CHAPTER 1
Anna Vasily and Catherine Knight sat in Catherine's car as they looked up at the large and looming hospital that had been abandoned for over a decade.
“Nothing is going to happen if we just sit here and wait,” Catherine finally said after a long silence. She opened the driver’s door and stepped out into the empty parking lot.
Anna took a look, calmed her shivering body and breathed deeply. But still she's anxious, she wasn’t too sure about this. It was an abandoned hospital after all. “Are you sure this is the place Jeanne said to meet her?”
Both women were college students at Ashton College and had been invited to a sorority party. But this place looked just as deserted as it had all those years ago. There were no lights and no music. The building stood like a silent sentinel in the dark night. Catherine the popular one, was always invited to cool parties and she would always dragged Anna with her every chance she got.
Not that Anna was against having a good time, but she wasn’t what most would call a “popular” kind of girl. She was a redhead and extremely pale. Her silver eyes were too large for her face, and she was as thin and sickly as a rail from the blood sickness she carried in her veins—a sickness the doctors had no clue how to cure or even what to call. Rare was the term they used so often that Anna was so sick of it.
Thankfully though, even with stick like arms and legs, she still has fat in her chest and bum area because without it, anyone would mistake her for a boy with her short hair and all.
But enough of that, it's not the right time for her pity party. They were here to have a good time.
Sighing once more, she finally went out then glanced around. The large building sat on an approximately ten acres of land and had lots of trees surrounding it. If she hadn’t come here with Catherine, Anna would be running in the opposite direction. But she and Catherine had been best friends since they were toddlers, and the girl had the heart of a lion—even if she had the common sense of an infant sometimes. She would always get herself into trouble, without really thinking it first.
“Come on.” Catherine jogged up the twenty stone steps and neared the run-down entrance. “It’s just an abandoned building. Don’t let the dilapidated state scare you, Anna.”
“You know this is stupid, Cathy.” Anna said from the side of the car. She crossed her thin arms over her ample chest and glanced around the empty lot. There were weeds growing out of the cracked pavement, and the surrounding woods sheltered Catherine and Anna from being seen from the road. “Who would throw a party in a place like this? Jeanne probably lied to you.”
Jeanne might be the most popular student on campus but when no one's watching she's a complete bully to those she deemed not par on her standards. And because of that Anna hated the girl, but Catherine didn’t care what Jeanne's true character is, she can got along with everyone.
But Anna’s musing were cut short when her best friend suddenly exclaimed. “I’ll bet they’re plenty of hotties inside. I’ll hook you up with a few, just wait.”
Anna frowned. That was the last thing she wanted. “I think I can get my own date.” And considering she's clueless on how to get one she never really tried. Actually she never told her best friend that she never had a boyfriend before because she didn’t want her to become uncomfortable around her. Catherine had this habit to brag everything she did when she got a new boyfriend, so Anna was terrified that Catherine would freaked out once she tell her, so for now she wanted to remain it a secret.
“Fine, then get up here.” Catherine tried the door, but it didn’t open. That would be no big deal. She knew how to pick locks, a talent Anna always wondered about. Catherine is rich so when did she learned such unusual skill? Shaking her head and dismissing her doubts, she started climbing the steps.
“I knew you wouldn’t let me down.” Catherine winked at her as she swung one of the doors open. It squeaked on unoiled hinges, and Anna smelled mold and stagnant water as soon as she stepped inside. The scent reminded her of an old unused room.
“Second floor,” Catherine said.
Anna glanced around at what used to be the reception area. The vending machines were empty, and the sheets of protective glass were shattered. Chairs were overturned, and there was a layer of dust over everything. The windows were boarded up, but tiny slivers of moonlight seeped through. As she walked, glass crunched under her favorite sneakers.
Anna was careful of the hanging wires though she knew there wasn’t any power in this place, but it doesn't hurt to make sure.
There was graffiti spray painted on the peeling walls. Anna stopped and read the words “We Are Not Alone.” She shivered at the ominous words that had been painted in red. What did that mean? Humans or delusions in the mind of the person who’d tagged the wall?
Catherine, however, chuckled. "Don’t pay that any attention..Maybe some crazy guy wrote that nonsense.”
It's not something nonsense, that's what Anna believes. Whoever write that must have known they were coming. Is this Jeanne's new way of bullying?
Anna nearly jumped out of her skin when she accidently kicked a fire extinguisher. It rolled slightly and hit the wall. And the noise echoed eerily.
There was a skylight halfway down the hall. The glass was busted, and a plethora of plants and vines reached down into the belly of the building. It was hard to believe that anything could grow in there. The greenery looked out of place.
She took a step forward and then lifted her foot to see that she’d stepped in something sticky. Yuk. Ugh. Why do I always let Catherine drag me into this kind of stuff?
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