The night was still, not even a breeze to move the trees as we walked up the driveway.
The only sound was the light crunch of the gravel beneath our shoes.
I had always loved the look of this place, but now it looked dilapidated and worn down.
The once beautiful white paint was peeling off, and the windows were all boarded up.
It looked more like a haunted house than a medical clinic.
"This is stupid."
Ava said, stopping in her tracks.
"We shouldn't be doing this."
"We've been over this Ava, there's nothing to worry about."
I said.
"Well actually, there are plenty of things to worry about."
Johnathan started listing off the things that could go wrong, "We could get arrested for trespassing, we could get hurt from the state of disrepair, and then there's the reason it was shut down in the first place."
"Thanks for your input John, but I think we've made our minds up."
I said, rolling my eyes.
He was always the voice of reason, but sometimes that got old.
He was right, but I didn't want to hear it.
"Besides, we've been planning this for months. Are you really going to back out now?"
I asked, looking at Ava.
She sighed and shook her head.
"No, I'm not going to back out. But if we get caught, I'm blaming you."
I smiled and held out my hand for her to take.
"Deal."
We walked up the path to the front door.
It creaked as I pushed it open.
"Great, just what I wanted to hear."
Johnathan muttered behind me.
I ignored him and stepped inside.
The lobby was dark and musty smelling.
There were old chairs scattered around the room, and a broken vending machine in the corner.
I walked over to the reception desk and looked over the papers that were scattered across it.
They were all old patient records, nothing interesting there.
"Anything?"
Ava asked, coming up behind me.
"Nope."
I said, turning back to her.
"What's the plan now?"
"We need to find the basement. That's where they'll have all the good stuff."
I said, looking around for a stairway or elevator.
"I think I found something."
Johnathan called from across the room.
He was standing in front of a door that looked like it led outside.
But when he opened it, there were stairs leading down into darkness.
"Good job John."
I said, walking over to him.
He smiled and started down the stairs.
Ava followed him, and I brought up the rear.
The stairs were steep and narrow, and they seemed to go on forever.
Finally we reached the bottom and found ourselves in a long hallway lined with doors on either side of us.
Tips:Click on any paragraph to change plot direction.
"What now?"
Ava asked, looking around at all the doors.
"Now we start searching. We'll split up and cover more ground."
I said, looking at Johnathan and Ava in turn.
"Be careful though. We don't know what we're going to find down here."
Johnathan nodded and started off down the hall to our left.
Ava followed him, leaving me alone in front of the stairs.
I watched them go, then turned and started down the hall to my right.
The doors were all slightly ajar, and I pushed them open as I walked by.
They were all empty except for one that was locked.
I wondered what could be in there that they didn't want anyone to see.
I continued on down the hall until I reached the end.
Then I turned and started back the other way.
As I walked, I heard footsteps coming from up ahead.
I quickened my pace, wondering who it could be.
When I turned the corner, I saw Johnathan standing in front of a door that was slightly open.
He motioned for me to be quiet and slowly pushed the door open.
We stepped inside, finding ourselves in a room filled with old medical equipment and scattered papers.
In the center of the room, there was a large metal table with several straps attached to it.
Johnathan's eyes widened as he approached the table, his hand reaching out to touch one of the straps.
Suddenly we heard a faint noise coming from outside the room.
It sounded like footsteps, heavy and deliberate.
We froze, waiting for the footsteps to pass, hoping whoever it was wouldn't enter.
They stopped right outside the door and we heard a faint rustling sound.
I held my breath, wondering what was going on.
Then the door creaked open and a figure stepped inside.
It was a man, tall and muscular with a cruel look in his eyes.
He was dressed in a white lab coat, and he looked like he belonged here.
He looked around the room, his eyes scanning over us before coming to rest on the table in the center of the room.
He smiled and walked over to it, running his hand over the metal surface.
"Ah, yes. This is where they did all the experiments."
He said, his voice dripping with excitement.
"Experiments?"
Johnathan repeated, taking a step back from the table.
"Yes. They were trying to create a new breed of human. One that was stronger and faster than before."
The man said, looking at us with an eager glint in his eye.
"And did they succeed?"
I asked, my heart pounding in my chest.
I didn't like where this was going.
"Oh yes. They succeeded. But it wasn't what they expected."
He said, smiling again.
"What do you mean?"
Johnathan asked, his voice shaking slightly.
"They created something that was stronger and faster than before. But it was also more aggressive and violent."
The man said, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
"And what happened to them?"
I asked, wondering if they had been killed or if they had escaped.
"They were locked up in cages and studied. But then something went wrong. They broke out of their cages and started killing everyone."
The man said, his voice full of awe.
"And then?"
I asked, wondering what had happened next.
"Then they disappeared. They just vanished into thin air."
The man said, looking around the room as if he expected them to pop out at any moment.
"But I think I know where they went."
He said, looking at us with a sly smile on his face.
"Where?"
Johnathan asked, taking another step back from the table.
The man smiled and pointed to a hidden trapdoor beneath the table.
"There's an underground passage that leads out of the hospital. I think they went that way."
He said, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
I exchanged an uneasy glance with Johnathan.
I didn't like this at all.
But we had come too far to turn back now.
"Let's go."
I said, walking over to the trapdoor.
The man smiled and walked over to the trapdoor, pulling it open.
He motioned for us to go first, and I hesitated for a moment before climbing down into the dark passage.
Johnathan followed close behind me, and I heard the man's footsteps behind him.
We walked in silence, the only sound being the echo of our footsteps off the walls of the passage.
I couldn't shake the feeling that we were being led into a trap.
The man seemed to know more than he was letting on, and I didn't trust him at all.
As we walked, the air grew thick with an eerie silence.
I could feel eyes on us, watching us as we moved deeper into the passage.
I tried to shake off the feeling, but it only seemed to grow stronger.
Suddenly, the man stopped and turned to face us.