Earworm

Ch. 4: Intruder

I tried something new for this drawing. Not sure if I like it, maybe I'll do it again.

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"Welcome, listener! Thank you for calling in! Any requests or quest-"

Yoru quickly turned the sound way down, heart thumping in their chest like a power drill. They peeked through the crack in the door again, silently begging that the intruder hadn't heard.

The intruder's head snapped around, looking them dead in the eye.

"Hello? Listener?" Present Mic's voice was filled with confusion. Yoru quickly slammed the door shut all the way, grabbing their desk chair and propping it under the doorknob.

"H-help! It's me, Mic! F-from the bookstore!" Yoru cried out desperately, their knees nearly buckling from just the shock of the whole situation.

"Oh, hey! Yoru, was it? Are you okay?" His confusion melted into concern. "I heard a banging sound-"

"There's someone in my house! Please, track the call, find me, anything! P-please... just help me..." They were terrified at the idea of their mother and little brother coming home to see... who, or rather, what was in the house. "M-my mom's going to be here any minute... I-I don't know if I have time to warn-"

There was a horrifying crunching sound, as the intruder squeezed and twisted their way under the door. "Put the phone down, kid..."

Yoru saw him push his head out, glaring at them from behind a ski-mask. He nearly looked like a robber from a children's cartoon, but a hundred times scarier and more real. They kicked the chair out of the way, grabbing the doorknob, yanking the door open.

The movement of the door opening hit the intruder's protruding upper-body, slamming them against the wall. Yoru jumped over him, running towards the front door. They were barely even able to register Present Mic's concerned shouting from their phone.

"Yoru! Respond to me! What's hap-"

Yoru's phone disappeared from their hand. The intruder was standing right behind them, breathing heavily.

"I told you to put the damn phone down, kid!" He growled, throwing the phone against the wall. It shattered, making Yoru jump.

"T-the heroes are on their way... i-if you hurt me, you're going to get an even harsher sentence..." Yoru replied, reaching for the door handle. He grabbed their wrist.

"That's if I get caught, idiot. I've squeezed through tighter situations than this," The intruder dug his nails into their arm. "And I'm not alone."

"W-what? I didn't hear anyone else-"

"Shut up, you stammering annoyance!" He grabbed them by the hair with his other hand, slamming their head against the wall. They felt a bit dizzy, but could tell that he wasn't aiming to injure with that action, but rather to scare them. They felt a bruise form on the side of their face.

"Why... are you robbing us? We aren't even rich or anything..." They managed to ask, trying to focus their vision once more.

"Robbing? No, no, you've got us wrong..." The corners of his eyes crinkled in a twisted, amused sort of way. "...I'm surprised you don't know why I'm here."

"What?" Yoru tried to struggle against him, but he only strengthened his grip.

"Are you sure this is the right one?" He asked, not quite looking at them. They glanced back, seeing another person, this time a woman. She didn't wear a ski mask like the man, but she looked even scarier than him.

"Yes. I knew I recognized that scent," She said, her nose wrinkling slightly. There were burn scars over her eyes, and she seemed to be blind. She was somehow facing exactly at Yoru, which made them shiver. "How peculiar..."