"Is everyone all ready and geared up to go?" Indigo asked.
I studied him while he inspected the intricate setup of assorted tech scattered around the unsecured room, the drab decor of supernatural exploration.
Without any further incident, my frazzled nerves calmed. I worked beside Violet in this wide open space. About half an hour later, we finished installing a few weak tap lights, some cheap audio recording equipment, and an assortment of webcams. My crazy friends hoped they would catch serious action in our absence. As a final precaution, we took the liberty of stashing a few of our personal belongings in a lock box.
We set out, planning a break in two hours to check our phones and equipment. We left our phones, not wanting to risk losing them by taking them with us. Only one thing we regretted leaving behind but we couldn't go back for it now: the Motorola two-way walkie-talkies. They would've been ideal for us to carry along.
They nominated me as the designated keyholder during our exotic mission. Violet carried a first aid kit, as well as her mom's stylish hippie sunflower fanny pack.
Ashton wound up with the coolest job of all, being the head cameraman. He chose a southern position, filming and following everyone else throughout the exploration of the spooky abandoned facility. It was even creepier than I imagined it'd be. Violet and I were in charge of taking random pictures of what they viewed in the hopes of capturing something unseen by our own fragile human eyes. I wielded the panoramic camera for instant shots in contrast to her digital camera, for later development and thorough review. In retrospect, none of this would matter in the end.
I couldn't believe they had convinced me to come here against my better judgment. The crazy thing is that I didn't live very far away. Still, I never thought about visiting this unearthly place a day in my lifetime. My family's house was right around the block, closer than anyone else's in our entire grade.
Foolish fantasies infiltrated my consciousness as we began slowly departing down the adjacent corridor, which linked the main buildings together from the grand opening at the entrance. Mustiness and the stench of mold stung my nostrils as the mixing odors cut through the crisp, cold air. I took deeper breaths to take fewer ones. Our sneakers' squeaky sounds echoed back at us from the chipping walls.
Indigo, his brave face on, led with an old-school industrial-grade flashlight, with several backup battery packs stored away. I'm 99% sure that his explanation for the packs involves the rumors he'd read online. They were about a supernatural presence killing the power of all electrical devices within the vicinity. He came even more prepared than he let on, due to his extensive research. Indy was a jock nerd, a rare combination for our age and time, I would say.
On Halloween night, instead of going out to enjoy a scary flick, we were smack dab in the middle of a real-life one. All we lacked was a 1970s-style van and a fearful dog who ate too much junk food. Too bad it wouldn't be one of our redhead classmates playing a mean trick on us if things turned sour.
"Stay close, and don't freak out! We got this," Ashton said. He assisted with a lot of the prep for this abnormal trip, spending lots of time with Indigo at the local hardware store after school or work.
We all had part-time jobs in between school, extracurricular activities, and hanging out. I worked as a Library Assistant, mostly on the weekends or in the late afternoons on school days. I have a superpower: listening and intense comprehension. I can hear a pin drop at any given time.
"Yeah, yeah. Tough guy," Violet said, prodding him.
She hated even the hint of needing a guy to protect us. I knew my best friend very well, and she was a pro-feminist to the fullest degree. Nothing wrong with that, I suppose. In contrast, I preferred to believe my knight in shining armor, possibly a real prince, would come to save me someday. Maybe it was just wishful thinking and girlish dreams on my part. Too many Disney movies overall.
I glanced back at Ashton to check in since I was the one right in front of him. He didn't seem to notice I was still kind of scared with his main focus on steadying the camera, holding it straight and unwavering. No detail would be missed with his current level of concentration. I couldn't help but wish and wonder if he was focusing on my best angle. I needed to find a distraction from the feelings of dread surrounding me, mocking me for my naivete.
"OK, we're coming to the first hall. I think it'd be wise to familiarize ourselves as we proceed, so we can create markers with these!" Indigo instructed, brandishing three cans of spray paint, one black and the other red, with the last one being white. It did not shock anyone that he had overprepared, even after promising he wouldn't do so.
"Are you all right, Tirai?" Violet asked.
"I'm fine," I grunted out, tugging the right strap of my backpack. Her tough girl act had faded a bit. I'd like to think it was because my objections had ceased. Little did she know, I was too much in my own head to think about arguing a new point right now. I tried to steady myself to appear as normal as I pretended to be, all without stumbling over my own two feet.
"Any hall that's marked with a RED X does NOT lead to an exit. Any corridor marked with a BLACK O leads to our central base or an exit from the building. Any remaining area marked with a WHITE X means it is unexplored. Ashton has the bolt cutters stashed in case any of the emergency exits are chained shut. Got it?" Indigo concluded his instructions on how everything was going to go down and awaited confirmation from us.
We were all ready. I, for a different reason though. I just needed to get this the hell over with, once and for all.
"Got it!" Ashton, Violet, and I said in unison as we cautiously turned the corner down the first hall.
The hall split into a fork. Indigo shined his warm light down the length of it. It stretched farther than they had all expected. The illuminating beam of light quickly disappeared, swallowed whole by the ensuing miasma of blackness. Surprised, we stood there for a moment with the cooling breeze ever steady, blowing passed and around us from nowhere at all.
Violet glanced down the other side of the hall. We could all assume it was just as long, according to the ancient map we'd just finished studying and trying to memorize. The fraternal twins had duplicate copies of the blueprint made for each of us. Mine was tucked away because as long as we didn't venture past the first floor, I wouldn't need it. Ashton carefully folded his and placed it in his pocket, patting it for good measure to confirm it was indeed there.
"Should we split up?" Violet asked, her reluctance evident.
