***NEED WORK

Vayden stood still for a moment, listening hard and carefully.
Something was off; this time, he was sure of it.

Something about the silence was bugging him; it didn’t seem to be fully still.
Like a deep, subtle buzzing of the air somewhere in the dark depth of the shadows, just swarming around him in an excited vibe.
It was as if the atmosphere was…alive.

The Hunter frowned, completely mystified by his surroundings.
No…alive was not the right word...

Vayden opened his eyes, and looked around again, scanning the area for the countless number of times.
He had turned off his flashlight, just in case there was anything that would be disturbed or attracted to the light. But he wasn’t completely blind; he was conditioned into maneuvering in the dark. He was still able to make out the basic layout of the room. It also helped that there were significantly less amount of clutter on the floor.
Yet he couldn’t deny that he was still at a great disadvantage; the dark was not his natural element. It was usually his enemies’.

Keeping that in mind, Vayden kept his guard up, searching with his senses, both listening and feeling the space he had stepped in.
Strange--- it was too strange.
Normally, he was able to pick up emotions and different sensations no matter the place, time of how subtle it was; it was a sense he recognized he had ever since he could remember.
But here…the air held nothing for him.

Very, truly strange; he was able to pick up and sense the emotional imprints of any given place, no matter the amount of time has passed. How and why he has such unique ability, he wasn’t sure. Just like he wasn’t sure of his early childhood; everything surrounding that topic was blank.
If only I could just remember it all…

An icy sensation shot through his spine, making him bristle. His pistol was in his hand in a flash as he twisted around---
Vayden froze for a half a second, and then lowered his guard.
There was nothing there but the dark.

There was a panicked rustling, somewhere to his forward right, and a slight thud, as if someone had stumbled and fell to the ground.
Vayden picked up a sudden pang of a soft, fragile emotion and completely lowered his pistol.

“Now, who can you be?” he murmured.

Faint, mostly hidden, but definitely, there was a soft flowing glow that stood out from the rest of the dark. The small odd shape was curled up in a ball, tucked away in a corner just up ahead.
There, just few steps forward was a wispy shape of a small ghost boy, a presence that was not there just seconds before. He looked very young, around four years of age, very frail and weak with his head pulled down against his pulled-up knees. Vayden could taste the air around his; fear, grief, uneasy.
Slowly and careful not to make a sound, he approached him.
As he drew closer, he noticed that his clothing wasn’t too old fashioned; he was wearing a white long-sleeved shirt and a pair of worn-out beige corduroy suspenders.

“Hey,” Vayden murmured, calling towards the spirit boy softly.

Despite the soft tone, the little boy flinched, whimpering.
Vayden frowned.
What had this child gone through to be so fearful, even after death?
“It’s alright, buddy. No one can hurt you.” he whispered soothingly.
The little boy mumbled, whimpering in his sleeved arm.
No, no, no… he seemed to say, sounding almost desperate and defiant at the same time.

Vayden felt a deep stab of sadness in his chest at the sight of this boy. Slowly and gently, he reached out to lay a soft pat on his head.

Suddenly, it was as if the air had caved in, shoving against his body from all sides.
Vayden wheeled around to see a thin strip of eerie light leaking into the dark space from the door he had entered through.

The door stood open, stuck as he had left it.
Then, with unnatural swiftness, the door slammed shut, with a loud chilling slam.

Vayden froze, iciness reaching even his heart and lungs. He didn’t dare move, to risk the chance of making a noise.
Instinctively, he scanned around his surrounding again. The little ghost boy was nowhere to be seen, and seemingly, it left him all alone.
It was completely pitch-black, leaving him with zero-visibility; far worse off than he could’ve ever guessed.
And suddenly, he felt cornered.

Something is very wrong…

Vayden listened hard, trying to pick up anything that moved to give him even the slightest clue as to what was going on. The silence continued to roar in his ear, the empty, lifeless feeling drawing closer, and closing in on him.

