Sunggyu held his breath as he yet again took lead, leading Woohyun, Hoya, Changjo, and Ricky through the vent system – a seemingly common passage recently. They all tried to move as silently as possible, trying hard not to slam their hands down and make it sound as if a herd of elephants were stampeding through the vents, however, it was quiet difficult to move silently through the air passages – especially with the occasional fallen out grate, or patch of dried blood, or anything they saw through the grate – the various disgusting and horrifying scenes that had played out before them between the roaming patients (unbeknownst to those involved).

As the seven continued to crawl, Sunggyu tried to put a time to how long they had been crawling – how many rooms they had passed over and trying to recall the directions in which they needed to go to meet up with the other six who they had been separated from. Though he wanted to say that it had been hours, he knew it could’ve just as easily been minutes, seconds. Time seemed to travel insanely slowly in the asylum; seconds feeling like hours, hours like days. There was no way for him to tell exactly how long they had been in the building – how long they had been on the run, the only thing he knew was that his body was progressively becoming more and more tired as their venture through the vents continued. He could feel his muscles – though he apparently shouldn’t feel pain – begged him to stop and take a break; his eyes pleaded him to close them – to let them rest.

However, though the temptation was great, he knew he couldn’t just stop there – that he couldn’t just stop and take a break, the others would not have it. The others would nag him, though that was usually his job within the group. With an exhausted sigh, he threw a glance over his shoulder – looking into the darkness behind him, watching as some of the others passed over the grates. He watched as they became visible, even if it was for only a split second. He only realized that he had stopped moving when Woohyun had suddenly bumped into him – the younger’s head awkwardly hitting against his .

“S-Sunggyu?” whispered Woohyun, the exhaustion apparent in the younger’s voice as well, “Is there something wrong?”

Sunggyu shook his head, but then remembered that the younger could not see him, “No.”

As the word slipped from his lips, he heard the others fall silent – motionless.

“Then why are we…”

“Stopped?” finished Sunggyu, earning a hum from Woohyun, “I-I…”

“You what?” responded Ricky, fear evident in his whisper.

“I-I…” muttered Sunggyu, unable to get the words I’m tired or I need a break to fall from between his lips, “Forget about it.”

The others all stayed silently, listening as the elder began to move again, listening to the slight groans of the metal shifting under Sunggyu’s weight. Woohyun glanced over his shoulder to see Yukwon shrugging from where he stopped over a grate, apparently responding to something Hoya or Dongwoo had said.

As he continued to crawl, Sunggyu came to a fork in the vent – to left the vent dropped, going to the lower level, and to the right the vent continued on this level, branching out in various directions after a good while – at the end of the path he could see light shining in through a grate.

“We’re t-taking a right,” whispered Sunggyu, trusting Woohyun to relay the message, carefully moving into the new portion of the events – trying hard to prevent himself from peeking out of the grate on the side of the vent that he had passed at the fork, as he tried hard to ignore the thick metallic scent of blood being emitted from the hall below.

As he continued on, he realized that the grates had changed their positioning, rather than being on the bottom of the vent like they had been before, they were on the sides now – more so on the left rather than the right. As he carried on moving, he held his breath - a sudden tension building up in his muscles, as if something dangerous was approaching him though he could not see it.

Just as he was about to speak, his body froze, yet again making Woohyun bump awkwardly into his behind. Woohyun, getting a little aggravated that he had yet again bumped his head blindly against the elder’s ,  angrily whispered, “Really hyung!?”

However, Woohyun got no response from the elder who lightly shushed him, listening for whatever had set his senses off – peering through a grate to look for whatever had caused him to freeze.

Woohyun opened his mouth to speak to the elder again, but clamped it shut as he heard the deep, hoarse voice echoing through the vent system – as he listened to the man ramble on angrily.

“Stupid shadow…”

The voice had all seven of them freezing in place and tensing up, not wanting the man to be aware of their escape from the room just yet – not wanting the man to be aware of their whereabouts just yet. The haunting voice nearly had them all trembling where they kneeled.

“You helped them escape…again. Stop getting yourself involved in my affairs.”

