Asylum

Chapter 4

Her skin glows as she sits there. Her eyes shine bright as she looks out of the window and up towards the sky. After a few minutes, she brings her phone out. She sets the brightness low and plays games on it.

On the first floor, the pink haired girl searches around. She quickly finds the boy with his dreadlocks tied up. She tags him and they search separately. The boy proceeds to the second floor as the girl searches the first floor. The girl finds another boy, but instead of running away, they begin to make out. 

I let out a sigh and turn to find another two on the third floor taking off their clothes. The boy lays down on a sheet on the floor, while the girl sits on top of him. I turn away. There is no optimal choice this time. We'll have to wait for the next round.

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Twenty-one minutes pass before I hear anything. I hear two guys laughing as they run past my room. I quickly turn off my phone and put it back in my pocket. I adjust my slipping glasses and get into a crouching stance, preparing to run.

"Door is locked, huh, Jasper?" Kenji taunts. "Can't escape now."

"We'll see about that," Jasper laughs. I hear shoes squeaking along the floor. One of them groans as the other one laughs.

"Told you," Kenji says.

"Damn," Jasper laughs. 

"I'll finish the other side on this floor. Check with Iris downstairs," Kenji tells Jasper.

"Sounds good," he replies and I hear them walk away. I'm safe for now. I decide to stare off into the night again while I wait. I watch the dark clouds move slowly over the moon, changing the amount of light coming into the room. It's mesmerizing. I zone out still in a squatting position while I wait for anyone to find me. 

The door makes a small clicking noise as someone moves the handle. I lower myself so I can't be seen. I can't see any light from a phone, so they must be using the light from the moon. Their footsteps hardly make any noise, so it's hard to pinpoint exactly where they are. I want to try to look, but my body will make all kinds of popping noises if I move. I feel a presence to my side, so I turn my head to look over.

"Hi," Jasper's smile lights up from the moon. His blue eyes shine while he looks at me. I quickly stand up and get to the opposite side of the couch as him. He gives me a half smile and prepares to chase. I move to one side, and he follows. Same with the other way. I check around the room. I run towards a table and he chases me. He sets himself up on the opposite side again. He comes at me from the left side. I make a quick decision and duck under the table. He doesn't expect it, so I slip past him before he can tag me. I reach the door, but it is stuck. I turn to face him and he has a huge grin on his face. I press myself up against the door as he gets closer to me. I know there is nothing I can do. He gets very close, almost to the point of touching. He puts his arms on either side of me, blocking me from leaving. 

"Hi," he repeats.

"Hi," I whisper back. His eyes pierce into mine. I bite my lip as I stare back at him. He closes the distance and places a soft, swift kiss on my lips.

"Got ya," he says after he finishes the kiss. A small smile creeps upon my face. I grab his shirt by his chest and pull him back to me. Our lips touch again, and the kiss is very forceful. I place my hands on his face, keeping his mouth on mine. He removes his hands from the door and holds me by the waist, pulling me to him so our bodies are touching. My tongue penetrates his mouth, and our tongues collide. They wrestle back and forth as his hands slip down to grip my butt. 

"Jas?" Claire calls from the hall.

"You've got to be kidding me," I say as we pull our faces apart. He removes one hand from my butt and holds the back of my head. He pulls me in for another kiss, then releases me. 

"Jasper?" Iris calls next. 

"Come on. Let's go," he whispers to me, and takes my hand. He pulls the door open easily. I'm glad it didn't open for me. He pulls me along, still holding my hand. "I'm here."

Iris and Claire turn to face us. "Well, hello there. You two seem to be getting along well," Claire smiles at us. 

"Who's left?" I ask so I don't feel awkward.

"Just Steven and Candace. We've searched everywhere but the third floor. Everyone has been tagged," Iris says. "You two want to take this half of the third floor, while we get the other?"

"Sure," Jasper says. He looks down at me and smiles. We follow Claire and Iris up the stairs and go the opposite direction. "You want to look together?"