…no. No use.
He was not going to get anywhere blind; he had to take the chance.
The grip he had around the flashlight in his left hand tightened.
It may be reckless and stupid to risk the chance of revealing his location to the unknown in any other situation, but what other choice did he have?
Vayden took a silent breath, ready to take the gamble.

…your issues better be worth the troubles you’re putting me through…

Vayden bristled, startled shock shooting through his chest.
Caught completely off-guard, his grip around his flashlight loosened as a certain image started to take shape.

Blurs, nothing solid.
A narrow passage, almost completely dark…a hallway?
…faint footsteps…
…growing louder.
…faster.

Suddenly, a flash of long platinum blond hair flashed into view, the fine shimmering strands billowing out as if it was caught in a breeze.
A soft, gentle sigh echoed in the space before the vision faded…

A loud, clashing sound shattered the perfect silence, shooting another dose of shock into Vayden’s chest. His eyes searched blindly in the dark, his mind and calm totally disturbed by bewilderment.
It took him another moment to realize, that his flashlight was out of his hand.
“Shit,” he muttered under his breath.

Feeling a bit lightheaded from the aftershock, Vayden restored his pistol back into its holster and sank low to the floor, his hands skimming the surface of the ground for his flashlight. His fingers brushed against a cool metal cylinder, and discovered the bottom to be open. He picked the flashlight up and shook it upside down.
The batteries were missing.

Vayden huffed out, silently swearing again.

Perfect; not only did that commotion break the heavy silence, if anything attacked him right at the moment he was completely blind and vulnerable to properly defend himself.
Fighting the impulse to yell out in frustration, he went on searching and patting the floor around him for the batteries.

…But…

Vayden’s hand halted on the floor.

What was that voice? My ‘issues’?
and that platinum blond hair…

Vayden brought his right hand to his chest and gripped the fabric of his jacket that was right over his heart.
He closed his eyes against the endless dark, trying to think.
What was this, this strange sensation of breathless anxiety that seem to crush the air right out of his lungs?
He forced himself to breathe in and out, his breath coming out shaky.

What is this feeling?

Vayden swallowed, and forced his eyes open.
First thing first, he told himself hastily. Flashlight, fix the flashlight.
He sat back on his heels, squinting around as he tried to make out shapes resembling batteries on the ground before him. They couldn’t have scattered too far, or he would’ve heard them rolling on the floor---

Vayden’s eyes were fixated on the floor when a pair of pale, ghostly fists came forward and into his view.

The young Hunter stopped moving yet again, staring at the small, childish hands that stood out in the dark.
It was as if the skin was glowing…

The small fists flipped upwards and uncurled its fingers, offering up the two C-size batteries that rested in its palms.

Vayden looked up and into a small, wide-eyed face of a little ghost girl.
Another young spirit?
This ghost girl had the same air around her as the young boy he had seen just a bit earlier; fear and unease stirred about her as she stood before him. She was slightly older than the boy, probably around eight years of age at the time of her death.
Yet she was a bit different from the boy in demeanor; she seemed a bit more guarded and protective, even in her wispy state it showed.

Vayden smiled gently, careful not to scare her as he slowly brought his open palms up.
The girl shrank back slightly, but stood her ground.
“It’s okay, I’m not going to hurt you.” he murmured soothingly.
The ghost girl blinked at him, looking a bit unsure of herself.
Hesitantly, she reached out and dropped the batteries into his hands.
“Thanks, I really need these.” he thanked her.

From behind her another small head peered out at Vayden, looking both nervous and curious. It was the small ghost boy.
“Oh, is he your friend?” Vayden asked.
The boy cowered behind the girl, neither one of them speaking.
Vayden just smiled, and slowly got to his feet.
“Thanks a lot, guys. You guys are lifesavers.” he said.
Vayden slid the batteries into the flashlight’s cell, taking care not to mix up the negative and the positive end.
Then, realization came over him.
“Oh sh--- uh, crap…I’m still missing the cap.” he muttered.

