Nora led the ghost hunters to the correct office. This one had clearly been used to examine patients. There was still an exam bed and a counter full of dusty medical equipment, mostly jars of cotton balls and tongue depressors. Whatever happened to close the hospital down, it had happened fast. And no one had come back to clear the place out, at least  not very thoroughly. 

Zac would wonder more about those mysteries once he knew what had happened to Skye. She was his priority. The hospital had stood empty for a decade. It could wait a few more minutes.

The window was stiff, but with Zac shoving at it and Bob helpfully applying some kind of oil to the hinges, they worked it open. Then the whole group squirmed through the narrow portal one by one. It was not a dignified method but it got everyone out into the enclosed courtyard. 

Zac glanced around, from the walls of the hospital to the later addition of a wall that sealed the area off from the outside. He glanced up and saw the first glittering stars. The moon wasn't up yet. Night had fallen at some point between their visit to the Emergency Room and Skye's disappearance. 

Nora pointed to one wall. "The door should be there, under all those vines."

The group worked together to pull away handfuls of thick, woody vines. Most of the leaves were dead due to the late season, but the vines were still vital and alive. When enough was pulled free, they found the door. It hadn't been boarded up or concealed. The plants had just grown freely over the last decade to cover it. 

Nora ducked under Zac's arm and rattled the handle. To everyone's surprise, it turned freely and the door creaked open. 

"Skye?" Nora called through the door. "Sweetie, can you hear us? Answer us, no one's mad or anything. We're just really worried."

There was no sound from within. 

The kitchen was dark. It had been well lit when he looked through the window. Why was it dark now? 

It didn't matter. Zac pulled out his flashlight so he wouldn't have to explain his superior night vision. Besides, the thing was hefty enough to use as a blunt instrument. 

Zac stepped into the kitchen and shivered. The room was freezing cold. He'd ask one of the ghost hunters later if it was colder than the ER. Skye would be curious to know. 

For the moment, he swept his flashlight in a wide arc, focusing on any corner or little nook where Skye's slight form might hide. He couldn't imagine why she would hide from them. Was this an attempt to frighten them so that they'd be more willing to leave the hospital? He wished she'd signaled him first, if that was the case. 

The group spread out to search. There was no sign of Skye at first. She wasn't hiding under a counter or behind a rack of trays. 

Then, Nora yelped and called out for the rest. Her flashlight pointed to the floor just outside the walk in freezer. Clear, small footprints showed through the dust, leading right up to the heavy, closed metal door.

Zac choked on fear. The hospital had electricity, despite being shut down for years. Was the freezer running? Had Skye been in there, in the cold, all this time? 

He reached for the door latch and had to hide a yelp of pain. Right. Of course it was steel. Why wouldn't it be steel?

"Let me look," Bob said, stepping into Zac's space and incidentally giving him enough cover to hide his burned hand. 

Bob fussed with the latch for several moments. Then he threw his weight into it. Metal screeched in the silence. 

"Help me," Bob said, "It's heavy."

Derek and Nora grabbed at the door, nearly shoving Zac aside. He held up his flashlight as the massive, insulated door creaked open. As soon as there was enough space, Zac squeezed through. The metal stung even through his heavy jumpsuit, but he didn't care. 

His flashlight beam found Skye's tiny, trembling form curled against the back of the freezer. It was, thankfully, no colder than the rest of the kitchen. The freezer hadn't been turned on, only closed and latched. Somehow. From the outside.

"There's no way she opened this door herself," Derek muttered. 

She actually could have, but the ghost hunters weren't supposed to know that. Zac would worry about that later. He crouched in front of Skye. She had her arms wrapped tightly over her knees, and her eyes were squeezed tightly shut. Was she frightened? Or was she holding off a battle trance? Had something happened to trigger her?

Had she locked herself into the freezer in an effort to protect the others from herself? 

"Skye?" Zac shifted so that he was between her and the group. He couldn't defeat the Reaper in full battle trance, but he could buy a little time for the others to escape. How would he convince them to run, though?

Skye looked up at the sound of Zac's voice. He was immeasurably relieved to see her eyes were soft ash grey, not shining deathly silver. This was Skye, not the Aspect. 

"What happened? Are you all right?" Zac asked, reaching out to offer her a hand. He knew better than to touch her before she initiated it. He trusted her but he remembered Jake's arm. Skye would be devastated if he let her hurt someone else. 

"I..." Skye's voice was soft and shaken. "I was just looking for the camera." 

"In the kitchen?" Derek asked.

Skye nodded. "The door was open a little. I thought it bounced inside when it fell." 

The door was sealed tight. But the lights had also been on. Zac glanced over his shoulder. Skye looked genuinely shaken. But she could handle a few ghosts. Was she acting, or was there something else going on?

"Come here, sweetie," Nora said, moving next to Zac. "Let's get you out of this place. We'll talk about it later, okay?"

That last question was clearly aimed at the group, and it wasn't a question. 

Skye took Zac's hand and let Nora wrap an arm over her shoulder. She must feel pretty confident in her control, then. They led her out of the freezer into the pitch black darkness of the kitchen. She looked around, her eyes wide in the light of Derek's flashlight beam. 

"It wasn't dark before," she muttered.

"Maybe a fuse blew," Bob suggested. He sounded more hopeful than reassuring. But he was in a dark room with Skye and he wasn't hyperventilating, so Zac gave him credit for courage. 

"The door's stuck, so we'll have to..." Tate trailed off as his flashlight beam found the double doors leading to the cafeteria. One hung open invitingly. The other sagged just a little in its frame. 

"Never mind, I guess," Tate muttered. 

The group walked out the kitchen. Zac led the way with his flashlight. Nora followed with Skye tucked tightly against her side. The rest followed single file. Bob took the rear and took a moment to shove a table against the doors, as a kind of makeshift barricade. Zac admired his optimism if nothing else. 

"Let's get back to our base," Derek said. "We can talk there."

"Okay," Skye whispered. 

She was doing a very good job of acting scared and subdued. At least, Zac hoped she was only acting. Because otherwise, there was something in the building capable of scaring Death herself. And he wasn't sure he wanted to tangle with that.