you dare look up!" Rose glared at Philip, Nicholas, and Roy.

Even Hugo wasn't spared.

The four men could only reveal bitter smiles on their faces.

They directed their hatred to Calvin for being a snitch, but of course, they knew that they couldn't do anything about it.

After all, Calvin was their leader.

They couldn't possibly beat up their leader for such a small matter, right?

The group continued crawling until Scarlette reached the end of the air vent.

She came down and the others soon followed.

They found themselves on the second floor of the asylum mansion.

"Don't look down..."

Calvin warned the others but it was already too late.

They got too curious as to what was down below, and before Calvin's warning reached their ears.

They already saw the horrors down below.

Gathered at the main hall were dozens of mutilated bodies.

Organs were haphazardly strewn across the entire floor, while the heads of the bodies were neatly placed on the front desk.

Blood pooled underneath the bodies and one could even see some words written on the floor.

[There is no escaping this nightmare...]

[Death is the escape for the weary...]

[Face one's fears, go with the flow and down the metal tube...]

These cryptic words were written on the white tiles, painting a terrifying scene.

"Bleurgh!"

Jane keeled over and vomited.

Scarlette, Zahra, and the others followed suit.

Only Hugo, Calvin, and Medea remained steadfast in the face of such a slaughter.

"Now, do you understand?"

"Now that we're out of the air vent."

"We can't back out anymore..."

"The nightmare has begun."