***NEED WORK

A heavy sigh of relief erupted from her chest as Arlanya let out a shaky laughter.
“That sneaky douche,” she muttered to herself, shaking her head.

Then the relief made a quick transition to irritation.

What the hell was he thinking?
He knew she would worry! Couldn’t he be a little snappy on the notification that he was alive and well?
He had her worried for no reason!
‘It’s alright, Arlanya,’ he had said. ‘I know exactly where you are.’

Arlanya scowled. The more she thought about it, the more pissed she became.
What the hell; why the hell did he have to sound so smug about it? Did he enjoy scaring her?
“It’s alright, Arlanya,” she mimicked, making a face. “Yea, I’m Vayden, and I’m sassy because I know everything,”
She scoffed, and kicked at her backpack resting by her feet.
The moment that boy waltzed through those damn doors, she was going to punch him in the throat---

Something in the dark gave a sharp, high-pitched beep, followed by a low whirring buzz.
Arlanya stiffened and turned.
Odd, what could it be?
She lifted her flashlight up and scanned her surroundings one more time.
There was nothing different in the stillness of the space before her, and nothing seemed to move to change that.
But that sound had to come from somewhere.

Arlanya lowered her flashlight as she advanced a step forward.

The sound was still there, still humming away in its low subtle volume. The Hunter listened carefully, trying to pick out this sound.
Something about the sound was vaguely familiar, making her think she should be able to recognize it. It was something she would hear back home at the orphanage, something she would hear on the daily basis.
But what?

Arlanya was still digging through her thoughts when she caught something flash in the corner of her view. Her eyes flickered right, and she stared at the double doors leading to Intensive Care: Burn Unit.

Something behind those doors was moving, and a soft, bright light seeped through the blur-filmed glass.

Arlanya stared at the steady light, her mind clouding even further.
What could possibly be lighting up like that, here and now?

The light was unmistakably there, standing out in a place that lacked any other source of light. Even in its soft glow it glared at her through the blurred glass, silently demanding her attention.
Come on in…Follow me.

Arlanya stepped back, not taking her eyes off of the doors. This repetitive pattern of seeing blurred shadows behind screens and doors was quickly growing old.
If something was there, she should go and check it out.

She knelt down to the ground where her bag was. Opening it, she quickly pulled out the extra clip of bullets Vayden had passed onto her before they had split.
With all the weird things happening around this place, she wasn’t about to let her guard down.

Arlanya slid the extra load into her back pocket before straightening to a stand. She pushed her backpack against the wall with the side of her foot, tucking it away in the corner.
It was better to go in lighter without any extra weight to burden her; just in case she had to do some chasing.
Besides, it was probably nothing. She should be back soon enough.

With that, Arlanya pulled out her gun and held it ready in her right hand.
Time to move.

She inhaled deeply and brought the gun up pointing in front of her, her flashlight in her left hand to lead the way. In slow careful steps she approached the double doors.

The light was still on, not blinking once.

Arlanya leaned in closer, trying to see through the glass and listen for movement on the other side.
Nothing seemed to move, and all that could be heard was that low buzzing.
Arlanya forced her nagging thoughts to the back of her mind before pushing her shoulder into the door to open it just a crack.

The door gave way with a loud creak, piercing the thick silence in protest. Arlanya stood still, waiting to see if anything was disturbed by her entrance.
When nothing stirred or let their presence be known, she pushed the flashlight and gun point through the crack of the door before shoving the door open the rest of the way.

The Intensive Care: Burn Unit was dark, silent and empty like the rest of the hospital. But it was the place, and the purpose it had served that sent chills through her skin.
The sooner I got out of this place, the better, Arlanya thought as she swept her flashlight across the walls and the tile floor.

The space she found herself in was completely clear of debris and it was still fully furnished with the standard hospital setting. The waiting lounge still had its cushioned seats and coffee table, and a few detailed paintings added splashes of calm colors onto the otherwise plain white walls. And on any surface she looked, there was no film of grime or dust she had seen in the first few floors of the hospital.

Speaking of which, what floor am I on? Arlanya wondered, as she continued to look around.

Everything in this place was abnormally orderly and all too in-place.
It was as if it was after hour’s shutdown in a workplace where all the employees had left to go home for the night, ready to start a new day with just a flick of a light switch.
Arlanya scowled and scoffed at the last thought.
Stupid, she thought. Hospitals don’t shutdown or have after hours.

As she continued her scanning, she took note that the space was wider than she had originally suspected--- and that the Unit was arranged differently than any other part of the hospital; there were three sections that were each cleanly separated by double doors. To her right was an entrance under the words that read “Treatment/Rehab” and just ahead of her was the set of double doors labeled “Patient Care”. And finally to her left was yet another set of doors, except unlike the last two sections, this one left without a label to suggest where it leads to.

Hmm, what lies beyond those doors?

Arlanya was just turning her flashlight to her right when a realization stopped her short.

Where had the light from before gone?

