Shadows of the Asylum

The Voice in the Sky

Kara sat by the window of the plane, staring out at the endless stretch of blue sky. The hum of the engines and the soft murmur of passengers in the cabin were the only sounds breaking the silence. The world outside seemed so calm, so peaceful-so different from the nightmare she had left behind. She had finally made it out. The hospital was gone. The darkness was no more.

But even as the plane soared higher, cutting through the clouds, Kara couldn't shake the feeling that something was still lurking. The calm in the air, the soft movement of the plane-everything felt unreal, like a dream she wasn't quite sure she was ready to wake up from.

She ran a hand through her hair and closed her eyes, trying to silence the unease that gnawed at the edges of her mind. I'm free. I'm really free. She repeated the words like a mantra, trying to convince herself. After everything she had been through-the darkness, the endless corridors, the twisted creatures of the hospital-it was hard to believe she had truly escaped. But she had to trust that she had. She had fought so hard to break the cycle, and now, here she was, flying away from it all.

The flight attendants walked down the aisles, their faces friendly, as the plane glided smoothly through the sky. Kara let her gaze drift out the window again, watching the clouds float lazily by, wondering if this peace would last.

But just as she let her guard down, she heard it.

A soft voice, barely a whisper, in her ear.

"Kara..."

She froze. Her heart stopped for a moment as her body went rigid. The voice was so familiar, so haunting. It couldn't be. She had left the hospital. She had defeated the darkness. It's not real, she told herself, shaking her head slightly. It can't be.

She glanced around, but there was no one nearby. No one who could have spoken.

Her breath quickened, and she forced herself to look back out the window, trying to calm her racing pulse. It's just a memory. Just the past haunting me. I'm not going back there.

But the voice came again, this time louder, clearer.

"Kara... you can't run from me forever."

Her stomach dropped, and her hands clenched into fists. She turned her head sharply to her left, as if expecting to see someone standing there. But the seat next to her was empty. The cabin was still peaceful, the passengers oblivious to her panic.

No, no, no. This can't be happening. Not again.

Kara swallowed hard, trying to steady her breath. The voice-the voice sounded like Lily's. That same twisted, cold tone that had echoed through the halls of the hospital, that had haunted her every step. But this... this was different. This was in her mind. She could feel it.

Her eyes darted to the seatbelt sign that flickered on, a reminder that they were about to hit turbulence. Kara's pulse thundered in her ears as she tried to make sense of the voice. How could it be possible? She had destroyed the hospital. Lily was gone. The nightmare was supposed to be over.

Yet, the voice came again, now laced with an eerie sense of mockery.

"You thought you could escape. You thought you could leave me behind. But you're mine, Kara. You'll always be mine."

Kara's hands shook violently. She tried to ignore it. She had to ignore it. The dark corners of her mind whispered, If you listen, if you give in, it will never end. She will never leave you.

With trembling fingers, she pulled out her phone, hoping to distract herself. But as she unlocked the screen, her heart skipped a beat. There, in the list of recent messages, was an unknown number. The message preview read:

"I'm still here."

Kara's breath caught in her throat. Her fingers froze, hovering over the screen. This isn't real. She forced herself to breathe, but the fear creeping up her spine was undeniable. It can't be real.

And then the message changed.

"You can't escape me. Not now. Not ever."

The words burned in her mind, each one like a brand searing her skin. She slammed the phone down onto the seat, her chest tightening with panic. Her eyes darted around the cabin again. People were talking, oblivious to the terror that was rising inside her. The voice-it wasn't just in her head anymore. The hospital had found a way to follow her. It had followed her across the skies.

Kara could feel it now, the weight of it, pressing down on her, surrounding her, suffocating her.

Her mind screamed for her to escape, but there was nowhere to run. She was trapped in the air, in this small metal box with no way out.

"No. No! I'm free! I'm free!" she whispered desperately to herself, squeezing her eyes shut. She had to believe it. She had to hold on to the truth, even if everything inside her screamed that the nightmare wasn't over.

A cold laugh echoed in her ears, a sound that made her blood run cold.

"You really think you're free, Kara?" the voice sneered. "You belong to me now. And you always will."

Kara felt the blood drain from her face, her hands trembling uncontrollably as the voice seemed to surround her, a heavy, suffocating presence. She didn't know how much more she could take. The walls of the plane felt too close, the cabin too small. The seatbelt sign blinked relentlessly above her, the small lights dimming and flickering as if the whole plane was coming apart at the seams.

The world around her seemed to spin. The voice was everywhere. The hospital, Lily, the darkness-it was all closing in again. No matter how far she ran, no matter how high she flew, it would never end.

Her pulse pounded in her ears as she gripped the armrests, her knuckles turning white. She wasn't sure if she was shaking from fear or if it was something else, something deeper inside of her. The truth was, part of her was still afraid of what she had become-part of her was still afraid that, no matter how hard she fought, the darkness was always going to be there, waiting.

Her chest constricted, and for the briefest of moments, she thought she might suffocate.

But then, through the panic, a thought broke through. I survived it once. I survived the hospital. I survived Lily. I can survive this, too.

The voice faltered just for a moment, as if sensing her resolve.

Kara squeezed her eyes shut, and with every ounce of strength she had left, she pushed the voice back, blocking out the darkness that threatened to pull her under. She had made it out before. She had won.

The plane lurched slightly, and Kara's breath caught in her throat, but this time, she didn't let fear take over.

The voice fell silent.

Kara opened her eyes, glancing around the cabin. The passengers were still unaware, the world outside still peaceful, and the sky stretching endlessly ahead of her. She wasn't sure if the darkness was truly gone, but she knew one thing-she wasn't going to let it control her anymore.

The sky was wide, and this time, Kara felt ready to embrace it. The voice, whatever it was, had no power over her.

She was free.

For real.