He saw the ghost boy squirm behind the girl nervously, glancing up at her with a unsure expression. She gave him a gentle nudge in encouragement, glancing pointedly towards Vayden.
The boy hesitated, shrinking back a little but brought something out and forward in his hand, offering it to Vayden.
It was the flashlight’s battery cell cap.

Vayden smiled, and lowered himself back down onto his knee so he was at the boy’s eye level.
“Thanks, bud.” he said, reaching forward to take the cap.

He took the cap from the boy and twisted it back into its place. Vayden shook the flashlight again to make sure it stayed put before clicking it on. A sudden beam of light broke through the pitch black space, causing the two ghost children to jump.
“It’s okay! It’s just a little light.” Vayden reassured quietly, smiling.
He took a sweeping glance around the place, and found it abnormally clean and empty.
How strange; for a place that was supposed to be shut down for some time, there was barely any dust on the floor, and everything looked to be in its place…
The beam of light caught the double doors he had come through, now completely shut.

Vayden got back onto his feet and started towards them. It was that moment; that second before the door had slammed shut, he had felt something that had sent chills down his back.
Vayden stopped and examined the door. There were no evidence of it being tempered, broken, or anything that would have caused it to slam shut in the violent manner it had.
He took a grip on the handle and gave it a hard tug. Just as he had expected, it did not budge.
His closest escape route was now sealed from him.

Vayden clicked his tongue in annoyance and wheeled around. There was no way that doors had closed themselves, especially when Vayden had a little trouble opening it himself. Too clearly, something had done so, most likely so he would be trapped in here to his disadvantage. Yet why was he so calm? Shouldn’t he be at least a little alarmed by this?
Vayden looked down and saw that the ghost children were hovering by, watching him curiously.
Best not let my guard down…
Vayden shrugged, throwing his hands up.
“Looks like I’m gonna be stuck here for a while.” he sighed.
The ghost children exchanged glances and then looked back at the Hunter.

Vayden pointed his flashlight deeper into the vacant space of the Pediatrics Stage I unit, thinking.
“I guess I’ll look around this place while I’m here.” he said, more to himself.

So he started, walking deeper into the dark, his flashlight the only source of light to lead his way. The ghost children tailed him, lingering and watching the Hunter’s every move.
Keeping the pace slow, Vayden drifted past the nurses’ station and followed the curve of the corner into another hallway. This hall way was different from those of other parts of the hospital he had seen. As he lifted his flashlight to the walls, he saw glimpses of colors and shapes that formed a cheery, vibrant mural.

Vayden stopped and took time to study the mural.
“...‘To Dream is To Believe’,” he read.
Beneath the words a scene of the underwater wonders spread out before him, bright and colorful coral and sea plants accenting the floor of the ocean. Glistening and shimmering fishes were skillfully painted, showing them swimming through the clear blue water, some grazing and leaping through the foaming waves and into the light sunset.

Vayden stared at the mural, completely captivated by the detailed photo-realism in the art work. He found himself moving again, following the flow of colors further along the hall.

A flow of fishes were jumping through the waves, arching and splashing in the air. Their silver scales shone brighter in the bright sun as a few were caught in the sky, their tails and fins flailing.

Then, the image started to shift, the fins and tails stretching and opening, cleverly morphing from scales to feathers. The morphed songbirds arched and lifted their bodies towards the sky, the fiery orange of the fading sunlight dying their slivery wings. Above their heads were the words, ‘To Believe is To Be.’
The birds seemed to be flying and swooping so freely, dancing with the breeze that caught them in their flight. A small group of birds swooped down to the bottom of the mural, their small bodies curving and extending----

Vayden stopped, the last segment of the mural leaving him stunned.

