Dead and Gone{open}

Sofia was not thrilled with the idea of visiting an asylum. Hospitals of any kind tended to make her nervous. But this one was old and in her research she'd learned there had been many deaths and disappearances under its roof. It was sure to be haunted by a number of spirits, and most likely unpleasant ones. If spirits did in fact exist, which was something she was never fully convinced of.

She took several minutes walking around the outside of the building with her camera taking pictures of the exterior. The building even looked creepy from the outside, and the longer she looked at it from behind her camera lens, the less she wanted to go inside.

She took her time outside, dragging her feet and working more slowly than she needed to. Finally, she picked up her back pack from where she'd dropped it and headed toward the front entrance. It was locked, as she'd expected, but it couldn't hurt to try. She began to walk around the building again, this time searching for another way in.

After a few minutes of careful consideration, Sofia decided a first floor window somewhere near the back of the building would be the best option. She wondered if this place had any security alarms in place. From what she'd read the building had long ago been abandoned and fallen into disrepair, so that seemed unlikely.

Once she found a window she looked around the area for something to break it with. She found a good sized rock without too much trouble, positioned herself a few feet from the window, took a deep breath, and threw the rock. It hit the glass, but didn't quite break it. A web of cracks etched across the pane as the rock fell to the ground. Sofia sighed.

"That wasn't quite what I wanted, but I guess it will have to do," she muttered.

She shrugged out of her back pack and set it down on the ground then removed her denim jacket and wrapped it around her arm. She approached the window and elbowed the window until most of the glass had shattered. She used her jacket to rid the bottom part of the window frame of most of the glass, then laid it over the bottom ledge like a blanket. She tossed her backpack inside and heard it land and hung her camera around her neck by the strap, cradling it with one hand as she climbed awkwardly through the window and into the room. She slid off the sill on the other side and landed on the floor, blinking in the darkness. She fumbled with her back pack, finding the zipper of its largest pocket with her fingers. After a few moments she found her flashlight and turned it on.

As Sofia looked around she figured she must have been in one of the offices. She set her back pack down on the desk, which was covered in dust. She found her camera bag inside, opened it and found her attachable flashbulb, which would offer extra light. It took her a few minutes to attach it to her camera in the dark. Once she did she took a few shots of the room.

Sofia walked through the first floor of the hospital, disliking the dank feel of the air and the smell of mildew. She explored a few rooms, but most doors were locked. Mostly she took photos of the hallways. She found an elevator, but even if it were working she wouldn't have trusted it with the general state of the building. She moved past it and soon found a stairwell. After taking a few more photos she headed up.

The second floor was even more unsettling than the first had been. She got a heavy feeling before she reached the landing, like the air was thickening. It made her uneasy, but she continued on, walking out into a hallway with floors that creaked beneath her feet. Some of the wood was rotting. She could see that as she shined the flashlight over the floor ahead.

"Oh, boy," she muttered. "Better walk carefully."

She walked along very tentatively, daring to take a photo only when she was confident she was standing on a fairly solid part of the floor.