The Incident

Chapter 1 (Sam's POV)

"You ready?" I asked, shaking, hoping that whatever was beyond this door wasn't dangerous.

"Yeah," Woods replied, almost sounding exhausted. He stepped forward and opened the door with great ease.

Just beyond the door was a flight of stairs leading downward towards another door. I glanced at Woods, trying to give him a reassuring look, and then back at the stairs. The stairs seemed quite damaged, a few bits and pieces missing from many of them. Well, this place has been abandoned for years, I highly doubt we're gonna find anything here.

I took the first step through the threshold of the door, and Woods followed behind. I cautiously stepped down each stair, anxiously awaiting any danger that might be lurking just beyond the door. Once I reached the bottom of the stairs, I gazed at the door. There were radioactive symbols as well as warning signs right next to the handle. Great, just great. We never come prepared, do we?

I slowly opened the door, glancing through the crack, hoping there was nothing on the other side. The door seemingly opened easily, creaking slightly. I looked back at Woods, giving him a concerned look. He looked back at me from behind the camera, an encouraging look on his face. I looked back at the doorway, and then, with a sign, entered, holding open the door so that Woods could go through, as well.

As I closed the door, I tried to close it as gently as possible, but it slammed shut, a click sounding right after. Shoot! I rushed back to the knob, jerking it, twisting it, hoping that it would open. It was locked, locked tight. No-no-no-no-no-NO! I banged myself against the door over and over again, trying to dislodge it, and escape. Woods had to pry me away from the door to get me to stop, ensuring me that we would find another way out. I looked at him with a mix of thanks and doubt.

I looked back at the room, old bricks laying the foundation. Iron shingles and scraps of metal decorated the right side of the room, while the left side housed a fire alarm. There was a storage room closet right next to the entrance door. I gave it a tug, but nothing. Worth a shot.

Ahead of us was a hallway, lit only by a single warm-hued hall light, flickering in and out. I carefully walked towards the hallway, making sure to stay as quiet as possible, just in case anyone was actually here. The silence was deafening, each footstep ringing out as if it were a gunshot. I rounded the corner, Woods following suit, gazing into the next room. This room was similar to the last, scrap pieces of metal all over, along with biohazard bags. Definitely at Location 3.

At the back of the room stood a door. I audibly sighed, "There's another exit!" I ran over to it, tugging on the handle, but the door didn't budge. I tugged harder and harder, shaking it, but nothing would make the door move. I let my arms fall to my side, gazing at the doorknob in defeat.

"Look, we'll find another way out of here. I'm sure this place has emergency exits," Woods said, encouragingly.

"Yeah," I replied.

Then, Woods said half jokingly, "Do you wanna take the camera? It's getting kinda heavy."

"Yeah sure, too heavy for you, huh?" I replied.

We both gave a half-hearted laugh and turned back to the matter at hand. Woods turned back around to where another hallway was located, smothered in pitch black darkness. He slowly stalked up to the hallway, hearing a slight thump down the hall. I jumped, startled by the noise. Okay, someone's here. Woods glanced back at me, making sure I'm okay. I gave him a reassuring look and he looked back at the hallway.

Slowly, ever so slowly, he stalked down the hallway, carefully making sure to make as little noise as possible. Another thump rang out, along with glass shattering. Woods readied himself, in a fighting position, ready to swing at anyone who came near. As we reached the end of the hallway, still slowly advancing, we located a small light. We flicked it on, red in hue, adding to the terrifying atmosphere. The room before us was small, another hallway to the left, and boxes along with biohazard bags and oil cans lining the room.

Just ahead of us was a door, a vault door, closed. Woods glanced back at me, making sure I was alright, and I gazed back at him, reassuring. He glanced back at the vault door, unsure of when to advance towards it. After a few seconds of deliberation, we stalked towards it, slowly making our way to the number pad located just next to the door.

Suddenly, I heard faint footsteps sounding behind me, quiet, but still audible. I half spun around just in time to see the phantom sneaking up behind me. Before I could scream for help, the phantom lunged forward, putting his right arm around my neck, pulling me into a makeshift chokehold. Woods spun around, but before he could do anything, the phantom pulled out an injection gun from his left pocket and violently shoved it into my arm.

I shrieked in agony, tears rolling down my cheeks, it burned, unbearably so. I thrashed back and forth, trying to break free of the phantom's grasp. Woods, who sort of froze, lunged forward and punched the phantom square in the face. I shriveled to the ground, clutching my arm, the pain only worsening. It felt as if I had been shot, I couldn't bear it. I started to sob uncontrollably, spiraling into panic and giving in to the pain. I let out another shriek of pain, hoping, pleading for the pain to ease, anything.

I saw Woods from the corner of my eye, rushing back to me, picking up his phone and dialing someone. Immediately after, my vision blurred once again, the pain overtaking me.