The birds morphed again, this time their bodies growing smaller and their feathers fading into fine powder that left a trail in the starlit night sky. Their heads shrank into their now-small bodies and their wings widening to catch the night blue color of the sky as the scene shifted.
The last was the scene of a beautiful landscape of the mountains, just as the last glow of the sun sank behind them. The details were so meticulous, that Vayden felt as if he was standing over a cliff, gazing into the sunset.
But that was not what held his attention.

A single shimmering blue butterfly was depicted on its fluttering path marked by faint glittery dust. It was hovering, preparing to land.
And there, offering a delicate finger to the butterfly was a beautiful, graceful, fair-skinned girl.
She sat, completely at ease on a crumbling skeleton of a stone wall, the thin fabric of dark dress billowing out behind her in the breeze, along with her contrasting fine blonde hair.
She was beautiful; almost too good for it to be a painting.

Yet what truly completed the whole mural were the two great wings that sprouted out from her shoulder blades.
The feathers were the purest color of white, making the wings practically glowing against the dark sky background as they were spread out behind the girl, ready to lift her into the air with one strong beat.
“A guardian angel,” Vayden breathed.
Something about this painting struck him oddly, pulling at the corner of his mind; was it her placid, calm expression? Her eyes….or maybe it was the familiar glow of her fine, bright blonde hair…

Vayden saw the little ghost boy come forward, walking closer to the mural. He watched as the boy gazed at something beneath the angel’s wings.
“What is it?” Vayden asked him.
The ghost boy pointed at one of the square clay plates that made up the left side of the mural.
Vayden followed with his eyes and flashlight to the pointed direction, to a plate plastered in the middle of the neat row. Immediately he noticed that each plate was unique, all with different designs and print. He looked closer, and saw that each had a different name and age.
The ghost boy reached out, and his fingers brushed a plate with light blue clouds drawn on it. Vayden glanced at the boy once before he turned his eyes to the cloud-patterned plate.

Eydian Carson Lockhart
Age 4

May Your Angel Give You Guidance
~Mom and Dad

Realization dawned on him then, and a feeling of remorse swept through him.
This mural was a memorial.
“Eydian,” Vayden murmured. “That’s your name.”
The ghost boy looked back at him and then back at the plate. He continued to stroke over the words, Mom and Dad.

The ghost girl approached the wall also, coming over to stand beside Eydian. She glanced at Vayden before pointing to a bright yellow tile, looking back to make sure the Hunter was watching.

Alexis Lilia Sturgis
Age 8

Dream On, My Little Dancer
~Mom, Dad, and Joey

“Is that you?” Vayden asked.
The girl gave a small smile and nodded. Vayden smiled back.
“I’m Vayden.” he told her.
Eydian glanced up at him, wide-eyed with surprise. Vayden looked back at him.
“It’s nice to meet you.” he said.
Eydian stared at him with his wide, startled eyes. But then his small, childish features broke out into a wide happy grin; the first joyous expression he had shown.
He lifted a small timid hand towards Vayden, his fearful shell slowly melting away.

From somewhere in the dark, a loud broken creaking of a door opening broke the peaceful silence, instantly chilling the air.

Vayden wheeled around, his pale green eyes searching further into the black hall. The unexplored end of the hallway seemed to suck in the very space like an endless black hole, undiscriminating and hungry. The dense silence screamed, making his ears ring.
A shot of cold fear came from the side and Vayden looked back.

A sudden change had come over both Eydian and Alexis. Their previously friendly expressions were replaced by a wide-eyed terror as they stood stiffly close together. The obvious dread and fear practically rolled off of them in overwhelming waves.
Vayden saw Eydian shrink back, his small hands curling back to his chest in a frail manner. His whole body was shaking violently.