The Hunter stood quietly, forcing her body still. When nothing in the dark caught her attention, she lowered her gun and flicked her flashlight off.
Just like that, the black swallowed her whole once again, and the silence sank heavily and deep all the way down to her bone. Nothing let out a sound, but the renewed strength of the dark seemed to stir excitement in the thick tension.

Arlanya shuddered soundlessly as her eyes flickered blindly around her. She stood patiently still, waiting to regain at least a little bit of visibility as she adjusted to the lack of light.

All it took was one flick of the switch, and suddenly she was all too aware that she was completely vulnerable. She was way beyond out of her environment, and much too deep into theirs.
This would be a perfect chance for something to just sneak up and make her the prey---

---Bzzzzz!

Arlanya nearly jumped out of her skin as a blunt buzzing grated through the dark, drilling at her from her left. The gun was back up at point and the flashlight was on once again as instincts whipped her to the left to face the invisible threat.
The bright beam of light caught the unlabeled double doors, and nothing out of the ordinary. It took her another half second to notice that there was a small keypad sort of thing on the right side of the doors.
A small red light was blinking at a steady pace on the pad. It gave three definite blinks before it switched off, and another light, this time green flashed on.

What the---

Another loud buzzing sounded, and with a sharp, snappish manner, the double doors were open.

* * *

“Christ,” Vayden gasped, as he came to yet another intersection of halls.

It had only been about ten minutes since he made his way out of the pediatric unit and already multiple issues started to present themselves.
First one came almost immediately after he started his way out. Without his walkie-talkie, his only form of communication with his partner was lost. There was no way of knowing where she could be by now. He almost regretted not going back for the device in the hall.

But then again---

Vayden swore under his breath, frustration and loss filling him. Not giving much thought or care into the decision, he took a sharp turn to the right.

The second of the many challenges he was facing was rather a rare occurrence for him, and it was rather an irritating one at that.
Even under this urgent situation he suddenly found himself in, he couldn’t seem to focus on the task at hand. Somehow, his mind kept drifting back to the last moments of his attack; the blurry, cloudy memories of odd things, and the sharp distinct recollection of the pain, agony and fear he had felt. Shock, horror, and panic---these things were now clear as day in the images of his previous encounter with the mystery entity. Yet these odd things…

For example, he could’ve sworn someone was talking to---no, reprimanding him, as they were dragging him effortlessly from what he had assumed was of harms way. There were also these flashes of this bright, vibrant glow of the palest yellow or blond that shot out from the dark. And these grey flames---grey! In what situation were flames ever grey?
Grey…grey---

And then, there was the last oddity; this one somehow more captivating than others…

“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…

Vayden thought hard, his mind reeling in thoughts.
There were those eyes; this he was sure of. Eyes meant face, and talking meant a person.
But all he could recall of their features was their striking grey orbs staring straight into his.

A dull aching pain rang in his ribs, snapping his mind back to reality. He felt the muscles in his legs shake weakly as he allowed himself to lean against the wall to rest.
And so brings him to his third pressing issue: the damage.
Although the physical damages of his violent attack seemed long gone the the looking eyes, as time passed as he hurried through the halls, it was more and more evident that he was dealt with heavy damages. The more he moved, the more constant the pain became. Straining and fighting to keep up in his fast pace was also doing nothing but aggravating his unseen wound.

Vayden hissed, frustration rendering him speechless.

Factors such as slight disorientation, nagging negative thoughts and his dragging slow pace also seemed to shadow him like the plague, but he knew the main culprits were the first three. On top of all that there was that he had discovered that his flashlight had broken sometime during the whole chaos, which made a pretty decent icing on the cake.

“After I’m done with you, you best get yourself out of here…”

Not without Arlanya I’m not. Vayden thought defiantly. Sorry, Guardian Angel; no can do.

Guardian Angel…

Vayden stopped in his thoughts.
‘Guardian Angel’…could it possibly be that they exist?
From the beginning of the night, peculiar things have revealed themselves one after another---the crashing file cabinet, a delicately shaped hand print in the dust, and now the angry grey-eyed heroine that had saved him.
He was determined to solve the mystery of that ‘angelic’ hand print’, could it be that the answer came to him instead?

The young Hunter breathed out heavily before pushing off of the wall.
First things first: Find Arlanya.
Yes, getting to Arlanya was the most important task at hand. Mysteries and thoughts could occupy more of his time later.

Vayden wiped the cold sweat from his brow, his resolve reestablished. He adjusted the straps of his backpack over his shoulders and forced his heavy legs to take the steps forward.

Left, right, left, right.

He forced all of his focus in that steady motion of his feet and he refused to let his mind wander back to the pain that was just starting to pulsate in his ribs.

Left. Right. Left. Right…left, right…left, right.

Vayden could already feel his lungs struggling to expand, and the pace of his feet starting to become sluggish. He clenched his jaw as he fought against his own body.
Damn, he thought darkly. The interval between the growing pain is growing shorter.

