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The fog stings his eyes. It's everywhere, at this point. The billowing white cloud flowing from the machine would almost look pretty in a vastly different setting - and distance. Jade huffs, swatting the air and flinching it away to no avail."Is that really necessary?" he grunts, waving his flashlight about aggressively.Among various other things, the fog machine was loud. Grating, even. Jade couldn't recall exactly where Mikey'd sourced it, but he certainly wasn't impressed by the heavy thrumming of what sounded like a rusting motor within."I mean, I think so," replies Mikey, sounding like he doesn't, in fact, think so. He halts the machinations, thankfully also halting that god-forsaken noise. He hardly spares the other a glance, focused instead on the fog slinking lazily through the air around him. "It's like, uh… so, imagine, right, a ghost does appear. Theoretically, we'd see it, in this smoke-- fog.""Smoke?" Frances chirps abruptly, as though snapped out of a daze, "like, like the-- like, Tomas? From Mortal K--"Josie turns cautiously to Mikey. "Where did you hear that, again?"Mikey pauses, slowly rising from his spot on the concrete ground and, for the first time tonight, turning to make proper eye-contact with the group. He seems contemplative for exactly 3 seconds before he relaxes his furrowed brows and, finally, speaks:"...I dunno."One could perhaps infer of Jade's utter frustration upon listening very, very closely for the possible sound of his capillaries bursting somewhere amidst the following silence - if not for the clear abundance in his tone. "...Oh, my fucking god."Josie and Frances glance at one another, partly exasperated and partly amused; both rather concerned, nonetheless. Josie blinked. "...Okay, right, so… maybe should've explained that thought before actually bringing it." Mikey only shrugged in response, and Frances sighed. The sigh quickly became a giggle, however."Nah, we're definitely getting haunted for this," they snickered.The suggestion of haunting alone very clearly displeased Jade, who still found it in him to retort, "Well, I hope they get Mikey first," earning an offended noise from the boy in question.Josie, casually wafting fog away from themself, opened their mouth to speak. However, a small whisper of a sound reverberating throughout the hallway broke up all conversation. Mikey jumped. Jade whipped around, frantically attempting to suss out the noise, mirrored by a much more confused Josie. Frances barely flinched, but otherwise reacted the same way as their peers, save for Jade's unsettled muttering.After a few uneasy seconds of turning heads and unintelligible whispering, Josie hesitantly spoke up again. "Any of y'all hear that?""Like, Scoob," Mikey commented to himself in his best Shaggy impression, "we're gonna fuckin' die, man!"Josie lightly chuckled, almost disbelieving, while Frances cracked up. Jade, whose inner voice seemed to resemble that impression rather closely, was not as impressed. Despite this, even he let out a nervous giggle."R'aggy," Mikey continued, now voicing Scooby-Doo."R'aggy, the r'hosts are r'utt-r'ucking me--""Shut up!"Jade, meanwhile, was struggling to steel his nerves. "G-guys, can someone--"Mikey and Frances' howling laughter drowned out his voice. He tried again, this time narrowly catching Josie's attention. "Guys. Can someone please hold my hand, I…"He suddenly froze, a cold, almost slimy sort of feeling not unlike a wet hand wrapping around his own. He could've mistaken it for one of his friends, perhaps perspiring as they fulfilled his request - if not for the fact that all three were stood before him, over an arms-length away.Jade yelped and leaped like a cat who'd mistaken a cucumber for a snake. He practically flipped mid-air, twisting around in horror and snatching his arm back against his chest. Nobody was to his left or right, nor behind or above or even below him. His hand was as dry as before, and a shiver ran down his spine as he inspected it, only finding it slightly colder than the other hand. Nothing was too unusual.When he looked back up, the other three teens were silently eying him now, looking either concerned or startled by his sudden outburst. Jade hummed nervously, somewhat embarrassed now. Still, though, very clearly disturbed."It felt like something grabbed my fucking hand," he explained, frantically.Frances chuckles in response. "What?""It was a ghost," Mikey jests, promptly earning himself a glare from Jade."No, no- I'm dead-serious. I thought it was one of you guys, but..." he trails off, earnestly glancing between the three."Huh," is all Josie offers. They shift on their feet, countenance thoughtful. After a few seconds, they add, "Well, it definitely wasn't me.""...That's comforting!"Frances laughed, deliberately ignoring the burning feeling that they were being watched as the group began discussing setting up camp in one of the decrepit halls. It was just paranoia, they reasoned. It was a natural discomfort that came with having a sleepover in an allegedly-haunted psych-ward. Who wouldn't be somewhat paranoid, given the stigma around ghosts? Besides, they aren't real; nothing to be afraid of. Frances brushed off the uncomfortable feeling, for now - even if ghosts were really malicious, there would be no reason to be afraid… because they don't exist.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
