Will Anyone Save Me? REWRITE

Chapter 8

Damien's pov

Pain.

That was the first thing I felt when I came to, a pounding ache behind my eyes, like someone had split my skull open and left the pieces barely held together. The air smelled like metal and smoke, and every breath scraped down my throat.

I was on the floor, cold concrete. My palms stung, something sticky, blood, maybe coating them. For a second, I couldn't remember where I was. Then I heard it.

The alarms

The echo of footsteps, and the faint, fainting memory of his voice. 

Aurelius

My heart lurched, I pushed up too fast, the world spinning. Eli's hand shot out steadying me. "Easy, love," he said hoarsely. His lip was split, blood running down his chin." You were out cold."

"Where is he?" My voice came out ragged." Aurelius, the kids". Kingston appeared from the smoke, his shirt torn and knuckles bruised. "Gone."

The words hit harder than any punch. "What do you mean gone? he was right there!" I grabbed his arm. Kingston's eyes were grim, " When the power cut, Ambrose's men dragged them through a service door. We fought to follow, but the hallway sealed, it's like the damn building fucking shifted."

I cursed under my breath, slamming a fist against the wall. "He was right there, I could have touched him." Eli's gaze softened, "He recognized you, I saw it. Even if he said he didn't remember, his eyes did."

That should've been comforting. It wasn't. It just made the ache worse. 

Marco and Mateo appeared from the shadows, covered in dust, " The Hospital's locking down, security's on full alert. They're calling it an 'inmate escape attempt.' We don't have much time before they pin this on us." Marco said

"I don't care, " I snapped." We're not leaving without him." Kingston nodded, wiping his bloodied hands. "Then we find another way in. There's got to be hidden access points, tunnels, holding rooms. staff wings."

Eli crouched beside a broken panel on the wall, prying it open." if Ambrose took them, he'd hide them somewhere off-record. The restricted wings, maybe the lower levels." I stared at the flickering red lights above. " Or below.". They all looked at me.

"Basement levels," I said." Old hospitals like this have subfloors, the kind they don't list on blueprints. That's where they'd keep someone they didn't want found." 

Marco grimaced, "You think he's down there?" " I know he is." 

Eli looked at me for a moment, then nodded," Then we'll find him." But as I turned toward the hallway, something on the floor caught my eye, a small object glinting under the emergency light. I crouched and picked it up. A small pale pink hair tie. 

Moon's 

My throat tightened, I closed my fist around it, " He took them." Kingston swore under his breath, " Then he just declared war." We moved fast down the corridors half swallowed by darkness, past the rooms filled with the ghost of forgotten patients. Every door creaked like a warning. Every step echoed like a threat.

The deeper we went, the colder it became. 

Marco shivered beside me. " This place... it's like it's alive." 

"It's feeding off fear," I muttered." Always has." 

Finally, we reached an elevator at the end of the hall, old, rusted, still somehow powered. Above the buttons, most of the labels were scratched off, Except one.

B3...Ward 13

Eli's voice dropped. " Ward 13 doesn't exist in hospital records."

"Exactly," I said, pressing the button" That's where we're going." The doors creaked shut, and the elevator began to descend with a shudder. None of us spoke, the sound of the cables above us groaned like the building itself didn't want to let us go.

When the elevator finally stopped, the doors opened with a reluctant hiss. Darkness waited on the other side. and in the distance, echoing faintly down the corridor, cam e a voice. A soft, broken whisper.

"...Damien....Kingston?" Every muscle in my body froze. Eli's body froze and his eyes widened. " Did you hear..." 

" Yes" My heart thundered. " He's here." 

I stepped out into the darkness, the others clos behind. The smell of antiseptic and iron hung thick in the air. Somewhere deeper, a light flickered, then died. And just as I took another step forward, a shadow moved at the far end of the hall.

Too tall, Too still

Not Aurelius 

Someone else

Watching us.