Hospital

Hours later, school was over for the day, and most students had gone home, but others stayed to partake in their club activities. As for Ren and Shun, they were summoned to the staff room to explain what they were doing outside during class, but their answers were vague, so the teachers just let them off the hook.

Before long, night followed, and Ren and Shun were in their casual outfits, observing the abandoned hospital from a distance, trying to map out routes that would be usable if they wanted to get inside without being noticed.

"How come there isn't a single hidden path? We've been going around for like an hour now," Shun complained, looking up at the abandoned building as a vehicle passed by.

"Yeah, I figured this would be the case," Ren said.

"What do you mean, 'case'?" Shun asked softly.

"The hospital hasn't been used in like years, and I heard the government was planning on reopening it, so they sealed off all passable routes to prevent going inside," Ren explained, then cleared his throat, "anyhow, we can just go in through there." He pointed at the gate.

"You're kidding, right?" Shun exclaimed softly, following where Ren was looking.

"No," Ren replied. "All we have to do is break the lock, and we'll be right inside."

"That makes sense. But, what about the cameras next door?" Shun asked, shifting his gaze to the love hotel sitting at a short distance.

"That will be a problem," Ren muttered, holding his chin, thinking of another solution. A moment later, then added. "If we could just know when the security guard leaves for their break, that would maybe give us a window to sneak in."

A cold breeze passed by, making them quiver for a second.

"It sure is getting cold by the second. Now I feel bad for leaving my jacket at home," Shun said.

Ren let out a soft sigh. "Yeah, now that I think about it... Isn't it a bad idea that we're standing right next to a love hotel?"

"You should have thought of that before coming here, idiots." Sayaka suddenly appeared with a furious expression.

"Ahh... When did you get here?" Ren asked, pivoting and glancing at her.

"I think she was following us," Shun added.

Sayaka frowned. "I wasn't following you."

"You turned into a stalker, now?" Ren asked, directing the question at Sayaka.

Sayaka was bothered for a moment before replying. "N—no, it's just, earlier you said something about going inside that place."

"The hospital?"

"So you were worried about us," Ren uttered with a sigh. "Listen. I know it's your responsibility to look after me, since Dad is gone and all. But I'm not a little kid anymore, and you barely have time for yourself because you're constantly worrying about me."

"What I'm trying to say is, 'grow up'. Live your life for you before it's too late." He clarified.

Both Sayaka and Shun stared at Ren with puzzled expressions, since this was the first time Ren had ever said something like that.

"What?" Ren asked, noticing their dumbfounded expressions.

"Nothing. But to be honest, it's just for a moment there, you sounded like someone else." Shun admitted.

"Anyway," Ren said, fixating his attention on Shun. "Any ideas on how we're going to proceed from here, cause at the moment I'm at a loss?"

"Proceed?" Sayaka muttered. "No, you aren't going to proceed with anything; the only thing you need to be doing right now is getting your butts home." She pressed a hand on her temples. "Do you even know what time it is?" She continued with a worried voice.

Ren and Shun looked at each other as if one of them knew what time it was. Still, after observing each other for a few seconds, it was found that neither of them knew the time, but if they had to guess, the time was somewhere between eight and nine o'clock. That assumption was somewhat correct, only that it was already half past nine, meaning that they had been looking around for a route for about an hour.

A few moments later, after Shun and Ren pondered their next move, they concluded that they would have to continue their investigation the next day. This decision wasn't made because it was getting late or anything. Still, they were both getting tired, and there was no use in breaking into the abandoned hospital if all they were going to do was fall asleep while doing quick sketches of the hospital's outline.

"You're right, sis, it's getting pretty late," Ren pivoted towards Sayaka. "Come on, let's go home." He said with a smile.

"Huh? You, you're kidding, right?" Sayaka stuttered.

"Why would you think I'm playing around?" Ren voiced as Shun behind him, only blinked while observing a passing vehicle, which then stopped at the love hotel ahead, and a moment later, a man in a business suit came out of it, then opened the door for a woman with whom he was.

"Let's go," Ren said, passing his sister as Shun followed.

***

The following day, Shun had sketched the abandoned hospital's outside from different angles, marking the gate as the only entrance.

Unfortunately, they didn't sleep the night before; instead, they spent the entire night working on the layout before them, drawing it from memory rather than looking at the reference directly.

"What time is it?" Shun said as he stretched his arms outwards.

"I think it's almost noon," Ren replied, standing from his desk and closing his laptop.

"Wanna grab something to eat?" Ren added, stepping closer to Shun, who was sitting up himself.

"Yeah." He replied.

Sometime later.

"I managed to hack the love hotel's security cameras, and as you guessed, the security cameras placed outside the hotel's front slightly capture the hospital's front gate, not entirely, though. There's a blind spot at the corner of the gate, which means we'll have to go in through there tonight." Ren stated.

