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The afternoon was totally calm, no more work shifts or studies, just peace and quiet. The group agreed on staying at Cleon and Swan's place, ordering food and watch something or play board games.
Cowgirl and Ajax were playing chess, Mercy watching since she already lost against the curly haired one somehow. Cochise was trying a new hairstyle on Cowgirl that she saw online, while Rembrandt was drawing some animals on her sketchbook as a practice of animal anatomy, sitting infront of Ajax. Meanwhile, Swan was reading a new book, something about romance and grief. Mercy was trying to find something on the TV, but there was no good movie. "Found something yet?" Asked Cleon while walking out of the kitchen with some chips and popcorn on a big bowl, sitting on her couch.
"There's nothing good, just the same movies and shows as always" responded the brunette, turning off the device, giving up. "Then what we'll see?" Asked Ajax, turning at the rest, "We can stay silent" Suggested the short black woman, "By the way, where's Fox?". Before someone could respond, the door of the entrance was open by the youngest of the group. "Speaking about the devil" muttered Ajax, getting a little punch from Rem's elbow, "Just saying".
"Sorry for the lateness", started saying the young girl, "I went to my place to look for some things".
"Did you bring your Magnavox, kiddo?" Asked with a warm smile the oldest, since the girl brought a backpack with her. "No," Fox was making a pause. A long one. And that usually meant a craziness. "What is it now?" Asked Swan, her eyes still on the book. "Promise you won't regret instantly" that made every look turn to her, "What is it?" Asked once more Cochise, "Promise it first!"
"Alright, fine, we promise", responded Cleon, "what is it?". Fox smiled wide, her eyes reflecting her exciteness, "We're going to an abandoned hospital!"
"What?!"
"It's just a few kilometers away, we can arrive in less than an hour!"
"Fox, wh—?" Before the blonde woman could finish her question, Cowgirl spoke — exclaimed, actually — "Have you lost your mind?! Those places are usually haunted!". Fox rolled her eyes, still smiling, "Ghosts are not real, you know that", she said. "How can you be sure? They could be hidden anywhere!"
"Co has a point," said Mercy, "I'm not afraid of ghosts"
"Who says I'm afraid of ghosts?"
"But the place must be old, so it could be kind of dangerous"
"Or what if there's someone living there?" Asked Rembrandt, closing carefully her sketchbook, "Someone dangerous or an alcoholic or someone under drugs?". Fox thought for a moment, "Actually, I already looked around the place and there's no signs of someone living there or any closer"
"How did you—?"
"I looked with my drone". The group turned to Cleon, waiting for an answer since she was the leader, even though she would never admit it. "Just a few minutes away?", Fox's eyes lighten up instantly, "Yes!". Cowgirl got up in a blink, "You're not being serious", she said, "We'll just take a look around and leave, it'll be quick, right cub?", the dark haired girl nodded, "Not more than two hours, promise!"
Ajax turned at the curly haired woman with a grin, "What are you? A bunch of chickens?". Mercy got up with a big confidence —she actually felt insulted— in her, "You know what? Let's go, it cannot be that bad". Cochise left out a quiet sigh, getting up, "Well, is better than staying here doing nothing". Ajax got up, grabbing a chip from the bowl, "Come on, Co! We won't let the ghosts take you!". Cowgirl rolled her eyes, a given up look on her, "Fine, but we're going with the snacks!"
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The group arrived at the place exactly after twenty minutes, parking the truck a few feet away. Fox was the first one getting out of the machine, followed by Cleon, and half of the rest. Cowgirl was the last one to left the machine. "The place was left in 1947," started Fox as if it was a documentary, "In 2017, Steiner Studios said that the reconstruction would take a decade".
"Doesn't look like they've been taking care of this", muttered Ajax, her hands on her hips. "This is legal. Right?" Asked Swan, looking at the youngest. "Well..."
"Fox...?"