It didn't take too long to find a place to set up camp. That's a lie. It took way longer than necessary, with Mikey and Frances arguing about the location, and Mikey generally distracting everyone. There was a lot of pacing back and forth and occasional scattering of the group as they searched. Josie was the one to finally point out a line of dormant rooms, clearly having housed patients some decades prior. Jade picked a room about halfway down the small hallway, Mikey having called the room at the end of the line just doors away. Josie proposed rooming with Frances in the room opposite Jade's, to which they agreed. Mikey visibly perked up. "Wait, we can share? D'you wanna room with me, Jade?" The teen in question turned around from the doorway he'd been inspecting. He seemed to consider it for a moment before he replied. "Uhh… sure." Mikey whooped. "Yeah! I can touch you!" "What? No, NO, you're not gonna touch me, you're just gonna room with me." "Aw, man…" Mikey feigned a pout as Jade rolled his eyes, used to the other's behaviour. "Okay, do you wanna move to my room, or am I moving to yours?" "Uhh," Mikey murmured, glancing between the doors, "yours. Yours." Jade went about some of the other rooms to find comforters for his bed, while Mikey went to get his own bed frame to move in. Josie followed suit, Frances trailing behind them casually if only to make sure they didn't somehow injure themself. While the others did their own things, Mikey had decided to take from the room at the far end of the right side of the hall; Josie and Frances' side. It felt natural to be drawn to this particular room. Probably because it directly opposed Mikey's previous choice for a room. …Actually, wouldn't it make more sense to just use that one? Whatever. Mikey proceeded with a self-aware shrug, ready to scout the room, grab the bed, and get it over with. He palmed the cool metal door momentarily before pushing into it. It was grossly resistant, and it was clear that quite a big cluster of rust had accumulated in the most vital parts of the door itself. Seriously, why did it have to be thick in the hinges !? "Oh, for..." Mikey trailed off and scratched his head. Then, he took a couple steps back, raising his leg behind him. He made a noise like he was charging up.
"Bink!"
Within seconds, he had rushed forward and kicked the door with all his might. A thud joined a sick crack when his foot collided with the door harshly. There, now it should be unstuck and… "OWWW, oww-ha-ha-how…! Fuck!" He hissed out, grasping his definitely-bruising-if-not-broken foot in a pained sort of hop. "You good?" Josie called from a room down the hall. They and Frances each poked their heads through the doorway briefly. "Whuh? Huh?" Jade peeked out from a different room, too. "What happened?" Mikey gritted his teeth, steeling himself to respond. He stood on his injured foot, leaning most of his weight into it. "No, no, I'm okay, just hurt my foot," he babbled. "I'm good." After about a minute, all was quiet again, teens resuming their duties. Mikey glared at the door, shaking his foot. He backed up, then rammed into the door again; this time, slamming his side into the thick metal. The door snapped open unexpectedly easily and Mikey fell inside with all the force he inserted into his attack. He could hardly process his shock before the door slammed shut, rust grinding noisily against corroded steel. Mikey gaped at the thing in horror for a solid 7 seconds before giving the small room a once-over. He shivered at the sudden shift in the air, hugging himself to fend off the temperature-drop. Then, back to boring holes into the door. "That better not have just shut me in, or I swear to fucking god--"
