CHAPTER 8 (Trust Your Instincts)

Gunner would not employ the use of a flashlight even though the hallway was dim, as the lights were not bright enough. His eyes are still adjusting to it. He was right, something was not right there. The place was totally different and as crazy as he thought, but he had a strong feeling that his twin brother was there.

But right now, at where he was standing from where he had just landed, he could feel staring behind his back. He doesn't want to look back, but his body betrays him.

He did look back.

But he couldn't see anything, and he was in complete darkness. He checked his belt bag to see if it contained anything that was unusual and, therefore, his things were still intact, ensuring that everything was all right.

He still cautiously walked down the hallway, carefully not making any noise. He still does not know what the place is. From what he knows and what he has seen in the magazines, the building was originally accentuated with white tiles since it is where medicines are manufactured, a hospital like that. Although it seemed that the floor had been finished and tiled in white, the floor's equipment was a yellowish color with dust and mud.

The air inside was not inhaled, and the stench was making his nose want to vomit. It smelled like something nasty, like a rotting corpse.

When he continued walking, he saw the light of day in the distance. The light, which continued to be visible for a short distance, seemed to be the only thing left in the darkness.

He looked to see if it was still safe to walk and no one was there. He had to make sure.

From what he knew, he must be on the ground floor, even though he climbed up to enter. He found the building to be mysterious.

But as soon as he was there, he found nothing but a hallway again. He thought there was something that could be seen but nothing. The stench of blood was getting even nastier. It feels like he is near something that he doesn't know what is welcoming him.

He took his phone out and tapped the record icon and recorded himself.

He took a deep breath and spoke gently just to make a low sound. "Day one of November 3, 2030 at at least eleven in the evening. I am here at the WIC Company since someone have emailed me and I got curious. The place was different from what I had seen in magazines and described by people who had got here. I don't know which floor I am, but I feel like I am on the ground floor. It is complicated to tell. I am now walking down the hallway in complete darkness and there is no light. I did not bring any flashlights, so as for my safety not to be seen because of the light. I don't know why I am doing this, but I have no reason to live since my brother's loss. But I believe he is here. He is here waiting for me," he murmured down to his recorder and sighed.

The coldness sent shivers down his spine, and he was still sweating from head to toe. Even his heartbeat could be heard. He needs to remain calm or not. He is getting his life put to death by not even seeing his brother if he is truly there.

"The hallway looks like an internal passage with no guarantee of where you are heading to. But I just keep walking and walking," he murmured while blinking his eyes into the darkness.

He walked and walked until he stopped on his track. The ground on which he was walking had a big hole where you didn't know where it was going.

His heart beat stopped when he heard something rustle behind his back. He can't move his feet or even his head to look back, even though his mind is telling him to do so. He wanted to think that it was just a cat or a rat who made those sounds, but he was sure that it was footsteps that he heard. He was sure of that.

He gathered himself and took a deep breath. His hands holding the phone were shaky and cold.

He slowly looked behind him.

One

Two

Three

And there he saw...

nothing.

There was nothing and he saw a stainless cabinet. That is probably where the noise is.

He composed himself and avoided the hole in his way and continued to walk. "I don't know if you had heard it but there was a noise but there was nothing behind me. Or maybe I am just scaring myself away," he murmured into the recorder while continuing walking.

In the hallway there were no crossovers. It was just a straight path but he saw another room. There are two rooms and the doorknobs are rusty and full of cab webs saying that they haven't opened for months or they are locked. The building was like an abandoned one but it was just yesterday that they celebrated the anniversary of the company and it was quite impossible to look at this state.

His mind was telling him to open the door but his body wouldn't even try because his guts were telling him not to. But he was curious about what was in there.

Along the hallway, this is the only path that got his attention; the two rooms.

Slowly he lifted his hand towards the door knob. He was in the first room and, besides that, that was the second one.

He was sweating in beads. Even though he didn't even run, it was as if he was catching his breath. His breath was shallow because his guts were telling him not to open the door.

But his hand had already touched the door knob and was about to twitch it.

One...

Two...

Three...

They say it is a safe choice if you trust your own guts, because it tells you the truth and nothing but the truth before it is too late.