NEITHER OF THEM MOVED FROM THE FLOOR—EVEN WHEN JESS'S BODY WAS NO LONGER SEEN FROM WHERE THEY LOOKED OVER THE EDGE. All they were met with was the dark abyss of below, and the rattling platform they were sat on. Mike kept his arms wrapped around Riley's waist, and shoulders, her against him as the metal shakes their balance off—something that made her cling more onto him.

"Jess! Oh, my god--" Riley's cry for the other girl was more sob like then a scream, her voice getting carried away by the rattling of metal around them. She tried to peek over the edge, but Mike tugged her back to safety, "Jessica--!"

He held the hysteric girl by the waist still, him standing up first to help her up by the elbows, and kept Riley close as he glanced around the area. Heavy breaths left him—not from the cold, but from what they just saw, "Huh? What the fuck--"

Hearing his confused mutter and the sound of creaking from above, causes her to glance up. Her dark eyes squint trying to spot what was up there, and brushed her bangs back as she moved out of Mike's hold, reaching for the gun laying on the grates beside them.

With trembling fingers, she lifted the object up, and rested it against her side as she lined the shot up. She gazes through the sniper glass, now noticing the figure peaking over the platform from above. Either it was human, or something else. She didn't know.

Her face shifts into a scowl, feeling her chest burn with rage as she doesn't hesitate to take aim at the silhouette. Her fingers press down on the trigger, sending a bullet right up to where the figure was, and managed to hit it fair in the head—the sound echoing through the chilly air.

"Mike," She called out in a thick voice, passing over the gun to him, as he was standing behind her. Their fingers brush, cold meeting warmth and her line of sighting spots the stairs beside them, "Let's go."

He gazes over her trembling figure worriedly, but nods his head once and places his hand on her lower back to guide her towards the stairs. Once they were there, he went up first, with her following behind. He knew that by the jingle coming from her necklace and earrings.

Pants leave the both of them, her leg muscles burning from how fast they were running up the stairs, and the cold weather didn't help either. They continued to follow the path all the way up to the top, until there was a gap between the paths, making him jump across first and her to join him next.

He caught her figure when she landed with a thump, steadying her with his free hand—and then they were met with another obstacle in their path. They stood in front of what looked like the rest of the broken structure, and it made her realise they were also getting further into unknown territory.

Riley had her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath from the sprint. She watched Mike slide the gun strap around his shoulder, bare arms exposed in his tank top, as his eyes glanced from each side to see which way would be safest.

He turns back to the girl once he found their way up, and steps over to her—placing a warm hand to cradle under her jaw, "Rye, you're gonna go up first, and I'll stay down here in case you fall." He instructs her firmly, and her eyes widen in panic, "It's alright, it's nothing you can't handle. Just one foot at a time."

She gave him a deadpanning look, one born of the fear she felt, but nodded her head regardless, "Okay, okay..." She moved away to the metal structure, and slipped her fingers through the grates, making sure to hold on tight before she jumped to pull herself up.

Her boots stuck to the bottom lining, taking a few deep breathes to calm herself, and then jumped up to latch onto the metal corner sticking out. She felt her muscles straining once more, groans leaving her as she steadies herself onto the next lining on the structure—moving a bit for Mike to join her.

"You're alright, Rye! I'm coming up now." His voice reached her ears, feeling his presence beside her even when he was still down on the lower platform. She heard his grunts as he began to climb to where she was, until a yell escaped him when one of the metal pieces went flying, almost knocking him off.

She snapped her head towards him, instantly panicked hearing the commotion, "Mike! Are you okay?" She called out to him, fingers gripping onto the cool metal so hard that her knuckles were turning white. One wrong move, and she could easily fall off the structure.

"Yeah, don't worry! Just lost my footing." He yelled back in reassurance, the gun slipping off also if it weren't for his arm moving up, and pulling himself back to where he original was, "I'll jump first, you go next!"

The metal creaked under their weight, but that's why she was a little higher than where he was perched. She watched with bated breath, as he steadies himself and turns to a platform, all while hanging onto the metal.

