Devil Says 'H!'

Chapter 28

As much as the pressure increased, Skylar suddenly felt it reverse and the pressure started to decrease. Grinning contentedly, she thought that the problem was solved, but with a scrunch in her eyebrows she felt the blister increase its velocity. Not being able to stand her ground anymore, Skylar felt herself being raised off her feet and she started to swirl with the blister that was surrounding her. She shouted and screamed. She flailed her arms around her. She even tried to hit everything which was closer to her, but nothing worked. She was not able to see anything ahead of the blister, and Skylar realized that not only the pressure was reducing, but also it was continuing to reduce to an even more unbearable level as she felt the blood rush on her veins slow down and felt her skin start to turn blue. She knew that this was not good, and Skylar shut her eyes in fear mixed with anxiety, as she felt the blister swirl around the vacuum that was forming around her. Skylar gasped as she suddenly felt herself pulled through the vacuum as though a different type of magnet which was large enough to attract humans was pointed towards her. Her voice leaving her throat, Skylar felt herself falling down through the pressurized chute.

Falling... falling...

Skylar gasped as the surprising power released her, and she fell loudly onto the marble floor, landing painfully on her ankle. The thumping contact rang loudly through the cold evening, broken only by the sound of a breaking ankle.

"Ooow," Skylar cried as pain shot through her leg. She heard an echoing crack and felt her ankle break beneath her feet and she knew that this time it hurt harder. Skylar composed herself, biting her lips, and trying to forget the pain, she slowly started to look around her. The room she was in felt surprisingly familiar, and Skylar wondered when she had visited such a room. She looked up and searched the hole from where she had fallen, and where the pressurized chute had ended, but she found none. The glass ceiling looked the same and not even a scratch was visible over it. She stared ahead, and was pulled back in surprise as she noticed a girl who was her spitting image staring back through her. She gasped and lost her balance once more, her palm slipping through the marble and she fell back loudly, scraping her elbow over the thin sharp edge of the marble, her head banging behind her. She wailed in agony, as she saw her jacket was useless, as the cut had gone deep, without damaging the jacket. Skylar held her head in pain. She shut her eyes tight and tried to erase the pain in vain. Even though it was quite odd, for a girl where mysterious things were happening around the clock, it was nothing. She turned her head up and looked at the girl once more. She stared unblinkingly, and saw that the girl above was also staring unblinkingly at her.

Wait a minute. She looked just like her. Oh no! She was her!

With a gasp, Skylar realized that she was staring at her own reflection. The glass ceiling was actually a mirror and Skylar shook her head, wondering if anyone could be stupider than her. Overcoming the first phase of surprise, Skylar turned around her, and stared around her once more. The room looked very familiar, as though she had visited it every day. Even though it took a great level of courage mixed with pain from her side, Skylar stood up slowly, not putting too much weight over her broken ankle and she slowly stood up, standing straight, or as almost straight as she could be with a damaged ankle.

Skylar slowly turned her head to the sides and saw that the room was shaped like a pentagon, and she squinted her eyebrows wondering how that could be. The interior of the room was quite simple, and she stared at the golden walls around her. The plain empty walls had each a large painted canvas decorating it. Skylar squinted her eyes, and walked forwards towards the wall that was facing her. With a surprise she took a step back, as she saw an image that was all too familiar for her.

It was the exact same image that she had seen in the book Ed had brought back with him while rescuing her and hadn't he said that the images were in that mansion as well?