NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 6 – Hopelessness
I could barely make out the kid’s appearance.
What stood out to me were his purely white eyes.
Unnaturally, they were dimly glowing in the dark.
Even though I couldn’t perceive his pupils, I could tell that I was making eye contact with him.
Syncing with the monster’s rampage, I whispered quietly to the boy,
“What are you doing in a place like this?”
…
The boy just continued staring.
Well, this was awkward.
I whispered another question,
“Are you alone? Are there other people trapped here as well?”
…
C’mon… At least nod or shake your head…
But the boy kept staring at me.
…
This interaction was going nowhere.
I looked back to check on the monster’s location.
It seems like the monster has stopped rampaging.
In a loud voice that echoed from across the room,
“So… You got away…
But I know you’re still in here!”
The monster laughed.
“You aren’t as stupid as you look.
After realizing you couldn’t run forever.
You threw away your phone… Using it as bait..!
To hide in the darkness, and evade me!
What a risky, but impressive display of quick-wit!”
The monster gave me unnecessary praise.
Honestly, it didn’t feel too good hearing that from the very thing that was trying to kill me.
“Perhaps… You’ve already deduced the very nature of this room.
Which is why you’re hiding in the dark.”
Fuck…
This monster is intelligent.
“But… If you can still hear my voice.
That means you haven’t switched locations yet.
You haven’t unveiled all the rules about this room!”
Then, I heard a metallic crunch.
That was probably the sound of the monster breaking my phone.
“But now your phone is out of your cards.
What now?
How will you navigate this darkness?”
Fucker… I already know that!
But I can still-
“Perhaps you could be fortunate, and still find another flashlight in the supplies, despite all the darkness.
But after you flash it, I’ll immediately chase after you again.
And don’t think that I’ll fall for that trick again…
I’ll be tracking your footsteps instead!”
Shit.
I’m fucked.
“What will you do now?
This is the most fun I’ve had in awhile!
Do your best to struggle!
I hope you don’t give up so easily…”
Then the monster laughed,
“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA…”
Insane bastard.
“See you soon~!”
Then the room went silent again.
Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!
Why hadn’t it been one of those stupid monsters from those cliché horror movies?!
What can I do?!
The darkness is too much, that even my eyes can’t adapt to it.
Then if I make too much noise looking for a flashlight, it’ll alert the monster.
Added onto that, is there even an emergency exit in this shithole?
Fuck…
Literally…
I’m…
Checkmated…
…
A-Am I gonna die here?
All alone.
In the dark?
Premature tears swelled up in my eyes.
I don’t want to be in the dark anymore!
Damn it!!!
…
Again, near the rack.
It was the little boy again.
Staring at the boy, I wondered…
Is this little boy a part of my imagination?
What if I'm already going insane?
And all of this is my imagination?
Honestly… That would be better than acknowledging the reality of my situation…
If I’m going to die anyway, I want to at least have a conversation with someone.
I stared at the boy.
Please.
Speak to me.
I whispered quieter than before,
“Hey, what’s your name?”
But the boy only continued staring.
…
This kid…
But right now.
He’s all I’ve got.
“Hey.”
This time.
“Hey kid.”
I asked something important…
“Am I…”
…
“Am I going to die here?”
…
Then all of a sudden.
The boy phased through the shelving rack.
Now, I could fully see his appearance.
He had long white hair, white eyes, and he had scars on his neck.
The scars… It seemed like it came from a knife.
He was wearing a brown bib overall, with a light-blue short-sleeved shirt.
Weirdly, he seemed to be of foreign descent based on his facial features.
A long nose, pointy eyes, and was slightly tanned.
He walked over to me and stood over me.
This time, I was staring deeply into his eyes.
He smiled.
Then, he spoke to me for the first time,
“Yes.”
But…
“You’ll be dying here.”