Sunggyu bit his lip as he watched the man pass, speeding through the halls and in the direction the seven had just come from. He heard a slight intake of air farther down the line, as one of them clearly saw the man turning down the hall.

“You damn experiment; you keep helping my catches escape. You made my hard work go to waste! I had nearly caught them...I had broken that one’s arm for a reason. Not only that, but I hurt his leg…made it impossible for him to travel quickly and yet they still managed to escape – still managed to slip out of my hold due to your damn meddling. I swear if you weren’t already dead I’d kill you…”

The seven all stayed as still as statues until all the echoes of the doctor’s ramblings fall silent, faded as he moved farther and farther away from them. Once they were sure he would not hear them, the seven continued forward, only to freeze as they heard a loud thud ring through the vent system, reverberating through the metal chamber. They heard a loud crashing noise that sounded much like a metal desk being thrown against the cinderblock walls and the doctor’s loud and aggravated scream.

“Again you damn shadow! REALLY!?”

The seven all flinched as they heard the doctor’s anger reverberating through the metal chamber they were all presently trapped in. Though they had flinched, they kept moving, heading straight towards the grate that was letting in more light than all the others combined. However, as they heard the doctor’s angry footsteps in the halls below, they froze yet again – all of them holding their breath, knowing that the man was aware of their escape now.

“You…you…gah!?” howled the doctor, his shadow visible in the grate nest to Woohyun, causing Sunggyu to bit his lip and slide his way silently to the next, “You damn experiment…you…just stop meddling. Not only did you have that one little lamb lie to me and make me go searching for the rest of their party elsewhere, but you also helped them escape in the time I was away…”

Sunggyu held his breath, wondering just who this ‘lamb’ was – who in their party had been tortured by that bastard of a doctor.

“Sungyeol…” whispered Woohyun, causing Sunggyu to glance over his shoulder in worry, Woohyun’s voice had broken a silence they all seemed to want to keep.

Sunggyu looked at Woohyun in wonder, curious as to how the younger knew who it was, but then it struck him again – Niel and Sungyeol had been the first people the shadow communicated with, the duo had been the ones that the Shadow had connected to first back in the Doctor’s mansion.

Farther back in the line, Yukwon held his breath – he hoped and prayed that the man would let off a little more information about these “lambs”, such as their location and possibly how many there are. He hoped that he was wrong, that he was not the only one left out of his original group.

Yukwon froze slightly as he saw the man stop pacing in the hall, peering down over the railing and through the broken glass to the floor below.

“Those little lambs have to still be down there,” whispered the doctor to himself, not knowing that there were seven pairs of ears listening in on his rant, “there is no way they all got away…especially not that one with the leg injury…definitely not him and his other shadow carrier fiend.”

“I-It’s Sungyeol and Niel,” whispered Dongwoo, not seeing the doctor but hearing him as he stayed as quiet as he can be, his heart hopeful and torn by fear as he whispered, “I-It has to be.”

“Then…where…Taeil…Zico…” mumbled Yukwon, frowning his eyes stayed locked on the doctor’s figure until the man began to storm away again, this time determined to catch one of their various groups.

“Who are Taeil and Zico?” inquired Dongwoo once the coast was clear, “Who are they?”

“They…” Yukwon paused, unsure of whether or not he should continue with his words, whether or not he should bother telling the duo his story – the story of the two males he was hoping to be reunited with.

“Yukwon?”  Muttered Dongwoo.

“Don’t worry about it, t-they are just people I got separated from earlier,” muttered the male, continuing on in the vents as those in front of him carried on, moving in the same direction the doctor had went – not knowing whether or not it would be a smart move.

As they came to a sudden stop again, Yukwon whispered, “What are we stopping for now?”

“They found an exit near a set of stairs,” muttered Changjo, “Apparently the grate is gone already, and hence the reason it’s brighter than the other holes…”

Yukwon hummed, “So, we are going downstairs?”

Hoya, from the back of the line, hummed – having heard Yukwon, “Yes, we are going downstairs, we had agreed to meet the rest of our group there…if they are still alive.”

Yukwon nodded, despite knowing that no one could see him. A determined look appeared on his face as he decided that once he hit the lobby-like-area he was going to split from the group again and head to find Taeil and Zico – in hopes that they were still alive, if not them then the one he was connected to.

