A vast bathroom stretched before us, just like the bedroom, everything was eerily and unnecessarily large. A towering white cabinet, marred with yellow stains, loomed over us, so massive that even the lowest drawer was out of reach.
"I hate this," I muttered, overwhelmed. We stepped onto the yellow-stained tiles, the cold seeping through my soles. My heart hammered against my ribcage, a relentless unease gripping my chest, making my breaths turn shallow.
Once again, the same images of a man being torn to shreds by a dark giant, spun in my mind. Over and over, in a never-ending loop, twisting my stomach into knots. My vision blurred, the ground tilting beneath me. Bella caught me before I could fall, her fingernails digging into my shoulders. "It's okay," she whispered, pulling me close, though her golden eyes darted around, full of subtle dread.
A sharp creak snapped my head upward, my pulse spiking. A large, open window let in a gust of frigid air, carrying the scent of something stale and bitter. The wooden frame swayed slightly, groaning. I sucked in a shaky breath, trying to steady myself.
The tension in the room was thick and suffocating. Bella, Cassandra, basically everyone was still on edge, yet we pushed forward.
"Do you guys think we could escape through the window?" Zoey whispered, her body taut like a drawn bow.
"We could, but how do you plan to get up there?" Paul replied, glancing back at her.
Zoey hesitated, then pointed at the massive sink beside the window. Stained yellow, streaked with brown marks, its rusted pipes dripping a black liquid.
"If we can get up there, we might be able to jump onto the ledge. We could pull out the cabinet drawer and climb onto it, then use the toilet as a steppingstone to get on top of that cabinet," she suggested.
I traced the imagined path in my mind, eyes flicking between the fixtures. It was possible, but the real challenge was moving the drawer.
It was massive. Standing beneath it, I had to crane my neck to see the handle. It had to be at least five meters wide. God knows how long that thing would be.
"I doubt we'll be able to move it," Robert said, voicing my exact thoughts.
Paul, however, smirked. "Actually, I think we can, with a little help from one of us in particular." His ocean-blue eyes locked onto mine.
I stiffened, pressing a palm against my chest. "Me?"
"Yeah, who else would I be talking about, bella?" Paul questioned turning to her. "No offense!" He told her.
Bella simply shrugged. "None taken!"
"But why me? I can't pull that thing. Do you even realize how huge that drawer is?" I shook my head.
Paul exhaled. "Kid, do you even realize how absurdly strong you are? I don't know what you are, but you're no ordinary child I can tell at least that much. No kid could swing a log like you did. Hell, even picking it up shouldn't be possible for you. You're the strongest one here, physically, at least."
I fell silent, not knowing how to argue against that and the longer I thought the less I could. He wasn't wrong. I hadn't thought about it before, but swinging a log like that… wasn't normal.
«i get that now too...»
Paul took my silence as confirmation. "And you're not doing it alone. Even you couldn't move that thing by yourself."
I swallowed hard, my doubts gnawing at me. "Alright... let's try it, I guess." My voice was flat, devoid of any conviction. I simply couldn't bring myself to believe, that we could pull this off. Not even with the six of us.
We positioned ourselves beneath the cabinet, fingers curling around the stained wood of the drawer. I stood in the center, directly below the knob.
"On three," Paul instructed from the far right corner of the drawer. "One… two… three!"
I held my breath and pulled. My muscles burned, my feet pressing into the cold tiles to keep from slipping. Heat built in my head, my cheeks scorching.
Next to me was Cassandra groaning even more than I did. The wound at her sight gushing blood again as her face turned a deep red.
Just like her I continued to pull, and I pulled, arms trembling with strain. The room spun, dizziness creeping in, but I didn't stop, not until my sweaty fingers slipped, sending me crashing to the ground.x
"I can't," I gasped, struggling to even form words. "It's… not working." My vision blurred, splitting Paul into three versions of himself, all standing in the exact same position with his blond hair messily stuck to his sweaty face.
Panting heavy, he only grinned. "Oh no, it is working. Look, we got it out by a third."
Just as I was about to respond, a sharp groan came from behind me.
Zoey slumped to the floor, her entire body drenched. Her blackened, monstrous arm looked like it was melting. "Screw this," she panted. "Bad idea. Let's not go through the window. We'll find another way."