"It might not be... Totally legal", before anybody could respond, she said, "It'll be a quick look through the place, I promised!". Cleon let out a deep sigh, slightly shaking her head, "Well, we're already here. No stepping back". The oldest looked back at the rest, "You coming?"
"Heck, yeah! Time for a bit of action!" Exclaimed Ajax, giving a fist bump to the youngest, "It'll be interesting", responded Swan. Cowgirl stood farther of the rest, "Uhh, I'll stay here to, uhh— take care of the truck!"
"It has an alarm"
"Yeah, but it can't see when someone's coming!"
"I'll stay with Co", said Cochise, putting a hand on her friend's shoulder, "You can go and enjoy the place". The blonde turned to the other two, "Rem, Merc, you coming?". The shortest took a step back, "I'll stay here. The landscape is very beautiful to draw."
"The snacks won't finish on their own" responded Mercy, trying to show a confident smile, "Okay, be careful with the creatures around", and with nothing more, the four women entered the place. "Drawing? Seriously? I thought you would enter too" Asked the brunette at the ravenette, "Shut up, it was better than that thing of the snacks, and I was not going to die in there".
Before Mercy could protest, a thunder bolt was heard, making both of them to flinch. "It was just a thunder bolt", said Cochise, a calm smile on her face, "R-right..." Mumbled Mercy, passing an arm around her neck. "Who wants to get inside the truck?". The three women didn't hesitate for a second, making a file right behind the oldest of them. Cochise tried to open the door, but it was lock. "Shit", she said under her breath, "Shit what?" Asked Cowgirl, "Cleon has the keys".
"WHAT?!"
"Oh, God!"
"You gotta be kidding!"
"The truck is completelly locked, there's no way to enter". Mercy started walking towards the hospital, not looking back. "Where are you going?" Asked with an eyebrow raised the tallest, "I'm going with the three functional brain cells and the muscle, I'm not going to die here".
"Did she just insulted—?" Before Rembrandt could finish her sentence, a whisper was heard throughout the wind. "Coch, was that you?" Asked with a shaking voice Cowgirl, "I haven't said anything".
Ten seconds of silence were enough for the trio to finally enter — run, actually — with the rest.
The lobby was much larger than any of them had expected. Most of the white paint had peeled away over the decades, exposing the dull gray concrete underneath. Several windows were shattered, allowing the moon light to spill inside in dusty beams. A few metal chairs still stood against the walls, covered in rust but somehow untouched, as if someone had simply gotten up one day and never returned. Dust coated almost every surface, while vines and weeds had slowly begun reclaiming the building through cracks in the walls and broken windows. The entire place felt frozen in time.
Fox was some steps forward the rest, guiding with the flashlight she brought. "You could use your phone, you know?" Commented Ajax, her hands on her pockets. "Sure, and then we ran out of battery and we stay here", responded Swan, "Scared, Swannie?"
"I'm being logical, not scared". Ajax let out a quick smirk, before turning behind since she heard some footsteps heading towards them. "What the...?" Before the muscle could finish her sentence, Rembrandt was already leaning on her. "Babe? What's wrong?"
"Oh, we just wanted to be mushy", responded Cowgirl, arms crossed, "This fucking place must be haunted, let's just go!". Ajax chuckled at that, "You're not really scared, are you?", Cochise stood up firmly, still calm, "We were just looking for the keys, Ajax".
"Here you go" responded Cleon while giving the keys to Cochise, then she started walking towards the exit. "Alright, truck, here we—" Cochise tried to open the door, but it was stuck, "Come on" she muttered. "Is something wrong?" Asked Cleon while walking towards her, "The door is stuck" responded the shortest. "But we left it open" muttered Mercy, not realizing she was right behind Swan, "Well, it's not opening now", assured Cleon after trying to force the door. "So that means we have to look for another exit?" Asked the curly haired woman, "In the middle of the dark? In a place that could collapse in any moment?!"