"Yeah," I reply. I would prefer if we could go to another room and continue what we had just started, but life has different plans. Instead the first room we enter, Steven and Candace are sitting close together on a messed up sheet on the ground. My face turns confused.

"Lucia, wait!" Steven calls as I exit the room. Iris was right. I think they might have just done it right here. "I can explain."

"No need," I say. "We're not together anymore. You can do whoever you want. Oh wait, you were already doing that anyways."

Jasper takes the opportunity and tags both of them. "Got 'em," he calls down the hall to Iris and Claire. He comes back over to me and kisses me. 

"Guess you've moved on too," Steven looks at us. 

"Definitely," I reply as I take Jasper's hand. He looks down at me and smiles.

"That's everyone. We should go back to the bottom floor," Iris says as she and Claire reach us. 

"Okay," Jasper replies. We all head down the stairs together. We all surround the desk. Jasper leans up against it and pulls me into him and embraces me. I look up and he leans down to kiss me. 

"Ooh, alright, bro," Kenji nods at us. "Finally."

"Nice," Brad fist bumps Jasper. 

"No Reggie and Kirsten?" Candace asks as she stands close to Steven. I turn around and press my back up against Jasper, he wraps his arms around me.

"Why did we even bother inviting them? They could have just done this on their own," I say. Everyone nods in agreement. 

"Who is it this time?" Jasper asks. Brad raises his hand.

"Okay. Everyone was tagged, so just set the timer for three minutes. Everyone hides on their own this time, got it?" Claire demands.

"Aw, you don't want to hide with me?" Kenji flirts.

"Maybe next round, baby," Claire winks at him. We all laugh. Kenji has been flirting with Claire ever since we met her at the beginning of this school year. She's never showed signs that she was interested. Actually, I've never seen her with any guy at all. Brad heads over to the corner.

"Ready? Go," he starts the timer. We all go running. Jasper and I run up to the second floor. 

"You gonna hide with me?" I ask him.

"I would love to, but Claire said not to," he says.

"Lame," I say to him. He leans down and kisses me, then runs up the next flight of stairs. I go back to the room I was in before, but this time, I squeeze my way under the couch so it's practically impossible to find me. After a while, my eyes start to get heavy. I close them and drift off into a light sleep.

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I press the button to unlock some of the rooms, and lock some of the others as the kids get ready to hide again. We have to move this time. Two of them enter rooms we can access. We must go for the one on the first floor first. Arden and I put our night vision goggles on, and take the hidden elevator from the basement up to the first floor.

"He's on the move," Mia says in our earpiece. We wait in the elevator. "Clear."

We exit and move to the right. We enter the room. She doesn't even notice us. She tries to scream as Arden grabs hold of her, but he puts his hand over her mouth. She fights for a second, then Arden slices her throat. He uses a towel to catch the blood flowing from her.

"Are we clear?" I ask Mia through the headset.

"Move in fifteen seconds," she orders. We pause by the door. I count the time. Fifteen seconds pass, and Arden carries her lifeless body into the elevator. He throws her body to the side when we step into the surveillance room. 

"One more easy target, then it gets harder," Arden says.

"That's when it gets more fun," I respond. 

"Third floor, room seven," Mia says into the headset. We take the elevator up to the third floor. We know we are clear, since the seeker is on the first floor. I enter through the closet door, while Arden waits outside the main entrance.

"What the hell?" the kid with the dreadlocks asks as he sees me. He stares at me for a second, but then I move towards him. He runs to the door to escape, but Arden catches him. He covers his mouth with the cloth soaked in chloroform. The boy fights it, but quickly passes out. Mia is unsure about this one, so we take him alive. We bring him back to the room and I wrap a cloth around his mouth so he can't scream, while Arden zip ties him to the wall. He'll be out for a while. We sit back down and watch the surveillance videos.

