Friends?

Shortly before midnight, two beings approach the giant tree that sits in the center of the yard. The female begins to whistle as she sits down in the swing hanging from one of the branches. The male leans against the tree with his arms crossed and calls for Natt to come outside. With no reply, they take a long drink out of their bottles and start laughing and shouting for Natt. The female still continues to swing while the male walks slowly to the front door, almost falls down the steps, and begins to knock. "Knock, Knock, KNOCK." [[Wake up Suddenly]]

Awoken suddenly by the sound of laughter and knocking, Natt hesitantly sits up in his bed. Trying to hear the voices coming from his front yard, his senses slowly start to come back to him, and he can make out the voices of his friends, Josh and Stan. Instead of getting up right away, he reaches for the phone to check the time, which reads 11:50 P.M. Irritation starts to creep inside him as he realizes they are drunk, and he has only been asleep for fifty minutes. Freeing himself from the blankets, he decides what to do. [[Reply in anger]] [[Friendly Greeting]] [[No reply]]

//This is getting out of hand. Why can't they just call or text like normal friends? I know I have not seen them all week, but that is no excuse to get drunk and start something. Maybe I should tell them off, so they understand the severity of this.// After finding his clothes, Natt starts to shout as he opens the bedroom door. Natt: "What the hell are you guys doing here? It is almost midnight, and you are being way too loud. You know that I only got off work two hours ago. Go home, and I will see you in the morning. If you don't, I will have no choice but to make you go." Before he reaches the front door, Josh screams back. [[Stop and listen to reply]] [[Reach for the front door]]

//I should go greet them and see how things are going for them. I have not been able to see them all week, so it will be nice to catch up. I wish they would have come by in the morning, but with these two you never know what they will do.// Natt "One second! I can't find my pants!" As Natt slides on his pants, he lets out a big yawn and remembers that it is almost midnight. He is extremely tired and should go back to be. [[Get back in bed]] [[Open the door]]

//It is probably best to ignore them and let them get bored. If they think I am not home or dead asleep, they will leave, but they are being too loud so the neighbors might call the cops. // Deciding to get up, Natt leaves his room and waits by the front door just in case things escalate. [[Get back in bed]] [[Reach for the front door]]

Natt stops moving around and listens carefully to see if he can understand what Josh and Stan are talking about. Between the walls and the distance, Natt can only pick up a couple of words. Stan: We...Hospital...No. Josh: Of course...Ridiculous...Funny...Yes After that, they go quiet, and Natt finds himself sitting in his room alone, pondering what to do. [[Fall asleep]] [[Reach for the front door]] [[Open the door]]

Deciding to lie back down, Natt ignores the calls and knocks from his friends. After what feels like hours of tossing and turning, Natt starts to fall asleep to the whispers and retreating footsteps of his friends. [[Fall asleep]]

After getting dressed, Natt quickly reaches the front door and opens it. Josh looks as if he is about to kick the door down. Natt: //What's going on? You guys must have been drinking a lot if you are willing to kick my door down.// Josh: //Nothing, buddy. Just want you to come and drink with us.// Stan: //Yeah. Maybe we go pull some pranks on somebody, or not. Really up to you.// Natt:// Well, let me think about it for a moment, I'm not really in the mood, and it's late.// [[Drink with friends]] [[Get back in bed]]

After considering the options, Natt decides to open the front door and confront his friends. He swings open his bedroom door, strides through the kitchen/living, and stops in front of the door. The door appears to be unlocked already. Natt slowly reached towards the handle as the door was kicked in, and darkness started to creep in. [[Continue]]

Natt decides to climb back into bed and ignore his friends. He has had a long day and is not in the mood to put up with them. In a few moments, Natt falls asleep. [[Continue]]

Natt wakes up in a dark room. So dark he cannot tell if his eyes are opened or closed. Natt: He…Hello? What's going on? Where am I? After no reply, worry starts to grow inside him. He tries to recall what happened, but his memory fails him, and he can't remember how he ended up in this situation. He starts to feel a tense pressure in his chest as fear creeps in. [[Stay calm]] [[Panic]] [[Go to sleep because this is a dream]]

