“Very well, I hope to see you soon…”
The conductor’s raspy voice echoed once more as its lips pulled into a grotesque and creepy smile. I could only stare in its direction before slowly turning my head to look back.
BANG!
The theater doors slammed open just as I stood from my seat.
But before I could move—
“Before you leave, there’s something I wish to warn you about.”
I stopped and pursed my lips.
What did it want this time?
’Don’t tell me it’s changing its mind. What do I do then…?’
My thoughts began to spiral, but the conductor’s next words took me completely aback.
“I… feel a sinister presence within the land that you reside in. I advise you to tread with caution. This is no kind or reasonable being.”
What?
My thoughts spun.
What exactly was it trying to say?
Was—
“You better leave before I regret my actions.”
The conductor’s voice jolted me out of my thoughts, and my legs moved on instinct.
“…..”
Every eye in the theater remained locked on me, but I ignored them and made my way toward the doors. I continued to think about the conductor’s words… Its warning.
What could it be referring to?
For even the conductor to say something like that…
I felt tense while musing over its words, until I eventually reached the exit.
The darkness swallowed me whole.
The last thing I saw… was the conductor’s smile, watching me all the while.
By the time light returned to my eyes, I was back in my office.
“I’m back.”
Everything was as it had been
The wall behind me, the desk, the silence.
“…..”
I looked around the place, the silence shrouding me in its entirety.
I stood like that until…
“Haa… Haa…”
I crumbled onto the side of the wall, my back sliding down as I took deep and heavy breaths.
My entire body was soaked in sweat as my hands started to shake.
“That was… haaa… close.”
Far too close.
I was… just one wrong word away from dying.
One single wrong action away from dying.
If not for the fact that I perfectly exploited the conductor’s weakness, things wouldn’t have played out like this.
’That was way too close for my own comfort. I can’t allow a situation like this to happen in the future.’
I took several deep breaths.
Even though it was close, I had managed to succeed in the end.
I managed to buy myself some valuable time.
That was all that mattered.
“Three months.”
Not ideal, but it was something. Three months to figure out how to perform the piece I’d been given. To make it ’perfect’ in the conductor’s eyes.
I looked at the music sheet and gave a bitter smile.
“I really shot myself in the foot.”
This was a lot more complicated than I anticipated. I really felt like I had bitten off more than I could chew.
But…
It wasn’t like I really had much of a choice.
It was either this or instant death.
The choice was obvious.
To Tok—!
“Hm?”
Hearing someone knock on the door, I jolted out of my thoughts.
“Who’s there?”
“What do you mean, who’s there?”
Clank!
The door swung open, and Kyle stepped inside. He looked… different. His usually messy brown hair was slicked back neatly, and he wore a brown coat left open to reveal a white turtleneck that stopped right on the belt line, where he wore a set of black pants.
All in all…
He looked stylish.
Stylish? Him…?
I had to do a double-take to make sure I wasn’t seeing things. However, I really wasn’t.
“Are you going on a dat—”
“What date? You…”
Kyle paused before covering his face.
“Don’t tell me you forgot. I literally talked it over to you a couple of hours ago.”
“A couple of hours ago?”
What the hell?
I immediately checked my watch and was startled to see that two hours had indeed passed since I last met Kyle, but that made no sense.
I was with the conductor for only a few minutes!
Unless…
’The time in the theater is different!’
“Wait, why are you so sweaty anyway? Were you exercising?”
“Huh? Oh…”
Right. The sweat…
How could I explain this?
Well, exercise worked, I guess.
“Yeah, I was.”
“…At this time? Seriously? And you, of all people, are actually exercising?”
The disbelief on his face was as clear as it could be.
And that…
That kind of hurt.
“Ah, whatever. Just get changed. You have five minutes befo—”
“Hey, Kyle. Are you in here?
A voice called, and a head poked through the door. Her eyes immediately fell on Kyle and then me. She nodded slightly, but then looked at Kyle.
I sighed in relief when I saw that.
’Looks like she doesn’t hate me anymore.’
I felt relieved knowing that. Saved me a lot of trouble.
However, right before she could even get her words out, her eyes paused towards a certain area.
I could’ve sworn.
For the briefest second, I saw something impossible. A thin, forked tongue slipped from between her lips. Like that of a snake. I could even almost hear a hissing sound as Kyle’s face turned towards the area she was looking at.
“Oh, shit.”
His face drained of color.
The way he looked at me shortly after… It was like he was looking at a dead man.
“Hisss!!”
There it is!
That hissing sound!
To add insult to injury, something slithered out of Zoey’s mouth. Was I the only one seeing this? …Or was my mind exaggerating things because of the state of fear I was in?
’Oh, shit. Why do I feel goosebumps?’
Every hair on my body stood on end in that moment as her eyes narrowed.
But just before she could even get her words out, Kyle rushed to her and grabbed her by the shoulder before dragging her out of the room.
“Get changed quickly! I can only do this much for you!”
Clank!
The door closed right after, and silence fell over the room.
It was as if a terrifying storm had just passed by.
“….”
I stood in silence before covering my face.
’Right, I’d better get changed and get this company dinner over with.’
Although I didn’t really want to go, I knew that this was for the best. It would benefit me a lot, and so, after rummaging through my drawers and taking out a new set of clothes, I was about to head to the bathroom to get washed when I paused.
Lowering my head, I stared at the black marking on my arm.
“Will they notice?”
As far as I was aware, several important people were going to be present at the Guild dinner. If I were to go there with the marking, would they notice it?
It was a legitimate question, but considering how the Section Chief hadn’t noticed anything back then, it was probably okay…?
’I don’t know. I think it’s best not to risk it.’
As such, after a little bit of thought, I called out the Dreamwalker.
“Stay here and guard the office. I’ll be out for a bit.”
The Dreamwalker didn’t say anything, but I knew it had understood my words.
With a nod, I flicked off the light.
Clank!
I closed the door behind me.
And stepped into the main area. In the distance, I even heard several shouts.
“Hisss! Let me… hisss! kill him… hisss!”
“Stop it! It could be the same brand of chips.”
“Hisss!!!”
’Might as well puke while I’m at it.’