Paul chuckled, shaking his head. "Oh no, no, no… We got this far. Might as well finish what we started." His tone was calm, almost collected, a stark contrast to his exhausted appearance.
"Oh hell nah, I'm gonna die if I try to pull on that thing again. nuh uh. No, nope we are not gonna do that again!" The black haired girl refused.
Shivering, I sat up, my body cooling down fast. A single white particle floated past my vision, breaking my focus on the white, slightly pulled out, cabinet drawer. I blinked, following its descent to the ground where it melted into a tiny wet spot.
It's snowing…
I watched, entranced. The tiny flakes caught the dim moonlight, glowing faintly before vanishing. The sight was oddly soothing, almost hypnotic.
As my head drifted towards the open window my eyes grew heavy. Snowflakes gliding through the air sparkling like countless tiny stars. My head began to haze, thoughts vanishing within a thick fog.
"Kid?"
"Child?"
"Sweetheart?"
Muffled voices reached my ears, but I barely registered them. It was just me and that quiet, drifting snowfall at that point. Without a care in the world I continued to turn my head towards the window.
Then came darkness. Before my eyes could reach their destination they fell shut under their own weight.
When I opened them again, I wasn't staring at the snowy window like I thought I would. Instead I was lying on the icy tiles, my head throbbing. I pressed a hand to my forehead, wincing at the sharp sting.
Before I could speak, Bella's hand clamped over my mouth, tight but gently.
She shoved my head against her chest. Her heartbeat pounded wildly beneath my ear, drowning out every other sound. Even the thunderous footsteps shaking the ground.
«What's happening?»
I looked around seeing the others just as stiff as Bella, all of them gazing in the same direction. There was no sound and no movement from them whatsoever. Still like stone statues, even their breath was on halt.
My breath in contrast hitched. The clouds of vapor that passed through Bella's frail fingers grew uneven, shallower. Her golden eyes were fixed forward, wide and trembling.
Then, another tremor.
What I saw made my blood freeze. A massive, black foot crashed onto the tiles, just meters from where we hid beneath the cabinet.
The ground trembled beneath its weight.
«That foot...»
The same foot that had chased us the first time back in the bedroom.
The same foot whose owner had slaughtered countless, frightened lives, mere inches in front of me. The metallic stench of blood, the popping sound of eyes squeezing out of their sockets and the cracking of countless bones, still plagued my senses.
«Its here? The shadow? Why is the giant shadow here?»
It was the foot of the same shadow that cursed me with these horrible pictures that kept on playing in my head.
Dried blood crusted over its dark skin, a lingering reminder of its past carnage. It scraped its claws over the tiles, bright sparks flashing in the dim light. Then, it lifted its foot high into the air.
Every muscle in my body locked up. Fear. Anxiety. Hatred. Rage. So much rage. I wanted to jump out, to hit it, to beat it down as hard and as often as I could.
But I knew better.
«I'd end up like every other victim of his. Crushed.»
I swallowed hard, the image of a deformed, lifeless woman, her bulging eyes fixed on me burned in my mind. I forced it down, but the taste of bile clung to my tongue.
Bella's grip on me tightened. "Shhh, just stay calm," she whispered, so softly I barely heard her. Despite being pressed so closely to her chest.
The giant feet rose and crashed down a few more times before finally coming to a stop in front of the open window. Snowflakes drifted through the frame, raining into its hollow eyes and melting the moment they touched the crimson flames burning within.
For a moment, it simply stood there, still and silent, taking in the view beyond the glass. Its expression didn't change, couldn't change. Then, slowly, it lifted its long, dark hands and gripped the handle, slamming the window shut in one swift, final motion.
Just like that, our way out was gone. The shadow had taken what little hope I had left and crushed it, snuffing out the last guiding light in this place with the same casual cruelty it showed everything else.
The ground trembled again with every heavy step it took, retreating toward the massive door it had entered through. Then, it slammed the door shut behind it.
The booming thud echoed through the bathroom, shaking everything and with it, the mirror cabinet above the sink flew open with a loud clatter.
Inside was a vile mess. Giant toothbrushes caked with mold, a translucent orange cup covered in hair, and other unidentifiable, rotting items. The stench hit me instantly, but what caught my attention wasn't the filth.
It was the gaping hole at the back of the cabinet.
Another way out.
