Chapter 9

Riley's POV

"Like, it's obviously Daniel. Who else would waste an unwrinkled piece of paper for you?" Kate stated in a 'duh' tone, keeping a steady gaze on the paper. I'm not sure if I imagined this, but her pupils seemed to enlarge.

A blur of white hurtled out of my grasp. It left a thin, scarlet line between my thumb and index finger. I curled my fingers into a ball to relieve the sting.

Kate flashed a 1000 watt smile, as she held it up to the light. The light penetrated through the paper, emitting white light on her bubbly face. It accentuated her pure awe.

"It doesn't make sense... Daniel is---," A speedy motion by Kate made me pause.

Kate's index finger glided on her neck. The tilting of her head was in sync with the action. With her partly closed eyes revealing only the whites, something within me stirred.

How could she be joking around with this? Did she find Daniel's state amusing, entertaining, hilarious?!

"He isn't dead!" My elbow rammed into flesh, hard surface from underneath came in contact.

The girl clutched a ball of her clothing, knuckles turning red, pressing firmly on the rib bones.

I didn't even have to tug for the paper, it fell down during my outburst. The sound of shredding paper hadn't reached my senses until bits of white redecorated the carpet.

Taking a bold step back, she cowered away as if I were a mangy wildcat. Her bottom lip quivered erratically. A small whimper shot out like she was holding it in.

I grabbed my hair nearly tearing it as well, "look at what you made me do!"

She took shaky breaths of air, in and out.

"I'm sorry." I hissed out through gritted teeth. There was nothing to be sorry for really... ok fine that was a bit rash of me to do. But hey! She deserved it.

"L-like, I ha-have photo-photographic memory." She stuttered, blowing her nose with the top hem of her turquoise, white polka-dotted dress. I mentally gagged as I contorted my face.

Kate bursted into laughter, "Lol! Like, I don't. I just took a picture of it."

She clutched her stomach and tumbled down. Wheezing at her own joke, she struggled to turn on the watch.

In annoyance, I unlatched the watch off her wrist while she was dying. I tapped on the camera roll icon. The first image was the letter.

Go to hospital wing 234 at 12:30am tonight. Do NOT get caught.

-D

I wanted to believe it was Daniel, but I knew deep down it couldn't be. People don't just miraculously get better after a major injury in a short span of time.

The only D's I know; Daniel. The message was from Daniel. The broadcast was fake. The injuries were fake.

Stop lying to yourself

Ok... maybe Daniel sent someone to give this to me?

A gasp of air sucked all the attention of the room. Kate's arms fell gracefully down to her sides. I rolled my eyes at her show. Any drama series couldn't reach her level of over exaggeration.

"Okay... I'll leave you to fully experience your emotions..." I trailed off in a precarious tone as I watched her make voluntary spasms in her arm.

My hand was about to touch the door handle, but Kate spoke up, "hey! I'm like so going with!"

She grabbed my arm, and I tugged it away. "I don't need you. Plus, you need to stay hidden... remember?"

"You like don't even know where the hospital quarters are." She countered with the crossing of her arms and a smug smile.

"I do!" I retorted as I straightened my back. She raised one eyebrow which said 'where is it?'

I fiddled with my fingernails, my tone sounded like it was walking down a shaky tightrope, "uhh... down the Walk, on the left side?"

"Lol, like no. It's not even on the same level as the Walk. It's the floor right under." Her fingers latched around the door handle as the other hand unlocked the door, opening it beyond ajar.

"You'll most like definitely need my help." She whispered, a small force pushed me out the door.

Who am I kidding? Even though she's messed up upstairs, I'll need her guidance.

That sounded so weird to say.

Coolness seeped into my back which was pressed against the wall. I tip toed in a crab position, Kate mirrored my action.

We hid well thanks to the blackness of the hallway. I kept my fingers apart, just as a precaution.

The heel of my foot was being assaulted by the tip of Kate's shoes. "Would you cut it out?" I strained under a whisper. All she gave me was a subtle shrug.

We kept advancing cautiously, froze when the occasional unusual sound arised.

Gliding my hands along the wall, I felt the edge of something. I turned my head to see we had reached a corner. Slowly, I leaned towards the edge and it revealed three elevators. I made a beckoning motion with my hand for Kate.

"Don't press the like button!" She stage whispered, tip-toeing past me.

I had to force myself to not move, "Why not?"

"Like, it makes a stupid ding dong noise." She rolled her eyes, then eyed me like I'm an idiot.

"Oh." I backed away from the elevators like they were explosive bombs. Craning my head side to side, I tried to find stairs instead.

"You wanna hear what it sounds like?" She said with a gleaming smile. My eyes widened in her direction, "no!"

