turned to see a tiny hole opening in the wall, right before Mousy shot out of it, landing with a squishy sound on the floor. The hole closed up a moment later, as if it had never been. Mousy rustled once more, shook himself, and scurried over to my outstretched hand. I closed it around him, lifting my arm up and maneuvering the little guy onto my shoulder.
Really, I cannot express how happy I am. Not only do I have a friend in Hammy and have my Snoopy Cap back, but Mousy too has returned.
For the first time in ages, I have hope in my life. It’s something I’ve never really had before, to any degree at all. I’m actually starting to believe that with the aid of my friends, I might not only escape this Hellish dungeon, but the whole cursed building!
Things are looking up. I can finally see the light.
Nil, Out!
Day 62
Things have taken an interesting turn. I woke up this morning with a smile on my face, so happy at yesterday’s events. I thought about going back to sleep, but the sunrays of hope caressed my face, making it difficult to keep my eyes shut.
I opened them reluctantly, and then opened them a great deal wider when I saw the door to my cell wide open. A trail of the screaming Mushrooms, currently silent, led off into the distance. Both Siegfried and Mousy were sitting on the floor watching me.
I frowned.
"You two know each other don’t you?"
They shared a glance and then Siegfried nodded.
"There is little time for discussion, Nillium Neems. The path has been opened for you. It is up to you to choose which one you will take."
"Well, obviously I’d prefer the one that takes me out of this place."
"Then go." Siegfried replied. "Go, but not for your own selfish reasons. If you do what you can to free the lost souls of this building, then all of my wishes and aid go with you. If you simply leave Atrium to free yourself, but leave the others to rot, then may all the demons of Hell descend upon you."
And with those thought provoking words, Siegfried faded from view, leaving me alone with Mousy and the Mushrooms. I looked at the little rodent thing.
"What do you think, Mousy? Should I follow the Mushrooms?"
He rustled and set off down the fungoid path, stopping a few feet outside the door and turning back to look at me expectantly. I shrugged and set off after him.
Down the hall, around the corner, down another hall, the Mushrooms seemed to have plotted a route all the way out of Atrium. I let Mousy take point as scout, running a little ahead to warn me of any impending wardens.
There didn’t seem to be much foot traffic however in this part of the Ward. I began to suspect that I was in a basement somewhere, a section of Atrium that was little used. Or forbidden.
As I followed the path I passed several locked rooms, stopping to listen at the door of one of them. Only silence greeted me. I was either alone, or whoever else was down here was sleeping, drugged, or dead. And there were an awful lot of locked doors...
The place was a labyrinth. If it had not been for the Mushrooms, I would have lost my way a long time ago. Feeling confident that there would be no doctors down here, I picked up the pace.
Only the warning rustle of Mousy as he turned a corner, alerted me that we weren’t alone. He zoomed back towards me, up my leg and onto my head, quivering silently. I stopped, back to the wall, listening.
Nothing. Not a step, not a breath. I was certainly holding my own breath, lest it mask the sound of an approaching doctor. Then I heard it. A dragging sound like someone with a hurt foot. Drag, step. Drag, step. Someone was limping and whispering of death, his muttered words bouncing off the walls of the hallway and reaching my ears all too clearly.
I turned and ran. Wherever the Mushrooms were leading me, it would have to wait. I’d need to find a way around the Hooded Man first. My Snoopy Cap would have fallen off in my haste, but Mousy clutched it tightly with his front paws, holding onto my hair with his back ones. He peeked out from beneath the Cap like a mouse from its hole.
Left, right, another right, I ran without caring where I went, just that I was away. Thankfully, my bare feet made little sound as I ran, just a gentle slap that surely couldn’t be heard from too great a distance.
Mousy rustled again and I turned, fearful that the monstrosity was bearing down on me. We were alone. But there, just to my left, was a set of old, rusty looking stairs, leading upwards. If it hadn’t been for my rodent companion I would have run right past them.
Reaching up and stroking his gooey little head, I took the stairs two at a time. I found myself on a much more illuminated, cheerful looking floor when I reached the top. At least, cheerful compared to the dungeon that we had just fled from. It still had the same, sterile creepiness as the rest of the Ward.
