No Title - Chapter 3 Scene 2

Dave had spent more time in reality than in the dream world. He rolled onto his back and put his arms behind his head. He sighed deeply. Dave wished Joe was back with the group. That alone would significantly ease the tension in the group. Dave sighed again. He'd known Joe since their footie-pajama days. Dave's thoughts consumed and distracted him. Was Joe alright? Had he been captured? Killed? How close was he? Had he managed to find a way out? Dave rolled over on his side again; hoping sleep would end his own imagination.

Shortly, Dave rolled onto his back again. There were strange scraping and sliding noises coming from down the vent. What was it? Dave propped himself up. Strange noises were never a good sign. Dave's eyes widen. A weird looking creature with a large, round torso and black scabbed skin turned its head at him. "Get up!" Dave screamed pounded on the vent. "Run!"

It took a little while for the group to get going; many were still half asleep. The sniffer was much faster than they were. Dave got nervous. His heartbeat was drowning out all other sounds. He could hardly manage to think. The eyeless beast kept closing in. Dave was going mad. He started to shake from his overwhelming feelings of rage and panic. His face turned red. As he moved he slammed his hands down on the vent. Dave was trying to think of a plan. The thing was too fast. Dave couldn't get his mind to focus. His thoughts kept drifting to the creature. Dave started pounding his head against the top of the duct. Think, he told himself. Think! Think! Think! His hands slammed against the bottom, he back against the top. The entire vent began to shake. Dave's face twisted with frustration, panic, and rage. The rest of the group heard metal screeching. Then there was a moment of weightlessness, followed by a loud crash, and pain.

Renee crawled out of the vent. She was in one of the many offices. She looked behind her. The vent was now on the ground. There was a lot of groaning and sounds of slow movement. Soon Shea, Nic, and Joey appeared from the same end that Renee crawled out of. Dave emerged from the other end. His face was pink and he didn't look happy.
"What the fuck happened?" demanded Renee.
Dave slowly turned his head to the right. He groaned as his neck cracked loudly. "So I take it you didn't enjoy falling out of the ceiling?"
Shea, Nic, and Renee all looked at each other, then turned to Dave and shout "No!"

Dave shrugged innocently. "Too bad for you, then." Renee punched him in the shoulder. "Ow!" he exclaimed. "What was that for?"
"Like you don't know," returned Renee. Shea and Nic rolled their eyes; typical Renee and Dave. "What the hell were we even running for?" Renee asked.
Dave froze. He'd forgotten about the creature. He looked up to the vent. Dave could hear scratches and shuffling. The thing was still coming. "Shit," he announced. Everyone noticed the change that came over Dave. He was completely different. He was scared. Everyone shifted nervously while shooting looks to each other and the vent. Dave got up. "We have to move," he said suddenly.

Shea narrowed her eyes and asked, "Why? What's up there?"
Dave turned to her. "I don't know," he said, "but it has big teeth and sharp claws." He opened his mouth and hissed at the girls while his hands were positioned in the all too familiar claw position. (You've all done it before, don't lie) Dave didn't change from the ridiculous position until he heard more sliding noises from the vent. Then he quickly dropped his arms and walked briskly out the door. The others followed cautiously. Most took fleeting glances at the vent, one last time. Shea was the last to leave. She closed the door behind her. The sniffer pulled its head out of the vent.

The group was moving at a fast pace. They were still walking, but barely. Dave didn't want that thing to catch up. He didn't know what it was, or what it would do if it caught them. Those were left to his imagination. Dave had a creative imagination. Lee looked sideways at Dave. He didn't know what was going through Dave's mind, or what Dave saw, but it couldn't have been pleasant. Not to make Dave freak like this.

They pushed on, turning occasionally. Everyone was uneasy. Shea was shaking slightly. Renee asked her about it, but Shea just said she was cold. She was always cold, so no one gave it a second thought. Except Nic. Nic noticed something was up. In truth, Shea was starting to freak. This was too much, and it was weighing down on her. Nic didn't say anything, but she made a mental note to make sure Shea was okay later.

Dave lead the group around another corner. Shea shuddered, panicking. The group all stopped as one. The creature from the vent was sniffing down at them. Its lips spread to reveal sickly yellow snarl. Dave saw its head was slightly bloody. He figured it pounded its way out of the room where they fell out of the vent. "He looks angry," said Lee in a matter-of-fact tone.

Dave swung his head back saying "Shut up," which became a turn where he then ran in the opposite direction. Nicole muttered that this was getting old. Renee started making noises that suggested she was about to hyperventilate. Dave said they needed to find a place to rest.
"We need to kill that thing first," stated Lee. The group sprinted down the hall. The beast growl horrifically as it charged after the group.
Dave nodded in agreement. "But how?" he panted. "We don't have anything to use. Not even a stick."
Lee was barely breathing hard. "We just need to find something, obviously."
Dave scoffed. "Easier said than done."
Lee chuckled. "You guys keep going straight. I'll find something."

Lee sprinted off to the right. The group kept going straight. Nicole asked where he was going, but Dave just told her to never mind. The girls all exchanged nervous glances. Nicole looked back at the creature. It noticed that Lee had split from the group, but kept after the majority. It sniffed down the hall Lee took, but kept going straight while licking its gnarly teeth. Nicole whined quietly to herself, between the pants. This was not turning out to be a fun little adventure. Far from it.

Lee ripped open doors right at left, looking for something that could be used as a weapon. Door after door, all he found was chairs and desks. He ran to another door and ripped the door open. It was a closet. "Finally," Lee muttered. He started going through the shelves and items hanging on the walls. He worked his way to the back corner. There, behind a broom, he found a crowbar. Lee stared at it for a couple of seconds. "This'll do," he said grabbing it.
Lee was flying down the hall again, sprinting as fast as he could. He took a left at the next intersection and an immediate right. Pushing his small, brown physique to its limits, he struggled to catch his friends. Suddenly, he was on them. The group had just run into a dead end. They stood with their backs against the wall. The little creature closed in slowly. It enjoyed the smell of fear.

Lee ran up behind the little thing. It whipped around but Lee didn't give it any time to react. He swung the metal bar as hard as he could and broke open the demonic creature's skull. The creature slid away a couple feet, and yellow blood dripped from its head.
Lee stood there panting, exhausted by the search. "I need to lie down," he announced, dropping the crowbar at his feet.

Dave walked up to him and Lee put his arm around his friend, to use him as a crutch. "Alright, brownie," Dave said to his exhausted friend. "Let's go." The group walked on for a little while. They didn't encounter anything new, just regular empty halls. Suddenly, they heard running coming from the left. Nicole went to see what it was when something burst out from the intersection. There was a yell, a crash, and a strange sparkle of light. Nicole looked to her right. Something had just charged through an office door. Before she even knew what was going on, Dave was attacking it with the crowbar. She walked up to Dave and looked at the thing. It was one of the creatures, now dead and bloody. Dave pushed the body of the thing away, and revealed Joe.

Joe was unconscious. He didn't have any injuries aside from minor scratches and bruises. Nicole wondered what he'd been through to make him pass out like this. He looked tired. In a few minutes everybody was getting around to leave. Nicole helped Lee walk, since he was still tired, and Dave carried Joe. They walked around a little ways and then settled down in an office. They decided to take turns staying up, making sure nothing happened. Dave was the first to stay up. Everyone else drifted off to sleep.