9 Days Before

Eve walked the corridors of the Tower.

Lately, people have been evacuated to this tower instead of the actual tower meant for sheltering.

She had pondered this for a while, checking her notes as she crossed rooms.

A faint squeak of someone's shoes makes it into her eardrums.

She turns her head to the location, getting a glimpse of someone's foot as it disappears.

Eve looks down at her shoes and looks up.

Then proceeds to take them off showing her gripped-toe socks she bought recently.

Tip-toeing to the location of the unknown presence.

Having Eve's full attention, she puts her ordered tasks aside to hunt for this mystery figure - peeking her head around the corner.

Catching a hooded figure peeking through the windows of each room.

She doesn't speak up. Rather holds a curious observation about what this person is looking for.

Before the hooded figure placed their feet on the ground, Eve hid herself around the corner as well. Giving a little smirk as she does.

She hears the pitter-patter of footsteps echoing to the next room, and she leans her head over this time, catching a glimpse of the figure's face.

"A boy…?" She accidentally says aloud. Making the boy dart his head with widened eyes. Their eyes locked together.

"Hi there," she says awkwardly. Causing the boy to run. His footsteps thudded on the floors. She doesn't chase him.

However, she opens an app on her phone to check surveillance cameras.

Leaning on the wall, she examines her Modded phone. Seeing the boy look over his shoulders dipping through hallways like a jackrabbit.

"He's quite fast.." she murmurs.

"Whatcha doing Eve!" A familiar voice broke her tunnel vision. She gasps and throws her phone into her pocket while dropping her shoes.

"Oh..uhm - Hi Sam. Nothing I was just -"

"Procrastinating," Sam implies. Eve scratches her head and agrees. Putting on her shoes.

"Can you please check up on the new patient?" Sam hands another list over to Eve.

She grabs the list from Sam while successfully putting on one of her shoes. Sam looks down at her toe socks and then lets out a sigh.

"Toe socks…?"

"Yes, don't judge something so Divine." Eve twirls her toes, then starts to put on her shoes, smiling at Sam's expression.

Sam stares at her while she puts them on.

"Well, I'll get to it!" She stated while walking past Sam. Brushing her coat.

" Check up on 404 first," Sam implies "It'll be at the far corridors" she informs her.

Eve speculated from the sudden misdirection, however she agrees and the two parted ways, Sam taking the same route the boy ran to.

Her stomach felt unsettled, feeling like Sam knew about this before she continued on track.

She flips out her phone again, tapping some patterns on the phone, then switches it shut - placing it in her pocket.

Her footsteps continue her ordered tasks. Leading to another part of the tower, where they keep mental patients who have agreed to be studied.

Eve believes that there is something more to this, and the upper ranks didn't want to leak any information about these patients, besides the obvious factors.

Her key-card swipes the bars.

Giving a singalong to punch her code within a specific rhythm. The door dings again, opening on its own.

Having air jets spew out between the cracks of it.

She enters the airlock room, having the door shut behind her, and repeats the process. Leading into the patient's room.

"Like that, for example," she thought about the airlock doors.

"Like the airlocks?" The patient continues her thoughts. Eve gets taken back by asking.

"What was that?" Looking at the patient. He shakes his head and shrugs.

"I didn't say anything."

Eve puzzled for moments before leaving it alone. She grabs a nearby chair and takes a place with the patient, taking out a clipboard.

"Is it okay to ask you some questions..?" Taking a pen out. She swirled it around her fingers in a continued motion.

"I wouldn't mind that at all," he smiles, fascinated by her pen-twirling skills.

"Do you know why you're here..?"

"Yes, I got asked for research on a new way of stabilizing mental disorders." He responds, giving a wide grin.

Eve rubs her eyes and looks at him again, but this time, he has a blank facial expression.

Staring off into the distance, as if he never got questioned. Goosebumps rise on the nape of her neck, giving it a little massage to loosen the feeling.

"Okay…are you ready for another question," She asks, feeling staggered. She waits for the patient's response, however their gaze is still fixed past eve.

