Shadows of the Asylum

The Price of Survival

Lily's breath was ragged, her legs burning with exhaustion as she tore through the woods, not daring to look back. Every instinct told her to run faster, to put more distance between herself and the hospital, but the cold, gut-wrenching truth was that she knew it didn't matter how far she went. The hunger would find her. It always found its prey.

Her footsteps faltered as her mind raced, replaying the events over and over. Emma and Jake-gone. Vanished into the shadows, consumed by the thing in the hospital. She should have saved them. She should have tried harder. She could still hear their screams in her head, feel the cold hands of the darkness reaching for her, pulling them away.

But she was still alive. She had made it out.

She couldn't let that be in vain.

Lily's chest heaved with the effort of running, but she couldn't stop. The air around her was still too heavy, the woods too silent. It was as if the world itself had held its breath after the hospital's curse had followed her out. Even the trees seemed to watch her, bending toward her with an unnatural pull.

She had to keep moving.

She didn't know how long she had been running, or where she was, but she could no longer hear the sounds of the hospital behind her. The hum of the building, the whispers in her head, the feeling of being hunted-they were gone. For the moment, at least.

But the silence didn't bring peace. It only made her feel more alone.

The thought that she had been marked-chosen by the hospital-tore at her. What if it never stopped? What if it came for her again, and there was no escape next time? She didn't even know if there was anywhere safe anymore. The woods? The town? None of it felt real, none of it felt safe.

She stumbled through the underbrush, tripping over roots and branches. Her flashlight had long since died, and now the moonlight barely pierced through the thick canopy above. The forest was suffocating in its stillness. She paused, her chest rising and falling, straining to hear something, anything, that would prove she wasn't the only living soul in this vast, empty wilderness.

But there was nothing. Only the wind rustling the leaves.

It was then that she noticed the small shape ahead of her. A flicker in the distance, barely visible but unmistakable.

A figure.

Lily's breath caught in her throat as she froze, her instincts screaming at her to turn and run, to not engage. But something about the figure stopped her. The figure didn't move like a human. It stood still, unnaturally still, its outline indistinct in the dim light.

Her heart raced. "Who's there?" she called, her voice trembling. "Is someone out there?"

No answer.

She took a cautious step forward, and then another. The figure was close now, standing in the center of a small clearing in the woods. As she got closer, she could make out the details. It was a person-someone-but their features were hard to discern, like they were a part of the night itself. The shadows seemed to cling to them, their shape blurring at the edges, almost like a mirage.

Lily's stomach twisted with unease. "Hello? Please, I need help."

Finally, the figure moved. Slowly, deliberately, it turned toward her.

Lily stopped, her blood turning to ice. The figure's face was hidden by the darkness, but there was something about the movement-something that felt too deliberate, too wrong.

Before she could say another word, the figure reached up, pulling something from the folds of its cloak. A flash of metal.

Lily didn't hesitate. Her body acted before her mind could even process it, and she turned, bolting back into the trees.

But it was too late.

She hadn't made it more than a few steps before she heard the rustle behind her-the soft, swift sound of someone, or something, following her. Her pulse surged, her breath quickening. It was coming after her.

There was no time to think. She sprinted through the woods, branches tearing at her skin, the sounds of her own heartbeat drowning out everything else. But the figure was faster, closing the distance with terrifying precision.

She had to lose it.

Lily's eyes darted through the trees, her mind whirling for any escape. A clearing ahead-the road-she recognized it. It was the same path she had run down earlier, when she first fled the hospital. If she could just get to the road, she could find help. She could-

The figure lunged at her.

Lily screamed as cold hands seized her, pulling her to the ground. Her knees hit the dirt with a sickening thud, and she felt the weight of the figure pressing down on her, its breath coming in ragged gasps.

"No," Lily gasped, her body fighting against the dark figure's grip. She tried to push it off, tried to scream again, but her mouth was covered by the cold, clammy hand of the thing that had caught her. Its fingers dug into her skin, icy cold.

"Please," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "Please don't hurt me..."

The figure's grip tightened. The air around her turned frigid, and then-nothing. The sounds of the forest fell away, replaced by a low hum, like the throbbing of an unseen engine. The thing above her was not human. Not anymore.

In a desperate move, Lily reached for the ground beneath her, her hand finding a jagged rock. She didn't think, she just acted. She swung it up, hard, smashing it into the figure's face. The figure recoiled, a high-pitched shriek erupting from its throat, and Lily scrambled backward, desperate to get away.

It was enough.

The thing staggered, its form flickering, momentarily losing its shape. Lily didn't wait to see what happened next. She turned and ran.

Her legs burned, her breath ragged, but the road was ahead. The road was the only thing that mattered.

She didn't dare look back this time. She didn't care if the thing was still chasing her. It couldn't have gotten that far. She was faster now, more desperate, more determined.

When she finally stumbled onto the asphalt, she collapsed to the ground, gasping for air. The cold night air felt almost like a balm on her fevered skin.

She had made it.

For now.

But as Lily sat there, breathing heavily, she knew one undeniable truth.

The hunger was never truly gone.

It would always be waiting. It would always find her.

And the worst part? She wasn't sure if she had escaped, or if the creature was inside her now.

She shuddered at the thought.

But for tonight, she was alive.

And she would keep running.