After the End (on pause)

Chapter 2 - 7:00 pm

a/n: if you've already read this when it was chapter 3, scroll down to the line to see where I added additional information (important to the storyline)

Chapter 2– 7:00 pm

                           I took a rasping breath, remaining on the floor. My brief lapse in sanity confused me, now seeming as only a dream that was quickly fading. Maybe it didn't even happen at all but was simply fear twisting the inner workings of my usually analytical mind. Fear can do strange things to people.

                           Throughout my life, I've seen fear bring the strongest of people to their knees, whether it seemed like a small fear, such as of heights, or otherwise. Fear is the one emotion known and felt by all people. Some have never been loved, others have never felt true happiness, but we have all experienced fear. I've heard it said that as long as we have fear, we are not truly living. But are we living if we do not feel fear?

                           The body is affected, fast heart rate, sweating, paralyzed muscles, but terror dwells in the mind. You see things that aren't there, hear sounds that never reverberated through the room, and feel phantom touches. If one person is afraid, their fear can spread like a disease, infecting those around them with two simple words: 'I'm scared." And once those words are uttered, whether the feeling is mutual or not, fear spreads. But true terror is felt alone. It comes from the deepest depths within you, letting you know that you have something to be afraid of, and it is very real.

                           As my breathing slowed and I calmed, my mind attributed the events of the past hour to fear. Funny thing the human mind is.  We can be convinced that something is so real in one moment, only to dismiss it as false in the next, simply by power of our own suggestion.  I blinked slowly trying to adjust my mental state. Rolling onto my back, I became aware of the stifling silence once again. I pulled myself up to my feet and observed my surroundings once again. The room was quite empty aside from a bare iron bed frame and years of rubble. My jeans were coated with a thick layer of dust which I patted off. The mask protecting my lungs was now completely coated with debris, eliminating its purpose and causing me to remove it, as it was simply impairing my breathing.

                           I clicked the side of my watch, illuminating the display: 7:20. I had only been inside the building for an hour and twenty minutes, yet it felt as though my arrival was years ago. I once again thought of the stupidity of the dare I had accepted. Sure I was sixteen, and teenagers are expected to do foolish things, but this was just a mistake. This building in and of itself was dangerous, and I had no way of contacting any emergency services if I were to get hurt. My mind wandered to the scattered holes in the floor and I shivered at the thought of plummeting through one of them. As lethargy crept into my thoughts, the loneliness of my situation dawned upon me. The deal was to spend twelve hours alone, and I had ten and a half left.

                            I began to consider sleeping but quickly had second thoughts, knowing I didn't want to fall asleep without fully knowing what was inside the building. Deciding that sleep would be the quickest way to pass the time, I started off to explore and secure my surroundings before resting. I rose from my perch at the foot rails of the bed, and entered the hallway.

                          I smoothed my slightly sweat dampened hair into a ponytail atop my head.  My footsteps pulverized the rubble resting on the floor. There were piles of drywall and ceiling tiles lining the hall. It looked as though the majority of the ceiling had caved in long ago, from water damage judging by the brown stains. The state of disrepair would make anyone uneasy, especially with the questionable stability of the floors. Turning right, I entered a new hallway, and the environmental difference was startling. I had heard of a few areas that were remodeled for administration, and I must have stumbled upon one. The floor was laid with a mottled grey carpet, knotted and rough, similar to the carpeting commonly found in offices and doctors. The walls were smooth and coated with a crisp off white, unstained and contrasting greatly with the surrounding areas of the asylum. The ceiling was a simple white drop ceiling, periodically interrupted by currently unlit florescent lights. The hallway was quite long and was interrupted by pairs of plush red leather chairs scattered opposite doorways, leading to what I presumed were offices. Despite the modern appearance, the hallway seemed to be unused. Thick dust coated the chairs, and the air was as musky and thick as the rest of the building. I decided after finishing my sweep of the floor, I would settle here for the night. Before waltzing down the hallway however, I warily checked for security cameras.