Lukas Clopin's Story

Davis Royal

His eyes shot open, he was sure he had heard a noise. He frantically looked around, his senses on high alert trying to find the source of the noise but there was nothing in sight.

"Is this where my partner ended up?" he muttered to himself, looking around the room.

The last thing he remembered was following a lead on his partner's disappearence and it had lead him to...wherever this place was. He was certain that he had been checking out the Black Page before and then his phone had rung before he woke up here.

"Wait a minute, did I actually sleep?" thought Davis, "Without having a nightmare?"

Looking around the room he saw what appeared to be sewing machines on desks, looming in the darkness. It appeared he was in the materials room of a high school. Perhaps he would find more clues about his partner's death here. Slowly Davis began to search the classroom but there was nothing that looked like it had any relavence except for what he thought was a phone number on the blackboard, the white numbers almost glowing in the darkness. Looking closer they appeared to have been written in a hurry, he could see all the bits of broken chalk littering the floor.

"Well, that looks suspicious," whispered Davis, feeling nervous from the heavy silence, "All I need is a phone."

His heart nearly leapt out of his chest as a noise shattered the silence of the classroom, it was the same noise he had woken up to, it was...a cellphone? He could see its glow now as it hummed and buzzed away, almost out of sight tucked away behind a maze of spare desks and chairs at the back of the room. Trying to calm himself down he walked to the back of the classroom and began to crawl slowly and carefully through the forest of chair and desk legs. He phone stopped ringing as he placed a hand on it, for this he wasn't sure if he was glad or dismayed. He stayed crouched there for a moment, as if wondering whether it would ring again. He was about to head out into the open and call the number on the board when he saw a flash of movement in the corner of his eye. He was afraid of what he'd see if he looked but he knew that it was something he had to do. Slowly, reluctantly, he turned his head and screamed. A girl was a fingers width away from his face, smiling and giggling. As fast as he could he raced out from under the desk and punched in the number, perhaps whoever was on the other end would be able to help him. He hit send and his vision began to fade, the sound of loud breathing growing in his ears.


Lukas Clopin

He was in a salon, of that much he was sure, despite the darkness he had been able to make out the outlines of scissors and hair dryers, he'd even found a cellphone with a number next to it, the words "Call Me" written underneath but aside from that he had no further clue as to where exactly he was.

"Alice in Wonderland much?" Lukas said aloud, glancing at the note next to the phone, "Well I'd sooner trust a cellphone than some mysterious bottle I suppose, what's the worst that could happen?"

But something was bothering him. How had he turned up here? All he could remember was his phone ringing after he'd been looking at the Black Page, then again, it was most likely something to do with the occult so there was probably no point in asking how but instead asking why?

"Oh well, no sense in wasting time," he said, "I may as well give the number a call, there may be someone intelligent to talk to."

He considered searching the salon more thoroughly but figured it could wait, it wasn't going anywhere and to tell the truth, it creeped him out a little bit and would welcome the chance to procrastinate. Carefully he entered the number and hit send. To his surprise his vision began to cloud with darkness and soon he couldn't see at all but not before he'd caught a glimpse of a woman coming in from the back room.

"She must have been the stylist," he thought, "How strange, for a moment I could have sworn she was see-through."

Davis Royal

He was afraid to open his eyes after what had happened in the materials room. What if he opened his eyes and saw nothing but blackness? He didn't know if he could handle that but then again, if there was something else here then it would be better if he could see it coming.

"I can do this," he told himself.

Slowly he opened one eye and then the other and began to focus on his surroundings. Somehow he wasn't in the materials room anymore and he was no longer holding the cellphone, instead he looked like he was in the operating theater of a hospital.

"Why do I keep turning up in places that look like they're part of a horror movie?" he asked aloud.

He didn't expect an answer and he didn't recieve one. Surely there had to be someone else here though, right? Hospitals were rather large places when you thought about it, if he walked for long enough then surely he'd come across someone or at the very least, perhaps he'd come across a flashlight to help drive off the gloom.

"I think perhaps I'll start at the top and work my way down," thought Davis, "That way at least if something starts chasing me I'll be heading towards an exit."


Lukas Clopin

It looked like a staff room but that wasn't much help, it still could have been anywhere and it didn't explain how he was standing in the salon one minute and then here the next.

"Oh well, I didn't need a haircut anyway," muttered Lukas, exiting the room.

He was now in a plain hallway which wouldn't have given any clues if not for all the tacky posters on the walls. From all the overly cheerful sayings he guessed he was in a hospital, perhaps if he could find the loby then he'd be able to send a message out over the intercom to see if there was anybody else here, provided the power was working of course. He wasn't quite sure if that would be a good idea though, he could feel something off about the place.

"Well it sure beats standing around here," he thought.

And on that note he headed towards the ground floor.

Lukas Clopin

A series of bumping sounds sent him hurrying to the stairs where he saw a girl picking herself up off the ground, she looked lke she was in pain.

"Hey, are you ok?" asked Lukas, walking carefully towards the girl, "Can you tell me your name?"

