♱ Equalia Falls ♱

CHAPTER 1 - ARRIVAL

The trip to Equalia Falls Mental Institute was not for the faint of heart.

Fitzroy Warren Harper knew that.

The journey was far from pleasant. Warren's stomach still ached and grumbled, clearly very angry from the tumultuous ride. It felt like his stomach had filled with the stinging seawater that had frothed angrily at the docks, and like it was sloshing around as he walked, overall making him feel as if he were about to throw up at any given moment.

He found himself standing in a dense forest, given strict instructions to follow the path to the institute. Then he was left by the men who had transported him here, and he was accompanied by some very tall, broad-shouldered woman with long salt-and-pepper hair and a young boy with wild red hair and

He turned to the woman with the broad shoulders and the small boy, who was picking his nose and staring out at the path stretched out in front of them. The lamps were flickering to life as they watched, and insects began to buzz and fly towards the light.

As they walked, the woman checked her watch and nodded at Warren. "So, what are you two called?"

The boy jumped, while Warren had only just registered the question and was struggling to recall his own name. "...Sorry?"

"Names," the woman repeated. Warren made an 'ah' sound and wiped grime off his cheek. "My name is Warren." Warren let his line of sight fall on a small rabbit sniffing around in the undergrowth. It was so small and insignificant. Kind of like how he felt right now.

"I'm Peter," the boy yawned, lunging at a bird who had been pecking at a rock on the ground.

"All right. I'm Natasha," she murmured, flicking her eyes around the forest as they walked. Warren kept his eyes fixed on the ground. "Why aren't there any staff to walk us in? Do they just expect every patient to go all the way to the Institute and not, say, run away into the forest?"

Natasha grinned, although the dim lamplight made it appear quite manic. "They say the staff set bear traps and huge, human-catching devices around the area, and that they never ever clean them, hence the new paint job of dried blood and bone bits..."

"Gah!" Warren yelped, while Peter simply yawned again and idled in front of them. "You're so slowwwwwww. Hurry up!"

Warren shuddered at the dirt beneath him squelching as a light drizzle began to ambush the forest. Peter had been reduced to a somewhat distinguishable blob a bit further away, while Natasha ambled along, lagging behind.

As they neared a point where multiple paths converged, Peter pointed out a sign perched on a path leading off to the right. "The place is that way."

Equalia Falls Mental Institute was a colossal, quaint building fashioned from pine wood and stone, built into the side of a mountain towering above the trio. There were lampposts lined along the path and a large sign next to the looming, ominous iron gates, reading:

The gates of the Institute open at 6:00, and shall close at 20:00. No access is granted during night hours without an official pass and booked entry.

Warren checked the time. "It's only seven o'clock."

"Hello," came a voice. Warren felt his heart drop to his feet and then shoot back up again, while he turned to see a smiling woman in a green tent set up next to the path. Peter was standing on his toes to look over the front desk to look at bowls, cups, lanterns, and tickets hanging on the tent walls or placed on rusting iron racks. Leaning over the counter, studying Peter, was a woman coated in furs and jackets. She had long black hair, umber skin, and a pair of searching, cheeky dark eyes. "Welcome. I'm Sophie. Oh–look at my sign."