He adjusted the gun on his shoulder, and switched to hold it in his hand now, before he took a massive leap, landing on the platform with a grunt of effort. She follow his lead right after, not taking her eyes of Mike's figure so she wouldn't have to see how high she was from the floor.

Riley turns carefully, steadying herself with her back pressed against the cool metal. Her fingers let go of the grates, and she leaps across to where Mike was ready to catch her. She lands on the platform easily, his arms catching her figure as she stumbled a little.

He holds her forearm with his free hand, eyes gazing over her for any harm or injuries, as she breathes heavily. Once he was satisfied, he dropped the hold on her—to follow her line of sight upon noticing her wide, horror filled gaze.

Without a care in the world, a figure of a man was walking back into the darkness of the mineshaft—his back face to them. The light on the floor only did so much to illuminate the area, giving the duo not much of a view of the unknown figure.

"Oh, shit." Mike whispered, quickly standing in front of Riley and grabbed the gun to line it up with his eyes, aiming it just as the male disappeared from view, "There he is, c'mon!"

She had no time to react, as he was grabbing her forearm to pull her along with him, following where the mystery male ventured off. The gun was slipped back around Mike's shoulder, while his left hand was holding onto Riley—making sure she stayed close.

Together, they entered the mineshaft, and ran around a corner that lead inside of it. They spot the same male in the distance, and Mike comes to a stop, making Riley do the same, as she peeked over his exposed bicep, her heart pounding rapidly in her chest.

Mike pulls the gun off his shoulder once more, and lines the shot up through the glass. He aims it towards the figure, holding it steady with his shaking hands from the cold, as his finger goes to pull the trigger release once he had the shot correct.

Riley's face drops when she heard no bullet pierce the air, as he had squeezed the trigger, but the weapon didn't respond. She could tell the gun was jammed up, and watched him freak out over it not working, but her gaze moved to what was ahead.

The figure was walking through what seemed the exit of the mineshaft, and how he crouched down to enter inside, disappearing from view once more. But she panicked at the roller doors dropping suddenly, "Mike, we gotta go! Move--!"

She didn't think twice as she grabbed him by the bare arm, pushing him forward with her, until he gained his footing realising what they were doing. She ran ahead, dropping to her side as she skids under the closing doors, rolling to the other side before it shut tight.

He just made it behind her barely, and bumps into her on the ground, which gained her arms holding his shoulders to steady him. It shuts closed behind him with a thump, and they shared a look with one another, trying to catch their breath.

Riley stood up first from the floor, her earrings chiming as she ruffles her hair to make her bangs sit in place. She reaches her hand down for Mike to grab, and he does with his free one that wasn't holding the gun's scope that he soon dropped.

Once they were both up, Mike crouched down to light the old lantern that was placed there randomly. He pulled the lighter from his pocket, covering one side of the lantern as he switches it on with the flame, now brining more light to the dark mineshaft.

She takes lantern from him to guide their way, and watched as Mike jumped down from the edge of the platform they were on. He coaxed her down next, her landing more gracefully as he steadier her with his chilling palms.

They began to run together through the mines, her keeping the light up to glance around the area for any clues as to where the figure went, and to make sure they weren't going the wrong way. She also made sure he wasn't lagging behind, since Mike was practically naked.

The mines went on forever with how much running they did, up until a sudden chill entered their bones, even more then the one they felt inside the mines. They come to a stop where the exit was, which was leading into the blizzard snow storm, causing Riley to tremble and shiver when with her jackets on.

It didn't help that her outer jacket was ripped in all places also, but still kept it on to provide more warmth. Her red hoodie was showing more because of that, and she was starting to think she should of worn more clothes before coming out into the snow.

"We gotta push forward," She speaks loudly over the wailing wind, coming up to stand beside Mike and grasped his forearm in hers, silently cursing feeling how cold he was, "You can take my jacket if you need it, Mike! I don't want you freezing on me out here."

He shakes his head, fingers brushing back some of the snowflakes that fell onto her hair, "No, it's fine! If we get out of this, I'll be alright." He assured her, voice shaky a bit from his movements, and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, "Let's go, sunshine."

