Silence Falls

Biting her lower lip in deep thought, Alexis trailed close behind Bert throughout the ventilation ducts system of the underground Mental Facility they were all imprisoned in while mentally digging in her mind for a better comeback against Otep’s morbid outlook on life. She was interrupted when Bert suddenly stopped and reached back to supply her with their only flashlight which she took with a trembling hand.

“Here honey, pass that to Otep so she can hold it up for you to see where we’re going next.” Bert told her in a soft consoling voice before he turned around and began descending himself down a ladder she wouldn’t have ever been able to see in the dark on her own.

Alexis passed the light along behind her without a glance of acknowledgement to Otep while this time also making sure that their skin didn't touch like before. The spark that burst the moment their skin contacted with each other still left her feeling uneasy.

Otep said nothing as she took the illuminated beacon from her while too being cautious that their skin never met and lifted it so the beam fell over the dark hole that led down into another sea of dark abyss.

“Alexis, come on down now. We need to keep it moving, you guys. No dawdling.” Bert divulged lowly from down below where he sat waiting for the others to follow.

Alexis felt for the ladder with shaking hands and upon finding it, got into position before peeking back up at the others with brown eyes filled with turmoil. Unfortunately, all she could see was Otep holding the blinding light downwards, so Bert could be seen at the end. How did he get down there so fast in the pitch darkness, she wondered to herself impressively.

“What are you waiting for, girl? Go!” Otep urged in a low but aggressive tone.

“Okay, okay!” Immediately intimidated, Alexis scrambled down the ladder as fast as she could while occasionally peeking down to see Bert observing her steadily in case she might unexpectedly loose her footing and slip and plunge down on him. As she neared the bottom, she felt a pair of solid hands grip onto her hips to help ascend her off the ladder and safely down onto flat surface again.

“Perfect! That was great, Alexis, you did a good job.” Bert praised her to help rein back her rising anxiety over this perilous journey they were on before glacing upwards. “It's clear, Otep.”

With that everyone individually came on down, Bam and Cris holding up the rear while Otep spotlighted their descent with the flashlight. With the way those two roommates were holding themselves mentally and emotionally in check one would begin to think that they had also done this a billion times before, Bert thought with a slight inspired smile on his face as he regarded their climbed down to join them.

Once everyone was rejoined, Bert turned his attention to the one member he was most concerned about throughout all the rest, Alexis. “Alright, through this duct we’re now in is the shower's drainage that meets up with the sewerage tunnel, but don't freak out all that because we're not going anywhere near the sewers tonight.” Bert quickly assured the shaken Alexis before leading his team out of that channel and out onto a small drop that transcended down onto a small concrete pathway that surpass down to the end of the huge shower tunnel and then to another vent that exceeded directly to Solitary Confinement.

“Wait, let me go over the plan first before any of you climb up in there so we can get everyone’s memory refreshed and our newcomer up to speed.” Bert began as he stepped in front of the vent duct to prevent any of them from entering. “If tonight turned out to be the same situation as the night before then everyone will need to wait until the coast is clear to leave the vent when the time comes. What we’ll be dealing with is a security guard sleeping on the job again which isn't going to be a big problem for us at all just so long as we don’t wake him up. The only thing we'll have to worry about though is the security cameras, specifically the cameras in front of the security room our sleeping beauty will be secured in. Before any of you started reacting to them, let me see if I can take them out alone first, and if I can't then we're going to have to play a little game of ‘Red Light, Green Light’ if you get my drift.”

Cris frowned as he worked on configuring Bert’s plan out to make sure they were on the same page. “So pretty much avoid the cameras at any cost like we did last night when we play this game of yours, am I right?”

Bert nodded in confirmation. “That’s exactly right, my man!” His eyes drifted over each member’s slightly dimmed faces in the glow of their flashlight, lingering only on his second in command who was the only one in their group familiar with this song and dance already. “Otep, I’m trusting you to take care of yourself on your own 100% if shit hits the fan, but for the rest of you I'm going to need all of you to watch each other’s back, and most importantly, Alexis’s. She's is our little newcomer here after all.”

After receiving everyone’s nod of understand, Bert flashed them all a brief smile before climbing through the vent that lead to Solitary Confinement. The vent was as silent and somber as ever except for the deafening hammer of their hearts that seemed to resonate throughout the walls of the duct.

