Walking alone through the hallway all by himself, Danny felt the weight of his task pressing down on his shoulders like an anchor. The corridors seemed to stretch on endlessly, echoing with the sound of his footsteps and the distant voices from afar.
He couldn't shake the image of Unity's vacant bed from his mind, the sight of it etched into his memory as if it were branding iron. How could he have been so careless? So distracted? There is no one to blame but himself, having refused to wake up because of himself.
But despite the crushing guilt that threatened to consume him, he knew he had to push forward. Unity needed him now more than ever, and he would not rest until she was safely back in his arms.
The thought of her out there, alone and frightened, spurred him on, driving him to search harder than before. Danny still can't understand himself pushing himself to do this other than Unity reminding him of someone from the past he either made up or thought existed in the first place.
Either he's just selfish to satisfy his own needs or he truly cares for her; he doesn't know, but what he does know is the fact he can't let her down for their own sake. He has to be strong for both him, Unity and those he cares about, even if he doesn't know what to do with his own feelings.
With a deep breath, he let out a small sigh, mentally preparing himself for the long and arduous journey ahead, knowing that he may have to face his own fate of looking all over her.
As he continued onward, he later encountered some nurses, doctors, and patients alike moving about in the hall; some of them were speaking about mundane things that he had no interest in taking part in, others were just walking around with blank expressions on their faces, and some were even arguing with each other.
None of them seemed to pay him any attention, giving him the opportunity to slip away without being bothered for petty reasons, which would just distract him from his goals.
Of course, there is always the chance that someone is bored enough to want to start a conversation with him, and he would have to politely decline or get out of the way to avoid any unwanted interactions.
But so far, he's been lucky to avoid such situations, allowing him to focus on his search for Unity. the unstable girl he met last night, wondering where she could have gone, what she could be doing, or even if she is scared and confused in this strange place she is trying to be accustomed to.
He walked and walked, no matter where he went through this growing, crowded maze of hallways; Danny couldn't find her much to his frustration and dismay, making him want to tear his own hair off while screaming at the top of the heavens at how irritating this was becoming.
How could he have avoided all of this from transpiring if he was just more careful about himself? A tragedy of his own making, a mistake that could cost him the life of someone he barely knows but feels something for.
Sighing irritably, Danny frowned at this messy situation they were in. "Where is she?" He muttered under his breath with pure frustration in his voice, the desperation and anxiety of the moment causing his pace to quicken, his heart beating faster in his chest with every step he took.
"Come on, Unity, where did you run off to?" The corridors kept stretching on, leading him deeper into the labyrinthine warehouse. Its old and peeled-off walls seemed to close in around him with each passing minute.
Danny feels his own sanity slipping away because the more he searches for her, the more he fails to find any signs of her existence, the more his hope starts to dwindle, the more his anger grows, and the more he begins to question his own abilities as a good protector or caretaker of someone he barely knows.
His mind was full of failure in the simplest act of taking care of someone. The lesson he is learning from this experience is that he is not capable of handling the responsibilities of someone else's life, especially someone as fragile as Unity, despite his own best efforts and intentions.
He feels like screaming, shouting, and yelling at everyone he passes through. His growing insanity, coupled with first-hand experience of the horrors of this world, has taken a toll on his psyche. He begins to wonder if he's the only sane one left in this crumbling hellhole or if everyone else is just as delusional as he is.
All he wants is to just find her and bring the girl back to safety before anything serious happens to her. It's a simple wish, but it's not coming true as he keeps failing in his mission.
When he turned to another corner, Danny suddenly stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes widening in shock as he stared at the silhouette of an arm waving towards him just within the busy crowd, gesturing to him to come over. "Unity?" He questioned surprisingly at the sight, "Unity?!"
Shouting her name louder, there was no response or even a change of movement from her. Just the continuous wave of hand from afar, beckoning him to come where she is standing, caused him to be confused and unsure if someone else was impersonating her.
Hesitated for a second, he then cautiously approached the mysterious figure, "Is that you?!" He demanded firmly, asking loudly without caring about the people around him, his voice cut through the noise of the bustling area.
Danny called out again, pushing through the crowd of people to get closer to the girl, much to everyone's annoyance at being forcibly moved aside by his relentless pursuit. But as he continued to do so, the mysterious silhouette arm retreated back into the sea of crowds, forcing him to stop dead in his tracks yet again.