"Girl, calm down, we have the kid guiding us with her flashlight, right Fox?". There was no response. "Fox?" Called Rembrandt this time, trying to act normal. "She must have continued walking", said Swan, not showing anything in her voice, "Come on, she can't be that far".
The hall was a mess for sure— desks all over the place, chairs midway, and papers spread away. The only sound heard was the wind... And some women's voices. "Fox!" The girl turned at the call of her name, and before responding, Cowgirl put her on a big embrace, almost breaking her bones, "There you are! Don't dissapear like that!".
Fox carefully pushed away the taller woman, a smile on her lips, "Nothing is going to happen here, Co, you know ghosts are not real".
"Easy for you to say. You didn't grow up on a farm with creepy sounds in the night".
"Those were probably just animals", Ajax was already behind with the rest, "This place is nothing but a boring hospital". Fox started walking forward once more, "That's because we haven't seen the patients' rooms! And the operating rooms!".
"There's more?" Asked Mercy, flinching for a millisecond. "Yes! Isn't it exciting?"
"No!" The answered came faster than Cowgirl intended, "I mean, we shouldn't even be here, it's illegal!"
"Cowgirl has a point, what if a cop sees us?" Reminded Cochise, "I don't think any of us wants to go to jail"
"It ain't that bad!"
"That's because we always get you out of there in two hours, idiot", Ajax just rolled her eyes at the blonde one's comment, "Are you done being a party pooper?". Before Swan could respond, something was heard across the room, along with some blinking lights. "What the fuck was that?" Asked Ajax, taking a step forward to look better. No one responded. "Must have been just the wind", said after a moment Fox, "We can continue!".
Cochise noticed the oldest's look, the kind of look she does when something feels wrong. "Alright, what is it, Cleo?" The mentioned one put a hand on her waist, "Those flickering lights are not normal", started Cleon, "And it's not normal for doors to lock themselves". Cowgirl raised her arms as if they were exclamating something, "See?! That's what I'm saying!"
"Nuh-uh, you're talking about ghosts, those are two different things, Girl", Cowgirl was going to give the muscle a big punch once they would go back home for sure. "So what do we do?" Swan was not the kind of people to show her emotions, but they could say she was getting kind of nervous. "I say we end this trip. The sooner the better".
"I'm with Mercy", said the artist, "This place is getting creepier each second". Before Cleon could say something else, Fox's voice was heard a bit away. "Hey, guys! Look at thi—! FUCK!" The young girl suddenly disappeared from the rest's view, the sound of crumbling concrete nearly made their souls leave their bodies.
"FOX!"
"That's it! We're going home! We're not gonna—!"
"I'm okay!". Cowgirl cursed under her breath, "Seriously...?" She muttered, but the rest clearly listened to her, and they were judging her instantly. "I mean... I'm glad Filly's alive! But I already wanted to leave...". Cleon walked towards the hole, seeing the youngest sit on the floor, some bruises, and dust all over her. "You okay, cub?"
"Yep! No broken bones or anything!" Fox looked around, the place was full of boxes and other stuff, "Well... Guess that I found the basement", she got up carefully, turning up above at the rest, "What are you waiting for? Get down here!".
Eventually, the group found some stairs to get down with Fox, being careful with each step. "Isn't this cool?" Asked the young girl, still getting rid of the dust covering on her clothes. "No, it is not", responded Mercy, "This thing is getting worse each minute!" She screamed in a whisper. "Oh, please! You really got scared because of some lights?"
"Fox, that was not supposed to happen", responded Swan, "There shouldn't be any electricity if it was abandoned!". Fox turned at Cleon, as if pleading for a bit of backup, but Cleon just shook her head, "I know you want to explore more, but it's time to go home".
"But we haven't even got to the —!"
"We can come another day when it's legal!" Ajax was getting at her limit, "I know I've acted brave the whole time but I just saw a silhouette right behind you and I'm not staying here any longer". The whole group turned at where Ajax was pointing, not ready to face whatever it was.
