Reflections of the Damned

Past (2)

Lara's breaths came in shallow gasps as she pressed her back against the wall of the narrow stairwell. The dim light overhead flickered, casting erratic shadows across the chipped, peeling paint. Her heart pounded like a war drum, the echo reverberating in her ears as she tried to calm the frantic thoughts racing through her mind.

You need to keep moving. Stop thinking and move, she told herself, but her legs felt like lead, her body trembling with exhaustion and fear.

She swallowed hard, forcing her feet to climb the last few steps. The air grew colder as she reached the second floor, the stench of antiseptic and decay filling her nostrils. The corridor before her was eerily quiet, the silence broken only by the faint hum of fluorescent lights.

Her fingers tightened around the strap of her backpack. She hadn't stopped running since Andy had started hunting her, and every step felt heavier than the last.

Lara crept down the hallway, her footsteps soft and deliberate. Doors lined the walls, each one closed and marked with faded signs she couldn't read in the dim light. She chose one at random, her trembling hands turning the knob as quietly as possible.

The room was small, cluttered with shelves filled with surgical tools and dusty vials. A faint metallic scent hung in the air, mingling with the stale odor of old chemicals.

Lara stepped inside and locked the door behind her, pressing her ear against the wood to listen for any sounds in the corridor. Her pulse quickened as distant footsteps echoed faintly, growing louder.

They're searching for me, she realized, her chest tightening.

Lara backed away from the door, her eyes scanning the room. She had only a few minutes if that before they found her.

Her gaze landed on a black jacket draped over a chair, and beside it, a pair of thick pants and sturdy boots. They looked worn but serviceable. Without hesitation, she slipped out of her torn, blood-stained clothes and pulled on the new outfit.

The weight of the jacket gave her an odd sense of comfort, as though she was wrapping herself in armor. The boots felt sturdy underfoot, grounding her.

She found a thick, tattered school bag shoved beneath a table. Grabbing it, she began rummaging through the shelves, her movements quick and precise. Surgical blades, vials of unidentified liquids, syringes, pills—she stuffed them all into the bag.

Her hands shook as she worked, but she pushed through the fear. The tools weren't just supplies they were her lifeline.

As she stuffed the last blade into the bag, Lara's thoughts drifted to what she'd overheard.

Andy's chilling words about Elene, Margot, and Lyn swirled in her mind. The photographs, the ghostly vision of the past it all pointed to a larger truth, one she couldn't yet grasp.

Was Andy trying to turn me against Lyn and Margot? she wondered. Could she have planted those photographs to manipulate me?

But another thought crept in, unbidden and unwelcome: Or was Andy right all along?

Her stomach churned as she tried to connect the dots, but nothing seemed to fit. The photo of the sunny park, the glimpses of past events, the Sujay hospital itself—it was like trying to piece together a puzzle with missing pieces.

A thought struck her suddenly, chilling her to the core. Have I been here before?

The question lingered, heavy and suffocating. She didn't have the answers, but she knew one thing: she had to find Elias.

Lara adjusted the straps of her bag, the weight reassuring against her back. She'd searched the entire first floor and found nothing no patients, no sign of Elias or her group.

"It's all upstairs," she whispered to herself, the realization both terrifying and motivating.

Her fear lingered, a constant gnawing presence, but beneath it, a new strength began to take root. She was tired of running, tired of being the hunted. She couldn't let this place consume her.

Gripping the handle of a nearby drawer, she yanked it open and grabbed a handful of gauze and a bottle of antiseptic. Stuffing them into her bag, she took a deep breath, steeling herself.

This place won't win, she thought. Not without a fight.

The sound of footsteps echoed down the corridor, snapping Lara out of her thoughts. She froze, her body tensing as the footsteps grew louder.

It's either the nurses or Andy, she realized, her stomach twisting.

Her gaze darted around the room, searching for an escape. Her eyes landed on a small button embedded in the wall beside the shelves. The words etched above it were faded, but the outline of a door was faintly visible.

Her breath hitched as she moved toward it, her fingers hovering over the button.

The footsteps stopped just outside the room, followed by a soft knock on the door.

"Lara…" Andy's voice was smooth, almost sing-song. "I know you're in there. Why don't you make this easy and come out?"

Lara pressed the button without hesitation, and the small white door slid open with a faint hiss. She slipped through the opening, closing it quietly behind her just as the door to the room burst open.

Lara crouched in the narrow passageway, her heart pounding in her ears. She could hear Andy's frustrated growl from the other side of the wall.

"Search every room," Andy ordered, her voice cold and sharp. "Find her before she figures out too much."

The sound of retreating footsteps sent a shiver down Lara's spine. She remained still, waiting until the hallway fell silent once more.

Her breath came in shaky bursts as she clutched the straps of her bag. She didn't know where this passage led, but she had no choice but to follow it.

The passage opened into a long, dimly lit corridor. The walls, cracked and stained with age, seemed to pulse with the weight of the hospital's unspoken horrors. Lara's footsteps echoed softly against the cold floor, her breath catching in her throat as she approached a series of metal doors.