Vayden glanced back at the dark hall, prying and searching with his senses.
Dammit, I’d let my guard down. he cursed himself internally. I didn’t even sense this thing…

With one last glance at the two ghost children, he turned his flashlight to the other end of the hall, in the direction the noise had sounded. The stream of light seemed to absorb harmlessly into black, swallowed up like everything else into the black hole. It did nothing to reveal whatever was hiding in its dark depth…

Splashing…sound of water sloshing against a hard surface broke out from the dark.
A panicked shriek shot out from nowhere, followed by strangled sobs.

Vayden bristled at the dreadful sound, but it was recognition of the sound that chilled him to the bone.

The voice that cried out in terror was one of a young child.

The Hunter couldn’t move as more struggling splashes ripped through the shocked silence.
“No!” the voice cried.
Abruptly, the pleading cries were cut off, followed by strange, choking and gurgling. The splashing became more violent.

A sick clench took hold of Vayden’s heart.

It was a boy, a young one, probably about the same age as Eydian.
And something was trying to drown him.

More splashing and a tight cough... And there were more struggling and crying.

Vayden drew his gun out of his holster and at fire-ready in a split second. Flashlight set to lead the way, Vayden started to move forward.

A small but firm tug on his pant leg brought him to a stop. Vayden looked down to see Alexis, gripping onto the fabric of his pants, silently pleading for him not to go. Eydian looked up at him from behind her with the same eyes. Both of them held extreme fear, as if they knew what lay ahead.

“I need to go,” Vayden said urgently. “Someone needs help!”
Alexis shook her head frantically and gripped his pant leg tighter.
“I can’t leave him.” Vayden urged, pleading in his own way. “Go on and keep yourselves in a safe place.”

Alexis stared at him, shaking her head. There was another shriek, and she jolted, releasing the hold she had on Vayden. She backed away, her fearful gaze burning into him. But then she twisted around and took hold of Eydian’s arm before disappearing back into the dark.

Vayden turned back to the hall, his head clouded with conflicting thoughts. He was out of his element; he was at a disadvantage if he had to fight. And from this strange feeling that was sinking down into his chest, this thing…whatever it was…it was nothing like what he had faced before.

But still…

Vayden slipped deeper into the hall, leaving the guardian angel mural behind him. More named tiles came into the light as he swiftly made his way down deeper in. The splashing struggles still sounded, and grew louder as he went.

Sitting back and doing nothing was not something he was capable of doing.

Vayden scoffed with disgust, erratic emotions bubbling fiercely in his chest. The hall ended, bringing him to another hall that stretched both left and right.
Vayden turned his flashlight to the left first, keeping his gun pointed and ready. And then a wide shift to the right.

There was nothing.

Not relaxing one bit, he stepped into the corridor, taking care not to make a sound.
The moment he was out into the open, the splashing and crying stopped abruptly.
Vayden halted, listening hard to try and pick up any form of movement in the pitch black. Seconds turned to minutes, and minutes seemed to turn into hours…
When nothing came out to attack him, Vayden took another look around his surroundings.

There were many doors in this hall, each with a room number with a tag holder and the left side of the door frames.
The patients’ rooms, Vayden thought, turning his flashlight down the hall to the left.

The walls here, too, were colorful; decorated with stars, hearts and stick figures, all drawn by a skill of a young child---messy yet cheerful. Rainbows missing a few streaks of color arched in between rooms and fluffy clouds and a smiling sun added bright flashes of color that felt eerie and out of place from its dark, gloomy setting.
And to think these artworks had once brought a smile to a sick child’s face…

Then, Vayden noticed a splash of dark color that didn’t belong---streaks of smeared, dirtied color soiled the tiled floor, catching the corner of the beam of his flashlight. The Hunter took a step back to get a wider view of the smear, when suddenly, his foot slipped on something slick beneath his footing.
Instincts took over quickly, and he regained balance with ease. Startled, he turned his sharp gaze to his right foot.

A dark and sticky substance was smeared in messy streaks across the large tiles, coloring the otherwise flawless floor with dark red. It extended deep down into the unseen depth of the lightless hall, the trail disappearing smoothly into the hungry mouth of the black hole.

