Kitsune in the Shadows

Chapter 88 – A Familiar Stranger

There it was again. Those same few steps leading down into a seemingly never-ending abyss that haunted me only a few nights before. Beneath me was the same wet floor that squeaked with even the smallest movement of my feet. However, unlike back then, there was no screaming, just an unnatural silence.

I must’ve fallen asleep after dinner.

…

I don’t remember if I made it back to my bed…

Not wanting to repeat the last nightmare, I took a step back, and the door in front of me immediately slammed shut with so much force that it knocked me to the ground, sending me rapidly sliding away through corridor after corridor. I watched as all the hallways and doors I had walked through before were flying past me in reverse.

Somehow, I seemed to be gaining speed with each door that I passed. I desperately clawed at the floor, trying to stop myself, but it did nothing as my fingers just helplessly slipped against the wet floor.

What’s going on?!

Stop! Please stop!

After a few more seconds of futile struggling, the floor itself started to change. It was no longer the slick, smooth surface from before, but instead, it became a coarse grey carpet. At the speed I was moving, it was no different to sandpaper against my skin. It did nothing but burn as it dug into my body, but at least it finally started to slow me down.

If I could’ve screamed, I would’ve, but my mouth remained sealed just as it was the last time I found myself in this place.

I eventually came to a stop in the carpeted corridor, surrounded, unsurprisingly, by an endless number of doors and mannequins. However, it was hard to say whether I was thankful or not.

The first thing I did was look myself over, yet strangely, there were no visible burns on my body, not even any damage to my clothes. That’s when I noticed that I couldn’t feel any of the pain I was experiencing just moments before. Stranger still, I struggled to even remember what the pain felt like.

“What was-” I stopped myself as soon as I realised that the words were coming from my own lips, afraid that something would try to prevent me from speaking again if it noticed.

Why is this happening now?

I-I thought I was okay before I fell asleep.

This shouldn’t be happening. I shouldn’t be here!

I shuffled back on the carpet until my back met a wall.

I’ll just stay here until it’s over. I can’t just sleep forever. I must wake up eventually.

…

Maybe Ovia will come find me like before.

…

I

It’s just a nightmare. I know that.

I couldn’t remember if I had seen this specific corridor the last time I was here with its dark grey carpets and equally dismal white walls. In the ceiling, there were lights scattered about seemingly randomly, but even glancing up at them was enough to make my head start to throb. The mannequins standing by the doors all wore very similar outfits, clothing that felt familiar to me, yet I couldn’t recall ever seeing someone wearing. Heavy black jackets, black skirts, black trousers, black hats; it was nothing but black clothing with only the occasional grey item of clothing to break it up.

That on its own would have been enough to make me feel uneasy, but there was something else, something deep inside me that felt like it was screaming. I was afraid of what it was trying to tell me, that I knew where this was, that this wasn’t just a random nightmare, that I belonged there.

No.

No.

No. No. No! No!

There was a dull hum that pulled at my mind from the inside out. It was beckoning me to go somewhere, to do something, but I didn’t want to listen. I just wanted to leave, to go back to the inn where I knew Ava would be waiting for me.

I closed my eyes and tried to cover my ears, but it did nothing; the sound continued to echo inside my skull.

“No!” I shouted in a desperate attempt to drown it out, “I want it to stop!”

*Thud!*

…

One of the mannequins crashed to the ground just a few doors away from me, but I didn’t dare scream. Instead, I just watched as the detached head unnaturally turned on the floor before rolling towards me, ultimately bumping into my foot.

I don’t want to be here!

Suddenly, the door that the mannequin was standing next to just moments before clicked open. It was quiet, but as soon as I heard the distinct click, the humming in my head stopped.

…

…

I took a deep breath as I reluctantly got to my feet, gently kicking the mannequin’s head away from me.

I know I shouldn’t…

…

But…

My legs seemed to have a mind of their own, taking me closer to the open door. From where I was, I couldn’t see what was inside, but that only seemed to drive my curiosity further.

With each step, that feeling deep in my stomach grew, screaming louder and louder, yet it didn’t feel like it was trying to stop me. Rather, it felt like it was encouraging me, beckoning me to take another step.

What’s behind-

My mind went silent as my hand latched onto the door.

