Haunted {Calum // 5SOS au}

{ twelve }

The seconds ticked away, agonisingly slowly.

Calum's heart rate accelerated as his mind buzzed with thoughts on how to divert the immense mutant soldier standing only two meters away. Because his mind was racing, he hadn't even contemplated the fact the mutant hadn't yet taken another step. As the realisation hit him, his brows furrowed together. Why hadn't it come for them yet? 

It wasn't until the decaying scent choked the air that Calum was able to put a finger on it. The excessive stench that came off the mutant burned Michael's nostrils and hit the back of his throat, causing him to gag. The sound he produced seemed to trigger the mutant's senses, or at least one of them.

Calum hastily made eye contact with his friends, holding up his index finger to his lips, signalling them to stay quiet. It seemed that the mutant had lost his eye sight and now relied on sound. Calum pointed at his eyes and shook his head before tapping his ear and pointed at the mutant who was moving his head around, trying to pick up more sounds.

Both Riley and Michael nodded briefly and covered their nose with their hands, trying their best to block out the smell and to cover up any sounds caused by their breathing.

Calum followed their example and moved as quietly as he could towards the wall. Looking past the mutant, he could see a way to escape. The opening wasn't large, but if they stayed close to the wall, leaving just enough space for their backs not to scrape across the surface, it was possible for them to move past him unnoticed. He gestured for his friends to come, holding his breath as he watched their stiff movements as they tried to remain silent.

Everything seemed to go well until Michael's foot got caught on a loose stone. He tripped forward, only just catching himself from slamming against the concrete, but had made enough noise for the mutant soldier to find him. He missed being sliced in half by mere moments, managing to scramble out of the path the soldier's blade was taking.

"Let's go!' Calum shouted, forgetting all about his previous plan and grabbed onto Riley's arm, making a run for it.

Michael had no time to think about what had just happened and how lucky he was to still be alive. He started running like there was no tomorrow, not even once looking back at the monster that had nearly killed him.

The trio knew the end of the tunnel couldn't be far anymore, so they just kept on running until the darkness swallowed them once again. When the lights flicked back on, they stood in the middle of the main recreation hall. They hadn't been there before. The wooden floor panels and white pillars against the wall confused them for a second as the room didn't look much like the sterile white areas of the asylum.

The thought of having escaped after all vanished as soon as it had popped up as Riley stared directly at a small group of priests standing on the opposite side of the room, blocking the only exit.

They had just managed to escape from doctors in the underground facility and mutated soldiers in the Death Tunnel, only to run straight back into the arms of more staff.

There was no time to react before it seemed as if ten things happened at once. No time to think of a plan. No time to run.

In one swift movement, the priests moved aside and nurses strode forward. Six of them to be exact, two for each person.

"Riley!" Calum exclaimed, his voice stricken with panic as he watched a female and male nurse grab onto her arms tightly, dragging her away despite her struggle to stay put.

"No! Let go of me!" Riley protested, but her pleads were ignored. "Please! I'm not a patient here! Look at me! Just let us go!"

Two male nurses violently seized Calum's upper arms, forcing him to walk with them. The others did the same to Michael, and now all three of them had been captured, no idea where the nurses planned to take them.