Deciding to have a few drinks, Natt joins his friends outside. Grabbing a beer Stan offered, Natt decides he needs to catch up and chugs the beer. Josh offers Natt another beer. [[Take Beer]] [[Decline drink]]

Natt grabs the beer from josh and begins to drink. Josh: What have you been up to? I suppose you have just been working, cleaning, and playing games with Stan as usual, huh? Natt: You pretty much nailed it. You know that I have a tight schedule with work and all. What are you guys doing up so late? Stan: Oh, we just wanted to dr… Josh suddenly hits Stan in the chest to where she can't finish the sentence. Josh: You should be starting to feel it any minute, but you will take part in one of the best pranks you have seen. Just as Josh finishes the sentence, Natt realizes that they put something in his drink. He thought it was weird that he would be dizzy off two beers. Natt: Wha…What did you… Natt is consumed by darkness and falls off the chair. [[Continue]]

By declining the drink, Natt notices a flash of anger in Josh's eyes. Not really sure what he did, he asked, Natt: What's wrong? Josh: Nothing. I knew you would only have one drink with us and then bail. No worries. Go back to your home, and we will see you in ten years. Whoa. I was not going to leave. I just need to pace myself, but if you want to be that way, I will go back inside. Have a good night. Just as Natt reached his front door, he felt a sharp pain in his back of his. He tried to turn around to see what had happened but blacked out before he could see his attacker’s face. [[Continue]]

Taking a few deep breaths, Natt starts to calm down. Once he gains his composure, He starts to search around for anything that can help him figure out where he is. His fingers stumble upon a sleek square device. Feeling around, he finds a button. [[Push button]] [[Throw device]]

Natt begins to panic. He rushes in a random direction, hoping it is the right way to get out. Without being able to see, Natt runs head-first into a wall and gets knocked out. [[Next]]

Thinking he must have fallen asleep, he must be dreaming. This is the only explanation for waking up in a dark room instead of in his bed. [[Lay down and sleep]]

Laying back down, Natt decides it is best to just go back to sleep. It has been a long day and now a long night because his dreams are becoming nightmares. After laying there for what felt like an eternity, Natt finally falls asleep. [[Next]]

Natt pushes the button and is immediately blinded by a bright light. After his eyes adjust, he realizes that he is holding a cell phone. [[Turn on flash light]] [[Make a call]]

Throwing the device, Natt feels around for a light switch or for something that can help him see. He finds a switch on the wall and flicks it, but nothings happens. [[Keep looking]] [[Stay put and wait]]

After waking up again, Natt finds himself strapped to a bed with a mirror above him. In the mirror, he sees Josh and Stan standing in the corner dressed as doctors. Josh: Ah. Now that you are awake again, we can begin. Stan: You have no idea how long we have waited to do this. Grabbing a few tools from a table, Josh and Stan slowly approach Natt. [[Struggle]] [[Close his eyes]]

Turning on the flashlight, Natt quickly notices he is in an abandoned building. There is trash, dirt, blood, and medical equipment everywhere. Realizing that he is in the old abandoned hospital, fear creeps in. He has the sudden urge to [[run]] but is unsure if that is the right choice. He stops to think for a minute before doing something rash. [[Keep Calm and move forward]] [[Stay put and wait]]

Going through the phone, Natt finds no contact, so he decides to call the police. He dials 911, and all of a sudden, the screen starts to glitch. He puts the phone to his ear but only hears static. Natt: Now, what do I do? If I can't call for help, I guess I will have to wait for daylight which should only be a few hours away, or I can start the search myself. [[Keep Calm and move forward]] [[Stay put and wait]]

Without any light or anything to guide him, Natt moves forward. His hands come across a thin sheet of paper and a small cylinder-like object with a… Natt: Ooo. A lighter. This will come in handy. [[Try lighting the piece of paper]] [[Keep Calm and move forward]]