There was a strong possibility that the girl was crazed, it was unlikely that she had throwen herself down the stairs for fun, even if she wasn't mad she was sure to be in shock so her behaviour might be unexpected.

"My name is Lukas," he said clearly, hoping she could understand.

There was a thought, perhaps the girl didn't speak english, he'd have to try asking for her name in other languages but first he needed to find out how badly she was hurt. He wasn't surprised to find the girl was scared but the way she kept looking around suggested that her tumble down the stairs wasn't the cause of her fear. It was entirely possible that they weren't alone in the hospital.

Lukas Clopin

"Ah, so you do speak English," said Lukas, "Not that it would have been a problem if you didn't, I was just wondering."

He raised an eyebrow as Amanda began to talk about a dead nurse. Was she serious? She didn't seem like she was crazy but the way she was talking seemed very odd, then again, how did you explain somehow teleporting from a hair salon to a hospital and hadn't he studied the occult?

"Wait, do you mean like a ghost or something?" he asked, "Can you describe her? Was it a woman dressed in white with long black hair? That would make it an Onryo and that would be really bad."

He was getting quite into the conversation, the thought of his studies finally paying of made him very happy even though current circumstances didn't seem to be the best for celebration.

Amanda cocked her eyebrow, "Her her was up in a bun and she was wearing a nurses outfit. And all i know is that she pissed at me for some reason and has stabbed her HAND through my stomach. and unless your un-human in any way, i find psychically impossible." Amanda pulled down her shirt back over her bandaged stomach and stood completely up. when she did, the phone in her pocket started buzzing like crazy. When she flipped it open, and picture of a door with the letters 305, written on it. Amanda froze, "I really don't want to go there." she said, slowly closing the phone and putting it back in her pocket. Images flashed through her head, bursting through the hospital doors, running up the stairs, almost trampling a little girl that tried to stop her, and then finely, seeing her brother, bloody and mangled, lying on a hospital bed. she had gotten there just before they covered him with the white blanket. Amanda looked up at Lukas, "Well.... looks like whoever else is here wants us to go to room 305." she said quietly, clenching her fists at her sides.

Lukas Clopin

"Hmm, not an onryo then," said Lukas, "You say she put her hand through your stomach, do you think you're going to be ok?"

This was getting more and more interesting by the minute. He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he almost didn't notice that Amanda had recieved a message.

"Is something wrong with room 305?" he asked, "You don't seem very pleased with the number. Do you know where this is?"

Actually, there was a thought. How had Amanda arrived here? He supposed such a question could wait untill a little later, for the time being it would be best to check out the room.

"There can't be any harm in having a look at the room can there?" he thought to himself, setting off up the stairs.


Davis Royal

He was on the third floor, after a little searching he had come across a flashlight but it could barely penetrate the darkness surrounding him. At least he'd found a bunch of batteries so it wouldn't go out. He was trying to walk without making any noise, he was yet to encounter anyone but he hadn't been able to shake the feeling that somebody was following him.

"Come on, don't lose it," said Davis to himself, "If you want to find out what happened to him then you need to stay calm and focused."

Stopping outside yet another room he tried to slow his breathing. Absentmindedly he glanced at the room number, 305, why did that seem so familiar. With a flash it came back to him, in one of his partner's journals there had been an entire page with the number scrawled all over it.

"Perhaps there's a clue in here?" mumbled Davis, reaching for the handle.

A sudden noise made him turn around. He was certain he had heard footsteps and they had been heading this way. He hoped that they were normal people like him. He really didn't want a repeat of the school.

"Wh-who's there?" he called out, his voice trembling.

"W-wait!" Amanda yelled as she ran to catch up with him. She breathed heavily as they climbed to the third floor. "no no no no no no no ..." was all her mind was telling her. She hesitantly placed herself one the third floor and took another deep breath before walking down the hallway, headed for room 305. "W-who's there?" she heard someone say. Amanda slowly walked towards the figure standing in front of that dreadful door, "I'm Amanda." she said quietly as she had to squint to see his face in the dark.

Davis Royal

Amanda seemed normal and at least she'd talked to him, the man next to her seemed normal too. He'd been afraid that they were going to be like the girl at the school.

"Um...it's nice to meet you, I'm Davis," he said, a little nervously.

He didn't do well when meeting new people, especially other guys, he could never shake the feeling they were judging him in some way. His partner had always been the one that did introductions when interviewing people for a story.

"Do you know where this place is? Does room 305 mean anything to either of you?" said Davis, "My partner had it scribbled all over a page in his journal, I thought it might be a clue."

He was begining to panic, he didn't like this hospital, it made him feel uneasy. He wanted to get out of here as fast as he could.


Lukas Clopin

So the boy's name was Davis, the real question was what was the kid doing here?

"I'm Lukas Clopin," he said, holding out his hand for the boy to shake, "How did you wind up here? That goes for you too Amanda, I'm curious to know."

305 meant nothing to him but according to Amanda it was somewhere they needed to go and from the sounds of it, Davis thought it was a good idea too.

