Basil gets Lost in Ikea (An OMORI fanfiction)

The Lights Go Out (oh no)

Basil leaned against a tall wardrobe and panted, staring up at the fog-covered ceiling of the furniture store in defeat. It took a bit of time, but Basil was finally able to accept the reality of his situation. There was no exit. No escape from this place. Basil would just have to live out the rest of his days here, roaming the endless halls of Ikea with no goal in mind, forced to become an empty shell of his former self as time cracked away the remaining fragments of hope that he still held within.

What a terrible realization. Perhaps we shouldn't dwell on it for too long. Amongst all of the negativity that Basil's been feeling, he did discover something that was a bit relieving. Humans. Well, not quite... but they were close enough. The human-like creatures wore regular Ikea uniforms, and they looked normal from behind. From what Basil has seen, they're pretty docile. The only things that differentiated them from your average people were their faces, or lack thereof. They were completely faceless, and it scared the hell out of Basil. But with everything going on, at least he wasn't completely alone.

The blond glanced down at the small clock he had set beside him. It was 11:58 now. 11:58 P.M, to be exact. Seeing as it was getting late, Basil decided that he should probably set up camp somewhere. Either that or find something like a bag to transport his necessities. He didn't really have any yet but he figured he should look for some later. Basil didn't really feel like dying of starvation or dehydration...

Basil picked up the clock and looked around. From what he can remember, Ikea has a food court. Most of them, or maybe it was all of them? He wasn't sure. Basil was never the biggest Ikea fan, but he did remember hearing Polly talk about it once. Maybe if this store has one, he could possibly grab a bite to eat from there and stock up.

As Basil planned his next course of action, he gazed off into the distance. He often did this when lost in thought. Basil would tune out the outside world and focus on the worries he felt so much that Polly was used to helping him out with it. Although it took a bit of effort to snap him out of it sometimes, the sudden dimming of the lights around him were quick enough to pull him out of it this time.

"Wha..." Basil uttered as the lights flickered off, submerging him in a sea of darkness. The faint glow of lamps that littered the aisles were like jellyfish, illuminating the darkened crevices and gaps around Ikea. Unlike the mystical and captivating feeling that jellyfish gave off, the lamps caused Basil's fear to skyrocket as they revealed one of the human-like figures bolting right at him. The blank canvas where it's face should have been remained unmoving, but the tenseness of it's body gave away it's intentions. Although it hasn't done anything yet, Basil knew it meant danger.

"The store is now closed. Please exit the building," It calmly spoke. Basil gripped his clock and forced his legs to move. Basil wasn't the most athletic, but fear tends to motivate people. He ran through the dim store, tripping over various objects in his way. He ignored the bruises and injuries that began to form on his legs and continued running.

"The store is now closed. Please exit the building," The entity repeated. It's movements seemed perfectly calculated as it darted towards Basil.

As Basil rushed through the building, he got an idea. He wasn't sure if it would work, but it was his best chance at survival. He glimpsed around at the dark store, searching for something he could possibly hide himself in. Through the soft light of a bedroom lamp, he spotted a closet. It was considerably small but Basil decided that it would do.

Basil looked over his shoulder to check if the entity was still after him, and sure enough, it was. He made a mental note of where the closet was located and began to run around in random directions. The entity followed, seemingly determined to catch the boy in his tracks. Basil huffed in frustration and continued onward.

Weariness grasped at Basil's body, yet he continued to flee. The human-like thing had fallen behind, and Basil decided to put his plan into action. Carefully, he crouched down underneath a desk. He kept a close eye on the creature and began to crawl around on the floor. His destination was the closet he had noticed previously. Basil wasn't much of a fighter, and he had absolutely no chance of taking this thing down, so hiding was his best option.

As Basil slowly crawled towards the closet, he stopped each time the creature moved in his direction, afraid it might notice where he was. Once it walked away, Basil would continue on. The cold floor against his scrapped knees made Basil wince, but now wasn't the time to focus on them. He needed to get somewhere safe, or at least closed off. If that meant enduring a bit of pain, then so be it.

Once Basil reached the closet, he glanced over at the creature to ensure it couldn't see him. The uniform wearing-creature wasn't too far, yet wasn't too close either. Although there was a slim chance it might notice him, Basil thought it was now or never. He gently grabbed the closet door and quietly pushed it aside. After glancing over at the creature again to double-check, Basil stepped into the closet and closed the door.

The relief he felt after making it inside washed over him like a waterfall. As long as he remained quiet, he was safe. Safe from whatever that thing wanted with him. He frowned to himself. That was very tiring, and knowing that there are plenty of other creatures just like that one, Basil knew that wasn't the last time he'd experience something like that.