Silence Falls

“O-Okay.” Cris whispered to Bert while a skittish Bam simply nodded in response because he was honestly too scared shitless about what they were doing to form a straight sentence.

With that Bert quickly popped the vent out that he was about to leave through so he could act out his plan on entering the cafeteria and distracting the current muscle heads walking about on guard duty. With silent finesse, he eased out of air duct and dropped onto the cold linoleum floor in a crouch position, held that position for a few seconds before then turning around to prop the vent back into his exit. Around him, there were probably 5-6 guards about that were easy to spot with their flashlights beaming and their loud boots echoing off the cafeteria walls due to their heavy muscular build. Keeping close the long cafeteria tables, Bert slipped under one when a guard started patrolling down his aisle. Waiting a minute for him to pass into the next, Bert reemerged only to continue on until he reached another lunch table. He quickly snuck under that one, and repeated the process until he reached the end of the very last lunch table that reached the elevators that the staff were only able to access.

Eyeing the elevator with a glare, Bert reached into his pants pocket where the keycard that he stole off the last idiot that threw him down in solitary confinement. Luckily, he was too much of an idiot to remember to search him for his keycard and decided to issue him a new one instead, leaving Bam with unlimited access. Bert also had a key ring that was almost full of the staff member’s lost keys that he had collected over time kept hidden in his room. He had decided earlier that night not to take it with him this time because of the noises it made, plus it only heightened his growing paranoia anyway. Worst case scenario, if he ever lost the keycard he’d be resorted to carrying around the sets of keys with him every time he went exploring. Access is access all the same. He’d just have to be extra careful not to let them clink together too loudly.

Licking his lips eagerly, Bert impatiently watched a guard pass the very table he resided under. Taking that as his cue, he quickly slipped out from under the table, silently scrambled the short distance from the table to the elevator, and expertly slipped the keycard through the card slide, making the small red light turn green, and the elevator open with a loud ding that echoed throughout the cafeteria. Bert was already under the table when the guards began to stampede towards the elevator with their tasers ready to fry the skin off of some youngster.

"What the fuck?" One guard exclaimed with a growl as he stomped towards the elevator.

"Who's there?" A second guard shouted aloud when the elevator doors opened to reveal nothing.

"Answer me!?" A third guard roared as he shoved himself through the crowd to stick his head into the door to thoroughly search for someone that he could smack around on this especially boring shift tonight.

Meanwhile in the background, Cris had removed the vent, and slipped on out. He then turned his back to the distracted guards to help Bam out of the air duct, before putting the vent properly back in much like Bert taught him to do. Grabbing Bam's wrist, the two quietly scurried as fast as they could to the shower room. Once they got there, Cris had to pull on Bam's arm so he would curled up tighter against the corner of the door beside him so they wouldn't be seen so easily. They were forced to stand there in a cold sweat waiting for Bert to show up since he was the brains of the operating and could move like the wind around these guards. Within seconds, and out of nowhere, Bert was there with a set of keys that he had just pick pocket off of one of guards on the outskirts of the crowd still surrounding the elevator doors in a long outstretched group conundrum. Like a professional, he had the shower doors unlocked before they could blink. With a sigh of relief, they all worked together to pull the door open a crack big enough for them to slip through one at a time into the cold wet dark shower room.

"Guys, where are you?" Bam whispered harshly a minute after the door had been closed behind them. He had felt the air change around him, and it scared him out his mind. He was glad no one had night vision or else they’d be able to visibly see him shaking like a little kid afraid of the monster under his bed or in his closet.

Cris, who still had his hand bunched in Bert's shirt the second they slipped through the doorway and closed it behind them, reach out for a frightened Bam and soothingly curled his hand around his wrist. “It's ok Bam. It’s just us. We’re still here.”

“No shit.” Bam hissed at him, trying to play off the fact that he had been scared for a second there and that the others might have sensed it.

Bert pressed a button on the huge flashlight he had also swiped from one of the guards and instantly illuminated the room in a soft glow. It was clear the battery had been failing for some time already. Working with what little amount of light they had, everyone followed Bert as he comfortably walked through the showers with a calm familiarity until they reached the end of one of the shower stalls that eerily was the only one that sat close unlike the others. And to make it even scarier, thick heavy chains ran across the doorway, keeping it shut with a huge high security lock on the front.