Pulling at his binding, Natt panics as they do not come loose. No matter how hard he tries. Josh and Stan are standing right above him with knives. In unison, they both speak. Josh/Stan: This is what happens when you forget your friends. Before they plunge the knife into his heart, Natt realizes that they are not his friends, at least not anymore. There is something off with the way they spoke. It's as if they have more than one voice. A sharp pain spreads through his body, and stars fill his vision before it fades to darkness. Natt has been killed. Start from [[The Beginning]]

Closing his eyes, Natt hopes nothing will happen, but suddenly, there is a lot of pressure in his abdomen. His eyes pop open, and both Josh and Stan have their hands inside his stomach, pulling out his insides. There is no time to react before he dies. Natt has been killed. Start at [[The Beginning]]

With the light from the phone, Natt decides to run. Turning left at the first chance he sees (because that is what they do in the movies,) he finds himself inside a long hallway. He continues running straight, passing doors, and jumping over the gurney until he needs to stop and catch his breath. Natt: Huff, huff, huff. How…far was…that. It felt like I ran for a mile. //It must be because it is dark in here. Everything feels different in the dark.// Natt shines the light in each direction and finds himself at the beginning of the hallway as if he had never run down it. [[Panic]] [[Go to the right]] [[Go down stairs]] Try to [[Go to the left]] again

Staying calm, Natt walks to the end of the room and surveys his options. There are only three options for him to take. Choosing to [[Go to the left]] does not look promising. He can only see a hallway filled with a few doors, and it looks like it gets swallowed by darkness as his flashlight only goes 10 feet down it. If he chose to [[Go down stairs]], who knows what would await him? He does not know what floor he is on, so it might be best to stay on the floor he is on until he gathers more information. And the last choice is to [[Go to the right]]. Looking down that hallway, Natt can see a few flickering lights, but why would there be lights that way and not anywhere else? It could be a trap or just faulty wiring.

Since he has light, Natt does not feel as scared anymore. Sitting down and waiting for daylight sounds like a good plan. He may be in the old hospital, but once the sun comes up, he will be able to see clearly and find a way out. "Tink. Tink. Tink." Natt: What was that? Hel... [[run]] [[Make a call]] [[Keep Calm and move forward]]

The lighter keeps sparking every time he tries to light it. He shakes the lighter violently and tries again. Finally, the lighter comes to life. Natt holds the paper to flame, and in a few moments, the paper is consumed by fire. From the dim light, Natt sees three options, [[Go down stairs]] [[Go to the left]] Or [[Go to the right]]

Natt looks down the stairs but cannot see more than five feet in front of him. He makes his way down one step at a time but soon hears footsteps approaching from above. Moving quickly and in a panic, Natt trips and falls down the stairs. He hears a snap and sharp pain in his neck, and then nothing. Trying to move, fear and panic overcome him as he realizes he is paralyzed from the neck down. Not being able to move, he decides to [[Close his eyes]]

Instead of running, he decides to walk down the left hallway and keep a lookout for anything that can help him escape. The first couple of doors he came across were locked, so he continued moving on. Something flashes to the right, so Natt quickly turns his head. The door on the right is cracked open. Natt://Was it already open before?// [[Go in the door]] [[Keep going]]

To the right is a bare hallway. There are no doors, no windows, and nowhere to go. At the end of the hall are a few flickering lights. Not really sure if he should [[Keep running forward]] or [[Turn around]], Natt stops and thinks. If he turns around, he would only have two options one is to go downstairs, and the second is to go to the left, which would be straight ahead when he gets to the end of the hall, but backtracking might make him miss an exit or at least reach a safe place to hide until day time. Going forward could be a trap or an exit. Who knows what is up there?