She rolls her eyes fondly at the nickname, despite their current situation—she never felt so safe with him. She held the lantern up in front for them, making sure to provide whatever warmth her body could for Mike as they push through the snow, into the open land of the mountain.

They came to a stop at the top of the hill, and a new building comes into view for them. A big, sanatorium style. It sits in the distance, almost hidden with the amount of snow already covering it, and how much it was falling from the dark skies.

"Jesus, the fuck is that place?" Mike muttered more to so himself, leaning into Riley's warmth as they stopped to watch what they were about to enter next, "Have you seen this before?"

Riley shakes her head once, her memory not picking up anything about their being that building up on the mountain—even with the many times she's been up there, "No, I haven't. But it looks like we're both about to find out. Come on."

Shoulder to shoulder they made their way closer to where the building was, and eventually up to where they could see the figure of the Stranger walking through the night. She was squatted down behind a thick pile of snow, where as Mike was gazing around at the area, lantern in his grasps now.

"Mike!" She hissed, grabbing his wrist to yank him down behind the snow and wall, as she spotted the figure of the man, "He could see you, stop that!"

He made a gentle hushing sound, waving her off as he kept one hand on her thigh, and peeked over the edge, his breath hitching, "That's not good. That's really not good."

What caused such reaction, was the figure of the Stranger—the one they both think took Jessica. He moved along the front of the Sanatorium, carrying himself with grace as his long coat kept picked up in the wind with each step. Beside him, is what really grabbed her attention.

There was a large animal beside the male, and not just any beast, a northwestern wolf that padded beside him. It was large, and dark grey, the wolf standing out the most even in the darkness of the shadows around the building.

Another one appeared from the side, a lighter coat covering it's body, as it strolled inside to where the Stranger and first wolf went. Mike had to duck back down to prevent from being seen, and Riley gave him a scowl at his actions.

When the three figures disappeared inside, Mike nodded to himself and exhaled heavily, "Alright, let's get a closer look." He grunted, shifting his weight onto the ledge of the wall before Riley could say other wise.

He swinged his legs over the wall, standing up on the edge with the lantern in his grasp, before he bent down to jump off the wall to land on the other side, grunting. She groaned to herself, rubbing the bridge of her nose annoyed, and then went to follow him.

She hauled herself over with ease, ignoring her burning limbs from how sore they were and landed in his arms, wincing. Her forehead rested on his collarbone for a few seconds, as his hand cradled her back to his chest—before their hold was broken when she moved back.

"You still with me, sunshine?" He breathed out his question, lips near the skin on her forehead, as his eyes flickered to her torn up coat, and back to her cheeks where spots of dried blood lingered.

She grimaced exhausted, but nodded her head, "Always am." She muttered back to reassure him, missing the dopey smile that appeared on his face for a second—until it was gone as she started moving towards the creepy building.

Moving more along the snowy pathway, ahead of them was an old rusted sign, that once was hanged straight on the door, now it was crooked. The letters were in bold, red writing, something that made Riley squint her eyes to read what it said.

CONDEMNED.

From beside her, Mike released a laugh that sounded bitter than anything, "Awesome. Why wouldn't we end up in the creepiest place on earth?" His comment was sacaratic, gaining a small amused snort from Riley.

She followed behind him, as he lifted a grate covering a part of the building, to reveal a small entrance inside. She fiddled with her butterfly charm, and looked to him warily, "We're going in... there?"

"Yup, we sure are." He answered in a light tone, placing down the grate and picked back up the lantern to send her a small smile, "Don't worry, I'll be right beside you the entire time Rilz."

Curses flew out of her mouth, but they were muttered to herself as her cheeks turned flushed at his comment. Together—they slipped inside, boots slipping on some of the debris as they land with a grunt, the solid ground coming in contact with them again.

The walls inside the Sanatorium were rusted, cracked and peeling off, but the stench inside was worse. Riley's nose was burning from the smell, and her stomach churned at the wet, rotting scent it carried. It seemed like something dead was inside, and the thought of that made her sick.