Fox pointed the flashlight in front of them, taking a few steps forward.
She could see something moving toward them, though it was still too dark to make it out clearly. "Fox," She turned to see the artist—and most of the others—shaking their heads as if to say, "Don't you dare go over there." Fox just rolled her eyes and continued walking. "Fox!" Called in a whisper the leader, closer to her.
The ravenette had a tiny smile forming on her lips, not knowing what she'd find, but still enjoying this. A curtain was hiding whatever Ajax saw. It had the shape of a chair with a lot of objects on it. She started chuckling quietly, turning at the rest, "That's just a chair with many things on it," a pause. Suddenly, she smelled something... Stinky.
"Did any of you bring anything smelly? Because it's not fun." The group turned at each other, then at Cowgirl. "Hey! Don't look at me! Who would bring something like that?"
Fox turned again at the curtain, leaning in to smell it more closely. The smell was coming from there. Someone must have forgotten their lunch here..., she thought... In an abandoned hospital...
She carefully pulled back the curtain slowly, her hands sweating and fingers trembling. A minute passed with her not moving. "Fox?" Asked Cleon. The young girl slowly turned around, her face full of horror. Before she could say something, some footsteps were heard.
"What—?"
"RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!"
The group didn't hesitate and started running upstairs, leaving the basement behind. Out of nowhere, "Pump It" from the Black Eyed Peas was starting. "The fuck?!" Exclaimed the muscle, looking around. "Fox, where the hell did you brought us?!"
"I just wanted to explore this place! I thought there was no one here!"
"Then what the fuck did you find?!", before the youngest could respond, she saw some figure walking towards them. "I-I- Uh-"
"What?!"
"Someone's coming!". They didn't turn around when they felt some light at their backs. "Stop right there!" Exclaimed the mysterious person that was following them, "You shouldn't be here!"
"And you think we don't know that?!"
"Cowgirl!"
"It's the truth!"
"Second floor, now!"
The group started making some kind of parkour to avoid the person that was right behind them. "How are we sure we're not running from a guard?!"
"Their boots are heavy, Coch! This motherfucker's footsteps aren't heavy!"
Once they arrived to the second floor, they hid inside a room, probably an operating room due to the size of it. "What the fuck is happening?" Asked Mercy while trying to catch her breath, "I—I'm not sure..." Responded the youngest, "But this place is definitely not alone..."
"Where are the cops when you need them?"
A whistle echoed through the hall, "You're not supposed to be here, ladies", called a raspy voice, "Come out to play-ay". Rembrandt was starting a kind of prayer in spanish— she actually was more mumbling nonsense than actually praying. Cochise looked at the hall, seeing the man a few feet away, "He can't hear us, what's the plan?".
"We have a plan, right?" Fox's voice was shaking though she wanted to hide it, "Coming here was definitely a bad idea". Cleon looked around, then at the objects around, and then at her team. "Okay, I have an idea, but I'll need your brain, Fox".
The youngest took some deep breaths, calming herself down, giving the oldest a nod. "Alright," started Cleon, "We divide, Cowgirl and Cochise go to the right, Ajax and Rembrandt to the left, Swan and Mercy, stay here. Me and Fox would distract the creepy guy"
"And what do we do?" Asked Cowgirl, "Me and Fox would call his attention, getting him away from here. You need to find something to create a kind of tramp while we make him chase us". Fox's face lighten up, "I know! We can led him to the void that lead to the basement! You need to find some wooden boards, arranged in a cross shape and covered with a blanket or sheet. There should be some string or hose to make him trip over." Then, Fox took out some Walkie Talkies from her backpack, "With these, we can communicate without drawing his attention", Mercy had an eyebrow raised, not expecting the little machines. "You never know when you need them".
"Everybody ready?"
"Wait!" Cowgirl grabbed her phone, entering at Spotify and turning on her Bluetooth. "What are you doing?" Asked in a whisper Swan, "If we're going to die, I'm not dying with Pump It as the background song", Swan just rolled her eyes and pinched her nose.