It was true--- his endurance was suffering the more he pushed himself.
It was only a matter of time before his legs---no, his whole body gives out on him.
No, stop. he firmly thought, commanding himself. No more thoughts.

Left. Right. Left. Right. Left…. Right…Left---

Vayden’s feet dragged to a stop, when he reached the end of the hall. What he saw made his heart sink heavily down to his stomach.

A small wave of despair washed over him when he found himself at yet another crossing of halls.

At the end of the hall directly across from him, eerie moonlight leaked in through the row of grime-filled windows, lighting up the space like a spotlight. He had seen these windows before, except the last time it was down the hall that was to his left.

He had passed through this intersection before.

Vayden hissed out again, fighting the impulse to curse out loud profanities down the vacant halls. Forcing his aching lungs to expand with a huge intake of air, he urged himself to move forward again. His legs ached and his ribs cracked in protest, but he ignored it, partly in self-punishment.
What the hell was I thinking, going straight and then right three times in a row? he scolded himself. Where am I trying to go, huh?

---Well, that was it. He didn’t know where he was going.

Vayden groaned as he finally reached the end of the hall and stepped into the moonlight. His feet caught and he pitched forward, getting thrown into the windows.
His hands shot forward to stop his body, but the muscles in his arms did not react. He just turned his head to the left in time as he felt his right side smash into the glass.

There was a loud thud as his forehead cracked against a window frame, but the glass didn’t break in the impact.

Pain and disorientation flooded him yet again as he slowly righted himself, pushing against the filthy glass to get his weight back over his feet. The skin above his right eyebrow throbbed and pulsed, leaving him no doubt that he was bleeding.
His breathing was shallow as the Hunter took a moment to recover.

He stared, glaring at the partial reflection that glared back at him through the dust as he tried to clear his mind.

What was he doing? This was not like him. Hurt or no, he could be, should be doing better…better than being confused out of his mind, sloppy and stumbling over his own two feet.
What am I doing?

As he continued to stare, he suddenly noticed that the view outside the window was a bit strange…too still.
Another thought came to mind and Vayden frowned, confusion starting to cloud his mind. He pressed closer to the glass, peering out and down through the window.

The first thing he saw was the ground far below his floor, the space filled with many different plant life, most of them brown and withered away.
When the hell did I get up so high? he thought, bemused as he eyed the thin foot trail through what he now assumed was a big garden of some sort.
The last time he had checked the map, he was far into the center of the hospital, nowhere near where windows should be. And with his sluggish pace, there was no way he was already at the outer primeter of the structure.
So where was he?

His eyes flickered up ahead and in the center of this garden he saw that there was another structure; a column-like tower that reached all the way to the glass, greenhouse ceiling.
He was just starting to feel more lost than ever when yet another delayed thought came over him.
I have the map.

If his head wasn’t already ringing painfully, he would have given himself a hard smack in the head. Scowling and grimacing from the oncoming headache, he shrugged off his backpack. Unzipped it open and pulled out the neatly folded paper.

Vayden lifted the map up into the moonlight, his eyes immediately zoning in on the center of the sheet.
Sure enough, in the center of the hospital was a ring, labeled Healing Garden. It surrounded a smaller circular structure which he now saw as the tower. Yet the tower ws not labeled on the map.
He looked up at the window and squinted through the grime at the lone tower just up ahead.

…What could it possibly be?

Something bright suddenly moved in the corner of view, catching his attention in a flash.
His eyes flickered slightly to his left, and he saw a connector bridge over the garden, linking the main hospital structure to the tower.
Vayden swiped the layer of dust off of the window with a single sweep of his hand to get a clearer look.

He was sure something had shot through that area and being this high up the onle place it could’ve been from was the connector. There was no doubt in his mind; whatever he had seen was fast and bright…in fact, he recognized that glowing platinum color blond---

…Guardian Angel?

But what was she doing---

“ After I’m done with you, you best get yourself out of here; I’ll get your partner…”

Vayden hastely and roughly folded the map and shoved it back into his back pack, along with his broken flashlight. He swung the pack over his shoulder and started to run, the pain long-forgotten.

I have to follow it.

He didn’t know what he was doing, or what plan he was going by.
Who knows, maybe he really had gone insane.
But he was now on a fast chase, as if something was compelling him to move.

He was going after his guardian angel.

Vayden ran, following the window was a guide, keeping his eyes on the connector. Adrenaline rushed through his fatigued limbs, burning away the pain and heavy aches from the muscles. As soon as he got closer, he saw that the entrance to the connector was located somewhere on the floor above him.
He turned, and took off to the left in the direction away from the Healing Garden. At the first turn he came to, he turned to the right hall, not slowing down his pace. Just a bit further down, he saw a door with an emergency staircase sign.
He did not stop as he threw himself at the heavy door.

The door groaned and shrieked loudly, the sound resonating into the dark stairwell. There was just barely enough light for him to move up the steps without killing himself.

Vayden’s mind was reeling as he shot up the two small flights of steps.
Somehow, he had this strange feeling…something beyond his darkest imagination was waiting for him in the tower.