Chapter 39 #2
No one answered, but I still felt like I was being watched. A door at the end of the corridor slowly creaked open, and the sound made me shudder.
“Who’s there?” I took a step forward.
The moment my feet moved, a light globe at the opposite end went out.
My heart raced. Archemic globes didn’t just go out like that.
The strange sensation intensified, making my stomach churn.
Just like on the day I visited Sonar, my intuition opened its non-eyes and whispered in my ears that I needed to get out of there.
I looked around desperately, knowing I had to reach either the elevator or the emergency stairwell—they were the only exits.
And they were right in the middle, halfway between one end and the other.
I took a few more steps, and another light went out.
I threw caution to the wind and broke into a frantic run.
On the other side, the globes were going out at the same pace.
The more I ran, the more they went dark, racing toward me, and the air was freezing.
My heart pounded, and fear flooded through me as the darkness closed in around me.
My feet skidded on the smooth, waxed floor—the slippers had no traction at all.
As I ran, I caught a glimpse of something dragging itself across the floor.
It didn’t seem to have any form and moved like living mist, but the lights kept going out, preventing me from seeing more.
Panic spread through every nerve ending in my body.
I ran like my life depended on it, and that damned corridor never ended.
Too much corridor and too few lights.
I reached the elevator when only one archemic globe remained lit.
The moment I touched the button to open the door, total darkness swallowed the corridor.
I looked around but couldn’t see anything—only the glow from the emergency stairwell sign a few meters away, closer to where the globes had started going out.
I pressed my back against the door and sank to the floor, frantically jabbing the elevator button, but it stayed closed.
In my desperation, I heard a labored, dying breath and realized it was getting closer—but there were no footsteps.
Only thick darkness and heavy breathing.
My body was shaking so badly that if I hadn’t already been on the floor, I would have collapsed.
It was close.
That thing seemed to be sniffing the air, getting closer.
I kept moving in desperation, knowing no amount of physical training could have prepared me for this.
I felt the aura of power slam into my body.
My legs buckled, sending me sliding down against the door.
I closed my eyes and focused on breathing.
The force of that aura was crushing—not even Zion had power like that.
Something wet ran down my legs. It was the saline bag I’d just burst with my own trembling, rigid hands.
Just when I thought it couldn’t get worse, fingers touched my ankle.
They wrapped around my foot, creeping up my calf.
The touch was cold—as cold as the decomposing corpses in the nearby morgue.
I drew a deep breath to scream, but a loud noise blared in my ears and the elevator door opened, flooding everything with light.
I tumbled into the metal box and hit my head on something soft. When my vision cleared after the impact, Adele was staring down at me with a furrowed brow.
“What the hell?” She yanked her feet out from under my head.
I bolted upright, trembling down to my soul, looking around in terror. My heart felt like it wanted to burst through my ribs and run far away.
“There’s something in the dark!” I screamed through my shaking, crawling to the corner of the elevator and curling up there.
“What dark?” Adele stared at me, confused.
“We need to get out—there’s something here, Adele! The lights went out!” The echo of my scream filled the corridor. My muscles felt like they’d turned to jelly.
The elevator door started to close, but the girl stuck her arm out and stopped it. I nearly cried from panic. Then she stepped out into the corridor, which was inexplicably bright as a sunny afternoon. I stared at the light globes illuminating the space, perplexed.
“You’re telling me the archemic globes—something that never goes out and lasts for centuries—failed?” the Yonserian mocked, her expression amused.
Shocked, I scanned the area and confirmed everything was in order. Even the air had returned to normal. Adele’s eyes gleamed with amusement and malice.
“Oh, poor thing…” She flashed a mocking smile. “You’re losing your mind.”
I rubbed my eyes and gave my cheeks a couple of light slaps. I didn’t know what to say. I was terrified by what I’d seen and desperate to get out of there. Embarrassed, I stood up and pressed the elevator button. Adele rode back up with me, laughing like I was a joke.
“Having your little psychological episodes again, darling? I’ll show you the way to the psychiatric ward—you should visit more often.”
I had to endure her taunts. But the humiliation was nothing compared to the fear clinging to me. When the door opened, I was already squeezing through, stumbling out—only to collide with a muscular chest. Adele’s laughter stopped immediately.
I looked up to find Zion’s face staring down at me, his expression worried. Relief flooded through me, like someone had thrown me a lifeboat while I was drowning. Without thinking, I hugged him and buried my face in his chest, breathing in his scent and letting my heart calm down.
“What happened, Kyller?” He hugged me back tightly. I couldn’t answer right away—I couldn’t find my voice. It must have gotten lost somewhere on the way up. “It’s okay, stay calm. Let’s go home,” he whispered in my ear, stroking my hair.
“No!” I pulled back sharply. “I want to talk to Ambrose first. I need to warn him.”
“Warn him about what?” Zion looked confused, glancing between me and Adele.
“There’s something down there. It’s not a normal person—not human, not gorgon, not faerie. I felt it dragging itself through the corridor.”
The girl laughed in disbelief.
“I swear, Zion,” I insisted, my hands trembling. “There was something down there that turned off all the archemic globes and tried to grab me.”
“What did you see, Adele?” my partner asked. His voice held no trace of sympathy or politeness.
The Yonserian stopped laughing and cleared her throat.
“I asked Kyller for saline, but since she was taking too long, I went down to get it myself. When the elevator door opened, she fell inside, trembling and crying. The corridor lights were on.”
“I need to check,” Zion said, looking at the elevator.
I nearly cried like a child being abandoned on the first day of school.
“No, Zion! The aura of power was immense—more powerful than anything I’ve ever felt. Don’t go down there.” I grabbed the edges of his military overcoat, holding him back.
He stroked my hair and whispered in my ear:
“What kind of general and partner would I be if I cowered up here? I promise I’ll be right back.”
His presence turned to shadow, and I found myself clutching nothing. The moment I was alone, I started trembling again, gripping my phone like I had an advanced case of Parkinson’s.
“I didn’t know drutes were afraid of ghosts,” Adele mocked, laughing as she stared at my saline-soaked pants.
“It wasn’t a ghost!”
“Then where is this thing now? Maybe the answer’s simpler—you’re just crazy. Let’s see, it could be psychosis, schizophrenia, dementia…”
Zion returned at that moment, shutting the Yonserian up.
“There’s nothing down there,” he said, brow furrowed.
“That's what I said,” Adele sang out.
The general shot her such a severe look that the young woman's amusement vanished and she lowered her head.
“I swear there was something! I swear, Zion.” My words came out more like a pleading cry, and his gaze softened a little.
“There are no traces of power or signs anyone passed through. There's only one patient in that hallway, and he's in a coma.”
My shoulders slumped in defeat, and Adele mouthed the word “demented” behind Zion. That pushed my fear aside, replaced by anger.
“Can you take me home, Zion?” I asked, embarrassed. I didn't want to stay at the hospital anymore—I could still feel the powerful aura in my subconscious.
“Of course I can.” He stepped closer and took my hands. But before we left, my partner turned to Adele. “I don't need to tell you to be discreet, do I, Adele?” His voice was more threat than question.
“Y-yes,” she stammered.
His eyes still on the Yonserian, the shadows swallowed us.