Beyond The Lost

12

My mind went elsewhere as she walked alongside me, nearly tripping when she stopped in place and let go of my hand. I took a step back and looked up from my feet, finding myself in front of what looked like a treehouse. "Go ahead." She nudged me forward. "I said I'd lead you to him."

"But-...he's in there?" I stared at the treehouse. It seemed to be teetering on the very edge of the branches, ready to plummet at any second. "Why aren't you coming with me?"

"Look at it." I glanced upwards to a few of the windows, a face hard to make out standing behind one of them. "Do you want to go in?"

"No." I stared closely at the face, watching its eyes follow me. It's not the face of someone I know. "Not particularly."

Gentle music can be heard from inside as I move closer, which only makes me stop in place again. I turned to look back at Mary, who's watching me intensely. 

"Is this a trick?" I asked her. Judging by her expression, she's expecting something.

"I don't want to cause you harm. I just want to watch it happen."

I swallowed. "This place is bad isn't it?"

"Does it matter? If you want him back, you're going in." She smiled. "I'll wait here for you."

"Can I call for you if I need help?"

She huffed a small laugh. "If it makes you feel better, you can. I cannot promise I'll come to your aid."

Leaves crunch beneath my feet as I move forward, rolling my eyes at her lack of empathy. I reached the entrance in a matter of minutes, but I took my time before opening the hatch to climb in.

The door is made of wood, rotting and splintered at the edges. The paint is peeling off. I took a deep breath and slowly swung it open, climbing inside.

Once I rose to my feet, I realized it was much larger on the inside. A hallway of rooms stared back at me, seemingly never ending and without a single window in sight. Each wall is a splinter waiting to happen, pieces of the wood completely molded. The doors were untouched, clean.

"Victor?" I gently call out his name, my breath warm in the cold air. "Can you hear me?"

"Eve?" Nothing moved, but I heard my name spoken through a door to my right. Not a sound, not even a breath was heard afterwards.

The word sounded drawn out, as if spoken from a drunk person. As if someone is new to speaking.

If it's Victor, he's hurt for sure. I take a cautious step toward the door and grab the handle. "Victor?"

I hear someone crawl toward me, placing a hand on the other side of the door to make it shake a bit. "It's me. Open the door."

"How do I know it's you? Tell me something Victor would know."

Two fingers crawled under the edge of the door. "Damn you, just open it!"

It sounds like him but I can't be sure. His words are too slurred and it could be anyone impersonating him. "Just- prove it!"

"I can't think of anything! You seriously can't tell the difference?!" He banged on the door. When I still didn't open it, I heard him sigh and stand up. "Great. I'm gonna die." He laughed. "I'm gonna die because you can't open a goddamn d-"

I swung the door open, face to face with Victor. He was covered in deep claw marks, blood trickling down his chest and forehead. Scrapes had been smeared across his knees. He's pale, swaying back and forth. "What happened to you?" I can see two specifically deep cuts vertically down his abdomen, leaving me heavy with concern.