For some reason, a cold chill ran through Vayden’s body.
Feeling a strange draw, he stored his weapon back and followed the streaks with his flashlight.

The substance smeared on the floor was uneven and inconsistently ragged, as if something thrashing was used to mop one sloppy streak of the mess. There were splatters and sprayed drops littered in a wide range that nearly touched one wall.
Vayden followed the trail, leading him to the right. His steps echoed in the dark, the sound bouncing off the walls in a hollow ring.

Vayden stopped, and took another look around. The patients’ hall came to an end and brought him to another corridor perpendicular to the one he was standing in. The corners of the hall opened wider, and the walls had no murals or paint work. No doors or windows broke the empty space of the walls, making the scene now much colder and lifeless.
Vayden turned his flashlight back to the ground, studying the streaks more closely. The messy trail veered off towards the right, roughly rounding as it trimmed close to the corner.
A smear on the right corner wall glinted in the beam of Vayden’s flashlight. Vayden stopped, and the feeling of unease settled deeper into his gut. He stepped over the streak on the floor and kneeled down to the take a closer look.
What he saw made his blood run cold.

Smeared, disfigured, but definite and recognizable, was a trace of a small handprint, painted there in dark red. And the way the fingers thinned and stretched wildly before blending smears into the palm made it seem like someone tried to catch themselves as they were being dragged away---

…That means---

Vayden shot up from the ground and quickly followed the trail down the wide empty halls. The trail continued on straight, not faltering once.
Then suddenly, the dark red streaks came to an end, and Vayden stopped, horror stealing his voice.

The streak trail had continued on, but was cut off as it entered a wide, closed elevator shaft.
He had come face-to-face with an elevator door, the metal polished into a reflective surface.
Only he couldn’t see his reflection.
No, it was impossible, not when the whole surface was covered with many layered handprint smears with the same, sticky dark red substance. There was not an inch spared, and the mess painted a vivid picture of the gory event that had occurred here.

And now, he was pretty sure what this substance was.

…thud.

Vayden twisted around, his flashlight trained to the left.
Something’s nearby…something…
A low, scraping sound of something dragging slowly across the floor ripped through the silence. Wet splattering sounds, and a raspy hollow sound of air that Vayden couldn’t name followed.

“Who’s there?” Vayden called out.

No response came. Silence roared with renewed dark energy, pressing against him with heavy pressure.
The young Hunter tensed as he tried to pry around with his eyes and ears, not liking the gut feeling that bloomed inside him. Slowly, he reached for the holster for the pistol secured at his hip.

…plop….plop…plop…

Vayden bristled and shifted around at the sound of liquid dripping, completely turning his back to the bloodied elevator door.
More sounds, staggering slow footsteps echoed from the dark, all of them drawing closer and louder.
“Who’s there?” Vayden demanded again, forcibly directing his flashlight down the dark hall he had just passed through.
Was I followed? he thought, bewildered and completely chilled. How? I would’ve felt something!
The dripping and dragging grew louder still.

…Why am I hearing all this now?!

And suddenly, a dull, piercing ringing struck Vayden, completely stunning him and numbing his senses. He froze, his mind and body feeling thrown out of sync.
Then, an unfamiliar sensation shot through him, something he had almost forgotten, and something he did not want to feel now.
Icy feeling, tightened chest, shortness of breath…uncontrollable shakes, feeling of loss…
…panic.

"Look, over there..."
"That's the boy..."

Vayden grabbed his pistol out and aimed it blindly down the hall as haunting voices of his old nightmares resonated through the space.
“No…” he breathed, his voice barely audible.

"His mother was a witch and his father was taken by a demon..."

“What do you want?”

"A cursed child---"

“Come out and show yourself!”

"Tainted soul---"
"Yes, the cursed-born..."

Vayden staggered back, unable to breathe.
Why… his mind questioned. Why do I know this feeling…

Suddenly, the hushed voices became one in a synchronized chorus.
"Impure...impure, impure, impure..."

