Мафия 108. Haunted asylum

...As midnight approached, the volume of these strange sound effects began to increase. Someone's unintelligible whispers, someone's footsteps, and other noises kept seeping into the hall where we were. Yes, this whisper... It seemed to spread across the walls like something tangible, trying to penetrate the mind and drive one crazy. My mind understood that it was all artificial and that there was no reason to be afraid, but my subconscious refused to believe it. The hum grew louder, surging in waves with increasing intensity. And then, at one point, it all stopped. Just as I thought that the organizers had decided to stop tormenting us and let us rest, a deafening female scream echoed throughout the building, followed by an equally deafening silence. My consciousness shut down for a while, and then I realized that my whole body was shaking. After calming down a bit, I got up from my cot and looked around at the others, fearing that someone might be missing. But, to my relief, everyone was there, although some were starting to lose their nerves. Realizing that we wouldn't be able to sleep tonight, we decided to calm ourselves by talking to each other. Lars managed to find words that calmed even the most anxious, Charlie and Eddie, despite their obvious nervousness, lightened the mood with their jokes. For the rest of the night, we didn't hear anything else that could make us nervous again.

In the morning, some firmly decided to inspect the building in more detail to understand where the noise might be coming from. Nebo and the big guy decided to inspect the first two floors. Later, they said that they had searched everything but couldn't find anything suspicious. Crabby and ToX went to the basement and didn't return until evening. We were already starting to worry and went to look for them. As it turned out, the ceiling had collapsed in one of the passages, and they couldn't get out on their own. With a joint effort, we managed to clear the debris.

On Fragment, the past night had a heavier effect on him than on the others. He arranged the cots as a barrier around himself and refused to talk to anyone. After a couple of attempts to talk to him, it was decided to leave him alone.

While some were inspecting the building, others decided to figure out how to set up our location and get a fire going. Nefela took the initiative, and some watched her clear actions as if mesmerized.

Standing near the exit to the corridor, I involuntarily overheard part of Morning's conversation with his charming companion:

...
- I really hope that by evening we can at least light a fire in this stupid fireplace. Another night like tonight, and I'll definitely go crazy. By the way! I remembered that you can light a fire with sunlight and a lens. The light that comes through these holes in the roof should be enough, I think. Can you help me light it?
- Sorry, but it's pointless to ask me about that. But you have everything you need.
- Yes, yes. I didn't even think about myself. Listen, what do you think about our group? I mean, the other participants in this project?
- Overall, they're good guys. Some are a bit stupid, but tolerable.
- By the way, one question... Don't get me wrong... Do you have a girlfriend?
- No, I'm single, and I have been for quite some time, so...
...

After the words about the stupid ones, I wanted to say a few nice things to Morning, but my attention was distracted by the triumphant cry of "Fire!" from those gathered around the fireplace. Well, this night should definitely be better than the last...

Project participants:

1. Nefela
2. Goomer
3. Fragment
4. Nebo
5. Crestfallen Ariake
6. Zlobny Yashchur
7. ToX
8. Crabby
9. Morning
10. Neyko
11. Graf Orlov
12. Mestear
13. macca

Added 9 minutes ago
Time until the end of the day - 02.11.2020 00:00:00