She stayed close to Mike's figure as they walked more into the building, both trying not to smell the scent around them, and they scan the ruins for any way in, or clue as to where the Stranger ventured to.

A ragged hole in the floor lead them out of the ruins, and inside the actual Sanatoruim, where it was greener from the moonlight shining through gaps in the walls. The hole lead to the next room, which had a door leading to it—the Chapel.

They paused at the closed door, and Riley motioned with her eyes for Mike to glance inside. He sighs but does what was asked, and peers through that little peeking slot, but paused at what he saw witnessing, "Jesus! What the--"

She furrowed her brows confused, and moved beside him to see what he was. Her breath hitched when she did. The Stranger was tending to his wolves—feeding them, almost like they were his pets. But that couldn't be true, the animals he was looking after were predators, and it made her even more fearful—at the same time curious.

The moment ended abruptly when the man turned towards the right, and disappeared into the depths of the darkness inside the Chapel. the wolves followed after him, which gave the duo time now to make their way more into the Sanatorium.

Mike shared a wary look with Riley, before he reached down with his spare hand and tried to twist open the doorknob. Locked. He was met with it being closed shut, and spotted the keypad above reading 'locked' on top of it, "Of course, c'mon Rye." He sighed out, "We have to find another way in."

She grumbled, and ruffled the top of her hair with her ringed fingers, "This is starting to become annoying at this point." She mumbled more to herself, turning to follow him back down into another hallway, the lantern lighting up the area around them, "This is literally nuts."

The more they moved deeper down the hall, the more she spotted debris and stuff from when the Sanatorium was once open. She spotted the sign on the wall, it's metal material still looking fresh and clean, despite how long the building hasn't been touched. It read what the place was called.

He came to a sudden stop near a desk, them entering the Administration area now, and she bumped into his back a bit, as she wasn't watching where she was going. A groan left her, and she rubbed her sore nose, eyes glaring at what Mike was doing.

On the desk was an old note, and he decided to pick it up. His brows furrowed confused as he read the faded ink, "That's weird." He commented, gaining her attention from the creepy shadows up ahead, "They just forced them all out?"

She peeked over his shoulder to see what he was reading, and felt a shiver travel through her spine. It wasn't a good one either—she felt like something terrible had happened inside the Sanatorium, and they were about to find out what exactly that was.

"This place isn't safe, Mike." Her voice was small, fearful, as her hazel eyes flickered back and forth from spots in the room. She gripped her jacket's sleeve, while her other was clenched around his bicep, "Whatever happened here, it wasn't good."

He glanced down, and saw how scared she was. He placed the paper where it was once, before turning to face her, "Hey, hey," He starts off in a whisper, his free hand coming up to cradle her cheek gently, thumb brushing over the bruises on her skin, "nothing bad will happen to you, not while I'm here. Alright? I swear it, Riley."

Her breath hitched, eyelashes fluttering a bit feeling his thumb brush under them and nodded against his palm, "Yeah, alright." She breathed out, still on edge but felt a bit better hearing his words, "Let's just not stay in one place for too long."

Mike's touch lingered for a few more seconds, the corner of his lips perking up before he dropped the hold and grabbed her hand instead. Together, fingers laced together, they ventured deeper into the building, and the more colder—the more eerier it got.

When they reached the hallway that had the Morgue sign on it, they shared a look between each other, hesitating. But the sound of something moving inside caught their attention, and the sudden bird bursting from a half open door cawing loudly, made the two flinch.

"Huh?" Mike muttered alarmed, his body shielding hers when the noises started, and opened the door once he dropped Riley's hand for a second. Inside the room was a rusted machete stabbed in the table, blood covering it and on the wood, "Oh shit... Gross."

She frowned seeing the weapon also, but moved around him to curl her fingers around the handle, and tugged it free from the wood. She twirled the weapon around with a hum, and tilted her head to the side, hair following the movement, "Looks like we've got protection now."

