Disclaimer: I do not own Redrum. Redrum is a hidden-object horror game developed by Anarchy Enterprises. I only own the OC characters.

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This truly was a nightmare.

Maddie blinked open her eyes, the environment around her horribly twisted and disturbing. It bent and shifted in all manner of ways, depicting the victim's personal experience of human agony. The young brunette felt sick to her stomach, holding back the urge to gag.

"My god," Ravenwood breathed, glancing at their horrific surroundings. "Are we inside her head?" The Nightmare Realm had created a world matching the woman's occupation, and her condition. There were several naked, mannequin-esque bodies strung up all over the place, limbs and torsos forced to contort in painful ways. All their faces were haunted, mouths frozen in silent screams.

Maddie shuddered, trying to keep her heart rate under control. From what she had learned of the Nightmare Realm, everything experienced in it felt like the real world. So, the pain that this poor woman was feeling was genuine. She couldn't imagine having to endure this kind of torment. She startled when something touched her hand. Rose had slipped her small hand into hers, squeezing it for reassurance. The older girl took a deep breath and let it out. She looked down at Rose, silently conveying that she would be fine.

The young, black-haired girl took the lead, winding her way through the grotesque scene. Maddie and Ravenwood followed her, still wary of whatever may be lurking in the shadows. Eventually, something bright began to shine in the distance. They discovered that it led to the center of the nightmare, the source of this victim's pain.

"There it is!" Rose exclaimed, pointing. It was a human, that much was certain, but the body had been stripped of its skin. Red and white muscle tissue rippled over the bones. The eyes stared unseeing out of their sockets. The figure was locked in a rigid position, legs pinned together, and arms wrapped around its body.

They all approached tentatively before discovering that they could go no further. There was a perimeter around the figure that created a strong barrier between them. The front of it shone a symbol, one that resembled a sun. From where she was standing, Maddie could make out black, feathery wings sprouting from the figure's back, lazily flapping up and down. They didn't look that much different from her own.

"What the hell is this?" Ravenwood interjected, gesturing towards the symbol hovering in the air. Rose chewed on her lower lip, bringing a hand to her chin. Maddie recognized the nervous tic in the girl; it usually meant that she was frustrated, especially if she couldn't figure something out right away. "Of course," she muttered under her breath.

Maddie looked to the girl and back to the symbol. "This is basically just a cage, right?" she mused. "With a lock and key?"

"It's not just that," Rose answered. "It's more like a missing piece of the person's memory, something that was deliberately removed. That's how Fraud is able to anchor these souls in the Nightmare Realm."

"Oh, I see," Maddie said. She stared hard at the locked gate. "Like a puzzle."

"Exactly," Rose confirmed. This made Ravenwood scratch his head. "But we don't have the pieces," he pointed out. "How are we supposed to free her?"

"Most likely, they're scattered across the consciousnesses of the other victims," Rose explained. "It's a foolproof system. We have to search through every person's mind to gather all the pieces." She sighed, sounding much older than she actually was. "This isn't going to be easy."

"Well, of course, it's not," Maddie huffed. "That bastard never makes it easy for us." She glanced back at the younger girl. "So, what do we do now?" she asked.

"We'll have to come back later," Rose replied, slightly clenching her fists. "There are probably more clues we haven't discovered yet." She held out her hands, and they both took them. Once they opened their eyes again, they were back in the asylum, still hovering over the young woman's prone body.

Maddie rubbed at her head, rapidly blinking her eyes. "That was... weird," she said to no one in particular. "It's like waking up from a nightmare into a new one," Ravenwood added, adjusting the wide-brimmed hat on his head. His niece stayed by the woman's side, clutching her hand. "Uncle, look!" she said, directing her gaze towards the greeting card. Lying next to the card was a lockpick, all shiny and new. Ravenwood snatched it up in his hands. "That's handy," he said, glancing at the twitching woman. "Thanks, Ma'am." He tipped his hat to her, even though she wasn't aware of the gesture.

Ravenwood started heading out of the patient's room. "There's a chest in Fraud's office," he said, jangling the set of lockpicks. "Maybe there'll be something useful inside." With that, he disappeared, leaving the girls to watch over the tortured soul.

