The sprawling black hallway seemed to stretch out endlessly. Unlike my room, dimly lit by the moonlight, the hall had no windows. No way to see at all…

If I wanted to find my mother’s room, I would need to find a source of light first and foremost. I had already investigated every crevice of my room, finding no way to illuminate my path. The only option was to turn left, towards the lounge. It was an easy journey, and one that would certainly lead me to candles and matches.

I took a moment to collect myself, then stepped out of the doorway. Stumbling to the other end, I waited until I hit a wall to turn to the left. There were plenty of open windows in the lounge if memory of my visits long ago served, which meant I would only be momentarily engulfed in the blackness of the hall. It was simple, really. All I had to do was follow the wall until I reached the open room. The chance for failure was miniscule.

I went a good way down the corridor, taking one careful step after the next. As long as I kept my hands on the wall, I had a good sense of direction and could tell my progress. If I took things slowly and precisely, my task would be easy.

At least that was what I thought, before I heard a sound behind me. I immediately froze upon making out the sound. A reverberating trot from deep within the darkest corners of the hall. At first I would have thought it a caregiver or a guard, but this was not the simple rhythm of two feet. This was dozens of appendages skittering across the floor. Flesh thumping on creaky wooden planks.

Whatever that was, it was not human.

Its pace was slow and cumbersome, leading me to keep a steady, quiet, stride. It was most certainly coming closer, but it was wisest not to panic as long as I knew it hadn’t noticed me. A much more easily said than done action.

Making sure to take deep breaths, I continued down the corridor, my hand tracing the wall as I went. The creature continued dragging its way down the hall, lumbering and slow.

I did not only hear movement on the ground, but doorframes creaking and handles shaking as whatever was behind me grasped onto its surroundings to push forward. Its movement sounded so struggled and stiff, as if it were pulling away from something.

I quickened myself, but the floors were loud and unstable. I hadn’t enough time to be both quiet and faster than the creature behind me. At the rate we went, it would outpace me before we reached the lounge.

Part of me remembered the words Dr. Prescott spoke. They were simply in my mind… They couldn’t hurt me…

Yet, as my right arm dragged against the cheap walls, I felt the pulsating pain in the scars wrapping up and down the appendage. If the jellyfish-esque burns from the tentacled creature in the boat could hurt me, I was not willing to find out if what was behind me could as well.

My heart began to race as I forcefully kept myself from running, even though I was continually becoming more confident that running was becoming my only option. Nevertheless, I was not much of a gambler, especially when it involved the state of my life.

I could not deny, though, that some change of plan needed to take place. The creature was gaining speed, and we would surely collide before I could duck into the safety of the lounge.

I decided that I had to take my hand off the wall. It was risky, traversing in the dark with no balance, but the floor was unstable near the doors. If I wanted to move quicker without the creaking floorboards giving me away, I would have to move towards the center of the corridor.

Tentatively, I withdrew my hand and moved to the middle of the hall. It was risky, but if I had continued with my caution I would have no hope at all.

Moving onward, I began to gather speed. Just enough to outpace the creature without being audible.

Yet, as I gained a lead, the creature also began to increase its momentum. The faster I went, the louder I became, and the faster it started moving.

I had gone from a creep to a jog, and so had the creature. Even so, if my memory served, I was getting close to the safety of the lounge.

As I kept becoming faster, and continued to keep my sound to a minimum, my gait became awkward and imbalanced. Sprinting and tiptoeing was not a synergistic pair.

Whilst trying to continue accelerating, my clumsy footing got the best of me, and the tip of my foot caught on the floor.

I came tumbling to the ground just as I saw moonlight through the windows ahead. The creature was just behind me, but I was within arm’s reach of the lounge. Not the time to give up hope just yet.

I frantically crawled forward with all the haste I could find. At that point, I had fully given up on being covert, instead clambering in panic as fast as I could.

The creature was almost upon me as I passed the threshold to the lounge. On my way, I toppled a small side table and a vase. Glass shattered and water spilled behind me, letting whatever creature that followed tread on the invisible knives and howl in pain. I had delayed it enough to crawl further into the lounge, but the pain had also enraged it.

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While it was silent other than the sounds of its locomotion, the creature now mumbled and chattered. It sounded like an amalgamation of many voices; old, young, man, woman. All groaning in pain.

I ducked behind a bundle of chairs and began to catch my breath. In the commotion, it seemed the creature had lost sight of me.

After collecting itself, it began to search the surrounding area, still intent on finding me.

I was in the lounge, but I was not yet safe from the thing.

In the dim moonlight, I could just barely make out a hulking figure. There was not much discernable in its mangled silhouette, but I could see an amalgamation of limbs and flesh writhing to move, along with dozens of watery eyes glistening in the light. While each individual part of the thing looked human, the whole was anything but.

It continued to search for me, shuffling to the center of the room and looking about. I did not want to run, as I knew what happened if it decided to give chase. I needed a distraction to keep it preoccupied, but before that, I needed what I came to the lounge for in the first place.