A smirk found it's way to his mouth, eyes soft watching the girl he adored and the way despite where they were, she still looked good. He shakes his head, before grabbing her free hand to tug her along more into the room, where the air seemed thinner—heavier.

They passed through a doorway into another section of the Morgue, where a heavy curtain hanged from the ceiling, blocking part of the room off from them. They hesitated again, before Mike pulled it back and what they saw made Riley recoil in shock and fear.

A chair was sat in the middle of the room, restraining straps in place. Almost like someone was torturing or trapping a person to the seat. The rusted metal was stained, and marks of deep scratches were trained along the armrests.

Mike shield Riley from the view, and squeezed her hand more tightly, a look of horror on his face, "Holy shit... Ugh, what happened here?" He asked no one in particularly.

She didn't answer, nor did she want to think about it. Because if she did, everything they were seeing would become too real—and it would make her spiral downwards before even escaping. More eerier noises echoed behind them, and it only made her fear worse then it was before.

Both their eyes flickered to the doorway, where the window was and a sudden flicker of a shadow went past. She tensed, bumping into his chest as he steadied her, steadied them both, as they looked to where the shadow disappeared off to.

"Something was there, Michael. Something was--" Her voice was a frantic whisper, fingers tugging on his grey tank top as she swallowed the cry that wanted to break free from her mouth, "We need to move, now."

Mike shushed her softly, trying to console the girl as he laced their fingers together again, and lead on first with her right behind him. The lantern lit up their path, and he took cautious steps into the next room they walk into from the hallway.

Their attention was instantly drawn to the small table in the room, a severed arm resting there rocking from side to side, with a note pinned to the torn flesh. Beside it was a metal table fallen to the floor, seeming like there was a chain around it also.

She placed a hand up to her mouth, getting the urge to grab the weapon lopped around her belt, "Wha- what is that--" She gaped out, face growing pale as her stomached twisted.

He moved closer to the objects, and bent his knees a bit to get a closer view, "Whoa, whoa, whoa--" His words were stuttered in disbelief, reaching for the note on the limb, "Is this what he was feeding them?"

Before he could however, Riley was quick to grab the male by the bicep and yank him back to her, "Mike, don't!" She exclaimed startling him, as she grabbed a piece of wood beside them and threw it at the hand. Just then, the bear trap was revealed and cut the wood in half, moments away to it being his fingers instead.

"And that's why we don't touch stuff like that." She says with her fingers flicking her butterfly necklace, eyes trailing to Mike who looked thankful, "Especially in places crazy like this. You're welcome, by the way."

He shakes his head amused, hiding his smirk by pressing his lips to her forehead to leave a soft, but grateful kiss. His arm was loosely wrapped around her shoulders, until he broke apart to guide her out of the room, "Thanks, Rye."

They paused at the Chapel security door, where she pulled out the worker card they found and stepped forward to slot it inside the card slip. Once that was inside, he twisted the doorknob open, and pushed the door to they could walk inside.

She grabbed the card, slipping it back into her pants pocket and reached for his arm again, as he lead them through more open doors. Each room was dirty then the last, much more debris in each one they came across.

That was until they ended up where the crumbling stairwell was, and began to climb the steps together. The lantern only lit up what was in front, so they both of them missed the wolf lurking in the shadows until the low, guttural growl that was released.

❪ ✏️ ❫ 𝚆𝙾𝚁𝙳𝚂 : 4381
─►☆ AUTHOR'S NOTE :
YOOOO FIRST UPDATE IN FOREVER WHO CHEERED??? i know i did. i have missed these two so much and i forgot how i enjoy writing their dynamic also like ugh they are my babies and im so glad i decided to write for them today because i wasn't going to but i pushed myself to do so, so yipeee 😋😋

i split this chapter up also because it's hella long and yeah i did skip a few scenes in the sanatorium, pls spare me guys it's not fun to write like it drags on soooo damn much ugh just kill me now. and i know i didn't cut mike's fingers off but i need pookie to keep them for a reason LMFAOAO

anywaysss vote, comment, ect <33 any interaction motivate me a lot 🥲🫶