Her heart sank as she saw what lay inside. Through a narrow window, she spotted Elias first. He was strapped to a bed, pale and lifeless, his arm outstretched with a tube connected to his vein, draining his blood into a transparent bottle that pulsed faintly with a sickly glow.

"Elias," she whispered, her voice breaking.

Next to him, Margot lay bound in another room, her head turned toward the door. Despite the restraints and the pale cast of her face, her eyes lit up with recognition as soon as they landed on Lara.

"Lara!" Margot's voice cracked, weak but urgent. "Thank God… I thought you were dead."

Lara pushed the door open, rushing to Elias's side. He stirred weakly at her touch, his eyes fluttering open. A faint, relieved smile crossed his face.

"You're alive," he murmured.

"I'm here," Lara said, her voice trembling. She glanced around the room and spotted a doctor's coat hanging by the window.

"The key," Margot croaked, nodding toward the coat. "It's in the pocket."

Lara rushed to the coat, her hands shaking as she rummaged through the pockets. Her fingers closed around the cold metal of the key, and she turned back to the beds, fumbling to unlock Elias first.

He groaned as the restraints fell away, rubbing his sore wrists. Lara quickly pulled the tube from his arm, grimacing as blood dripped onto the floor.

"Can you stand?" she asked.

Elias nodded weakly, leaning heavily on her for support. "Barely, but I'll manage."

Next, she freed Margot, who sat up with a hiss of pain, her eyes dark with exhaustion.

"We thought…" Margot trailed off, her voice trembling. "We thought we'd lost you."

"I thought the same about you," Lara said, helping her to her feet.

Margot and Elias exchanged a look, their expressions clouded with fear and relief.

"I can't believe you're still standing," Elias said, his voice hoarse. "After everything…"

"I couldn't leave you here," Lara said firmly. Her voice softened as she added, "I thought I'd lost you, too."

Elias reached for her hand, squeezing it weakly. "I'm glad you didn't give up on us."

Margot, her voice still shaky, asked, "Have you… have you gotten your powers back?"

Lara shook her head, her expression pained. "No. I've tried, but nothing's changed."

Elias's face fell, and Margot looked away, her hands trembling.

Lara took a deep breath. "There's something else," she said, her voice heavy with the weight of what she had to say. "I met someone Andy. She's… she's insane, but she knows things. About Lyn. About Margot. About this whole place."

Margot stiffened, her eyes narrowing. "What did she say?"

Lara hesitated, glancing at Elias. "She said Lyn deceived us. That she brought us here on purpose, not for answers, but to trap us. She was working with this hospital all along."

Margot's face went pale, and her lips parted as if to speak, but no words came out.

"I don't believe it," Margot whispered, shaking her head. "Lyn… she wouldn't do that. She couldn't."

"I didn't want to believe it either," Lara said, her voice cracking. "But it makes sense, doesn't it? The way she knew so much about this place? How she convinced us to come here? She played us, Margot. And we walked right into her trap."

Margot sat heavily on the edge of the bed, her face buried in her hands.

"There's more," Lara continued, her voice trembling. "Andy told me about you, Margot. About your connection to this place."

Margot looked up sharply, her eyes filled with confusion and fear. "What do you mean?"

Lara hesitated before explaining everything the vision she'd seen of the past, the Patron, the buried heart, and Margot's possible connection to it all.

"I don't remember any of that," Margot said, her voice barely audible. "But I've been having dreams. Dreams of a woman in a doctor's coat. She… she calls me her daughter. But I don't know her. I don't even remember having a mother."

Elias frowned, his expression troubled. "It's possible the hospital has been manipulating your memories. Twisting them."

Margot's hands clenched into fists. "If that's true… if I really am connected to this place… then I need to know why."

Lara nodded, her own frustration boiling over. "I feel the same way. This photo—" She pulled the photograph from her jacket pocket and held it out. "It keeps appearing, and I don't know why. I don't remember being in it, but there I am."

Elias took the photo, studying it with a frown. "August 13, 2020," he murmured. "That's… that's before the City fell."

Lara's voice cracked as she said, "Exactly. I don't even know if this is real. If I've been here before. If any of this makes sense."

Elias reached out, pulling her into a comforting embrace. "We'll figure it out, Lara. Together. You're not alone in this."

Margot stood, her expression hardening. "We need answers. Real answers. If Lyn betrayed us, if I'm somehow tied to this place, we can't leave until we know the truth."

Elias nodded, his strength returning. "Margot's right. We can't let Lyn or the hospital win. Whatever the cost, we'll find the answers we came for."

Lara looked between them, her resolve strengthening. "Then we start now. Before it's too late."

The three of them shared a determined look, their fear and uncertainty momentarily overshadowed by the spark of hope.

But in the back of Lara's mind, Andy's chilling words lingered: "You're part of something bigger than you realize, Lara. And it will destroy you."