Ba… Thump! Ba… Thump!
Catching a glimpse of the tall figure by the door, Idris felt his blood run cold. Idris’s years as a containment agent kicked in all of a sudden. As if recalling the words he had seen in the bathroom ’Whatever you do. Don’t look. Don’t look!’, his hand snapped down, dragging the cursor away from the figure without thinking.
“…..”
The surroundings fell silent, besides the heavy breathing coming from Idris as he took a moment to process the situation. ’
’Why did I react like that? Why am I… acting like this? What is going on?’
Idris’s leg tapped rapidly against the ground. Something he usually did whenever he was stressed and nervous.
’This is just a game. Why am I reacting like this? I shouldn’t be reacting like this.’
The more Idris thought about it, the more he realized that something was wrong. However, the moment he lifted his head in real life, the only thing he could focus on was the monitor in front of him.
It was as if the only thing that existed was the game in front of him, as his surroundings started to twist and curl.
Clutching tightly onto the mouse, Idris slowly moved the cursor up to stare at the door once again.
“Gone. It’s gone…”
The figure that had been present before was completely gone. The only one that still remained was the old lady as she looked at him with the same toothless smile of hers as she cocked her head, and asked.
“Is something wrong?”
Idris found his lips opening on their own as he answered back.
“N-no, it’s fine.”
“That’s good.”
By now, Idris had long forgotten about the peculiar lady who seemed to be able to interact with him.
At this very moment, he was immersed in the game.
So immersed that he forgot all about the fact that it was one.
“I’ll be leaving now.”
The old lady pulled the lamp back as the wooden floor creaked under her steps, and she began moving towards another room.
“Best of luck. I will be looking for a way to repair the lights.”
Creak. Creak. Creak.
The creaking grew more distant until it completely faded. By the time they were gone, a heavy silence filled the surroundings as Idris continued to stare at the door in front of him.
He stood like that for what felt like forever.
However, this didn’t persist for long as he clenched his teeth and he moved towards the door, finally entering it to reveal a large bedroom. The lights were dim, but it was much easier for him to see as the bedroom looked to be in better condition than the areas beneath.
In fact, it… was spotless.
The white sheets were spotless, the wooden floor free of dust, and the entire bedroom appeared well-maintained.
“This…”
Idris’s brows furrowed at the sight as he paused for a moment, taking in the surroundings in confusion.
’Why is this place clean and the others aren’t? Is this something that only happens on the second floor? Could this be because this is the old lady’s room?’
Thinking about it, it made sense. The old woman was quite elderly and likely didn’t have the energy to maintain such a large house. She probably only kept the areas she used in good condition.
Taking a deep breath, Idris calmed himself down and started looking around the place.
’If my guess isn’t wrong, I should be able to find another paper inside here.’
By now, he had completely forgotten about the fact that he was recording himself. The only thing in his view was the screen in front of him as he moved the character around, trying his best to look for clues.
As he did, his mouse eventually hovered over the drawer beside the bed. Pausing, Idris moved toward it, his eyes drifting to the wooden frame resting just above it, along with the small lamp perched beside it.
’A picture?’
He couldn’t quite see what was in the frame since it was a little dusty.
Positioning the cursor over the frame, he clicked and picked it up as it appeared before him. Only when it was close did he manage to see through the layer of dust and smudges clouding the glass.
’A young girl and a man?’
Looking at the frame, he was able to see a young man standing next to a young girl in front of a house. The two of them were both posing together as they looked directly at the camera.
Overall, it looked like a regular picture.
However, for some reason, Idris felt his gaze wander towards the man’s clothing. A gray suit and a gray top hat.
For whatever reason, staring at the clothing, he felt his heart race.
But why? Why was his heart pounding over something so simple? Idris’s thoughts spiraled for several seconds, until, in the corner of the image, in a patch of glass just clean enough to reflect, he caught the shadow of what looked like a top hat looming behind him.
“…..!?”
His hand nearly jerked back at the sudden sight of the top hat, and he barely managed to suppress a gasp as he kept the mouse frozen in place.
’Whatever you do. Don’t look. Don’t look!’
The words from before replayed in his mind over and over again.
“Haa… Haa…”
Idris’s breath was heavy as he remained rooted in place, his mind and thoughts coming to a freezing halt as he came to a sudden realization.
Someone. Something… was standing right behind him.
Sweat formed at the palms of his hands as he tried to maintain his composure.
’Calm down. I’ve encountered similar situations before. I just don’t have to look. That’s all I have to do. I don’t have to lo—!!’
Creaak!
Hearing the floor creak, Idris’s body tensed as he hastily pulled his gaze away from the frame and lowered his eyes to stare at the ground. It was also in that moment that he caught sight of a pair of leather shoes, moving carefully in front of him.
’It’s really here!’
Idris’s pulse quickened.
For a moment, he didn’t know what to do. He was starting to panic. However, even though he was panicked, he was still rational enough to understand his current position. So long as he continued to stare at the ground, he was safe.
’I believe the main goal of entering this room is to find the picture.’
A lot of things started to set in Idris’s mind. From the picture to the pristineness of the room.
Without a doubt… The figure that was standing right before him was the same man in the picture. Most likely, he was the ex-husband. The reason why the room had been so tidy wasn’t because the old lady lived in it, but because he lived in it!
He needed to get out of the room as quickly as possible and head onto the next.
Idris could feel it.
The escalating tension of the game as he turned the character around and moved ahead, his head continuously lowered.
As he moved, he felt the entity that had been standing behind him remain where it was.
Idris breathed a sigh of relief.
’Yes, all I have to do is just keep looking down.’
Coming out of the room, Idris felt a lot more relaxed. In hindsight, so long as he kept his head down, he wouldn’t need to worry about the figure that was chasing him.
Subtly moving the cursor up, Idris stared towards the next door and began to move forward again.
He kept the cursor low enough that he could see the door, and he felt much more at ease as he did so. In fact, he felt quite confident. The more he thought about it, the easier he felt that the situation was.
’The main issue is that I can’t look up too often since there’s a risk that I might end up seeing the figure again, but that’s not really a big problem. I can just look up quickly before looking down again.’
Idris planned on doing this in quick bursts that would allow him to see what was ahead before looking down again. So long as he stuck to the plan, he thought that he’d be able to clear the situation rather easily.
However…
The moment he stepped into the next room, that fragile sense of control shattered.
There, sprawled across the floor in thick, smeared red, were the words:
[Everything is a lie!]
[I… I am not sick! They are sick!]
[They try to trick me! They trick me through sight and sound!]
[Run!!]
“Eh…?”
His breath caught.
“Eh…?”
His voice came out weak, almost as if afraid of being heard. He froze in place, and for a moment, nothing moved. Until… He heard it.
Creaaak!
A soft, drawn-out creaking, like weight shifting on old wood.
It came from directly behind him.
A chill stabbed down his spine, and every muscle in his body locked up. His fingers tightened around the mouse.
Then came the voice.
“Oh, you’re here. Did you find anything?”
It was the old lady.
…Almost instinctively, Idris turned in the direction of the voice, but all of his experience came rushing through in that moment as he stopped dead in his tracks.
That voice…
Was it really the old lady’s?
“A-ah.”
That was when it truly hit him.
The fear.