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My door opens, waking me from my sleep. They check around the room, but they don't find me in my hiding spot. They leave after they finish searching. I wait a few minutes, then slide out from under the couch. Since I saw them, I can try to make it to safety. I put my ear against the door. I hear a door close nearby. They move to another door and open it. I open my door as quietly as I can then look around. There is no one in sight. I carefully exit the room and make my way to the second floor. I peak around the corner and see Steven entering a room. No one on the other side, I make my way down to the first floor. I sprint into the semi-circle. I'm the only one here. I take out my phone and play on it while I wait. Five minutes later, Iris comes sprinting down the stairs, with Claire closing the distance.

"Hurry!" I call to her. "She's gaining on you!" Iris squeals. She just barely makes it in before Claire reaches her. 

"Damn. Good job," Claire breathes heavily. "When did you get here?"

"Like five minutes ago."

"Really? I didn't hear anyone chasing you," Claire questions.

"Someone entered my room but didn't find me, so I snuck my way down here," I smile at my accomplishment.

"Nice," Iris high fives me. Brad walks down the steps to see the commotion.

"Did you get them?" Brad asks as he sees Iris and me standing here.

"No, they both got away. We're just missing Kenji, Candace, and Jasper then," Claire says. 

"Damn. They must be in good hiding spots. We've cleared almost the whole place," Brad says. "Steven is finishing the second floor. I'll check the third again. You go do the first again."

"Got it," Claire turns to the left and continues the search.

"Do I have dirt all over me?" I ask Iris as I turn my back to her.

She laughs. "You are coated in it."

"Ugh. Can you help me get some of it off?"

"Yeah, but you have to help me first," she turns around. She has a fair bit on her, so I wipe it off.

"Okay, my turn," I say. She starts on my back.

"I can help you with that," a voice from behind makes us both jump.

"Jesus Christ, Jasper. That scared the s**t out of me," Iris says when we turn around.

"Sorry," he smiles. He walks behind me and wipes me off, lingering a bit on my butt. "All done."

I spin around to face him. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," he leans in for a kiss. He goes to pull away, but I put my hand on the back of his neck, keeping his lips on mine. He moves his hands down into my back pants pockets. 

"There are many rooms you guys can go into," Iris giggles behind us. 

"Oh, that reminds me. What's going on with you and Brad?" I turn to face her. Jasper leans back against the counter and pulls me so my back is touching him, then he wraps his arms around me. Iris blushes.

"I don't know. He just broke up with Kelly. We've been making out a lot since, so I'm not sure," she says. 

"I think you two would be good together," Jasper tells her.

"You think so?" she asks.

"Definitely," I smile at her.

"Oh, cool. You're here," Claire says to Jasper. "Then we just need Kenji and Candace. They're really hiding good this time. That side is clear. Let me know if they show up so I can stop looking." She heads to the other side of the building. Iris, Jasper, and I stand around talking for another ten minutes, when the other three give up searching.

"We've searched this whole building twice. We can't find them anywhere," Brad says.

"We haven't even seen Reggie or Kirsten," Steven adds.

"We've been here for hours. Surely they would be done doing it by now," Iris says.

"Maybe their door is stuck? Remember that one earlier got stuck when I was trying to run from you?" I ask Jasper. 

"I didn't have any trouble with it though," he responds. 

"Maybe they went outside," Iris suggests. 

I get a weird feeling in my stomach. "I'm getting worried now."

"Hmm. I'll check around the perimeter. Brad and Steven, you get the first floor. Iris, the second. I'll join you after I check outside. Jasper and Lucia, you get the top floor. Yell if you find them. Meet back here in thirty minutes," Claire commands us.

"Come on," Jasper takes my hand. We head up to the third floor. "You check this side and I'll check the other." He tries to walk away, but I keep hold of his hand. I don't want to be alone.

"Can we look together?" I ask him.

He smiles at me. "Sure." I hear Steven, Brad, and Iris calling our friends names off in the distance.