"DING DONG! DIIIING DOOONG! DING DONG!" She shouted at the top of her lungs as her inner kangaroo burst out.

My hands reached for her nomadic shoulders, but kept loosing grip. She continued to jump and make noise. This idiot!

"Shut up! You're probably making more noise than the elevator would."
The kangaroo disappeared, it was replaced by a sympathetic look.

"Awww poor girl. You haven't heard the sound it makes when the doors close."
She wiped away a non-existent tear.

My eyes widen again, before I could clamp my hand over her mouth she started to do the second most idiotic thing.

"BEEEP! BEEEP! BLAAAP!" Kate bellowed in the dark, empty hall. It bounced against every single corner. I felt like the walls would crumble down.

"Hello! Who is there?" An unknown voice called out. The strobe of light flickered in our direction. It danced in the walls---taunting us.

"Oh shit! We are going to get caught because of you Riley!" She whispered, mouth agape. Arguing about who caused this predicament was the least of my worries. I spotted the door labeled STAIRWAY.

"Come out! I can hear you!" The voice boomed, sounding closer.

The door creaked open, but you could barely hear the sound. I slid in after Kate.

I didn't dare to move a muscle. As I heard someone footsteps walk near the elevators. The taunting sound paused, the stiffness through my body started to fade away.

The light flashed through the tiny, slim window. I welcomed the stiffness, and trickles of cold sweat from my chest. Concentration of light grew stronger, meaning the person was coming closer.

I dug my nails into the concrete. Gosh, I wish I was a chameleon!

  The footsteps moved away from the stairway's door. The light followed along.

The stairway was completely dark. Suddenly, every horror movie popped up in my head. Girl walks down the stairs to her worst fate.

Maybe if not wort---NO it's worth it! Daniel is worth it.

I turn on the torches on both Apple watches. Handing Kate hers, I imagine being as light as a feather as I take a step down.

The stark white light reveals cracks of cement, and a dead rat on one of the steps.

Down.

Down.

Down.

A door labelled PHASE -1 caused me to freeze. I turned to Kate for reassurance, she nodded. The creaking of the door intensified due to the upmost silence. When I opened it wide enough, we slid out bodies into a hallway.

"Hospital wing 234 should be down the right hall. Or left. Or up. Or down. Or upside down. Or----" Kate mused until I stopped her.

"I thought you said you knew where it was!" I whisper shouted, my fist clenched in a ball.

I flashed the torch in her direction. Her fingers tangled itself in one of her curls. "Well... like I don't know anymore, deal with it."

I groaned, rubbing my temple. What to do now? This clueless girl just got us nearly caught AND she's wasting my time.

I glanced at the time: 12:20 AM. 10 more minutes.

Flashing the artificial light on the walls, I noticed little tags which stated each room as a hospital wing and it's number.

The first one said: hospital wing 1
The next was 2. As I moved forward, the numbers just kept ascending.

"Hey... Kate, come here I think I found something." I beckoned her with a warily quiet voice.  I told her about the doors, and asked her to help me out.

She crosseed her arms, and spit on the ground. "Why should I listen to a rank 30. Lowest of the low."

"Oh come on, now is the time you fret over my rank?" I let out an spirited sigh, thinking of a comeback.

"Oh and what's your rank?" I scarcastially asked, putting my hand in a C shape beside my ear. I got silence.

"That's right you don't even have a rank." I retorted. She frowned as she uncrossed her arms, following my orders. Skipping past me, Kate scanned over each tag like a robot. A super, ultra fast robot.

"I think I found it!" Kate cheered,
"2-3-4!"

I tip toed with large steps towards Kate. The tag read, 'hospital wing 234'.

"Ok so do I knock? Or I---" before I could weigh my options, Kate had opened the door.

"Or you could just do that..." I muttered under my breath. Four elephants could fit in the room. Each hospital bed was separated by a curtain. I could make out a shadow silhouette which projected on a curtain.

I wasn't sure if this was Daniel anymore because the shadow was sitting upright.

Was this a trap? It had to be. It sounds too good to be true. Just as I was about throw Kate out of the room a female voice spoke.

"Don't leave just yet ladies."

I turned around to find the second intrustor. She raised her pencil skirt a bit, then pulled a handgun out of a pouch. Slowly raising her arm, the barrel met my direction at eye level.

She pulled the trigger.

__________________________
Author's Note:

Chapter Question: What do you think about events in this chapter?

Sorry for the late update 😶 I dedicate this chapter to everyone who gave my the strength to continue💛👏

I'm not satisfied with the quality of this chapter☹️ The next chapter will be more interesting and I'll try to make better quality.

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