“What the fuck is this, man!?” Bam hissed again, his anxious eyes darting over the chains as a chill ran down his spine.

"Well, rumor has it that patients like coming to this specific stall to kill themselves in.” Cris whispered to Bam, before shrugging his shoulder with a hint of doubt in his eyes. “But then again, that’s what I heard from Colin.”

“Colin? Who's Colin?” Bam demanded to know, praying that whoever the guy was was just trying to scare people with his ridiculous rumor.

Cris frowned for a minute in thought before his eyes lit up. “Oh right! He was one of the new ones here before you arrived. Unfortunately, quickly lost his mind due to taking all those prescribed medication they feed us daily and them some by stealing them from the other patients. Soon after he didn't want to hang out with us ‘sane murderers’ and hung out with the severely mental ones.” He then turned his attention to Bert and arched a brow as he fought to hide the beginnings of an amused smile. “Say, isn’t he the one who tried to kill you with his feet, Bert?”

Bert had been searching through the keyring he had stolen for a specific key. He didn’t hesitate longer than a second as he sifted through them having all the shapes and grooves mesmerized long ago. He mumbled his response, not fully dedicated to listening to their conversation. “Right, that was him.”

When the other saw a smile spread across his face a moment later, they knew he had found what he was looking for. Stepping forward, Bert unlocked the heavy lock, and placed it on the floor. Together, they all worked to unravel the thick chains around the door and before placing it on the floor quietly. Bert opened the stall, and stepped back so the others could get a look inside. All Bam could see was that the white tiles of the shower were a pinkish red, and that there was a huge plastic yellow square taped below the shower head and stretched down to the floor that read ‘Do Not Enter.’ Once he felt Bam had seen enough, Bert nodded towards the yellow tape. “Alright, behind this warning is a vent that leads to the elevators shaft. It’s a long way down, but it’s nowhere near far as the third one, trust me.”

“Wait what? What fucking vent?” Bam asked him, having spaced out because he was mentally going over all the crazy things he’d done tonight. But of course, everyone ignored him.

“Another elevator shaft?” Cris questioned, his blue eyes snapping to Bert. “You explored the third elevator shaft and didn’t tell me? Where does it even go?"

Bert took a few moments before answering him. “I actually have no idea.” He sighed before stepping into the shower to rip off the yellow tape revealing the vent he had just mentioned that was oddly placed in the center of the shower wall. “Look, I know this place inside out, I won’t deny that, but I don’t know shit about what's down there. Trust me, I’ve tried. I just can’t seem to be able to figure out a way down there yet.”

“Oh…well, that’s a pity, I suppose.” Cris muttered to himself with a shrug.

“Moving on, the good thing about where we’re going is…” Bert began as he popped off the vent and placed it onto the floor. “From here on out, we don't have to be too quiet due to the main fact that this elevator is rarely used. Still I'll go first just so you guys don't fall or hurt yourself out of fear. Neither of you two have been this far before, so I’d imagine what you’re gonna see is going to petrify you guys…or maybe not.” Bert turned his eyes to Cris first and handed him the flashlight. “Anyhow, Cris, before you go in behind me would you close the stall first, okay? If those fuckers dare try to follow our tracks out of suspicion, they might not notice the chains on the stall and realize that someone's been here, but they’ll definitely notice the door. As weird as that may seem, they’ve done it before.”

“Yeah, no problem.” Cris obediently nodded before taking the flashlight from him and giving him the thumbs up sign.

“Alright Bam, follow close, but not too close or else you’ll end up falling over someone.” Bert whispered to him before he boldly climbed on into the dark open air duct.

Casting one nervous look behind him at Cris, Bam anxiously climbed into the vent only to find it just as roomy as the other vents. He scrawled along as far as he could until he met up with Bert, who was waiting for Cris. Soon after closing the shower stall door behind them, Cris followed in after them, and aimed the flashlight Bert had given him through the vent to light the way for them. Bert began to move on, and led them through the vent until they reached their first obstacle. This one being where the vent ended and dropped down into deeper darkness of the unknown.