Frances was getting antsy. Josie didn't seem to need very much assistance, and was basically done setting up their room. Frances needed something to do. Anything at all. Fidgeting, they suddenly got a good idea, turning to Josie. "You know what? I just realised we haven't seen any bathrooms since we got here. I'm gonna go search. I'd rather not pee in a corner or something when I do have to go." Josie nodded. "Oh, okay. Good luck," they offered, smiling. Frances paused. "Oh, I should probably tell Jade as well." "Good idea, yes." "And if Mikey asks, let him know." "Will do!" With that, Frances made their way to Jade's room, poking their head in and spotting a mess of curly brown hair in the corner. "Jade?" Jade looked over his shoulder, dark eyes round with question. "Yeah? What's up?" Frances shifted on their feet, considering. "Uh...I'm gonna go look for a bathroom. I'll be back." Jade nodded, telling them to 'be careful' and stating he'd be resting meanwhile, before flopping down on his base bed with a sigh. The image resembled a young child testing out as many soft furniture items at the wide expanses of an IKEA as they possibly could before closing time. Frances huffed in amusement. They opted not to question the faint whisper about "SCP-3008," willingly assuming it was Josie discussing a coincidentally relevant topic with Mikey. …And so began the walk. As Frances traversed the long halls, they eyed any and all muddled corners and doorways. Each time, nothing but cold darkness looked back. Nothing, at any point, jumped out at them - for which they were thankful. However, the constant anticipation of such an ambush only served to increase their discomfort. The only sound to be heard was their echoing footsteps against thin concrete, treading only careful enough not to step in something unfavourable. Frances passed by what looked like a rat, the creature spinning in circles wildly for no apparent reason. Frances made a noise of surprise and paused in their movement, squinting at the rodent. Frances laughed to themself." What the… What are you doing?" It then stopped, too, frantic squeaking coming to a halt as it watched Frances with beady black eyes. No thoughts, head empty. Frances took a step back when the rat emitted a low sort of almost-growl. Please don't have rabies, they thought. Suddenly, a thunderous metallic clang erupted somewhere ahead, and Frances whipped around. Just as quickly, they flinched back to the rat, which… …was dead, somehow. Must have been for a while, actually. Frances looked on as a horde of bugs swirled obsessively around the rodent. The loud buzzing noise felt like it had been happening, though. And the smell was awful, in fact… how much of this rat still had tissue remaining? Too much bone was visible for comfort. Bone that replaced the rat's previous standing. "What…?" came a half-hearted, very confused mumble by Frances. Impossible. The rat had long died; this wasn't recent. It couldn't have possibly ended up this way within the split-second Frances had turned their gaze. The rot in the air was palpable, and it made Frances want to hurl. They lifted the collar of their shirt, masking their nose and backing away. The humming was like television static, loud and obnoxious and consistent. It was giving Frances a headache. Suddenly, it seemed to simmer down. All at once, the noises quieted while a new one came in louder. "Boo," a low voice stated flatly, some distance ahead of the scene. Frances damn-nearly flipped, spinning around to face the source: a humanoid figure was barely visible in the dank space, slender arms out of view. Not quite lanky, but probably tall enough to tower over most of the group. They resembled a relatively-average teenage girl closest to Jade's age, hair long & dyed and with ghostly complexion. The most notable attribute of theirs, however, was the blotchy blackness spiralled around the neck, starkly contrary against otherwise pale skin. Frances stared. The person stared back, unblinking. Frances waited. Not unlike the way a feral animal approaches a local ranger in pursuit of food, the person then took a very slow, hesitant but steady, step forward. Studious intent. "Aw, fuck nah," Frances muttered abruptly, speed-walking away in the dark corridors. They didn't dare look back. A clanging sound began to trail after them, prompting their speed-walk breaking into a jog, and then a full-fledged run as the loud noises became more frequent. Growing closer. Frances' heart felt like it was hammering in their chest, audible with their adrenaline kicking higher the more they thought about what exactly they were running from. And then their knee decided to lock up. Frances tumbled to the murky concrete ground with just enough time to twist to their torso in such a way that'd land them on their side rather than their face, saving their glasses and redirecting the impact to their hips and shoulders instead. Frances huffed, scrambling to get up. That voice was laughing now. It was haunting, disembodied cackles echoing throughout the corridor as Frances struggled. The clanging had ceased, however. Frances stopped and looked up, slowly. Nothing was there. Nobody was there. It was just Frances, now fighting off a locked knee on the filthy ground while the wind itself apparently taunted them for their misfortune. They slowly picked themself up, brushing off their jeans and glancing around. They'd have to hobble back to camp. Finding the bathrooms could wait.