***
Laying in a divot covered in leaves, Dagen began to stir.
'What... happened? Where… am I?
His head hurt, his eyes weighed a ton and his muscles refused to move as he was trying to fight off the effects of the tranquilizer. It didn't help that he was already exhausted before being drugged, and as sad as it was, this bed was the most comfortable spot he's been in since this nightmare began.
Trying to clear his mind and move, he began moving his fingers and toes, trying to move up from there, slowly regaining control of his limbs.
'That bastard… actually shot me… how kind of him to cover my body, asshole. He must have lost his god-damn mind, going back in there, for what!?'
Anger seemed to help him restore motor functions as he began wobbly climbing out from under the leaves and out of the divot. Sitting on the ground he Looked himself over and stretched.
'At least he didn't disarm me. How long was I out?'
Slowly standing, Dagen looked around and at the sky. It wasn't drastically darker than when he was knocked out.
'I guess these tranqs work fast but don't last very long.'
He looked at the camo cover, wondering what to do. Then a thought occurred to him.
'If I'm awake, then the guy in the tree and the 2 guards I shot inside should be awake now too!'
He quickly looked over to the man that fell from the tree and saw that he was still there. Cautiously approaching with his gun ready, Dagen realized that the man was dead. He wasn't breathing and his head was caved in by a rock. With a short sigh of relief Dagen grew still for a moment as his eyes fell on the man's hat that lay next to him. In it was a picture of the man and a woman embracing each other and kissing in a photo booth, they looked... really happy. Looking at the woman, Dagens heart ached a little.
'I killed him? I'm… sorry.'
'Ugh, I don't like this feeling damnit! How does Varin do it?'
Looking back to the door Dagens little shoulder angel and devil were in a heated debate.
To leave, or not to leave was the question.
'I'm sure that if we were switched he'd leave my ass without a second thought, right!?'
'However, he is the only reason I've gotten this close to freedom…'
'Why the hell would I walk back into danger to save a guy I know nothing about, I only met him a few days ago!?'
'He did tranq me to keep me out here, to keep me "safe"...'
'That guy pisses me off! But, I can't just leave him in there. Damn conscience!'
'He needs help, and he's going to get it whether he wants it or not!'
Walking towards the door Dagen exclaimed;
"Fuck! I'm going back in!"
Ducking under the camo tarp, Dagen went after Varin.
***
Walking down the familiar halls once again, Dagen was really starting to question his sanity.
'What am I thinking? Why the hell am I coming back down here? This is crazy!'
Pausing for a moment, an eerie feeling fell over his heart.
It was the silence… Why was it so still and quiet?
'Has no one realized we escaped? Has no one seen the bodies? How? And… Where is Varin?'
Looking towards the guards he shot in the second hall, Dagen was confused as to how they hadn't awakened yet. Until he got closer and saw the blood.
'Varin must have killed them too.'
Not knowing where to go and seeing that Varin had indeed been this way, Dagen decided to go to the left around the corner to search for him. He also had no desire to ever step foot in the cell hall again.
'Varin must have gone after the doctor, but where is he.'
Carefully walking forward, he noticed a short hall going to the right midway down this hall. Crouching down, he peaked around the corner to see that this hall ended with a single door. Glancing back to both ends of the large hallway, Dagen slipped into the short one and headed for the door.
'This is a bad idea.'
Right as he went to reach for the handle, a guard pushed the door open, fast enough to hit Dagen and make him stumble back a couple steps.
"What the hell!?"
Surprised and unprepared for the sudden disturbance, the guard couldn't get his weapon up quick enough while Dagen panicked and put 2 darts into him before he even realized that he did.
"Shit!"
As the guard fell to the ground, the door opened the rest of the way. When it did, another guard stood ready with his tranq gun and as he locked eyes with Dagen they both shot at the other simultaneously.
"Ah!"
*Thud*
Dagen stumbled back and grabbed his chest, the dart hit him with a good amount of force due to the close proximity of the shot, but it did not pierce his skin. Thankfully he had the armored vest.
At the same time, the second guard dropped to the floor. Dagen had hit him in the neck in a panic.
Taking a moment to breath he checked the longer hallway for anyone who may have heard the commotion. Thankfully, it was as eerily quiet as it was before.
Heading back to the room, Dagen checked the pulse of the first guard; he was dead.
'Damnit, getting a double dose of this tranquilizer must have stopped his heart.'
*Sigh*
Continuing into the room, he Checked the pulse of the second guard; also dead.
'Shit! I… I've killed 3 men now, I'm officially qualified to be called a serial killer.'
Looking closer at the guards' faces, Dagen realized that these 2 were the ones who carried the doctor out on a stretcher earlier.
'It doesn't look like Varin is here. There's just rows of bunks and lockers. This must be the guards quarters. Based on the number of bunks, there's probably only a dozen or so guards in this facility. If that's the case, there shouldn't be many guards left.'
Looking around, Dagen saw some more dart cartridges and decided to restock what he's used so far, taking a moment to reload. He also found a duffle bag and quickly packed 2 blankets with some jerky, a couple bottles of water, and a lighter he saw on a nightstand.
'If we make it out of here, again, this will be good to have. Who knows how long it will take to get off this mountain and back to civilization.'
Flinging the bag onto his back, he turned to leave. Right before he stepped through the door, a knife hanging on the wall caught his eye. Without wasting a beat he snatched it off the wall on the way out.
'Another hunting knife is always good.'
Continuing down the hall where he left off Dagen peaked around yet another corner.
'Nothing, no sign of anyone down this hall either. Something's not right, why is it still so quiet? Surely someone must have noticed the bodies around here, or at least noticed someone missing.'
Looking down the hallway and thinking of the paths he has used to get around here, Dagen paused.
'Wait… is this place laid out in a square?'