Wherever you go, they see you.
Whenever you blink, they're there.
They were here before you were born.
And when you die they'll be with you in The Underground.
-
San Francisco is a city run on blood and held together by secrets. Decades ago, large...
The passage of time was a fickle beast to track, but at least an hour had to have crept by as the two skulked about the manor. There were no more thundering footsteps to scare them away from certain rooms, so they simply had to keep their heads down and ears to the ground.
It was with this cautious approach to running away that Vivian noticed the first of several abnormalities.
The manor in this in-between place was dim. The faint glow that seemed to permeate the area was ever-present and allowed them to navigate by sight, but it never felt like any given shadow could be properly explored.
That made the man-shaped silhouette of all-absorbing darkness perched in the corner particularly unusual.
Vivian stopped, whipping her head back to eye the bizarre anomaly. "Can you see that?" she asked, her quiet voice bringing Miles to a stop in front of her.
He followed her eyes, shaking his head after a moment of staring. "I don't think so."
She squinted at it further, certain that particular corner was too dark and too humanoid to be a trick of the light. As she was staring it moved suddenly, its arms and head cocking at peculiar angles before it took off down the hallway then vanished altogether.
The specific brand of all-encompassing, void-like darkness sparked a feeling of familiarity in her. "I-," she started, glancing sideways at Miles and his very normal brown eyes. "Uh, never mind. I think this place is just freaking me out a bit. Let's keep going."
Miles gave her another curious look but continued his anxiety-riddled tour of the manor.
Rất tiếc! Hình ảnh này không tuân theo hướng dẫn nội dung. Để tiếp tục đăng tải, vui lòng xóa hoặc tải lên một hình ảnh khác.
The second anomaly to cross Vivian's path was the appearance of a very bright and very familiar soul.
Brienne.
She paused to do a double-take, squinting at the golden light with a growing hesitance. Miles squinted at her in turn.
"Is everything alright?" Miles asked, glancing between the kitchen they had just entered, and the hallway they had come from.
"I'm not sure. Give me a second."
Vivian approached Brienne's soul with slow and methodical steps, the familiarity of it offering little comfort. She appeared to be crouched on the ground, cradling something in her arms, but her head lifted occasionally. Maybe she was talking to someone.
Miles' foot tapped against the sleek wooden floor. "I'm sorry Miss, but we must keep moving. They always know where we are," he urged in hushed whispers, each word punctuated with an anxious look over his shoulder.
To the detriment of them both, Vivian paid him no mind. "What are you holding...?" she asked the soul that couldn't answer her, peering down at the golden arms. There was a subtle quiver to them, the very human-like shake of fear or sadness.
"Miss Flores..."
The way his voice trailed off seemed natural, but the resounding silence after was anything but. She could feel the friendly hum of his soul vanish from behind her, and she was certain she knew what powerful entity had appeared in his stead.
Her heart quickened its beats, the pounding sending a rush of deafening blood through her ears, but despite her anxiety, she remained focused on Brienne. Her eyes wandered over the back of the golden soul in front of her, the humanoid shape curling in and pressing its head into whatever she held. Are you holding someone?
"Hello, Miss Flores," the twins called, its voice a mockery of the mild-mannered man it had replaced. "You're not very good at running."
With each word the monstrosity of mashed together souls grew closer. Her heart thundered in her chest, but she didn't turn to look back at them, instead diving forward, her arms outstretched for Brienne's vivid soul.
Her fingers, hooked in desperation, sank through the back of the glowing, humanoid form. Her heart sank with them until they fell just far enough to reach through the soul itself and touch whatever Brienne had been cradling.
Vivian's eyes snapped open, the world around her bright, fresh, and welcoming, compared to where she had come from, at least. Relief flooded her chest, the sensation of being flesh and blood a warm and comforting one. Brienne held her close, tears streaming down her face and mouth agape in sorrowful agony. Well, now it was agape in shock.
