Recovery

I’ve had enough, Sunset thought as she threw her backpack on the floor of her room. Describing this a room was being generous as she looked around at the concrete floors and a small mattress in the corner. She walked to the “kitchen” as she liked to call it. Really, it was just an empty room with a beat up cupboard she found on the side of a road, a small mini fridge Flash gave her, a half working microwave and a sundamaged extension cord that connected to the pawn shop next door.

Sighing, she got a bowl and a bag of Ramen. Ripping open the Ramen, she poured it into the bowl and poured water into it and stirred the mix in with it before putting it in the microwave. After it got done, she sat on her mattress and ate. Reaching over, she grabbed her small metal box and flipped it open so she could do her nightly routine. Inside were a box cutter blade and some basic first aid tools.

She gingerly picked up the blade, positioned it at her arm and slowly it moved it down. Blood instantly slowly spilled out and she hissed in pain. She picked up the medical supplies and pressed the gauze over the cut till it stopped bleeding. She then picked up a notebook and opened it. Inside were times, dates, how much she bleed and how long it took to stop the bleeding.

She scribbled down ten minutes after checking her phone. Shortest time yet but it still wasn’t enough, she decided. Standing up, she walking to a room with the sign maintenance on it, opened it and walked in and then shut the door behind her. Her eyes flicked over to a old piece of rope and then up at a pipe in the ceiling.

Standing outside the abandoned factory were three girls dressed warmly as the snow slowly fell around them.

“Are we sure about going inside? It looks dangerous, Lyra,” a cream girl said nervously.

Lyra nodded eagerly. “It’s gonna be so epic. A lot of people are doing urban exploring, Bon Bon. We can even start a channel on TubeYou of us exploring,” she said excitedly.

“What about you, Trixie?” Bon Bon turned to their third member. “Do you agree with her?”

Trixie nodded, slower than Lyra had. “Trixie agrees with Lyra.” Not many people knew that Trixie only spoke like that because of a tic she developed as a kid. Her two friends knew the truth, though. They were the only two she trusted to know about it.

Bon Bon sighed, knowing she’d been out voted. The three girls walked towards the entrance and Lyra opened the door for her two friends to walk. She shut the door after following them in.

It was dark enough where they could make out each other’s shapes but beyond that, they saw nothing. Bon Bon reached into her bag and produced three flashlights. She then passed them out to each girl. “So we can see,” she explained.

“Gee, thanks for explaining what a flashlight does,” Lyra rolled her eyes.
Bon Bon sighed in irritation.

“We should split up and search each part alone. Cover more ground,” Lyra suggested.

Bon Bon raised an eyebrow. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea. This place is really old and we don’t know how stable the upperfloors are. We should stay together.”

“Trixie agrees with splitting up. The faster we get done, the faster she gets to go home and leave this totally not creepy factory,” the light blue girl commented, sounding slightly nervous.

Lyra pumped her arm in victory while Bon Bon sighed dejectedly. “Fine, but I’m calling the groupchat. That way if something goes wrong, we can tell the others instantly.” She pulled her phone out and started tapping a few buttons till her partners phones rang. They both answered and Lyra immediately said “hello” In a creepy voice into her phone.

“Really Lyra?” Bon Bon scoffed. “Grow up.”

“I’m going upstairs,” Lyra replied sticking her tongue at her friend.

“It looks big up there, I’ll go up there too and explore some rooms,” Bon Bon decided.

“Trixie will explore down here.” When they each had a plan, all three girls turned their lights on and went their own ways.

“Why do you think this place shut down?” Bon Bon asked as she and Lyra walked up the stairs.

“I heard after the Industrial Revolution, factories like these were abandoned for newer ones with better equipment. Some got made safer for workers, others got torn down,” Lyra commented.

“Wow, someone’s been paying attention in history class,” Bon Bon teased.

“Shut up.”

The two girls approached a split hallway and looked at each other.

“I go left, you go right?” Lyra suggested.

Bon Bon visibly gulped and nodded. Each girl headed down their hallways.

Trixie was walking around downstairs when she heard a dripping sound. She froze and looked around nervously.
She took a deep breath and followed the sound cautiously. A drop of water hit head and she stepped, glancing up. She gave a sigh of relief when she was saw it was just a leaky pipe.

“Thank Primus,” Trixie muttered.

“Are you good, Trix?” Came Lyra’s voice from the phone.

“Yeah I’m good, just heard dripping water. It’s just a dripping pipe though.”

Her two partners got nervous, Trixie only talked normally when she was afraid.

Bon Bon stepped into a room and looked around, moving her beam from the flashlight across the floor and froze. In her beam was a backpack, a bowl and a mattress.

“Hey guys?” She said nervously.

“Yeah, what is it?” Lyra replied.

“We’re not alone here,” Bon Bon commented, edging closer to the bowl.

“What do you mean?” Trixie asked.

“I mean, I’m in a room with a half broken mattress, a backpack, a metal box and a bowl”. She touched the bowl carefully. “The bowl is still hot too, chances are the person is still here potentially. Be careful, you two. We dont know if they’re violent or not.”

“Will do, you do the same,” Lyra said.

Bon Bon approached a basket of clothes. “These clothes look familiar,” she mused.

A sound behind her made her spin around and yelp. She gave a sigh of relief when she saw it was just a small mouse.

“Bon Bon, are you okay?” Trixie asked.

“Yeah I’m good. Just saw a mouse is all.”

“That’s to be expected. It’s an abandoned building after all.’

“Shut it, Lyra. I hate mice.”

Bon Bon left the room and entered another a short ways down. She saw a fridge, cupboard and a microwave. Opening for fridge, she scrunched her nose up at the smell of something like rotten cheese.

“Yeah, someone definitely lives here. This room has a fridge, microwave and a cupboard,” Bon Bon announced.

“Who do you think it is?” Lyra questioned.

“I have no idea, but I’m not sure I wanna meet them,” came Bon Bon’s reply.

A crashing sound came through the phone and a girl cussing.

“Trixie? Was that you? Are you okay?” Bon Bon asked quickly.

“Yes, I’m fine. Just tripped on a rock I think.”

“Well, don’t do that. I don’t wanna have to drive someone to the hospital,” Lyra commented.

Trixie rolled her eyes and forgot her friends couldn’t see it.

Lyra walked down the hallway she chosen and saw something on the floor. She stopped, kneeled down and touched it.

“What the hell?” She muttered too quiet to be heard by the others. Pulling her hand back, she shined the light on it. Her fingertips had red on them. She stood up quickly and looked at the door. It said maintenance on it. She took a deep breath and slowly reached for the door handle. Taking another breath, she yanked it open.

“HOLY FUCK!”