Built to Live

Chapter 3 - Part 4-6

The lady's humming was beautiful.

I gazed up at her as I lay nicely tucked in a bed with white sheets. She sat beside me at the edge, brush at hand, carefully brushing my autumn locks. Her soothing voice matched perfectly with her natural Marionette beauty. Her lips were like the color of peaches, and her hair flowed over one shoulder like a waterfall of raven feathers. I couldn't see the rest of her face above her sharp, small nose, but I bet her eyes were just as radiant.

My eyes looked past her; everything beyond seemed fuzzy and hard to see, but I could still see the shape of someone standing in the back. I tried squinting, but it did little to no help.

The lady in front of me turned her head around as if listening to whatever the person behind her was saying. Their voice muffled, making it difficult to tell what was being told to her.

"Please, can't we wait until he comes? I promised him—" the lady said. I don't know who she was referring to. The person was muffling something again, and I could see the lady's expression on her lips change. She was worried, but I don't know why. I watched as she dug through her white coat. She took out a handkerchief and carefully wiped my cheek. It was that strange ooze again, now scraped along the once-clean fabric.

"This will all be over soon..."

I promise.

-----------------------------

My eyes fluttered open; my vision was temporarily blurry. A blotch of light loomed above me, shifting faintly. I turned my head to the side, my gaze landing on a large figure lying beside me. Blinking rapidly, my sight cleared enough to recognize the body of the maniac creature. His chest barely moved—or didn't move at all. I couldn't tell if he was alive or dead.

Looking upward, the blotch of light sharpened into—a full moon. Its pale glow spilled through a jagged hole above the floorboards where the creature and I had fallen through. It illuminated the top floor of the warehouse, casting long, sharp shadows into the desolate space. After a beat, I finally registered the scene around me, the weight of realization crashing down.

Oh no.

No.

It was already night. The sun had set. The Vermin were prowling—and I was far from safety.

I hitched a groan as I tried to raise myself. My limbs trembled, and I couldn't move. Panic surged as I glanced down at my legs. One was damaged beyond repair, cracked open, and missing large chunks. A thick, black substance—my Void—oozed lazily around the fractured pieces. It slithered toward the scattered fragments of my leg, wrapping around them with purpose. Piece by piece, the substance drew them back, adhering them together slowly, meticulously. My mind raced. Was I controlling it, or was it acting of its own will?

Is this—some instinctual response, a natural need to repair me?

Shaking myself from the daze, I turned my head, scanning my surroundings. The moonlight illuminated only a small circle around me and the creature. Beyond it, the warehouse was shrouded in an impenetrable darkness. My breath caught; I knew what lurked within that black void outside this ring of light.

My eyes landed on the obsidian key, a few feet away from his motionless body. Strangely, a strong urge pulled me toward it, much more significant than my fear. I could flee right now and seek refuge until morning but for some reason...I couldn't ignore the key. Something about it demanded my attention. Why had the creature attacked me for it? What's so special about it? It's just a key.