"On a completely different note, what does everyone do for a living?" he asked, "I know I don't look it but I'm a linguist but I also study matters of the occult, that's how I came across the Black Page and wound up here...only I was in a hair salon when I woke up at first."

He still hadn't worked out how he'd suddenly appeared here but he knew that it had something to do with the phone, the question was how.

"Anyway, shall we go in?" he asked, plucking at his sleeve, "Your ghost nurse might come back."

Amanda rubbed her hand nervously together, "I came to the black page because.......I wanted to see the man who murdered my brother, he had committed suicide shortly after my brother was found dead and i wanted too...." She cut herself off and looked up at the door in front of her, "In fact, it was in this room were they put him after they found him......It didn't take long for them to confirm he was dead." she looked over at Lukas as he asked what the did for a living. "I create video games, well... the animation for video games but all the same.." she nodded slowly to Lukas's second remark, a shiver running up her spine at the mention of that nurse and she instinctively brought a hand to her wound. She let out a heavy sigh and placed her hand on the cold steel handle of the door and let it slowly swing open.

She stepped back and shook her head, a white blanket was draped over a still form in the far corner of the room, "I..i can't go in there." she said quietly as she started to back up even farther. She was stopped as she felt herself run into someone. She quickly turned around, the girl in the pink night gown she had seen when she first got here was standing behind her, "Why did you yell at me, i was only trying to help but you called me names and ran away. why does everyone i know hate me, why do you hate me?" She girl said in a sad voice, hands came pout form the walls and floor and grabbed Amanda's wrist and ankles. Amanda struggled against them until they let go unexpectedly, sending her flying into room 305, the door slamming the door shut behind her. She turned around a pounded on the door and tried to force the door open.

There was a noise behind her, she slowly turned around flinched at the sight of the nurse that had been attacking her ever since she got to this place. The nurse lunged herself at her but Amanda ducked, sending the nurse tumbling over her and through the door as if it wasn't there. She panted heavily and stared and the lifeless form that was taunting her from across the room. She slowly and steady walked up to the side of the bed and placed her hand at the edge the blanket, slowly grasped the edge. If a quick and need exhale she ripped the covers off the body. She screamed bloody murder, her brother body lay there mangled and bleeding. His eye shot up and looked up at he, his eyes yellowed with age, "Where were you Amanda, why didn't you come with me? we went everywhere with each other, we were never apart. so why did you have to say no, why did you have to stay home that day. YOU did this to Amanda, THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" he grasped her cold dead fingers firmly around her neck and began to strangle her, forcing her to the floor as he did. Amanda struggle hard, bringing her hand up to her brothers chest and pushing hard until he finally let go and disappeared. She fell to the the floor and gasped in gulps of air, hot tears running down her face as she lay there.

Davis Royal

Davis looked at Lukas, the man's confidence was almost overpowering, it was one of the things he'd always loved about his partner, Lukas definitely had the same type of vibe about him.

"Um...the black in some of my partner's notes relating to the case he was working on," said Davis, "I decided to check it out because I thought it's might provide some clues to his death. We both worked as reporters for a local paper, I doubt you would have read any of my articles though, I usually gave Eric the bylines."

With a sad smile he remembered how his partner had always looked out for him. Davis had never really wanted to stand out at the paper and had been happy with just helping Eric out, it had always been enough to hear him say "Great job today kid."

"Well, we make an odd trio don't we," he said, trying and failing to lift the dark mood of the place, "A Reporter and animator and a linguist, it sounds like the set up for a bad joke."

The truth was, Amanda's story about her brother had gotten to him, he remembered reading and article about it that had sent a chill straight to his core. He couldn't imagine how badly being here was effecting her.

"I don't mind checking out the room if you want to stay out here," he said to her warmly.

He never got an answer because at that moment the ghosts started appearing again.


Lukas Clopin

He stared in shock at the girl in the pink nightgown. He was sure that she hadn't been there untill just now. It appeared that she had something against Amanda and were those hands coming out of the ground?

"Well now, you seem to be on everyone's hit list today, don't you? he said as Amanda fell into room 305.

He was about to say something else when the door slammed shut. He could hear Amanda pounding on the other side, desperately trying to get out. With a frantic look at Davis he began to try open the door but it wouldn't budge. With a shout of fright he leapt back as a nurse came tumbling through the door, this wouldn't have seemed so odd if the door had been open but it wasn't and the nurse seemed furious.

"Oh my," said Lukas as the nurse turned towards him, "This doesn't look good."

Amanda was forgotten for the time being, right now he had to deal with this angry ghost and somehow he didn't think she would listen to reason. He didn't try to dodge as the ghost nurse threw herself at him, rather he let her latch on. His intention was to calmly remove her but he hadn't counted on her being so strong. He soon found himself trying to desperately break away from her grasp. Finally he succeeded and watched in amazment as she faded away. With the nurse taken care of he turned his attention to the door, this time it opened easilly to reveal Amanda on the floor, crying.