It was as if someone had poured a bucket of ice-cold water over her.
A sharp chill ran from the back of her neck down her spine, stealing the warmth from her limbs in an instant. Her breath stopped, her pulse quickening as a cold knot formed in her stomach, making her feel wide awake.
Every sound, every shadow, every shift in the air around her suddenly seemed to catch her attention as Ariel’s voice continued to echo in her ear.
’That is you, right? Joanna? I can see that you’re waving at me. I’m com—’
’Don’t!’
Joanna tightened her grip on the wooden handrail, her fingers digging into the aged surface as if anchoring herself in place.
’Don’t come in! That’s not me!’
’.....’
Ariel went silent a moment after.
Without waiting for her to say anything else, Joanna continued.
’I don’t know what’s going on, but that’s not me! I... am in the house, but I am stuck. I can’t get out. The windows and door don’t seem to break. I’ve been getting weird calls telling me to go upstairs. I was just about to do that when I got in contact with you.’
’...Is that so?’
Ariel’s response came a few seconds later, like she was carefully processing what she had just heard or sensed.
The slight delay only made the air feel heavier.
But eventually, her reply came.
’If you’re saying that the silhouette is not you, then it’s likely from the one that was calling you.’
The reply made the air feel noticeably heavier, pressing down on her chest.
But it wasn’t unexpected. Not really.
From the moment Ariel had pointed out the figure earlier, Joanna had already pieced it together. The pieces had aligned too cleanly to ignore.
She—
Drrrr! Drrrr—!
Suddenly, her phone vibrated. Joanna’s face stiffened as she reached for her phone, but just like before, she didn’t get the chance to answer. The screen lit up on its own, and the call connected automatically.
A faint click echoed, then the speaker turned on by itself.
In a demonic tone, the voice screamed.
—WHY HAVEN’T YOU GONE UPSTAIRS!? GO UPSTAIRS!
Click!
The line closed right after, and Ariel’s voice echoed in her ear.
’The silhouette is gone. It’s moving in... Joanna, get away.’
Joanna spun away from the sound and bolted up the stairs.
Her boots pounded against the wood, each step groaning loudly beneath her as she climbed as fast as she could. Her heart hammered violently against her ribs, so loud it almost drowned out everything else.
The beam of her flashlight jerked wildly up and down, slicing through the darkness in frantic arcs as shadows twisted along the walls around her.
Joanna burst onto the second floor, nearly stumbling as she reached the top.
A long corridor stretched out before her with several closed doors lining both sides. The air felt colder, almost freezing.
Her gaze darted wildly from one end of the hallway to the other.
Without hesitating, she rushed to the nearest door, threw it open, and slipped inside. She slammed it shut behind her with all her strength, the impact echoing sharply through the corridor outside.
CLANK!
Her chest rose and fell rapidly, the flashlight trembling slightly in her grip.
She slowly lifted her gaze to take in the room.
It appeared to be a bedroom. A large bed sat against the far wall, the sheets discolored with age and slightly askew, as though someone had left in a hurry. Beside it stood a wooden desk cluttered with scattered drawers, some half-open, others hanging crookedly from their hinges.
A cracked mirror rested above the desk, its fractured surface splitting her reflection into jagged pieces under the beam of her light.
Joanna took in the scene until she heard a soft, yet muffled creacking sound coming from behind the door, slowly moving closer and closer to her.
Joanna’s breath caught, her muscles tensing as she held tightly onto the door.
Thump! Thump!
The steps dragged closer, each one scraping faintly against the floor outside the door.
Joanna’s throat tightened. Sweat beaded along her temple and slid down the side of her face. Her fingers flexed around the flashlight as her mind raced, thinking of all sorts of ways to escape the situation.
Until eventually, a thought crossed her mind.
’Should I fight it?’
Joanna had no idea what she was dealing with. She didn’t know its limits, its form, or whether it could even be harmed. Charging blindly at something unknown went against every instinct she had.
That was why she hadn’t considered attacking it outright.
But the slow, deliberate steps outside the door left her with fewer and fewer options. The room offered no clear path of escape.
’...The key might be in the anomaly or whatever is responsible for this. If I can take it down, I free myself from this.’
The door behind her trembled faintly under the approaching weight.
Swallowing hard, she steadied her breathing.
’I have to catch it off-guard. Remain calm. Remain calm.’
Joanna’s thoughts fell on her responsibilities. Her old team, and how they found success without her. The weight the Squad Leader was bearing to keep them in their team, and as her thoughts drifted there, her fists clenched.
’I have to do it.’
Both of her nodes flared at once, heat surging beneath her skin as power flooded through her limbs.
Another step sounded just behind the door.
Joanna didn’t wait.
She spun and grabbed the handle, wrenching the door open with explosive force.
BANG!
The wood slammed against the wall as she burst out into the corridor, energy crackling faintly around her as she rushed forward, ready to confront whatever had been stalking her.
The moment she burst into the corridor, a silhouette stood at the far end.
Joanna’s heart squeezed.
Her hands moved on instinct, fingers snapping around the hilts of her daggers as she charged forward.
She rushed with all her might—
And then a voice fell over her mind.
’Stop. It’s me.’
Long silver hair slipped into view first, glinting faintly under the fractured beam of her flashlight. Then a familiar face emerged from the shadows.
Ariel.
The tension in Joanna’s chest didn’t release immediately. Her heart was still racing, her muscles still coiled to strike, even as she became certain of Ariel’s appearance. For a split second, she simply stared, struggling to come to terms with the situation.
But eventually, she had no choice but to acknowledge it. Only Ariel could talk to her mind like that.
"How did you..."
"The door simply opened."
Ariel answered her, showing confusion herself.
"When the silhouette disappeared, I thought you were in danger and tried to get in, but the door simply opened."
"What...? That easy?"
"Mhm."
Ariel also looked a little surprised as she looked behind Joanna, into the corridor that stretched behind her.
"Is this where the phone told you to go?"
"Yes."
Joanna replied, taking out her phone and looking at it.
"...I don’t know why it wants me to go here, but I think we should go."
"I think the opposite."
Ariel replied, her gaze falling on the doors.
"There might be a clue to the situation. We should look."
"Ah, right."
Joanna bit her lips. In hindsight, Ariel had a point. She had been so consumed by the moment that she forgot all about their objective.
’There has to be something here. Otherwise, the phone wouldn’t tell me to go upstairs so many times. It might even help us find the rescue teams.’
Joanna let out a shaky breath and quickly slapped her cheeks twice, the sharp sting grounding her and forcing the adrenaline to settle.
Ariel didn’t comment. She simply stepped past Joanna, her long silver hair swaying faintly as she moved down the corridor with calm, measured strides. Without hesitation, she stopped at one of the doors further along the hall, reached for the handle, and slipped inside without any real worries.
"Wait, don’t go by yourself."
Joanna moved to follow, but something made her glance down at her phone first.
The screen was still lit.
Her eyes lingered on it for a second too long, her steps slowing... then stopping altogether. The call log was still open.
Slowly, her gaze lifted from the phone to the door Ariel had just entered.
And after a moment hesitation, she dialed the number.
Drrrrr! Drrrrr—!
The sharp ringing tore through the hallway again.
Coming right from Ariel’s room.