"What baby?" Harley joins me looking at the body.
"Chloe was expecting. That's why her uterus was on the wall." I guess that doesn't clarify much, but I know where I need to go. I rush down the steps and towards the tunnel. I drop into the darkness, forgetting to pull out my phone flash light. I notice it's running out of battery. I flick it on for a second, running ahead and then flick it on again. I continue until I see the ladder and I run as far as I think it is. I flick on my flashlight and see it's about ten feet in front of me. Ok, I could have done better, but I'm not being judged. I pull myself out of the tunnel. I don't remember what room she was in.
I walk through the cafeteria, the memories of my and Chloe's last memories here. I'll never have another crazy night with her. No more late night skinny dipping, no mores taking up all night talking, no more whispering about boys, no more talking about what teachers had the best butt, no more going to Starbucks and flirting with the cashier. No more Chloe.
I wipe the tears I didn't realize I was shedding. I wrap my arms around myself, hoping to stop the pain of my breaking heart. I keel over feeling like I'm about to blow chunks. I drop to my knees and empty all the bile in my stomach. I feel worse now, unable to get rid of the feeling. It feels as though my lungs have shrunk and now I'm only able to take small breaths.
I push myself up, holding my stomach. The sooner I find what's by the baby the better. I walk, more like stumble, towards the hallway. I feel dizzy, about to fall over any minute. I walk against the wall, slowly making my way down the hall. Is she on the third floor? Or is she on the fifth floor? Maybe she's on this floor. I don't think she is, but I can't remember anything specific. I look into each room, the farther I get the more twisted my gut feels. I know what's coming, but I still don't feel ready.
With the first floor done I move on to the second. It wasn't this one, the halls too crowded. I go up to the next floor. This is it, it all floors back. I slowly walk down towards the the abhorrent room. I stop before I enter, doing my best to prepare myself. I step into the nightmare inducing room. I flick the lights on, still shocked by what I see. I take a deep breath, slowly making my way to the body. I look Chloe over one last time, then move my eyes to the uterus next to her. I don't know what I'm looking for, I just know it's by the baby. That's means I have to dig through her uterus. I take a breath and hold it in, and after a few moments of preparing myself, I put my hand inside. It reminds me of pumpkin guts you would scoop out. I move my hand around, and before long I feel something solid, foreign. I wrap my fingers around it and pull it out.
It's a key. It looks old, like those antique pewter coloured ones. What does it unlock? There's a few options. Maybe it's this one, because it was in here. Then again, maybe it's the asylum. No, those doors had multiple locks. It was probably the church or the mansion. I'll check the church first, it's closer. I head towards the tunnel, keeping my head down, fearing I'll see something I don't want to. I drop into the tunnel, walking towards the church. A constant dripping sound is the only thing I hear, continual splashing following it. I step in something wet, and pull my phone out to see what it was.
Just a puddle, thankfully. I see the ladder a few steps in front of me. I climb it and enter the church, bee lining to the door. I slide the key in and it takes a few wiggles to get the lock unstuck. It opens, and for the first time I I feel happy. I run to the car, grabbing the key Tony had stuck under the wheel well in case he forgot his keys somewhere. I climb in the drivers side and push it in the ignition. The sweet memories of this car.
