When hands were placed upon his shoulders Nick felt a jolt. He was not sure what compelled him to do so right then and there but he took Erica and held her close to him muttering over and over that it would be alright. What else could he do? There was a tingling sensation moving throughout his body which almost made him feel like this place still had control over his movements. The thought was not sitting with him well, who would want to be controlled by some place like this, but rather than get angry over it he saved his energy, one way or another there had to be a way out of here. Mentioning that probably would not do any good. Not now when they were bother freaked out by everything, no, it was best that an escape plan was thought up when they were in their right minds.<br/><br/>No matter how hard he tried not to look at it the crime scene drew him back to it in one way or another. The longer he looked at it the more vivid the image became. He could hear voices, the sounds of people crying, see the flash of cameras and the stern commands of the authorities around the area even if he could only see the scene. Somewhere deep within his mind he could feel people quickly walking past him as they examined the scene like a soft breath of wind. But in reality the scene still remained quiet. Everything was in his mind, a memory, so it wasnâ€™t like it could be tangible, a small part of him did want to test this in spite of that, if he could get it to manifest then maybeâ€¦ No, he shouldnâ€™t put too much thought into it. That was what this place wanted.<br/><br/>Unfortunately it seems he has given this place what he wanted against his will. He heard the sound of something scratching the floor suddenly. Looking back at the crime scene he noticed that the body had moved, leaving behind a dark blood stain mixed with what appeared to be entrails.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">â€œThe victim had been disemboweled, donâ€™t you remember? It was a warning. They knew you held her dear to you,â€</span>a voice entered his mind suddenly. Nick swallowed hard, his body trembling, there was something about that voice he had recognized and in the pit of his stomach he feared it. A strange laughter echoed in his mind which made him cringe. He closed his eyes and held Erica closer to him even going so far as to rest his chin on her shoulder. Feeling her warmth against him was just the comfort he needed no matter how selfish it was. He didnâ€™t care that she was still a complete stranger, in fact the thought had left his mind long ago, all he knew was he needed some sort of comfort. Back in those white rooms he had already established she would be his comfort and he was going to stick by her until this was over.<br/><br/>Whenever that may be, assuming they could get out of here at all.<br/><br/>Silently, he cursed everything around him, aside from Erica, a tear slowly trickling down his cheek. A memory he had never wanted to recall had come back to him. That day when he went hikingâ€¦ they had taken her and, well, the crime scene explains it all really. He vowed to not let the same thing happen to Erica. Why he was feeling the urge to protect her he wasnâ€™t really sure, he just knew that he had to. Something told him that he needed to keep her close to him. That was exactly what he was going to do no matter what.