She turns around to see what they're looking at, looks at them again, and looks towards the camera confirming her suspicions.

knocking the chair back as she bolts up, walking to the camera, pushing it away from her view.

"How's that.."

"That's fine.."

"I didn't catch your name, by the way," Eve mentioned, turning around after she adjusted the camera to a perfect angle for privacy.

However, no response reaches her. The patient standing - facing the corner silently.

Eve's goose-flesh comes back, crawling down from the nape down the spine. Leaving her grunting with discomfort with more questions.

"Hello?" She lets out. Managing the goosebumps as she inches forward.

"Are you okay..? Do you need any help?" she persisted, but it fell silent. The patient flails, hitting his arm head on the wall -

Eve steps back, avoiding any danger that may come. She took her mind to the camera, starting to believe that this was not a brilliant idea.

She steps back again, the patient reacting, twitching his head violently. His eyes rolled down, showing blood clots that pulled up. Eve stops, frozen in her tracks.

A gulp needs to be pushed down her throat, but she doesn't let it happen.

Fighting the urge to swallow before the patient, not knowing what could set them off.

The idea of the shoes comes back to her. However, the thought quickly fades as footsteps approach, the sound echoing into the room. Making the patient twitch.

He smashed his head into the wall repeatedly, his arms smacking the wall.

Leaving Eve in shock, not knowing what to do.

The patient's flailing intensifies as the footsteps get closer.

Blood splatters on the wall and onto the floor, hitting Eve's shoes.

"Shit..shit, shit, shit," Eve repeats. However, making the patient halt in silence. Blood ran down the walls, a splatter mark was imprinted on the concrete. The footsteps got louder, vibrating Eve's eardrums and the patients.

A feeling of dread courses through her, causing Eve's head to swirl, the feeling of sense loosens. She stumbles, trying to grab onto the chair to catch herself. However, she fails, bringing it down with her.

"Oh~...Eve~" The patient finally speaks up, but the voice is gargling with blood that's been mimicking small rivers down from his head towards his mouth.

Footsteps stop at the door. Her senses come back to her, and she grabs the chair and hoists herself up sluggishly. Staring at the patient. His grin was ever so long, so unnatural.

"I'll be seeing you.." He says as the door opens. Eve turns towards the open door and then back at him.

"Seeing me where..?!" She responds, but the question goes unanswered as the man violently breaks out a blood-curdling scream, shaking his head.

Gripping his head tightly, hair poking up between his fingers, the first door shuts. Eve looks again.

Quickly jolting to the camera to at least get something on the footage, the man's screams somehow got louder, making his voice crackle. Eventually he vomits blood from the damages from his throat as the final door creaks open, the man flops on the pile, slashing blood on the walls as if possessed. His clothing being soaked by the second.

Eve snaps to the doorway. Not knowing who might be coming inside. The airlock mechanism depressurizes the room.

Eve's eardrums pop, causing her to yelp from sudden pain.

The man's rolled-down eyes widened further, creating an unnatural set of full moons, his veins still agitated, the skin around the sockets cracks and flakes off.

Eve, on the other hand, is on the ground.

Amidst passing out, the man's eyes pop, blasting black liquids across the room, some splashing onto Eve's face as she passes out, the airlock mechanism stops.

Leaving the door wide open..the reality around Eve comes to a dark halt.

The last thing he visions is the man standing over her. The patient's eyes are gone. Leaving an abyss where it should have been.

Sam rushes to the room, the airlock no longer working. Flashing of yellow invades the surrounding area, bathing it with a paced cycle.

She reacts, squeezing into the room, seeing Eve alone in the room unconscious on the floor. Black subsistence ran down the side of her head.

Sam kneels wiping it off, flakes feathered to the floor, while most of it is painted on her fingers.

She takes a vile out of her pocket, takes a slob of it, and places it within. Dipping the vile into her pocket before she wakes Eve up.

"Hey, wake up," shoving her side to attempt.

Sam grabs a water bottle from her other lab coat pocket and empties it onto Eve.