"I can't believe you managed to pull it off. It must've been difficult to hack the cameras, though, right?" Shun quizzed with a grave expression.

"Nah, but it depends on other systems at play, like hacking their database. That part was a little bit trickier, as for the cameras, it was a piece of cake."

"That's easy for you to say... I just hope they don't track you down."

"Anyway, where's Sayaka? I haven't seen her today." Shun asked, peering at the open door.

"I don't know," Ren replied. "But if I had to guess, she went shopping or something. It's Saturday after all."

"By the way, have you already finished drawing Rika?" he added.

By Rika, he meant a character in the story he was writing. He had given Shun the details of her appearance, and Shun said he would put her on paper.

"No, I haven't started yet, but don't worry about it, I'll finish drawing her once I start, and I think it'll only take me an hour or so," Shun answered.

"It's taking so long to get dark," Ren complained. Then added. "What should we do to kill some time? Watch a video, maybe, or go somewhere?"

"Both options sound better; maybe we should try both."

Hours later, night arrived.

The air was still, almost unnaturally so. Not a single gust of wind stirred the leaves along the sidewalk. The streetlights flickered faintly, their orange glow pooling in the patches on the asphalt.

Ren and Shun were looking up at the abandoned hospital while carrying a flashlight that was off for a moment, a drawing tablet, and some additional tools they planned to use once inside.

After Ren had hacked the love hotel's CCTV, he confirmed there wasn't a guard at the hospital gate during the night. Meaning, the post only existed during the day. That meant they could enter unnoticed, as long as they stayed in the blind spot of the cameras behind them.

Within moments, they were inside and proceeding to the elevator.

"Does that thing still work?" Shun asked, observing their surroundings.

"Who knows, maybe if we're lucky enough, it'll be working," Ren responded. "I hope it works, though. I'm too tired to take the stairs."

"In any case, it should still work. I noticed the water pipes outside are working, which means the electricity should also be in good condition." He continued, approaching the elevator.

After arriving in front of it, he pressed the button, which was still working, though the elevator took its time to open.

"I guess the electricity is working," Shun muttered. "But where is the elevator?"

The doors slid open with a slow, reluctant sound.

Looking at the open doors, there was nothing inside, and it looked like the elevator was broken, or it had been damaged during all those years the hospital was shut down.

Ren stepped closer and leaned in. He glanced upward first, where the shaft disappeared into shadow. Then he looked down.

"Hey, Shun, how long do you think it should take to reach the basement from here?" Ren asked softly, pivoting, glancing at Shun.

"I don't know. A floor or two, maybe. Hospitals don't usually go deeper than that," Shun replied, unsure.

"Okay, but how come the elevator shaft keeps going to the basement without a clear stop? Aren't we on the first floor?"

"What do you mean?" Shun stepped closer to him, turning on the flashlight.

"Look for yourself," Ren said, moving over slightly, giving Shun a path.

The moment Shun lit the flashlight inside the elevator shaft. The flashlight blinked once, then died, leaving Shun and Ren in near-complete darkness.

A cold draft rose from the shaft, carrying the faint smell of damp metal and decay. Shun's hand froze on the edge of the elevator opening, silence pressing against their ears.

"I knew I should've brought extra batteries." He exclaimed.

"What should we do now?" Ren asked, stepping away from the elevator for a moment.

"We'll just have to use the stairs, I guess. There's no way this thing is still usable like this." Shun stated.

"The stairs?" Ren let out a tired breath. "I think I have a better idea."

"A better idea?" Shun repeated.

"Yes, what if we just go down there using those cables? It's not like they can snap or anything." Ren said, stepping closer to the vent opening.

"You can't be serious. That idea is too reckless even for you. I can go down there using the cables without any issue, but you're another story... Aren't you afraid of heights?" Shun asked.

"Yeah, I used to be scared of them, but I think I can handle them now."

Ren leaned close and whispered, "All we need to do is keep our voice down and just feel our way along the cables."

Shun let out a sigh, knowing that this wasn't going to end well.

***

They lowered themselves slowly, their fingers grazing the frayed metal and broken rails. Every small scrape and clink sounded deafening in the empty shaft.

Ren, upon looking down the shaft, his heart began beating faster as he swallowed, clenching the cable tight.

Halfway down, Ren's foot slipped against a loose rung. Shun caught him just in time before Ren attempted to fall.

The air was becoming colder and colder by the second.

"I think we're almost there," Ren muttered nervously. "Just a few more meters if that's your definition of almost," Shun added.

Suddenly, Shun's foot got stuck in one of the tangled cables. When he forced it out, he accidentally let go of the cable, sending him falling atop Chun, who didn't notice Shun coming until the last second.

They both crashed into the basement's last floor. falling on top of some plastic chemical bottles, which were piled just below the vent. And the elevator car wasn't there.