“Stop…stop it.”

The whispers grew louder and louder still, and as sudden as it came, it stopped.
"Stay away..." they whispered...

“SHUT UP!” Vayden bellowed.

Ding…

Vayden froze again, not moving when the sound of the elevator snapped him out of his mind’s torture. The sound of the elevator door sliding open followed, as if beckoning him to turn and look.
The voices had stopped, and silence was regained again.

Vayden breathed, a strange calm settling over him. His arms lowered from its pointed guard and lightly shook his head.
Then, slowly yet steadily, he turned back around.

The elevator door was open, but the shaft stood empty and dark. Vayden frowned, the unease quickly crawling back. Smoothly, he brought the flashlight and pistol back up.
Something about the dark empty space bothered him more than it should, as if every cell in his body was negating what he was about to do.
The black space of the elevator shaft was practically leaking with lethal energy, crawling and writhing. It seemed to completely swallow the beam of light from Vayden’s flashlight.
This was not right…it was not normal.
His heart thudded hard in his chest, clenching apprehensively. His intuition and gut feeling buzzed dreadfully.

It can’t be trusted, he thought. Nerves, my nerves…I can’t trust myself right now.
Slowly and carefully, Vayden ignored his own intuition and took a step forward.

His breath was still ragged and shaky as he inched closer to the open elevator shaft. Keeping his pistol trained to the dark space, he peered in to the shaft.
The shaft was bigger, deeper and wider than a regular elevator.
This must be an emergency transport elevator. he noted silently to himself.
Vayden approached the very edge of the entrance of the elevator, cautiously looking in the long shaft. Then he looked down, and then up.
His flashlight did nothing to break through the thick darkness.

Confusion and bewilderment came over his mind, trying to process what was going on.
Sounds, voices, thick shadows…this was just too weird. And an elevator that hasn’t operated in ages opens now to reveal an eerie black elevator shaft.
Somehow, this was too…peculiar.

“Hello?” Vayden called into the shaft experimentally.
His voice bounced sharply against the unseen walls, but no responses came back to him.
After another pause, he stepped away from the open space, stored his pistol back into its holster and turned back to the hall.
What happened with the boy that was screaming? What were these smeared streaks on the floor? Where did the voices come from? What the hell happened here?

Unanswered questions jumbled in his mind as he thought back to all the unexplained things he had come across in the past hour. What was going on in this place?
All he came here for was a Hunt they needed to take care of, and now he couldn’t even find his target. In fact, the last half hour, he had completely forgotten about it.
Dammit, Vayden. he scolded himself. Keep it together; stay sharp!

A sharp creaking sound echoed hollowly from somewhere deep behind him, calling out to him in a haunting voice.
Vayden glanced up, suddenly alert again.
“…Hello?” he called out, hesitating for a moment. “Alexis? Eydian?”
Nothing moved and yet again, nothing answered.

Vayden sighed out loud, shaking his head. Wearily, he ran a hand through his hair.
Geez, calm your nerves. he told himself. This is not the time to be dealing with something like nerves. Stop being so paranoid.
Sighing once again, he pulled out his walkie-talkie and pressed the speaker button.
“Arlanya, hey, can you hear me?” he muttered into the communication device. “I’m in the Pediatrics ward, and I don’t see---”

A shot of icy feeling stabbed and pulled at the skin of his back, catching him off-guard. Vayden wheeled around, instinct taking over thinking.
Whatever it was, he didn’t see it coming.

Vayden felt something solid and strong shove into his left side, crashing into his ribs. He heard a number of sickening cracking as he was thrown back into the air like a rag doll. He gasped, his lungs crushed underneath his ribcage at the blunt force that completely over took him, his mind blank in shock.

…!!!