…

Do I want to do this?

…

Maybe… just a peek.

That… couldn’t hurt…

I inched closer, just enough so that I could see past the door. All I needed was a quick look, that’s all. If there was something I didn’t like, I could just close the door. I was the one in control now.

Slowly, my vision crept past the door, and I saw…

Nothing.

It was just an empty room. But somehow, something about it didn’t feel empty. I could see that it was empty; there was nothing inside, but that feeling in my stomach told me that it wasn’t.

That’s enough.

I don’t need to do this.

I tried to close the door.

…

…

Why won’t my arms move?!

I had lost control. My body wasn’t listening to me anymore. Instead of closing the door, I opened it further, inch by inch. The feeling that came with it. It was like something from inside the room was trying to get inside my head, and it was winning.@@novelbin@@

What are you?!

Get out!

My feet started to move, but instead of running away, they shuffled me forward into the room, and I was powerless to stop them.

It was hardly a moment before I was left standing inside the empty room.

*Slam!*

The door slammed shut behind me, quickly followed by my vision going white.

…

…

It felt like both an eternity and a brief moment before my vision eventually came back, but when it did, I was left speechless.

The endless corridor had disappeared, replaced by a single small room with only a few things in it. A single desk with a chair to match, along with a basin and a mirror just off to the side. To my left was a bed that was barely large enough to hold a single person without their limbs dangling off the side, while to my right was a large wardrobe in a similar style. There was also a single small window, but all I could see out of it was an endless grey sky.

I immediately tried to look for an exit, but my body still wouldn’t listen. At least, I thought it was my body, but something was a little off. I could definitely feel everything, from the clothes against my skin to the uncomfortable chair that was digging into my thighs.

It was a miracle that I couldn’t feel it in my-

As that thought washed over me, I came to a realisation.

…

I can’t feel my tail!

That panic was short-lived, however, as something started to vibrate loudly on the desk in front of me.

“Is it Thursday already?” The words left my lips, but they weren’t mine. It wasn’t even my voice.

My arm reached out and brought whatever was vibrating in front of me, giving me a better look at it. It was a sleek black device, not too dissimilar to the panels that I’ve seen Ovia and Aria use. At the top, it simply said ‘Mom’, while at the bottom was what I could only assume to be a message, ‘How are you doing?’

Mom? Raynelle?

No, that doesn’t make any sense… I think…

I don’t remember this happening…

But then… Who is it?

I was only given a brief glimpse at the screen before it was placed back down on the table.

“What am I doing? It’s just the same thing over and over again… Is it even worth it anymore?”

What am I talking about?

Who am I?

My arm brought the screen in front of me once again before hastily typing a message back, ‘I’m fine.’

There was a small hesitation before my thumb came down to send it, but as soon as I did, a wave of guilt washed over me, yet it clearly wasn’t my own.

“It’s just one more year… Just one more…”

My head rolled to the side, just enough to get a peek in the mirror, but what I saw filled me with an overwhelming sense of dread. Gone was my white hair, replaced with long chestnut brown locks, but by far, the strangest thing to see was the complete lack of ears at the top of my head. Then there were the eyes; the eyes that stared back at me were a dull green with noticeable dark rings hanging beneath them.

“I look worse than I thought… I really thought I could handle another all-nighter… God knows I’ve got more of them ahead of me…” My gaze slowly moved up to a schedule on the wall. I couldn’t read any of it, but I could make out the sea of red notes plastered on each and every day, “Maybe I’ll quickly get some sleep… I’m pretty sure I don’t need to be in today… If I do… I’ll figure it out later, I guess… I always do…”

My body rocked back on the chair, looking up directly into the light lazily hanging up above. I could feel it stinging my eyeballs, yet my eyelids wouldn’t close.

“I’ll fix everything else once it’s all over… It’s just one more year… Almost done, just a little more… Isn’t that right?… Just a little more…”

Right at that moment, a sinking feeling entered my stomach. However, it wasn’t like before; this specific sensation was all too familiar to me. I had rocked too far back on the chair and was now set on a collision course with the ground.

My instincts screamed at me to brace myself, yet my body continued to not do anything as if just accepting what was happening around it unconditionally.

Please stop!

*Thud*