Nothing is more disturbing than a place of healing and sanctuary perverted into an abandoned prison from a nightmare. The overly optimistic colours of the building faded by neglect and abandon only served to perpetuate the horror stereotypes of abandoned asylums. If it's this creepy in the day, I don't want to imagine what it's like at night. Marianne shuddered, walking through the overly welcoming gates of Sector 162 South Asylum.
"'No zombies' my ass; they're all just dormant inside the asylum," William said, opening his eyes and putting down his outstretched hands. He took his crossbow and cocked its handle to load it.
Marianne squeezed her eyes shut, trying to force out memories of the last time she was trapped for a whole night while exploring an abandoned hospital on a dare. William took off an imaginary hat and bowed mockingly. "Ladies first."
"Or not." His grin quickly slipped away after seeing the murderous look on Marianne's face.
Marianne's hair stood on its end the moment she entered the asylum; every fibre of her being screaming for her to get out. The asylum was eerily quiet, with not even a single cobweb to decorate the place. Worst of all, there were no windows.
"What's the point of exploring this place in the daytime when no light can come in?" William muttered to himself, turning on the torchlight attached to his head as the doors slammed shut behind him.
"I- I'm just gonna use your light. I wanna- uhm... save my battery," Marianne stuttered as they walked along the deserted hall corridor. She focused her eyes on the lit path ahead, pretending not to look at the strange drawings on the walls.
"What? Afraid you're gonna get jump-scared by something you don't wanna see?" William teased her. "I've got a crucifix here, if you- OH SHIT!" William suddenly jumped backwards, aiming his crossbow into an open cell.
The pair stared at the humanoid figure repeatedly banging its head against the wall.
"That's... not a zombie, is it?" Marianne asked, her voice trembling slightly.
"It... is; the blood in its body has already stagnated. I wonder why it's not attacking us though?" William whispered, slowly lowering his weapon. "Well if it's dormant, let's just leave it be-"
Thwap!
The zombie collapsed onto the ground quietly as an arrow pierced the side of its head.
"Better be safe than sorry," Marianne said, still pointing her crossbow at the corpse. "C'mon, let's go."
Footsteps continued to echo loudly along the almost identical hallway of the second floor. Marianne tried her best to tread lightly, mentally cursing herself for not having the foresight to wear anything other than her usual hard-soled boots.
"According to Victor, the device should be in the visitor's office where the sector official was just before the wave happened," William said. "Which is... just another floor up."
Marianne kept her silence, as though she had not heard him.
"Man, why are you so tense?" he simpered. "You're not afraid of people actively trying to kill you but you're afraid of the dark?"
"Oh shut up." Marianne tried to step on his foot but only succeeded in creating a loud stomp on the floor, sending more echoes down the hallway. "Shouldn't you be afraid of things you can't see?"
"Actually, I'm more afraid of things I can see. Like knives. And guns."
"How about fire? You- Wait, do you hear that?"
William narrowed his eyes. "Hear what? C'mon, that was a lame attempt." He smirked.
"No, I'm serious. There's some kind of humming sound coming from above us."
YOU ARE READING
The Mutation Wave
ActionThey said that the end of the world would be long and painful, with plenty of signs and disaster. Well, there were none. Everything was gone in less than a second. A sudden unknown electromagnetic wave swept the Earth, mutating ninety percent of hum...