Going through the door, Natt finds himself in an operating room. Of course, it looks like a mess, but he decides to search for it anyway. Using his light, he walks around the room, looking for anything that will help. Just as he discovers an open window, a light turns on. [[Hide]] [[Try to go through window]]

Natt turns away from the door and keeps walking but soon finds himself facing two figures toward the end of the hall. He starts to run, but it feels like he is going nowhere. Natt looks back, and the figures are almost to him, but he manages to break free from whatever is holding him in place. Natt: This place is strange. It feels normal one second, and the next, there are weird things that happen. I was full-on running, but I was not moving. How is any of this real? He reached the intersection and now had two options [[Go down stairs]] [[Go to the right]]

Natt throws himself down behind some boxes in hopes that whoever is coming will not see him. As he struggles to control his breathing, he hears people talking just outside the room. Unknown 1: Do you think he has found a way out yet? Unknown 2: I doubt it. this place is huge, and he has no way to see it. He should be right below us, if I am correct. Let's go see if we can find and kill him. Unknown 1: Not like anyone would find out or miss him. Feeling disturbed, Natt started breathing heavily and began to panic. Someone wanted to kill him! He rolled over to see if he could see the faces of the two people trying to kill him, but he accidentally hit the table, knocking over a tray of surgical tools. He scrambles to his feet just in time to see Josh and Stan staring at him. Josh: Stop, Natt. We are here to help you. Stan: Calm down and talk to us. [[Grab scalpul to fight]] [[Try to go through window]]

Jumping through the window, Natt begins to fall straight down. He is now outside but is falling three stories down. Natt flails around, trying to redirect his course to somewhere soft but has no control before he lands a top of an ambulance. Glass shatters, and the sirens turn on as Natt smashes onto the top of the ambulance. Before becoming unconscious, Natt sees a shadowy figure running toward him. [[Friends?]]

Natt grabs a scalpel from the fallen tray and tries to fight them off. After hearing them talk about wanting to kill him, he no longer wishes to be their friend. Natt: Why do you want me dead? Stan: We don't. Why would you think that? Josh: You sound crazy. We are here to help you. You have this picture in your head that people are trying to kill you, and they simply are not. Now, why don't you lay down on the bed, and we will make things better, hum? Natt: (shaking the thoughts from his head) No. I am not crazy. I was at home, and now I am here. You…you must have knocked me out and put me here. This hospital is crazy, not me. People disappear here. You know that, and that is why you brought me here. Josh then jumps toward Natt, trying to grab him, but Natt slashes out with the scalpel and cuts him across the face. Natt turned toward Stan, but it was too late. Stan was already on top of Natt and choking him from behind. Natt stood no chance as Stan choked the life out of him. Before he knew it, the world was shrouded in darkness once again. [[Next]]

Blurry-eyed and confused, Natt stirs in his bed. From a distance, Natt hears someone yelling. Man: Nurse! Nurse! He's awake! Can we get some help here? Women: Oh, that's great news! Hello? Sir? Can you hear or see me? [[Yes I can hear you, but I think I am going blind]] [[Remain quiet]]

Turning around, Natt reaches the end of the hallway. He stops to catch his breath for a moment before making the decision to [[Go down stairs]] or [[Go to the left]], which is now straight ahead. Before making his choice, he weighs the possibilities of where an exit might be. If he is on the top floor, one of these hallways might have an exit to the roof, but if he is on one of the lower floors, the stairs would either lead him to the first floor or the basement. He should be able to find a way there, but it might be a maze down there.

Natt runs to the end and sees where the light is coming from. Above the door is an EXIT sign. The red cover is gone, so the lights are bright white, but this is promising and fills Natt with hope. Before he [[Opens the door]], he second guesses and has the idea to [[Turn around]].

Opening the door, Natt rushes through in hopes of finding a way down. Just as he passes the threshold, Natt realizes that this door goes nowhere and begins to fall straight down. On the way down, Natt hits his head on the wall. His vision instantly blurs as he hits the ground on what smells like decaying flesh and trash. Just before he passes out, he sees a shadowy figure running toward him. [[Friends?]]