“Yukwon?” muttered Dongwoo, realizing that Yukwon had hesitated as it had come to the time for him to drop out of the vent.

“Sorry,” stated Yukwon, breaking away from his thoughts and pushing himself out of the vents carefully, thanking Sunggyu with a nod of his head as the elder male grabbed his upper arm as he nearly lost his balance on his landing.

Dongwoo hopped out of the vent followed by Hoya, who cast him a questioning glance before looking back towards Yukwon – who did not seem to be there fully. The duo brought up the rear of the pack again, their eyes never leaving Yukwon as the male seemed to fidget and constantly look around him. As they reached the lobby-like area they had previously seen from the floor above upon first entering the building, the seven looked around  for any signs of the other group having been there, but their search came up empty.

As they gathered together in one of the darker corners of the room – to keep them hidden from any unwanted eyes, Woohyun whispered, “Sunggyu, I told you that they wouldn’t be here…I told you that they are the lambs that the doctor was talking about…the ones that are trapped elsewhere on this floor…”

“I-I…” muttered Sunggyu, his voice falling silent for a second before he continued on, unaware of the lone figure sneaking his way away from the group, “I was just making sure, okay Woohyun. I-I…I was a bit hopeful that you were wrong to be honest with you…I hoped that you were wrong and that they’d be here waiting for us…”

Dongwoo zoned out, not really wanting to listen to the duos slight debate – well, the discussion that was surely going to end up as a debate between the two. He, feeling fear rising within his chest and tension throughout his body, cast a glance around the room – fearing that something was watching them, despite them taking the best effort to stay hidden. His attention was suddenly taken away from the slightly dark room that sat around him to the male that stood beside him, Hoya, whom had nudged him with his elbow.  

“What?” whispered Dongwoo, only to get Hoya pointing at something as a response. Looking in the direction the younger had pointed, he was shocked to see Yukwon wondering off by himself.

“Should we go after him?” questioned Hoya, taking Dongwoo’s tense hand in his own.

“I-I…Sure…” muttered Dongwoo, biting back his fear and letting his guilt take over, he didn’t want the other male to be traveling alone again, he didn’t want the man to be left alone again if his friends truly were already dead.

Hoya smiled and pulled Dongwoo away from the four who were immersed in the debate between Sunggyu and Woohyun, not realizing that the duo had slipped away with Yukwon and not realizing just how loud they were being.

Sunggyu felt incoming danger again, he felt his muscles tensing up and he felt something spike up within him. His words were suddenly cut off and it caused Woohyun to look at him in slight aggravation, unaware of what was going – why the elder was acting the way he was.

“Sunggyu?” questioned Ricky in concern, “A-Are you alright?”

“I-I…” muttered Sunggyu, “There is something in here with us…”

“There are a lot of things in this asylum with us,” retorted Woohyun sassily, not really feeling fear at the current point in time, “Many, many evil things that are looking to kill us.”

Sunggyu stared at Woohyun blankly, not finding his words amusing at all before looking away again – glancing around the room they stood in. Finally, he became aware of the absence of Hoya, Dongwoo, and Yukwon.

“Where did they go?” growled Sunggyu, his panic obvious in his tone.

“What? Who?” muttered Woohyun, looking around and feeling fear rise up even more within him as he realized they had unintentionally split up the group yet again, “When did they leave?”

The younger duo shrugged, Ricky grabbing a hold of Changjo’s hand tightly, “D-Do you think something got them?”

“If something did get them, we would’ve seen,” muttered Sunggyu doubtful, not showing how truly worried he was.

“Or at least heard them,” stated Woohyun in agreement.

“S-should we go a-after them?” questioned Ricky, his voice wavering with the fear that was consuming him due to their surroundings.

“Should we?” muttered Woohyun, repeating the question and directing his gaze towards Sunggyu, who was in deep thought.

“It would probably be best if we would go down there,” responded Sunggyu, smiling faintly at the duo before looking towards Woohyun, only to find that the male was already headed in the direction he believed the trio had gone.