I crept to the nearest windowsill, finding a candle there. Next, I made my way to one of the larger couches. Beside it was a table, one that I hoped held a match. Nothing.

As the creature continued to survey the room, I slipped to the other end of the couch, and searched an identical side table. On the table I found a box of matches, and even another candle. I had no use for two candles… but I did have another idea.

I pocketed the matches and held the candle, slowly making my way closer to the hall. The creature was still looking, and I knew that if I stood tall enough to get over the broken glass, it would see me. Grasping my extra candle tightly, I took a deep breath and prayed it was dumb enough for my makeshift plan to work.

I threw the candle to the far side of the room, letting hit a window and tap loud enough to grab the creature’s attention. It furiously struggled to the window, slapping its hands unintelligently against the glass.

While it was facing the opposite direction, I stood up. There were entrails dragging on the ground from the creature. I supposed that was the force that made the creature struggle at first to move about. Whatever it was connected to, I did not want to know.

Being careful to step over the gore and glass, I made it back into the hallway whilst the thing continued to claw at the window.

After a good while of quietly continuing down the hall, I took a breath. I felt like it had lost me, and finally, I would be able to ignite a match and light my candle.

With light, I had a good view of each door and their number. Without wasting any time, I began to make my way to my mother’s room.

I found it relatively quick, and since I was from the outside, all I needed to do was turn the lock and open the door.

There I found her, serenely sitting in her chair, staring out a window that showed nothing but a brick wall. As I entered, she turned to face me. Her hollow eye sockets peered at me as I closed the door.

She spoke softly. “I’ve been waiting for you.”

Although always cryptic, that sentence worried me. Ensuring my efforts weren’t for nothing, I questioned. “Is this not the first time I have been here?”

“Oh, no.” She said. “You have not come to see me since you arrived… but I knew you would eventually.”

I took a deep sigh of relief. I had at the very least succeeded in breaking the endless loop. Next, I needed to see if she had answers. “Since I arrived…” I muttered, contemplating her words. “Do you know what happened?”

At that, she held her head low. “I don’t know why you came, but I do know how.” Then, she shifted in her seat, ready to recall what she knew. “You were the first to come. They brought you in a stretcher, as I’ve been told. I had not sensed your presence until weeks had passed…” She took a moment to think. “After that, an older sounding man was admitted, screaming, to solitary confinement.” She sighed. “The rest were all quiet. Subdued. I cannot say there is much information for me to give.”

“That’s it?” I said in desperation. “That still leaves so many questions open. Why did we end up here?”

“If I knew, then I would tell you, my son.” She stood from her chair, slowly moving to the desk at the far side of the room. “The only other piece of information I can give is that I heard your psychiatrist speak to all of you when you were admitted. He is likely the only one to have the full picture.”

Dr. Prescott… My mother was right, he was the person who looked after us and organized the whole thing. The one man who would know what happened would be him… But I knew that if I simply tried to run up to him and ask him, there would be trouble. If he was there when we were admitted, it meant he knew full well what was happening to us. He was in on it.

Aside from confronting him, though, I found know way to figure out his secrets. I was no good interrogator, and I had nowhere to take Dr. Prescott where we could not be found. There was no way of knowing…

“That’s probably the worst person to hold all the cards…” I said, continuing to think as my mother rummaged about her desk drawers.

Then, it hit me. I did not need to extract the information from Dr. Prescott. He had already done it himself. The leatherbound journal in his office. He kept records of every one of us in that, and I’d be damned if he stopped when we were admitted. All I had to do was find the journal, and I could learn everything Dr. Prescott kept hidden.

My mother finally found what she was looking for in the drawer, pulling out a small wooden box. “Take this. You’ll need it.”

Taking the box, I pulled it open. Immediately, a low tune began to play. Shocked by the sound, I clamped it shut once more. It was a music box, and an old one at that. It was small, wooden, and overall modest in make. “Why?” I simply asked.

My mother softly chuckled for a moment, then shook her head. “Just keep it close.” We stood in silence and moonlight for a good long while after that, unsure what to say. Finally, my mother spoke up. “I know what you plan to do. There is only one option to find the truth…” She sighed, moving back to her chair and sitting. “Remember that you cannot do this alone. Before you risk traversing to the very opposite side of this dangerous place, you would be wise to find support.”

“If I got caught, everything would be over…” I said, pondering her words. After deliberation, I agreed with her sentiment. Before I could risk going all the way to Dr. Prescott’s office on the western wing, I would need to free my companions from the drug just as I freed myself… Easier said than done.

Tucking the music box deep into my pocket, I held the candle in my hand outward and opened the door. There were no signs of the creature to be found, and light from daybreak had finally begun to illuminate the halls.

Before I left, though, my mother spoke again. “I feel your hesitation… You’ve seen something, haven’t you?”

Swallowing the lump in my throat, I replied. “I’ve seen many things…”

At that, my mother chuckled heartily. “You’ve seen nothing yet…”