His back collided into the floor first, the landing not at all taking kindly to his already crushed lungs. The flashlight was long gone out of his grasp, and he was faintly aware that he had lost his grip on his walkie-talkie. His body was sliding across the tiles and his arms snapped out, trying to slow the momentum down. Something slick and sticky soaked into his right side as he came to a stop.
“Vayden? Vayden, are you okay? Hey, answer me!” Arlanya’s voice rang out from his walkie-talkie, alarm clear in her voice. ”Vayden!”
Vayden blindly searched the floor around him, his hands searching in the dark for the communication device. A small red light beckoned at him like a beacon through the black, pinpointing its location.
He pushed himself onto his hand and knees and reached for it with his right hand, straining against the pain that bloomed out in his left side---when something wrapped itself tightly around his right ankle, and tugged.
Vayden felt himself get shoved forward again, and his right cheekbone hit the cold ground solidly. More pain shot through his body.

Reactively, the Hunter twisted to his right side and took hold of his pistol. He yanked it out of its holster and started to point it down the hall.
A sound of air whistling shot through the silence and Vayden found himself flying again, his only weapon knocked out of his hands. He landed on his side, his neck snapping back on impact and the back of his head clashed against the wall.

Pain…there was nothing but pain.

Vayden was only starting to recover from the last assault when from somewhere in the dark, something shrieked maniacally. He started to turn, when a gust of energy shoved itself right at his face.
Vayden cried out, sharp, needle-like pain ripping through his eyes.
Blind! I’m blind!
He rolled to the side and scrambled back to his feet, stumbling against the wall was he tried to get away.
Which way’s which? What is this thing?! his thoughts screamed.
He felt his foot slip on something and he fell, his hands just barely breaking his fall.

He knew he was in trouble. He knew this thing was right behind him.
And he knew he didn’t stand a chance.

The monster shrieked out again from somewhere behind him, and Vayden curled himself into a defensive ball, anticipating the pain…

A sharp explosive bang of a gunshot broke through the darkness, and the monster let out its hollow shriek again.
…Arlanya?
Vayden looked up at the sound, searching blindly in the dark.
And then: flames.
Flames; dark, eerie gray flames instantly lit up the place all around him roaring fiercely and angrily against the black space. Vayden could only make out indistinct blurs and shadows, but he was sure of it; these flames were gray.
Rapid footfalls echoed out from somewhere, coming closer and closer to where he was laying.

“Vardavit!” a light, angelic voice spat.

Vayden tried to sit up, but found that the pain had completely robbed him of the ability to move. His eyes searched what was before him, but all he could see was blurs.
A seemingly lean, dark figure came into Vayden’s broken view, swiftly coming closer. And then, a flash of bright, luminous, platinum blond color overwhelmed him.

“Vardavit! I told you I didn’t want to see you again.” the voice continued to growl.

Vayden couldn’t answer, the pain rocking him all the way to the core.
He felt thin, yet unnaturally strong arms wrap around his upper body, and instantly, the pain decreased immensely. He gasped, coughing as he was able to take in a real gulp of air.
Who…who is it?
He felt himself get dragged swiftly along the floor, the movement too smooth and feeling way too light. Then he felt himself get slowly lowered back to the ground.

Vayden couldn’t even start to think as he heard clicking and snapping, and something working furiously at the front of his jacket. And then sudden alarm shot through his mind when cool air hit the bare skin of his chest.

“Ease! Fall at ease; the thing won’t get you, well, that is only for now.” the angelic voice said icily. “After I’m done with you, you best get yourself out of here; I’ll get your partner.”

A girl? But who? And why was she here? And what was she doing?

A cool pressure touched his sternum then, and instantly, he felt his chest expand, the broken ribs getting pulled back into place, the bruises melting away.
Vayden gasped, and turned his head to right above him.
The glowing blond hair…the girl from the mural…

“Guardian Angel,” he breathed.

The last thing he saw was a pair of wide, striking gray eyes staring back at him when he slipped into unconsciousness.