My eyes widened, heart fluttering with fresh hope. Bella finally released her hold on my mouth, letting out a deep, shaky breath. She was panting, her chest rising and falling after holding her breath for so long.
"Curses!" Paul shouted, slamming a bloodied fist against the tiled wall. His glare was fixed on the now-closed window, fury etching deep lines across his forehead. "Our chance to escape... gone!" Blood dripped rhythmically from his knuckles, pooling at his feet.
"We'll find another way. Save your strength," Robert said, placing a firm, grounding hand on Paul's shoulder and giving it a reassuring squeeze.
Meanwhile, Zoey remained silent. Her monstrous blackened arm still dangled awkwardly, though it had regained some resemblance of a human arm. She drifted over to the window, stopping beside one of the cabinet legs. She leaned against it, back turned toward us, staring out at the glass as if trying to see something beyond it.
"Phew, that was terrifying!" Bella exhaled, quickly pulling her beige coat closed. Her breaths came in uneven bursts, thick clouds of mist forming in front of her face, some large, some small, arriving in irregular intervals.
I didn't say anything. I just sat there, lost in a storm of emotions. Frustration swirled inside me, poisoning every thought. I hated that thing. I wanted to rip it apart with my bare hands. But no matter how much I wanted it… I couldn't do anything. I was powerless.
"I promise… one day…"
The words barely left my lips before Bella's hand gently brushed the tears from my cheeks.
"No need to cry, sweetheart. Everything's going to be okay. I promise," she whispered, humming a soft tune as she stroked my hair.
She must have mistaken my tears of rage for fear, but I didn't correct her. I let her believe what she wanted, her touch was comforting, and that was all that mattered. I leaned back into her warmth, letting it shield me from the cold air.
"Hey, guys! Look!" Cassandra called out, pointing at the mirror. "There! Inside the cabinet, there's a hole! Maybe we can escape through that!"
Paul lifted his head, his glare softening as his eyes locked on the hole. Slowly, his brows lifted and a grin began to form, the dim moonlight catching the shift in his expression.
«Oh right… I completely forgot» I thought, still resting in Bella's embrace. «Well, Cass already told everyone, so it doesn't matter now.» I sighed softly, my fists unclenching as I relaxed a little further.
The storm inside me was finally calming. The tears dried, but Bella's gentle humming continued. Just like the heavy weight on my chest that lessened but didn't really vanish.
"All right!" Paul laughed, voice lighter. "That's good. That's really good," he muttered, his grin growing as he flexed his fingers in anticipation.
«Back to work, I guess…» I thought, exhaling before gently tapping Bella's hand and slipping from her arms. Time was up. The world was cruel, and if we wanted to survive, we had to keep moving. We couldn't afford to rot in this cursed place.
"Okay, everyone! Let's get up to that hole before we rest!" Paul shouted, pointing toward the mirror. "Urgh then we have to move the drawer anyway, I meant a way where we don't have to pull that thing!" Zoey complained.
"I know you're tired, but it's not far now. Push through just a little more, I promise we'll be up there in no time!" He answered, trying not just to encourage her but everyone else as well.
But his words didn't drive me.
My motivation was something else, something far darker. A deep, burning desire to destroy that giant, that colossus. That was what gave me strength.
I funneled that anger into my arms, gripping the drawer and pulling with all I had. The others were wheezing, trying to catch their breath but I jumped up, hauling myself atop the drawer.
That's when I felt it.
Something soft.
Something warm.
Something wet.
I froze, breath caught in my throat. My hands were soaked dripping with blood. But it wasn't mine.
Trembling, I turned my head forward.
And then I retched, barely missing Zoey with the force of it.
"Ugh! Watch it, you idiot!" she snapped, raising her mangled fist—then her expression shifted. "Wait—what's wrong? Why'd you throw up?"
I couldn't answer. I was still fighting the urge to vomit again, my stomach convulsing with each breath. It squeezed, then loosened, over and over, trying to purge itself.
Zoey, curious now, climbed up beside me with a grunt. She pulled herself up, wincing at the effort and then she saw it too.
"Ughhh… That's disgusting, what the fork is this?! This is sick!" she gagged, vomiting mid-sentence.
Behind us, the drawer sat like a crimson pond.
A blood lake.
And floating in that lake, countless severed sheep heads.