Thump! Thump!
The steps were drawing nearer. I could hear them coming from the stairs.
Sweat poured down from the side of my
face as I hastily looked around.
‘Anything, anything…’
My anxiety shot through the room as I looked through my surroundings, hoping to find any clue or hint. However, the biting cold that pierced my skin made it hard for me to focus clearly as I held onto my body while keeping track of the steps coming from the stairs.
Thump! THUMP!
The steps were even closer now.
I could feel the Twisted Man was about to reach the first floor.
It… was about to reach me.
My breathing grew more shallow as I frantically looked through everything.
And then—
My gaze eventually fell on one of the walls. It was right by the kitchen area, and my entire body stopped the moment I caught sight of the engravings on the walls.
No, rather than engravings…
‘It’s a poem.’
I felt a sudden sense of unease while looking ahead.
The message read;
Tick-tock, listen, don’t make a sound,
Or else the Twisted Man comes around.
He walks in echoes, he creeps in noise,
He feeds on whimpers, he drinks your voice.
First, just a shadow, then at your back,
His fingers hum where the sound waves crack.
Speak but a word, and he’ll draw near,
Scream but once, and he’ll appear.
Games he loves, games he plays.
His voice may change, but his appearance will not.
Careful of the voice, as it may be his.
So bite your tongue and mute your cries,
Lest your last sound be his whispered lies.
The Twisted Man won’t leave, you’ll find…
Unless you leave your voice behind.
‘Huh…?’
Reading the poem, my entire mind numbed.
He feeds on whimpers, he drinks your voice? Unless you leave your voice behind…?
THUMP! THUMP!
“…..!”
Snapping me out of my daze were the loud sounds of the steps. They were just by the living room. My entire body tensed as I just turned my head to see a certain silhouette appear by the entrance of the kitchen, its long and lanky arm dragging into the room, fingers twitching unnaturally as they scraped against the doorframe.
I didn’t waste a second and hurriedly removed my glasses, plunging the world into darkness as I sealed my lips shut, as the world turned quiet once more.
Tap. Tap.
All… with the exception of the faint dripping sound coming from the sink.
Tap… Tap!
The noise dragged through the air like nails across metal, grating and incredibly slow. I stood frozen, every muscle tensed, not daring to make a single noise.
‘It’s right behind me, isn’t it? It’s right—’
The moonlight spilled into the room, and I tried to look down to see if the figure was right behind me, but the moment the moonlight spilled into the room, I froze entirely.
That was because…
The figure wasn’t standing behind me.
But right before me.
And…
I could see it with my own eyes.
It stood right before me, its long and lanky body covered by a black suit as a large tophat covered half of its face, a wide, unnatural smile marring its pale face. Its neck bent at an unnatural angle, creaking as it craned closer, a sick smile stretching across its pale features.
Almost as if… It was already aware of the fact that I could see it.
My grip over the knife tightened incredibly hard, my body ready to lunge at any given second, as I planned on recalling the Dreamwalker to have it aid in my fight.
But then…
“Hello…?”
It suddenly started to speak, my entire body shivering at the sound of its voice.
It… sounded normal.
Too normal.
Like it belonged to some guy in his forties—
Ah.
It suddenly hit me mid-thought as I kept my gaze firmly locked forward, pretending to be completely oblivious to everything.
“Hello? Is anybody here?”
The voice echoed once more, this time a little smoother than before.
But the smoother it was, the more alarmed I became.
Because…
‘This is none other than the voice of the inmate that was sent just before we were sent.’
I was almost certain of it.
That was also when the two verses of the poem I was stuck with finally started to make sense.
‘This anomaly… it feeds on its prey in order to absorb their voices. This is probably to make it easier for it to kill people. Or maybe for some other reason… that I’m still unsure about.’
“I can tell that you’re here. Please respond.”
I continued to remain silent, trying my best to keep myself composed.
But then—
“Hello? Seth? Are you here?”
I suddenly heard another sound. This time, the voice was different. It was a female voice, and it seemed to come from a distance as the figure before me turned in the direction of the noise.
Almost as if… it was curious about the voice.
But…
I kept my lips sealed.
I couldn’t speak.
“Seth? Why aren’t you answering? Kyle told me to fetch you. We’ve discovered something.”
The figure before me faded completely, leaving nothing behind.
It was gone as though it had never been there to begin with, and the sight made all the unease from before suddenly wash away as I took a quiet breath.
“Seth? Kyle is waiting outside. Is everything okay?”
Noticing the worry in the voice, I was just about to move towards the living room when—
The moonlight spilled again, and the silhouette appeared once more.
It was…
Right behind me.
“…..!”
It’s back hunched over to me.
“Seth? Seth…? Why aren’t you answering? Seth?”
It was also in that moment that I recalled one of the verses in the poem, and my entire body started to shudder.
Games he loves, games he plays.
His voice may change, but his appearance will not.
Careful of the voice, as it may be his.
That…
‘Don’t tell me…’
“Seth? Why aren’t you answering me?”
I pressed my lips tightly together, eyes fixed on the direction of the sound. Listening more closely to the voice now, I realized something strange: despite calling out for me again and again, it hadn’t moved or tried to search for me at all.
It was almost as if…
‘It’s trying to bait me to say something!’
Shivers ran down my arm as I gripped tightly onto the knife in my hand, feeling its presence somewhat ease the panic I felt as the beat of my heart drummed loudly inside my mind, making me worried about whether the figure had heard me or not.
Creaak…
A distant creaking sound echoed, and the voice stopped.
I knew the source of the noise was the Dreamwalker as I hastily took out my phone and flashed a light beneath.
‘No shadow.’
I flashed it around.
‘No silhouette.’
I didn’t waste a single second and moved out of the kitchen while holding my breath.
But just as I did…
WHIIIIII! WHIIIIIII!
A certain alarm rang, and the color red flashed across the entire living room.
I froze on the spot, slowly turning my head towards the device planted by Kyle.
Crash! Crash!
The windows around shattered, and several sickly hands began to appear from behind the windows.
Staring at the scene, I held onto my stomach.
‘Now is a good time to puke, right?’