“Woohyun,” growled Sunggyu, “Get back here…”

“It’d be best if I stayed farther away,” muttered Woohyun, remembering what had happened prior to them leaving the room the doctor had locked them in.

Sunggyu faltered, but after a second of thought, agreed.

Just as Sunggyu, Ricky, and Changjo were about to reach where Woohyun was waiting for them, they heard a loud noise that sounded something similar to shattering glass before Changjo was suddenly tackled to the ground by some unknown figure causing Ricky to gasp in fear and collapse, his legs giving out on him due to shock.

Woohyun glanced at the frozen Sunggyu before diving forward himself and tackling the attacker off of Changjo, hissing slightly as the collision with the floor jostled his bones a bit. Woohyun hissed as he felt a fist collide with his chest, knocking the air out of his lungs as the man below him hissed out in anger.

“Get off of me…you’re not the one I want…I-It’s him…I need to kill him…” growled the man below Woohyun, some patient, “I…I must kill him…”

Woohyun stared at the man in shock, “W-Why?”

“I-I must kill him,” responded the crazed man below Woohyun, swinging at the male again, his fist colliding with the younger’s ribs and making him groan in pain yet again, “Master told me to…I-I must kill him…”

The man glared up at Woohyun who was fighting to pin the male’s arms down to the ground. Woohyun wrestled with the man until the man ended up throwing his frail body – due to lack of food in the mansion and here in the asylum – off of him and harshly to the floor before standing up again. The man strutted over to Changjo while Sunggyu cautiously moved toward Woohyun, checking on the bruised up younger before turning to look at the crazed man that towered over Changjo’s froze form – fear obvious in the youngest’s eyes.

Changjo looked towards Sunggyu in worry, for help. Sunggyu nodded as a signal that he would aid before standing Woohyun up and having him and Ricky get a head start in their escape from the man that slowly dropped to his knees, straddling Changjo’s legs.

“I was told to kill you and I will…” growled the man, however as he raised whatever weapon he had drawn, Sunggyu kicked the man harshly from behind.

Sunggyu’s foot hitting the man harshly in the right side and causing various popping noises to echo through the room – a sign that the kick had damaged the man’s ribs quite severely, clearly breaking some. Sunggyu limped over to Changjo and pulled the younger hastily off the ground and took off after Ricky and Woohyun, not sparing a second to look back at the man who had literally been kicked off Changjo. The four ran despite not knowing where they were going, not really caring at this point in time – the only thing that mattered to them was getting away from the crazed man that was determined that it was his life mission to kill Changjo, to eliminate him from the horrendous game within the asylum. 

As I mentioned in the previous chapter all you lovely people have made this my third most subscribed to fic. And so, I wanted to farther elaborate on it, plus, I wanted a reason to recommend some of my other works like this one to you all. They are stories that I figured you'd might like and could - if you chose to - read while awaiting my next update (whenever that is consiering that I have a wonderful ACT coming up next monththat I should be focusing on). 

Anyhow, this story falls behind one of my first fics here on AFF The Imperfects which was started in October of 2011 and was my eleventh fic, it recently hit 229 subscribers (8 upvotes), most of which came after the fic ended - some even coming from this year (which surprised me). It like this one is a horror like fic - though it was a bit more demented and I...I don't really know how I came up with the ideas for it. Also, please take not if you do go read the fic (which you can do by clicking the title above) that I was three years younger than I am today and my writing quality was...fair. I'm not the best now, but I'd like to think that I've improved since then. Also, ignore the AN, I've realized how stupid I was back then...

The other story it falls behind is the first of the Experiment 113 series, Experiment 113: Sanity.  It was started in August 2012 and was finished in September 2013. It recently hit 203 subscribers (23 upvotes).  If you haven't already, you should go check it out (since it holds some relevance to this story). 

Another story of mine that I'd thought I might as well recommend to you all is This Used to Be Paradise. It has 138 subscribers (4 upvotes) and is my fourth most subscribed to fic, it was third until this one bumped it down. It was originally written in Secptember of 2011. I believe that this was actually my first Infinite fanfic on the site. It was the start of these dark themed (horror/suspense/thriller) fics.

Again, ignore the author notes if you do go check any of these out...I was stupid back in 2011.