"No!" Indigo responded without hesitation, shaking his head vigorously to emphasize his disapproval. "We stick together. That's the plan, Violet," Indigo insisted, explaining once more what they had already agreed upon.
"But..." Violet persisted for whatever reason. Honestly, I was curious myself why she'd push for this. "We'd cover more ground, bro," Violet pleaded with him.
We were all thinking about it. This place was just too big. We'd need a hundred people and probably still wouldn't explore it all in just one night. I know she had been looking forward to this night for a couple of weeks now, but damn. Part of me knew she was right, though. We couldn't blow this rare opportunity out of fear. We'd be the envy of all of our friends back at school until graduation! But, was the risk worth it?
"Just this hall," Indigo said, yielding to his younger sister's request.
He decided to accompany Violet as she attempted to utilize her digital camera to record potential ghostly apparitions. I was partnered with Ashton. He was okay with it, letting me know he didn't loathe me or anything of the sort, and that was something.
"Let's meet back here in thirty minutes. Everyone, keep an eye on their glow-in-the-dark wristwatches and set an alarm if you have to. Namaste." Indigo turned to begin the trial, and Violet trailed him.
Violet slyly waved at me, smirking as if she had set this all up on purpose, for reasons other than her enthusiasm. She was a good friend.
"Uh, I guess we should get going," I said, wavering a bit. I didn't want to appear to be taking charge as a leader because I was still shaken from the earlier incident of those sounds that only I had heard earlier.
He smiled warmly at my sheer reluctance. I think he may have caught my drift. I liked how he could read my emotions and respond accordingly.
"You take the lead, Ms. T," he suggested, being sure not to pressure me in any way whatsoever. As a result, I felt comfortable enough to accept his offer willingly.
"Sure," I said and turned awkwardly around to lead the way, hoping he wasn't checking me out. Then again, I prayed he was. Such conflicting emotions.
The dust below our shoes rose and fell with each slow step. The silence was deafening.
"So, why'd you come here with us tonight?" Ashton asked me once we were out of earshot of the twins and could no longer see their flashlights. Was he keenly taking interest in me or was he suggesting he'd rather I not come along? I consciously thought to myself, unsure of how to properly answer his question.
"I'm with my best friends on Halloween night... and you...?" I winced at the brutal honesty of my answer as it poured out over my glossy lips, beyond my control. I prayed I wasn't being disrespectful but I was curious. In other words, my Rai senses were piqued. We continued walking for an uncertain amount of time after our super awkward exchange. I fiddled with the camera but was more focused on what I would say next. Nothing was happening, so there was nothing to investigate or document. There were only our footprints where no other people had tread for umpteen years.
I was too chicken to duck into any of the open doors, and he politely never suggested I should, either. I aimlessly flashed my pen-style light and watched the soft glow dart around in the darkness. It barely illuminated the indiscernible debris that littered the old flooring.
I hummed a little but couldn't think of anything to ask or say. We knew each other so well, but at the same time, I felt as if we were strangers. It should've been easier transitioning from the friend zone, not weirder. When he chimed in to hum, I knew it was about time to return to the others.
"How long has it been?" I asked him. "I forgot to set my alarm," I added with a twinge of embarrassment.
He briefly glanced at his watch with concern before answering. "It seems as if it's the same time as when we left," Ashton replied as if he didn't believe it himself. His reply slowed more with each word he spoke. Maybe his wristwatch was dysfunctional? It was really cold here without a doubt, in addition to the fact there hadn't been any heat or power for God knows how long. He tapped his watch a few times, in an attempt to manually move the hands forward.
"That's impossible," I muttered as I proceeded to check the time for myself. He's just trying to scare me, I thought to myself once again. Not a good joke... for a first date. I stupidly mused to hide the stupid fear creeping over me. I prayed he couldn't see me trembling in the darkness ahead of him. To my horror, I saw for myself he was right. I stopped dead in my tracks as he nearly walked straight into me from behind.
"We should turn back..." I whispered softly, just remembering I hadn't taken any pictures during our entire trek. This was now definitely a supreme waste of effort and time. Indigo would not be pleased with our investigative progress in the slightest.
"Alright, if that's what you want, let's go... and for the record, I just thought you wouldn't want to come because you don't like this sort of thing, or maybe you just don't like me..." Ashton said calmly, watching me pass by him to retrace our steps back to the twins' last known location.
"Why don't you think I like you?" I bluntly inquired. I truly wanted to know his answer.
"I don't know," Ashton replied. I could sense he felt a bit uncomfortable now. His answer was genuine and honest enough, I thought. We walked without talking for about five more minutes before I interrupted the looming silence.
"I don't know, either," I responded. I didn't have the energy to showcase my humorous wit for my high school heartthrob right now. He chuckled a bit, and I joined in. I had to laugh to prevent myself from bawling aloud.
"Well, if it's so, we can find out together," Ashton shot his shot back at me. I was not as ready as I thought I'd be. I mulled his words over for a few quick moments, replaying how I'd imagined it'd be. Nonetheless, I couldn't find a scenario in an abandoned insane asylum and didn't have a premade response.
"I guess we will," I uttered. I was in pure disgust at myself for not being able to come up with anything better on the spot.
This was right before I realized we were still walking back in the same direction we'd come from, but things hadn't changed. We didn't seem to be getting any closer to the break at the beginning of the first-floor hall.
Unfortunately, there was no other way to go other than the countless empty rooms, filthy and filled with bad memories of possibly tortured patients. Neither of us dared to wander into one of those yet, and it was now the last thing on my mind. Despite all of this, we trudged along in hopes of seeing two dim lights in the distance that hadno end in sight.