Natt: Yes, I can hear you, but I am having trouble seeing. Nurse: That can happen, dear. You hit your head pretty hard and fell almost four floors. You are lucky this man was there to call 911. Natt: What, man? Man: My name is Marcus. I run security at the old hospital. I was there checking up on one of my workers when I saw you jump off the roof. Josh/Stan: Natt, we are coming for you. It is your turn to die. [[Remain quiet]] [[Don't you hear that?]] [[Roll off the bed away from the door]]

Deciding it best to remain quiet, the woman and the unknown man begin to talk. Women: He must have hit his head harder than we thought. I am not sure if he will be able to function normally again. What did you say happened to him again? Man: I found him jumping from the roof of the old hospital. I am not sure why or how he got there because Chris was supposed to be guarding the place, but he vanished too. I was checking in on him when I saw this boy jump off. It's a shame, bright kid too. Women: It is a shame. Did you ever find Chris? As the man answered, Natt, heard Josh and Stan yelling from down the hall. Josh/Stan: Natt, we are coming for you. It is your turn to die. [[Don't you hear that?]] [[Say nothing]]

Natt: Do you hear that? They are coming. Please help. My friends Josh and Stan are here and trying to kill me. I was forced off that roof; I did not jump. Nurse: You are awake. What are you talking about? there is nobody here. Man: You are safe now. The doctors will get you fixed, and you can go back to your life. Natt: I’m not sure that will happen when my friends are trying to kill me. The nurse gives Natt a cross necklace and says Believe in the lord, and all will be well. She turns and leaves with the man as Stan and Josh enter. Josh: You didn't even know we were gone. Stan: What kind of friend are you? Natt: What are you talking about? I've been busy, and so have you. You don't even answer my calls. Josh/Stan: We are dead and have been for months. Now you will be too. Before they could touch him, they started to burn as they got closer. Something strange is happening. Natt realizes it must be the necklace the nurse gave him. He took it off and held it in front of him. Josh and Stan disappeared in a cloud of ash. [[The end]]

After hearing their voices, Natt has flashes of what happened. Josh and Stan were trying to kill him. Surely, they wouldn't do anything here. They enter the room, but Natt can only make out their shapes. Nobody else seems to hear or see them. Josh: You didn't even know we were gone, so now you will pay. Stan: You haven’t even noticed that I have not been online. What kind of friend are you? Natt: What are you talking about? It's only been a week? Josh/Stan: We are dead. We have been for months, and you did not care. The both reached down, wrapped their hands around his heart, and squished tight. Natt: I'm sor… Beeeeeeep. The nurse calls for the doctor as Natt’s heart gives out. After ten minutes of trying to revive Natt, The doctors called his death at 12:10 A.M. Try again from [[The Beginning]]

After leaving the hospital, his new friend Marcus moved in. Natt was deemed legally blind, and he could not work as a programmer. The reason Marcus moved in was because he felt guilty for what happened, and he was rich. He had enough money to stay with Natt and help him in any way he could. Natt was not thrilled, but he needed time to adjust to his new life. Without the fear of dying, Natt wanted to do more with his life. He would make sure to pay close attention to any of his new friends and check in with them on a daily bases. Unfortunately, They never found the bodies of Stan, Josh, and Chris. Many people believe that Natt killed them, but others believe the old hospital claimed their lives. What do you think?

As he hits the floor, The Nurse and Marcus cry out in shock, but the only thing Natt is focused on is the two floating shadows that stopped at the door. Not knowing what is going on, Natt remains quiet and plays dead. With the nurse and Marcus trying to get him up, he sees the shadows move on to the next room. Getting back in bed, Natt covers himself with the blanket. Hoping they won't come back. It was difficult, with the nurse yelling at him and Marcus crying with worry, but he managed. He knew it was safe when he heard. Josh: Natt, if you are here, we will find you, and we will kill you. We are no longer friends. You have ignored us, and you have let us die alone. You can run, but you can't hide. Until next time...Friend. [[The end?]]

After leaving the hospital, his new friend Marcus moved in. Natt was deemed legally blind, and he could not work as a programmer. The reason Marcus moved in was because he felt guilty for what happened, and he was rich. He had enough money to stay with Natt and help him in any way he could. Natt and Marcus ended up moving halfway around the world to a small island off the coast of Norway. Natt explained everything to Marcus, and to Natt's surprise, Marcus believed every word. So in hopes that Stan and Josh won't find them, they moved far away. They are not sure how far spirits can travel, but hopefully, no more than a few miles. After getting settled into their new place, there's a knock on the door. "Knock. Knock. KNOCK."