𝟎𝟏𝟕
Rachel was caught off guard for just a small moment before nodding, her face shining with determination. Together, we rushed down the hallway, desperate to find something. Anything.
I found a doorway near the end of the hallway and opened it. Rachel looked back at Zack briefly before following behind me. We walked down a dark hallway that wasn't very long, but I couldn't see a thing. I wasn't sure if it was just me, but... I could hear the sound of some sort of instrument. An organ, I think. The hallway led us to another door. We entered, leading us to a room with more light.
"Something about this floor is different..." Rachel murmured as we walked, "Something's odd.."
I looked back at her curiously, wondering what was going on in that head of hers. To me, this floor felt like any other one we went through. Weird. Creepy. My gaze flickered to one of the candles, which moved on its own. I gasped and instinctively reached out to Rachel. I held her close to me as the candle fell to the floor, catching alight on the carpet. Rachel held onto me as smoke slowly filled the room.
...
It didn't smell like smoke...
It smelled...
Sweet?
"Ah!"
I gasped, my back straightening suddenly. Rachel looked up at me with wide eyes. I glanced around, seeing that the carpet was no longer on fire. ... No... it was never on fire. The candle was where it was before it fell. ... Did it even fall? Was I just seeing things?
"I saw it too," Rachel said, gripping my arm.
I let out a shaky breath and nodded, glad that I wasn't just going crazy. I pulled away from Rachel and turned back to the direction we were going. To my surprise, we reached what seemed to be a dead end. Before us were some illustrations on the wall and a large locked door as well as a small table that held up an old, tattered book. Rachel walked up to it, slowly flipping through the pages.
" 'God desires those neither defiled nor false,' " she read, " 'Ask thyself. Who art thou? The sought sacrifice? An angel? Or perhaps another who seeks God's grace. If that is the case, bare all, give thy name and repent.' " I swallowed and looked at Rachel and silence, wondering what she would do. She gazed at the book for a little longer before looking up at the illustration on the wall. "... Rachel Gardner."
The door opened with a loud clicking sound, allowing us inside. It opened to a dark room with two chairs in the center. Rachel went to one chair while I went to the other. Noticing a small glint in it, I reached down to pick it up. ... A glass bottle. I glanced to my side, opening my mouth to speak to Rachel, but nothing left my lips.
"... Rachel...?"
She's gone
Not even the chair was there.
It was simply emptiness.
I took a small step back, looking around frantically.
...
She was right...
This floor is odd.
"Rachel, this isn't funny! Where are you?!" I shouted desperately.
I gasped when I felt a hand touch my shoulder. It wasn't the small hand of Rachel or the larger one of Zack. It was bigger, actually. Meaty.
"[NAME]... Why do you refuse to face your past?"
"Shut up..."
"Just admit it. You're a murderer."
"No...! No, I'm not! Those papers lied!"
"Face the truth, [NAME]! You killed me! You killed us!"
"Shut up! Shut up!"
I swung an arm back, hoping to hit him, but I hit nothing. I looked back and saw nobody there.
...
I could've sworn that was my father's hand...
I looked ahead once more only to see that... he was there. He was there alongside my mother. They looked... alive.
But their eyes...
Their eyes were lifeless.
They said nothing to me.
"Stop it...! Stop taunting me!" I screamed, reaching for my knife.
Without thinking, I swung my blade. I swung it across my mother's neck and my father's stomach. They didn't bleed. They didn't scream. Their bodies simply disappeared in a cloud of mist. I breathed heavily, looking around wildly.
"I'm not a murderer! I'm not!"
I was pleading. I wasn't sure who I was pleading with, though. I looked at my other hand, which clutched the glass bottle. What purpose did it serve? Why did I have it?!
I screamed, my head filling with one thought after another. I threw it in a random direction. As soon as it smashed to the ground, it burst into the flames. I could hear the cries and howls of my sisters, begging for me, crying for my help. In my panic, I dropped my knife and slapped my hands to my ears.
"Shut up! Shut up!"
I ran. That was the only thing I could do. I ran through the darkness until my heart and lungs hurt and my legs ached. Until the screams faded away.
Eventually, I tripped over my own two feet and fell. I breathed heavily, struggling to pull myself up. I quickly gave up and laid there, trying to catch my breath. My vision was blurry as I tried to look around. I was in a room. It wasn't dark. And I could hear.
...
...
"Oh, you poor thing..."
"Huh...?"
I heard footsteps slowly approach from behind me. The slight shuffle of clothing. The very soft chuckle.
I could hear too well.
"[NAME]... Why did you have to run from me, my dear?" Feet entered my field of vision. "I offered you a life of comfort and happiness, and yet, you still ran... What did I do to you, [NAME]? Why do you hate me so?" A hand touched my shoulder and pushed me over onto my back. "No worries, though... No worries at all. Because I have you now. Everyone else is dead. Rachel is off on her own. And Zack... Well, I'll worry about Zack later. He can't do anything now."
He leaned in closer to me, and it was then that I realized who was with me. I could recognize that glass eye from anywhere.
"Doctor..."
⋆｡‧₊°♱༺𓆩❦︎𓆪༻♱༉‧₊˚.
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