His eyes scanned the area, searching for any sign of her through the crowded people around him, but she was nowhere to be found. She vanished like a ghost in the night, leaving behind only a trail of further confusion in her wake. "What the hell is going on?" Danny doesn't know what to do anymore.
There are various thoughts and scenarios about her disappearance in this mind-breaking scenario. He isn't sure if the person waving at me was directed at him or someone else, or if it was just a hallucination of his own mind cracking under the pressure of the world he lives in.
Suddenly, someone grabbed his arm and said, "Huh?!" The sudden touch startled him, turning around quickly to see who it was, only to end up being yanked away, "Wait?!" Danny is so confused that he can't even react properly in time to regain his balance as he is forcefully pulled away from the spot he was standing.
"Let me go! What is wrong with you?!" He shouted, struggling to break free from the grip of this invisible force, "Hey, are you listening to me?!" He doesn't understand how this is possible; he cannot see who is grabbing him; just the sea of people around him is the only thing he can see.
"Who are you?!"
When he tried to pry himself loose, nothing happened, as if the air itself were holding him in place. He felt as if some otherworldly ghost had iced its cold fingers around his wrist, pulling him away from the direction he wanted to go.
Danny's heart pounded fiercely in his chest, a mix of fear and frustration coursing through his veins. He struggled against the unseen force, but it was of no use. He was trapped, forced to move against his will regardless of whether he wanted it or not. It was a terrifying thing if someone or something out there were able to single-handedly hold him if it was no big deal.
After a while of being forced to move, he eventually exited out through the crowd, landing himself face-to-face at a painted green door with an image on top of it that shows a stick figure going downstairs to the lower floors.
"Uh..." Glancing left and right then over his shoulders, Danny was beyond shock that the person who grabbed him didn't appear in front of him or at his sides. "Was that...ghost?" Goosebumps iced down his spine at the mere thought, "Or is it just my imagination playing tricks on me?"
With shaky hands, he reached out to grab the handle of the wooden door, slowly twisting it open to reveal a dimly lit stairway. "Stairs..." He murmured, peering down the dark corridor.
"Where does this lead to?" Gulping nervously, he doesn't know what to do anymore. Encountering a possible stranger is one thing, but being grabbed by someone he can't see leads to the possibility of a ghost helping him navigate through this hospital. It scares him if that is the case—a terrifying discovery of this place that he never knew existed before.
The staircase descends into a foreboding place, the landing's edge marked only by a faint line where the wall's pale blue meets the worn wood of the steps. The air grows chill, carrying an undertone of stale disinfectant and the distant murmur of muffled voices outside its very walls.
Each riser creaks softly beneath Danny's hesitant tread after deciding to head down to God knows where as he feels compelled to do so, the wooden slats groaning in protest with every step, as if warning him of the unknown dangers that lurk in the shadows below.
As he takes his first few tentative steps, the stairwell seems to swallow him whole, the narrow space closing in on either side, the cold walls pressing in, their rough texture visible in the dim light filtering through the place was then replaced by eerie silence, and only the sound of his footsteps echoing through the empty corridors along with his breathing was his only companion.
"Where am I even heading to?" He whispered to himself, the only answer being the haunting quiet that surrounds him. "This place is starting to freak me out." He said to himself, "I should probably find a nurse or someone to let them know about this."
He was more than ready to get the hell out of here and go back to where he came from. The place is giving him the creeps due to how uneasy the atmosphere around him is becoming. Not a single sight of a human heading up or down to meet him was a relief of sorts. Yet it still feels uncomfortable when there is no one within this staircase.
"Screw this." Giving into his fear, he was about to turn around and head back up just before the faint sounds of a piano being played majestically were heard from the very bottom floor of this place. Drawing him in as if he were moth to a flame, the melody is beautiful but nostalgic, like a siren's call luring him deeper into the heart of the labyrinth.
Hearing music play within what seems to be an abandoned area he is heading through would be a scary event for anyone who heard this. However, for him, the song playing through the staircase has a flare of familiarity to it that he can't put his finger on why he suddenly became attracted to it.
Whatever it is, Danny feels himself being drawn to the source of the music, his feet moving of their own accord, as if the notes themselves are guiding him down the stairs, through the darkness, towards the unknown.
The young man's curiosity is piqued, overriding his initial fear. The mystery of the tune is too great to ignore, as he needs to know what he is dealing with down here.
