Prologue
The room was so bright…
No color, no walls, no floor, nothing but a large mirror that somehow seemed to float in mid-air.
There was a faint ringing reminiscent of the buzz of a dimming old fluorescent light.
An icy, gentle breeze blew through the room, causing me to wrap my arms around my body as I let out a shiver, unsurprised to feel the tiny goosebumps that were crawling their way up my arms like tiny ants just begging to bite me at any moment.
What happened?
Was I... Dead?
No, I can’t be… Right?
Suddenly, I heard footsteps with a very particular sound. They reminded me of my boss, Mrs. Morris, in her pointy high-heeled shoes, strutting down those cold tile floors that separated me from the comfort of my class and the prison that the outside world had become.
It made my heart rate speed up just as much. That woman never came for good news, and I had a feeling that whomever those heels belonged to came bearing bad news too.
It’s like a gut feeling, one that eats you up slowly inside. With each step, my heart beat faster. My shivers worsened and my hands started to tingle.
The footsteps got closer and closer.
My breath hitched.
It’s close… Should I Run?
Where are you going to run to, stupid? There is no way out.
The footsteps were about a yard away from me. I could feel an unknown presence in the room.
If there were any moment for survival instincts to kick in, this was it.
To my dismay, I apparently didn’t have any. That’s how I ended up in this mess in the first place.
Shit…
Click-Clack!
My breath got heavy.
Click-Clack!
The only other sounds in the room were my chaotic breaths as I started hyperventilating.
It’s behind me.
It put a stone-cold scruffy hand on my left cheek, then tucked my wild curly hair behind my ear.
The pungent coppery smell of decayed blood filled my nostrils, forcing me to hold my breath to resist purging.
I could feel its chilling breath upon the back of my head. It was taller than me, with a frigid aura resonating off it.
A bone-chilling hand made its presence on my shoulder, and my eyes widened before I squeezed them shut again as a single tear fell down my face. I caught a glimpse of long black fingernails from the side of my eye before they disappeared behind my ear.
“Are you not happy? I have made your wildest dreams come true. Now it’s time to collect my last payment!” It boomed in its sinister voice, making me let out a shrill scream.
The last thing I remember was the sound of wind and the feeling of what I can only describe as my soul being sucked away...
