Volume 3—Chapter 58: Lurking Danger
Aneira tapped the baseball bat against her shoulder as she glanced toward the stairway down. The darkness beyond the front doors seemed unnaturally thick, as if the void had swallowed the outside world. Still, the idea of standing still in this twisted space was beginning to wear on her nerves.
“Hey,” she said, breaking the silence. “Do you think we could get out of here if we just… walked out the front door?”
Aria, who had been scanning the walls for anything suspicious, didn’t even glance at her. “I doubt it. And even if we could, I wouldn’t follow you.”
Aneira blinked. “What? Why not?”
“I’m here to find my sister and my friend,” Aria said simply, her tone resolute. “They’re still somewhere in this building.”
Aneira’s lips parted slightly. So that’s what’s keeping her here... She bit the inside of her cheek, hesitating before speaking again. “I see. Then… mind if I come with you?”
There was a pause.
Aria turned to her slowly, giving Aneira a long, unreadable look. For a second, it seemed like she was actually considering it. Then her expression flattened, and her answer came sharp and unyielding.
“No.”
Aneira’s jaw dropped. “Eh? Why not?!”
Aria folded her arms, her gaze icy and unwavering. “Frankly, I’d rather have a ghost for company than a pervert like you.”
Aneira’s cheeks flushed bright red. “That was a misunderstanding! I told you I didn’t grope you on purpose!”
Aria narrowed her eyes. “Sure you didn’t.”
“I didn’t!!”
“And for the record,” Aria added coldly, “I don’t swing that way.”
Aneira’s face twisted in outrage. “Me neither!! Geez, stop saying weird things with a straight face!”
Aria narrowed her eyes at the girl beside her, who was still hovering a little too closely despite denying her sexual orientation.
“Are you perhaps scared of being alone?” Aria asked flatly.
“What? Nooo,” Aneira replied, far too quickly—and defensively to be convincing. Her laugh afterwards sounded nervous, awkward, and entirely unconvincing.
Aria sighed and rubbed her temple.
“Guess you can follow along…” she muttered with resignation.
Aneira blinked in surprise. “Really?”
“But—keep your distance from me,” Aria snapped, facing the corridor again. “I mean it.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Aneira said, holding up both hands in mock surrender, though she still trailed only a few steps behind as Aria began walking.
But before walking too far, Aria stopped suddenly, her eyes scanning the dim hallway ahead, when a sudden thought made her pause.
“Should we explore this floor, head upstairs, or maybe go down instead?” she asked Aneira.
Aneira raised a brow, looking at her. “Why are you asking me that? You’re the one who said you were looking for someone. When was the last time you saw or heard them?”
Aria stopped in her tracks, eyes narrowing slightly in thought. “Now that you mention it… I think the last time I heard them was when I was on the third floor.”
“Then we need to go up the stairs,” Aneira said, motioning toward the stairwell.
Aria hesitated, then frowned. “Wait, why? Aren’t we already on the third floor?”
Aneira looked back over her shoulder, blinking in slight confusion. “Oh… I see what’s happening. You count the ground floor as the first, don’t you?”
Aria gave her a flat look. “Isn’t that normal?”
“Depends where you’re from,” Aneira said with a small shrug. “By your count, yeah, this might be the third floor. But technically, if we don’t count the ground level as the first, we’re only on the second.”
Aria pinched the bridge of her nose. “Whatever, let’s explore this floor.”
The two girls moved cautiously through the dimly lit hallway, their footsteps echoing against the worn tiles. The building felt impossibly silent, as if it were holding its breath. The lights overhead flickered intermittently, casting eerie, shifting shadows that seemed to twist and move on their own.
Aneira kept close, too close for Aria’s liking. Every few feet, something strange would happen—lights would crackle without reason, distant whispers would echo down the halls, or doors would creak open ever so slightly despite no wind or presence nearby.
“Did you hear that?” Aneira whispered, spinning around toward a half-open door.
Aria didn’t even glance. “No. And even if I did, I’m not stopping.”
Aneira pouted but didn’t argue. She trailed behind, visibly unnerved, glancing at every corner and nervously clutching the handle of the baseball bat she brought from her apartment. Her knuckles were pale from how tightly she held it.
Then came the moment she couldn’t take it anymore.
A moaning sound echoed faintly from the end of the hallway—a low, guttural wail that didn’t sound entirely human. Lights above them went out in a snap, casting the hallway into near-total darkness for a second.
“Okay no, screw this!” Aneira yelped, throwing herself forward in a blind panic—and directly into Aria.
“What the—!!” Aria barely had time to react before she felt arms wrap tightly around her from behind.
She stiffened. “You pervert!! I said keep your distance!!”
Before Aneira could even protest, Aria twisted her body with a practised motion, breaking Aneira’s grip and delivering a sharp roundhouse kick to her side—not enough to injure, but certainly enough to knock her back and send a clear message.
“Ow! What the hell, I was scared!” Aneira cried, rubbing her ribs.
“You can be scared from over there!” Aria snapped, resuming her pace without another word.
Aneira groaned but followed, keeping a slightly wider distance this time. The tension between them hung in the air, half serious, half absurd—but neither could shake the growing sense of dread.
What they failed to notice, however, was that their shouting, the thud of the kick, and Aneira’s panicked yelp had not gone unheard.
In the far corner of the hallway, where the shadows pooled thickest, something stirred. Slowly, soundlessly, a dark shape detached itself from the wall. Its movement was fluid, almost liquid-like, as it slithered from shadow to shadow, following them without a sound.
“Huh… did you hear that?” Aria suddenly muttered, slowing her steps.
“Hear what? There’s no sound at all now…” Aneira replied, still rubbing her side from the earlier scuffle, trying to catch her breath.
Aria glanced over her shoulder, brows slightly furrowed. “Weird… I could’ve sworn I heard something.”
There was nothing, no footsteps, not even the faint hum of electricity. The silence was absolute, unnaturally so. But even without sound, Aria’s instincts are telling her otherwise.
She didn’t hear danger.
She felt it.
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