"Still no reaction, huh?" Sam gets up, ordering guards to come carry Eve's unconscious body into the medial section of the Tower by radio.

Guards gradually enter the room.

"Take good care of her," she says, with no empathy whatsoever. The guards pick her up and carry her to the destination.

Sam halts before leaving the room, taking glances around. Seeing an empty room, wondering why Eve had been in here, and why the door was malfunctioning, she meets with the camera and glares at it while giving Eve the same expression as she watches her being carried away by escorts.

"You did something…didn't you? " she asks herself, bringing in another question as to why Eve didn't go to her assigned room.

She continues walking with the guards out of the room, other guards roll in to survey, two more protect the doorway as Sam and the others leave for the medical center.

Her heels echo throughout the corridors.

Sam, and the guards protecting them pass by a meditating Chandra sitting on her new uncomfortable bed. A single eye opens, looking at the window on the door as the group passes.

She gets up and peaks from the window, seeing an unconscious Eve being carried to who knows where, surely Chandra wouldn't have known. She got thrown in here after being separated from her friend.

"That's a scientist they're holding," she murmurs to herself aloud, causing her bed-mate to poke their head up out of curiosity.

"What's going on..?" The bed-mate's voice startles Chandra, and she jumps, turning around to face them.

"Sorry, I was kinda talking amongst myself," she explained to her roommate with gesturing hands.

"Ah,"

"So..what's your name? might as well get to know each other a little bit." She shuffles to the bedside. looking up at the top bunk.

"Kinda used to sleep on these things," she says. Sliding her hand on the bunk bed rails.

"Names Mier and I've slept worse before," he mentioned and carried on the conversation.

"Mier, huh..why do I vaguely recall your name?"

"Go to Evergaints High School?" He tosses over to look at Chandra.

"Ah. Yes, I do. Just came from there after a -"

"Severe thunderstorm? " He interrupts but finishes her sentence.

"Yup, you have it correct." She loosened her grip on the bed railing, making her arm flop down. She looks at the door, then looks back at Mier.

"So how long have you been here?" She comments with curiosity.

"About.. two days ago..?" He recalls, placing his hand on his chin as he brings the date back.

"Pretty much got here the same as you. Thunderstorms hit suddenly and violently. Those lightning strikes were brutal. Like if -"

"Was stalking you..?" She replicated the interruption, her forehead creased with raised eyebrows. However, leaving them both with goosebumps.

"Feel like something is happening we don't know about." He added, with faint questions about Chandra's side of the story.

"Yeah..it was a passed out scientist looking girl being carried, by the way." she says, sluggishly pointing at the door, giving an opening for a connection between the two.

"Must be taking her to the medical bay of this tower." His knowledge portrays the contents of the Tower. He slouches over onto his back. Staring at the ceiling.

Leaving them both to question the events that have been happening, trying to connect any dots. Eventually, Chandra brings up her side of the story. Then, he follows after. Converting about the past days.

"Then I jumped out the window, and luckily, the Tower escorts were there with one of those blanket catchers." She somewhat laughs at the occurrence, giving closer to the accident.

"So it was you." He pauses Chandra. She looks him in the eyes with inquirement. Mier summons back the picture that was abruptly given to him, he wanted to pass it off as an apparition, but a perceptible pull led him to tell the guards.

Leaving them questioning how he knew, though Mier hung up the phone before anything escalated -- so he thought

"You're the unknown caller..that let those guards know I was up there?"

"Aren't you.." she finishes. Leaving her flabbergasted. Mier tossed over again, pivoting himself up with his hand.

"I somewhat didn't.." The air felt thick with perplexity.

"What do you mean you didn't know?"

"Well, exactly how you might think, but if I explain further, you might no -"

"Never know with some people.." she does it again, but with a stern voice.

However, the conversation falls as echoes of slow-paced footsteps reach their ears again.

Chandra looks both at Mier and the door, then pounces off the bed to dart towards the door, peeking out the window to see.

Dealix, sluggishly walking, his eyes covered in haze.

"He's sleepwalking. " -