Siegfried’s words came back to haunt me.
"If you simply leave Atrium to free yourself, but leave the others to rot, then may all the demons of Hell descend upon you."
Well screw that. There was nothing I could do for the lost souls of this evil little world. I was one small girl, all alone and weaponless. I just wanted out. Out, into the world of freedom that I had only briefly known.
I continued walking, slower now, for the signs that this floor was inhabited became increasingly apparent. Rooms I passed were brightly lit, the sound of voices behind closed doors reached my ears, and the distant tap of shoes against the floor. I twice saw wardens in the distance, patrolling the area.
There was nowhere really to hide, so I’d just have to rely on silence to keep me from discovery. I picked up the pace once more, silent yet quick. The suspense ate at my nerves, until my whole body was twanging with tension, ready to take flight at any moment.
A door on my right opened just as I walked past, a doctor walking slowly out, reading off a clipboard. He glanced up and his eyes grew wide with surprise. I had only seconds before he sounded the alarm.
"Would you believe I’m a travelling saleswoman, trying to sale only the highest quality Charlie Brown-themed baseball caps?" I asked, doffing my Snoopy Cap and holding it out before me. Which was a mistake, because it revealed the strange little mouse creature sitting on my head.
The doctor screamed and fled. I figured it was best I did the same. I put the Cap snugly back on my head, relying on Mousy to keep it there, and ran as fast as I could, no longer caring about silence.
There was a shout behind me. Whether it was aimed at me or the terrified doctor, I didn’t know. I just ran, flat out down the hall, as fast as my little feet would carry me.
We hit another set of stairs, leading up to the second floor. I was back in familiar territory now, on the same floor as my old room. It was mildly comforting.
In alarm, I realized just how close I really was to my room, spotting the corner where Derrick had led me into an ambush. With a smile, I also realized that the room where I’d met the Killer and dropped my journal was nearby. According to the doctors it did not exist, meaning I would be safe from discovery within it.
Running towards it, hoping that it did still exist for me, I laughed aloud when I saw the door. I just hoped the Killer wasn’t still in there. I opened it and dived inside, slamming the door shut behind me. I leaned against it, holding the door knob still with my hand. Minutes passed by before I heard shouting and running footsteps. They continued on past the door, soon fading further down the hallway. I was safe.
Letting out a smug sigh of relief, I turned to observe the contents of this mystery room, hoping that I would not find the Killer standing there waiting, knife in hand. I was alone.
The room was just like that of any patient, with a bed, an empty shelf, and a small toilet being the only furnishings. It was perhaps darker than it should have been, the whole room having a kind of gloom over it. But if gloom was all I faced, then I could deal with that. My whole life I had lived in gloom.
There was no body though, no sign of the patient whose murder I had walked in on.
Not even any blood stains. Well, the doctors did through all their lies claim I was schizophrenic. Maybe I had imagined it? But it was no time to start doubting myself now. If I started doubting all that I’d been through and seen, where would that leave me?
"Do you think I’m crazy, Mousy?" I asked, reaching up and gently plucking him off my head, bringing him down to eye level.
He rustled. I took it as a reassuring sort of rustle that meant he trusted my sanity. At least, I hoped that’s what it meant. He leapt out of my hands and scampered across the floor into a corner. I followed him with my eyes and noticed with delight that he had found my journal.
That made me happy. Picking it up and thumbing through it to make sure all was as it should be, I took a seat on the bed to rest my weary feet. Only then did I realize just how tired I was. I laid my head back, intending to rest for just a few minutes and regain at least a little of my flagging energy. At some point, sleep took me, my body exhausted from the day's endeavors...
Nil, Out (out cold, ha ha ha!)
Day 63
This morning was particularly disturbing, even considering all the strangeness that is so common to my life. I woke up to find the odd gloom that I had noticed upon entering the room to be thicker, almost like fog. Worse, there was a slightly blurry human head stained into the floor, its mouth opened in a silent scream. The head was about five feet by