Maddie looked down by her feet again. The syringe was still there, as was the doll resting next to the woman's head. Rose glanced curiously at her as the older girl bent down to pick it up. The syringe was heavy in her hands, the green liquid inside sending shivers down her body. She never wanted this stuff in her system, ever.

With the syringe in one hand, Maddie picked up the doll in the other, scanning over it. There were three red X's on its body: one on its head, one over its heart, and one on its knee. The young brunette hated what this implied. Swallowing, she positioned the needle over the doll's heart. She held her breath as she sunk it into the fabric, pushing on the plunger. To her horror, the doll's cheeks flushed green, emitting a heart-wrenching baby's cry. Maddie's heart twisted in her chest, feeling guilty, even though the doll wasn't a living being.

Rose had watched this interaction intently, her stare never wavering. She appeared uncomfortable at the doll's distressed cry, her body tensing. "Well," she said, "I suppose we'll have to keep an eye out for more of those."

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Returning to the office, Ravenwood knelt beneath the desk, the lockpick jangling in his hand. The chest was old and wooden, more like a treasure chest. Let's hope this actually gives me treasure. Wouldn't that be delightful. With his mediocre lockpicking skills, the detective successfully clicked open the mechanism in the chest. He lifted the lid, peering at what was inside.

It was another clock, one that showed a different time. He recognized it as the same lock for the patient next to the yoga instructor. They were making progress. He grabbed the clock, making his way back to the girls.

"I found something!" he called. Maddie and Rose rushed out of the room, meeting him in the alcove housing the two victims. Rose took a glance at the clock and beamed. "Perfect!" She took the clock from her uncle and approached the opposite door. She pressed it into the emblem. The light turned green and the door slid open.

The scene wasn't too different from the previous victim, except for the victim himself. Maddie could tell that Fraud had had him for longer. The patient resembled more of a skeleton than a human. The skin was gray and pulled tight against the bones. His eyes were sunken, and his lips receded, showing rotted teeth. His emaciated body twitched violently every few seconds, his limbs too skinny to fit in the straps he was tied down with.

"Dear god," Ravenwood breathed. If he had hair, he would be running his hand through it. "He looks like a mummy."

There were more get-well cards, or anchors, in here. There was also an easel positioned at the foot of the patient's bed. Maddie figured it was the classic painting of The Farmer, but pieces of it were missing.

Rose approached one of the anchors, turning and holding out her hands again. "Come on," she said, the others not needing to be told twice. They took her hands and closed their eyes, entering this victim's nightmare.

If Maddie hadn't felt uncomfortable before, she sure did now. The nightmare was nothing more than a single room, no doors or windows. Every square inch of space on the walls was taken up by self-portrait paintings. The eyes were trained on them, watching their every move. The sixteen-year-old suppressed a shudder.

They all searched the room, peeking in every crack and crevice. Maddie scrutinized each painting, stopping at one in particular. "This one's missing its face," she mused aloud.

Meanwhile, Rose bent down in a corner of the room, something shiny catching her eye. It was another syringe. She picked it up, gaining confidence to achieve her goal. Ravenwood pried a painting off the wall, trying to reach something that was stuck behind it. Once he had extracted it, he could only stare in befuddlement. "What the hell is this?"

Maddie and Rose sidled up to either side of him, peering at what the detective had discovered. It was a relief of a skull, missing some of its teeth. It was certainly made of metal, if the weight of it wasn't already obvious. "I think that unlocks the other corridor," Maddie said, recalling the locks for those hallways. They had imprints in the shape of the relief that Ravenwood was holding.

Rose smiled wide, seeming to bounce on her toes. "Excellent!" she exclaimed. Taking her hands again, they exited the victim's nightmare.

They backtracked, returning to the branched paths. Approaching the entrance to the east corridor, Ravenwood placed the relief in its slot. A deep rumbling could be heard, like old gears turning. Eventually, the stone door slid open, grinding along its track. Only darkness could be seen on the other side.

They entered, diving deeper into this twisted nightmare.

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Author's Note: This might be shorter than I thought it was going to be. We'll see. Let me know if you're liking it so far and if it's too confusing.

Feel worse today. I get my results tomorrow morning. Crossing my fingers.

Praise is appreciated and constructive criticism is encouraged.

See you next time!

-The_Mayflower