Ava's eyes slowly fluttered open, and she was met with an unfamiliar ceiling. She tried to sit up, but a wave of dizziness washed over her, forcing her to lie back down. As her memories began to return, she realized she was still in the basement of Ashwood Sanitarium.
She gingerly got to her feet, testing her balance. The room seemed to spin around her, but she managed to steady herself. Ava looked around, trying to piece together what had happened. The audio recorder lay on the floor, its reels tangled in a mess of wire.
As she picked up the recorder, Ava noticed something strange. The walls seemed to be whispering to her, the soft murmurs echoing off the concrete. She strained her ears, trying to make out what the voices were saying.
The whispers grew louder, more urgent, and Ava felt a chill run down her spine. She began to walk towards the stairs, but the whispers seemed to be coming from all directions. She spun around, trying to locate the source, but there was nothing to see.
Suddenly, the whispers stopped. The silence was oppressive, and Ava felt like she was being watched. She slowly turned around, her heart pounding in her chest.
That's when she saw it. A message scrawled on the wall in red letters: "Get out while you still can." Ava's blood ran cold. Who could have written this? And how did they get past her?
Ava's mind was racing as she stumbled towards the stairs. She had to get out of there, get back to her car and drive as far away from Ashwood Sanitarium as possible. But as she reached the top of the stairs, she heard footsteps coming from the floor above.
Heavy, deliberate footsteps, as if someone was trying to make their presence known. Ava's heart sank. She was not alone in the sanitarium.
She slowly made her way up to the next floor, her senses on high alert. The footsteps grew louder, but she couldn't see anyone. Ava's skin crawled as she realized she was being stalked.
As she turned a corner, Ava caught a glimpse of a figure out of the corner of her eye. She spun around, but there was no one there. The footsteps stopped, and the silence was deafening.
Ava knew she had to keep moving. She couldn't stay trapped in this place, not with whatever was lurking in the shadows. She quickened her pace, her heart pounding in her chest.
But the further she walked, the more lost she became. The corridors seemed to twist and turn, leading her in circles. Ava's sense of unease grew, and she knew she was running out of time.
Suddenly, the lights flickered, and Ava was plunged into darkness. She froze, her heart racing. She was trapped, alone and defenseless in the darkness.
And then, the whispers started again. "You should have listened," they whispered. "You should have stayed away."
Ava's breath caught in her throat. She knew she had to get out, but the darkness seemed to be closing in around her. She took a step forward, but her foot碰ed with something solid.
A door. Ava's hand trembled as she reached out to touch the door handle , she slowly turned it and the door creaked open.
But what she saw made her blood run cold…