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The halls of Lery’s Memorial Institute were never not scary or, as a matter of fact, disorienting as all hell. You had been wandering for who knows how long now, taunted by the screams of the other survivors and generator whirring that would repeatedly start and then fade out, until finally, you were consumed by complete silence. The crows that littered said halls only seemed to stare at you, but that was a given, as you were making your way torturously slow. Honestly, you didn’t even know who the killer was this particular trial, but judging by the fact that you were still alive, it was probably Herman pulling the strings behind the scenes. You’ve come to accept the fact that, for some reason, you had caught his eye and some days you would relish in the fact, as he would sometimes hold conversation with you when he was in a particularly nice mood. It would all feel oddly humane and there were occasions where you would fall under the impression he was trying to cling to his humanity, despite his appearance and role in the entity’s game. There would be times he’d point you to a hatch, that wicked grin on his face as he giggled and told you to swear you’d never tell anyone about his uncharacteristic cooperation. Flattering, but ultimately scary. Nice of him, perhaps, but maybe even manipulative to some extent. You tried not to think of it too much. Unfortunately for you, Lery’s Memorial Institute made you feel like you were going to be swept away to an operating room and lobotomized. And who else more suited to perform an operation like that than the doctor himself.
So, you continued to walk, fear instilled in your guts. The silence was unsettling, yes, but you had gotten used to it by now, which was why you jumped slightly when it was disturbed by a far-off echo of some sort. You stopped dead in your tracks for a moment to try and make it out and the more you listened, the more it sounded like…music. Maybe it was bold of you to begin following the sound, but you did so anyways, sweaty hands balled into fists to try and prevent them from shaking. You had no idea where you were being lured to, but worst-case scenario, you’d merely get your head cut open and then wake up with a splitting headache, right? The path you walked almost seemed calculated and prepared just for you; no generators in the way, no exit gates, no hatches, even the crows had begun to scatter, not even cawing in the process. The hallways being devoid of anything living or anything that could’ve doubled as your salvation almost resembled the void in the back of your stomach. Still, you felt compelled to follow the soft music. It sounded old-fashioned, but it was far from being creepy, no, it was oddly soothing. I mean, it did a poor job of soothing you so far, but it definitely wasn’t scary. If it were any other scenario, you could’ve sworn you could be lulled to a peaceful sleep.
You didn’t know how long you walked, but the more you did, the clearer the music got and you could feel your knees growing weaker with each passing second. Music in horror movies was never good, you thought to yourself, but you had to consider the fact that this wasn’t a horror movie either, it was your own chilling reality, no matter how much it resembled one. And, again, it wasn’t creepy in retrospect, you were just accustomed to viewing everything as a bad omen here. Still, you took a sharp turn to the right and managed to come face to face with a fancy-looking door that was slightly ajar. The door looked like it didn’t belong, but neither did the music, yet your hand still loomed over the handle. Your brain screamed at you, repeated that this was clearly an awful idea, but…
“You don’t have to linger like that, darling. Please, do come in.”
Hearing that voice, accompanied by a deep chuckle was all you needed to know that it was probably too late for you.
Exhaling, you pushed the door open and walked into the overtly-fancy office that seemed like it could belong anywhere but here. The tall bookshelves, the tidy desk and the plush chair you caught a glimpse of, but refused to look at completely because he was sitting on it; they all contrasted the rest of the facility. The thing that ultimately caught your attention though was the record player sitting atop the desk. Finally, you knew where the music was coming from. Was this always there, though? You couldn’t recall hearing music in Lery’s before.
“Does it interest you?” You heard Herman ask with a slam of a book. Even after going so far, you were far too intimidated to look in his direction. The chair he was sitting on creaked and you could feel him coming closer. Eye contact was probably going to be inevitable sooner or later. “It’s a gift from the entity. Quite a little trinket.” He paused. “Reminds me of before.”
“Really?” Finally, you looked in his direction, taken aback for a mere moment. He wasn’t wearing his usual doctor’s attire, instead adorning a black vest over a red blouse and a white tie. Another treat from the entity, you assumed. Strangely enough though, he pulled it off quite well. “Did you listen to a lot of vinyl records…before?”
“Oh yes.” He said with a small laugh, almost reminiscing. “It’s very atmospheric. And you?”
