Shadows of the Asylum

The Newcomers

The wind howled through the trees, the night air thick with a damp, biting chill. The hospital loomed in the distance, a decaying structure bathed in the eerie glow of a full moon. It had been abandoned for years, or so the stories went. No one had dared step inside for decades, and those who did often came out changed, their minds broken or their bodies never seen again. But for four teens-Kara, Ethan, Ben, and Mia-it was just another dare, another adventure, and another chance to prove their bravery.

"I'm telling you, this place is haunted," Kara said, her voice barely audible over the wind as she looked up at the crumbling building. She was the first to speak, her nervous energy masking her excitement. Her heart pounded in her chest, but the fear only added to the thrill of the moment. "There are stories about people who never came out. Who knows what's really in there?"

Ethan laughed beside her, a grin spreading across his face. "Yeah, but none of them have actually seen a ghost, right? It's just one of those urban legends. There's nothing to be afraid of."

Ben, always the skeptic, rolled his eyes. "You guys are ridiculous. This place is just an old hospital. There's nothing spooky about it."

"Maybe, but I'm still not going in first," Mia added with a mischievous grin. Her blonde hair fluttered in the wind as she turned to the others. "Who's got the guts to go inside?"

"Looks like it's up to you, then," Kara teased, nudging her friend. Mia shrugged but stepped forward, the others following closely behind as they approached the hospital.

The gate creaked as they pushed it open, the metal groaning in protest as if it, too, feared what lay within. The building stood like a broken monument to something long forgotten, its windows dark and hollow, its brickwork crumbling from neglect. The air was thick with the stench of mildew and rot, and the sound of their footsteps seemed unnaturally loud against the oppressive silence.

"You sure about this?" Ben asked, glancing nervously at the building. His breath puffed out in clouds, his anxiety now apparent in the way he fidgeted with the sleeve of his jacket.

"Of course," Ethan said, his voice steady despite the tension in the air. "We'll go in, check it out, maybe take a few pictures, and then head back out. Easy."

But as they stepped inside, the cold seemed to double. The foyer was empty, save for the scattered remnants of what had once been a welcoming space. Broken furniture, torn curtains, and dust-covered floors painted a picture of abandonment, but it wasn't the state of the building that unnerved them-it was the air itself. It felt thick, oppressive, like something was watching them.

Mia shone her flashlight around, the beam cutting through the dark. "It's like a maze in here," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "Where do we even start?"

"There," Kara said, pointing to a set of doors further down the hall. "Let's check that out."

The group hesitated for a moment, the weight of the place pressing down on them. But then they moved as one, their footsteps echoing eerily in the hall as they made their way toward the door.

They didn't know it, but they weren't alone. Something else lingered in the shadows, watching, waiting. Lily's presence filled the halls, unseen but ever-present. She had been here for so long-so long that the very essence of her had become a part of the building, a part of the darkness. And as the teens ventured deeper into the hospital, they unknowingly stepped into her domain.

As they entered the room, the temperature seemed to drop even further, and a faint, unsettling hum vibrated through the walls. It was as if the hospital itself was alive, breathing with them. Ben shivered. "This is... messed up."

"Yeah," Ethan agreed, shining his flashlight around the room. The space was filled with old medical equipment, rusted and decaying. "But this place is pretty creepy."

Mia stepped forward, her curiosity piqued as she examined an old surgical table. "Wonder what kind of stuff went down here..." she murmured.

Kara, however, had a strange feeling crawling up her spine. There was something wrong-something off about this place. She turned back to the others, her eyes wide. "I don't like this. I have this feeling like... we shouldn't be here."

Ethan dismissed her with a wave. "It's just your imagination. We came here for a reason, right?"

But as his voice echoed through the room, the shadows seemed to shift. For just a moment, the air felt heavier, as though the very space around them had been altered. Kara looked over her shoulder, her breath catching in her throat.

In the reflection of the shattered glass, she saw something-someone.

A figure, standing just outside the door. It was a girl, her outline barely visible in the dim light. She wore a faded hospital gown, her hair hanging in disheveled strands around her face. Her eyes were hollow, like empty sockets, and her presence radiated a kind of sorrowful, quiet rage.

"Did anyone else see that?" Kara's voice was shaking now. "Guys, there's someone here."

The others froze, their eyes darting toward the doorway. But there was nothing there. No girl. Just the empty, decaying hallway stretching beyond.

"Are you messing with us?" Ben asked, his voice tense. He looked at Ethan, who shrugged, as if dismissing Kara's fears.

"I didn't see anything," Ethan said, his voice defensive, though the unease was evident in his eyes. "You're just spooked."

But Kara wasn't convinced. She took a few cautious steps toward the door, the hairs on the back of her neck standing up. "I swear I saw her. She was standing right there..."

Mia looked past her, scanning the dark corridor. "There's nothing there, Kara. Maybe you're just tired. Let's get out of here."

But before they could turn to leave, the room grew colder. The air thickened, and the sound of footsteps, soft and almost imperceptible, echoed from the hall. They weren't the group's footsteps.

And then, a voice. Faint at first, but growing louder, filled with a strange mix of sorrow and malice.

"You shouldn't have come..."

The group froze, all of them now aware of the unnatural chill in the air, the suffocating presence that had descended upon them. Kara's heart pounded as she spun around, searching for the source of the voice, but the room was empty, save for the shadows that seemed to stretch unnaturally along the walls.

"Who's there?" Ethan called out, his voice shaking now.

"You can't leave," the voice whispered, now close enough to send shivers down their spines.

The room grew darker still, the shadows moving like living things, curling toward them. The hospital itself seemed to be alive, and it knew them, had always known them.

In the reflection of the glass, they saw it again-a pale face, empty eyes, the remnants of a girl who had been lost, who had died within these walls. And then, they saw it more clearly.

It was Lily. The girl who had died in the hospital long ago, her soul now twisted by the darkness that haunted the building.

"You're mine now," Lily's voice crooned, growing louder, more menacing.

The teens turned to run, but the hallway was no longer the one they had entered. It was distorted, the walls stretching and shifting, pulling them deeper into the hospital's insatiable grasp. The door they had passed through had vanished, and the corridors seemed to wind endlessly in every direction.

The hunger was coming for them.

And they didn't even know what it had already claimed.