Bert slowed down as he came to the vent that lead to their second destination. Swallowing back his own unease, he peered through the grate just in time to spot a scrawny slouched figure straggle on by, dragging it's big boney white feet with every step. The others behind him witnessed Bert flinch back a little as if in terror and instantly knew something was wrong. Immediately they all began to internally panic as they broke out into a cold sweat, except for Otep who looked like she was planning to stand her ground no matter who or what caused their leader to become anxious.

What Bert had just spied was enough to extremely worried him because of the type of patrollers they had patrolling the floor of Solitary Confinement tonight, the Creepers. No one knew how these things became the way they are or where they had even came from for there was nothing like them in the Medical Facility, but one thing was known for damn certain; you come across them you're as good as dead. Bert had seen it unfold several times before in the past hidden deep in the shadows. If those things get their claws on you, they would instantly kill you in whatever means necessary and in the most painful and hasten fashion. Compared to the usual muscle heads they were the inferior of them all to get captured by. The Creepers were surprisingly nimble and a challenge to bypass or dislodge once they grab ahold of you. Visibly, they were humans, but they didn’t portray themselves as one. They usually wear tight black leather suits, like a scuba diver, except it looks more like they were produced by various black leather strips. Their feet were dried pasty white with long talon-like toe nails clacking along the floor while their hands were long bony white with long sharp chipped nails that could gouge your eyes out quite skillfully. Their entire head was encased in white hospital bandages except for one eye that looked so prominently that it might just pop right out. The sounds they made could only be describe as either hissing or clicking sounds, sometimes expelled from deep in their throats. The noises were enough to make Bert shudder as the Creeper made its way towards the elevator halfway down the hall to swipe its own special keycard.

Bert mistakenly exhaled vehemently with reprieve but slapped a hand over his mouth at the minute when the Creeper abruptly snapped its head in the direction of the vent to stare precisely through the grates and into his blue eyes. In a heartbeat, Bert stopped breathing and inchingly began to move back into the darkness of the duct in case the Creeper was contemplating on coming over and having a peek inside the vent. Everyone followed his lead without question except for Otep who reached past Alexis’s shrinking body to place a strong hand on Bert's shoulder. He glanced back at her dubiously as she gave him a reassuring nod and a heartening smile to not give up and to keep going even though she couldn’t see what had frightened him so. That smile somehow made him smile despite the terror shaking his bones and gave him the strength he hadn’t realize til then that he had been losing.

Nodding back at her in response, Bert glimpses between the grates of the vent in time to see the elevator door sliding closed. The Creeper was now gone from sight. Deciding not to waste any time left in case the creature was planning on returning soon, Bert slid forward to pop the vent loose so he could steal a peek to his right to inspect the security box where the guard sat sleeping on the job again, and then analyze the security cameras movements.

“The guard is asleep, so it looks like this might be an easy one after all. If I can just get his keys without waking him, then our night will be smooth sailing from here on out. Wait for me to tell you what to do next, ok?” Bert listened out for their whispers of agreement before vaulting out of the ventilation ducts in a full-blown sprint towards the security booth as the cameras turned in the opposite direction of him. As the cameras both clicked to a halt, a sure sign of their unwelcoming return, Bert lowered to his knees to slide across the floor to the small security box and then turned mid slide, so his back met the wall of the security door with the lightest of thuds. He held his breath as he cautiously looked up to see the cameras had missed him again.

“Sweet.” Was all Bert said as he stood back up on his feet and encounters the keys he needed to obtain sitting near the opening slot for the delivering of documents and such. Easing down into the metal concave slot easily, Bert efficiently grabbed the keys and unlocked the security door to turn the key console that worked the cameras. Instantly, the cameras shut off. Bert lastly grabbed the clipboard and left.

“Come out you guys, it's safe now. The cameras are off and the guard is knocked out.” Bert assured the others and watched as they all came out of hiding from within the confines of the duct. Alexis had her arms wrapped around herself as if she was freezing to death, her head whipping around from one end of the hall to the other in paranoia of danger. Otep looked just fine and dandy, or as fine and dandy as she could be. Cris and Bam seemed only a bit nervous but were in other words okay.

Cris's blue eyes suddenly enlarged before he took off for the room 574 where Connor had last resided. “Connor!”

The others intended to follow before Bert abruptly stepped in front of them. “Hey, um, I actually need you guys to do me a favor. It’s more important right now. If you guys truly intend to save that boy downstairs and take him with us when we finally make our Great escape, then we can't have him chained up when that time comes. We need to do release him of his restraint now before it slows up down later down the road, and we need the tools to get it done. I need you guys to check the chapel for any kind of tools you can find that might help.”