Whispers of the Abandoned Asylum

The sun had long since set behind the horizon, casting a pale, eerie glow over the desolate landscape. The group of survivors huddled together, their faces illuminated by the flickering light of their last working flashlight. They had been on the move for weeks, ever since the bombs had fallen and the world had ended. Now, they found themselves at the edge of a sprawling, dilapidated building that had once been a place of healing and solace, but now stood as a monument to the madness that had taken over the world.

"Should we go in?" asked Jin, the group's leader, his voice barely above a whisper. The others exchanged nervous glances, their eyes reflecting the fear that had become their constant companion.

"Let's take a look," said Mei, a former nurse among them. "We might find supplies."

The building loomed before them, its once-grand facade now marred by rust, peeling paint, and broken windows. The air was thick with the scent of decay, and the silence was almost oppressive. The group stepped inside, their footsteps echoing in the vast, empty corridors.

The first room they entered was the waiting room, its chairs covered in dust and cobwebs. Mei's flashlight flickered as it caught the outline of a broken mirror on the wall, a grim reminder of the institution's former purpose.

"Look at this," Mei said, pointing to a sign on the wall. "The Asylum for the Criminally Insane. This place has been abandoned for years."

"Years?" said Xiao, a young man with a haunted look in his eyes. "Then how come we've never heard of it?"

"Perhaps it's too hidden," Jin replied, his voice tinged with concern. "Or maybe something... else."

The group moved deeper into the building, their senses heightened by the fear that seemed to permeate the air. They passed through a series of corridors, each more decrepit than the last, until they reached the old psychiatric ward.

The room was filled with rows of beds, each one empty and covered in a sheet of dust. The walls were lined with portraits of the patients who had once called this place home, their faces etched with pain and madness.

"Something's not right," Xiao said, his voice trembling. "I feel like we're being watched."

Mei nodded, her eyes darting around the room. "I think we should get out of here. This place is giving me the creeps."

Just then, the floorboards creaked under their feet. The group spun around, their flashlights cutting through the darkness. A shadow moved in the corner of the room, and for a moment, they thought it was just another trick of the light.

But as the flashlight beam settled on the figure, they saw it wasn't just a shadow. It was a woman, her face twisted in a grotesque expression of pain and anger. Her eyes were hollow, and her mouth was open in a silent scream.

The woman moved towards them, her arms outstretched, fingers clawing at the air. The group backed away, their hearts pounding in their chests. Mei reached for her gun, but it was empty.

"Run!" she shouted, and the group took off, their feet pounding against the cold, hard floor.

They ran through the corridors, the woman's ghostly form flitting in their wake. They could hear her whispering their names, her voice echoing through the empty halls.

As they burst out into the waiting room, the woman vanished, leaving behind only the haunting silence of the abandoned asylum.

The group collapsed against the wall, their breaths coming in ragged gasps. They had escaped, but the experience had left them changed. They knew that the world was not just dangerous and harsh; it was also haunted by the ghosts of the past.

As they made their way back to their camp, Jin turned to the others and said, "We can't ignore what we've seen. There's something evil out there, something that's been here all along."

The others nodded, their eyes filled with fear and determination. They had survived the bombs, the chaos, and the hunger. But now, they faced a new kind of terror, one that came from the darkness within the buildings that once housed the madmen of their world.

And as they continued their journey, they knew that the whispers of the abandoned asylum would never leave them, that they had become part of the story of a world that had become a place of fear and madness.