You glanced at the record player again. For as much as it made you feel nostalgic, you were almost certain you had never heard one playing in real life. Before now, that is. “I’ve never even had a record player before. They seem like fun though.” You thought for a second, before snorting and fully turning to Herman. “Were you a dancer?”
He laughed again, much louder this time, clearly amused by your question. It garnered a giggle from you too. “I’m a man of science, not performance art.” His grin seemed to widen. “But I was known to dance from time to time.”
An image of Herman doing a little jig in his lonesome crossed your mind and you placed a hand over your mouth as to not break into laughter. You remembered some of your own life before the fog, how you would play music and dance around your home if you were in a good mood.
“Do you miss it?” You inquired again. “Your life before the fog.”
He fell silent. It was hard to tell what he was thinking with that headguard that made him always grin, but you had come to decide that the sudden silence was probably not a very good thing, considering how he would always at least laugh. So, you spoke again.
“My memory is really hazy, but I think I miss my life.” You didn’t like to think much about it, because being here was torture and thinking of something better was…almost depressing. You opted to force the thoughts out. “One thing’s for sure, if I was back home now, I’d probably be dancing right now.”
“Why not dance now?”
An outstretched hand entered your line of sight and you were a bit taken aback by the abrupt offer to dance. You’ve never danced with another person, at least that’s what you recalled, so it was natural you were about to decline, especially considering who was even asking. But before you could say anything, he had already taken your hand and pulled you closer.
One of his hands held yours while the other quickly found its place around your waist. You had to stifle a yelp at the sudden contact, but you were certain that you were already bright red. Hoping he didn’t notice your hand shaking, you grabbed hold of his shoulder. Just like that, you two began to sway to the music, circling the room with small steps. Surprisingly, you didn’t feel like his eyes bore into you, even when they were forcefully pried open. You began to calm down and your flustered expression was soon replaced with a smile, steps becoming more and more confident with each second. It was oddly familiar to you and even though it was highly unlikely, you thought that, perhaps, you two somehow knew each other before. There couldn’t be any other logical explanation as to why you two clicked so well. Yet your train of thought was cut short by Herman letting go of your waist to spin you around.
“I didn’t take you for a ballroom dancer, doctor.” You said as soon as you fell back into position, chest almost hitting his. “Color me impressed.”
He only laughed in response, grip on your waist tightening. It brought the heat back to your face, but it didn’t replace your periodically widening smile. Dancing with the doctor turned out to be more relaxing than you ever thought it could be. Not like you ever really thought you’d dance with him, he just didn’t seem as terrifying now compared to the first time you had seen him.
You didn’t know how long you two danced, but it was definitely more than just pacing around the room. He had spun you around numerous times and at one point, he even held you by the waist to lift you up while he did a little twirl. You could tell from that he wasn’t used to being gentle, the grip he used on you being a little too tight, but maybe he wasn’t even trying to be gentle with you. Either way, you could have never guessed Herman possessed the skill to dance, you supposed he was a man of many talents.
After what seemed like hours of dancing in the room, he gave you a twirl again, but instead of pulling you back to him, you felt yourself getting dipped. Your heart did a flip while simultaneously pounding against your ribs. The way he stared at you, eyes glinting in the light, it made something stir in the back of your guts. It felt somewhat nostalgic, like a distant memory that was unfortunately clouded by the fog. You were suddenly very conscious of the fact that you could feel his surprisingly warm breath against your skin. Or maybe it just felt warm because your own face was becoming even warmer. You wondered if he felt the same as you, if this situation made him remember something. Perhaps he already knew more than you, or perhaps it was just you who was desperately trying to remember something that possibly hadn’t even happened.
Looking back, you couldn’t believe you had so carelessly forgotten you were in the heat of a trial.
He chuckled, breaking you out of your daze. Or, hell, maybe it wasn’t the chuckle that made you painfully aware of where you were, maybe it was his overly-tight grip, or maybe, just maybe, it was the sudden electricity that started flowing through your body. Evaporating the butterflies in your belly first, it quickly made its way to the depths of your muscles, making them twitch and contract. You could hear Herman’s laugh echo in the room and you so desperately wanted to yell various profanities at him, but all you could do now was accept the scorching pain flowing through your body as you trembled in his arms.
Needless to say, you couldn’t wait for your next encounter.