In a few seconds, "Bye bye bye" started playing. Ajax and Rembrandt gave a judging look at the curly haired woman, "We run first. Judge my playlist later".
With no other comment, Cleon and Fox got out of the hiding spot, ready to face the man. Well, Fox was just ready to run.
"You're looking for someone?" Called Cleon. The man stopped hallway, and turned around slowly with a creepy smile. Fox was just able to swallow hard. She gave a quick glance at Cleon, and when she looked in front again, the man was already running towards them. Cleon grabbed quickly the young girl, starting to run downstairs while cursing under her breath.
Ajax and Rembrandt led to the room of the left once there was no one around, looking for the blanket. Cowgirl and Cochise led to the room of the right, since it seemed to have more material than medicine tools. Swan and Mercy stayed in the room to look for a string.
"Why did you let me bring you here?!" Exclaimed the youngest while still running, not daring to look back. "You said this was safe! Your little helicopters showed you there was no one IN THE DAY!"
"They're drones! Not little heli—!" She suddenly felt Cleon grabbing her by the neck of her jacket, pushing her in a big closet. "Why do you stop?! He's chasing us!".
"Shhh!" Both stayed silence. There were no footsteps heard. "This is bad, right?" Asked in a whisper Fox, turning off the light.
They waited for what it felt like an eternity. The oldest opened the wooden word carefully, trying to not make a sound. She looked around. No one. "Come on", she whispered, Fox followed her without a doubt.
They started walking slowly, not knowing where they were going, just making sure where the man was. "I think we—"
"Found you!" Both women jumped at the same time, Fox giving a big punch in the gut to whoever that was there. "Oww! That hurts!" They recognized the voice, "Ajax?"
"Yep... You have great strength, kid", she said between the pain, the rest trying to hold their laughter. "Sorry, but why would you scare us like that?!"
"Geez, sorry. But the trap is set"
"Already?"
"You were running for ten minutes"
"... Right", the muscle simply rolled her eyes with a little grin, "Hold on, where's the guy?". Cleon and Fox looked at each other. "You didn't lost him, did you?", asked with her arms crossed the woman with tattoos, an eyebrow raised, and eyes full of concerned. "Well...", before the oldest could respond, another whistle echoed through the walls, the wind letting it heard through the whole building.
The group made a circle, grabbing different objects as weapons. "Ladies, this ain't your turf", the raspy voice was heard once more, closer, but they couldn't see him. Finally, the light of the moon revealed him, holding a hand gun in his right hand. "Let's see how many birds I can shoot with one bullet".
Before he could pulled the trigger, Swan pushed with all her strength a wheelchair, crashing with one of the walls and heading to the man, pushing him to where the trap was set.
Cochise and Cowgirl took a look at the spot, "Is he dead?" Asked the curly haired woman, after a moment, Cochise spoke, "Nah, he's just unconscious". Some red and blue lights started showing, along with the siren of the cars. "Come on, let's get out of here before they see us". Ajax flipped him the bird, while Rembrandt called him "Psicópata de mierda", before following the rest outside of the building.
The drive back home was silent, no one daring to say something. There was only the sound of some snacks being eaten. "Well..." Started the youngest, "Next time I promise I will check better at night".
"There won't be a fucking next time!" Exclaimed Cowgirl without a second thought, "We nearly died!"
"What did you even found?", asked Cochise. Fox just looked at another direction, "I'll just let the cops take care of that", she said, "We're really ain't going to another abandoned place?"
"NO!" Yelled the whole group. Cleon let out a quiet chuckled, "Don't worry, cub, next time we leave these chickens at home".
The group instantly started defending themselves, arguing to prove they were not scared, completelly forgetting the adventure they just had. Deep down, they enjoyed it, though no one would admit it.
And that was okay.
"Uhh... Guys?"
"Yes, cub?"
"I think I forgot my backpack back there".
"... Shit"