﹕﹒ 𝙇𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 ﹗ ᴬⁱᵇ ‧₊

〖 GAME 〗 ²

Heiya was frozen too. Her mouth hung open for a second before she shut it again, swallowing hard. What the fuck. She was horrifed. "Is he... dead?"

Screams echoed from deeper inside the cemetery. Running footsteps. Lamps glowing to life. Panic in every breath.

"We have to—" Aiko started.

But she realized, where were they supposed to go? They can't escape through the gate, and there was no way out OTHER than that gate. They were stuck.

They ducked behind a large, stone statue, slipping behind an even larger tomb beside it. The marble was cold against Aiko's back. She pressed into it anyway, trying to calm her breathing, trying to think.

This wasn't a dream.

Heiya's hands were trembling slightly as she reached down, gripping the edge of the tomb for grounding. Neither of them spoke. Neither of them had to.

Then Heiya's voice cut through the silence, barely above a whisper. "I don't wanna be here anymore..." It came out raw, scared. She didn't want to die like this. Not here. Not so young.

"Just, we have to wait till this is over. Then we leave." Aiko didn't know what she was saying, or what she ment by leaving. She had no idea where they would end up if they actually got out of this cemetery.

Then. click Heiya's lamp turned on.

The soft orange glow lit her face in a way that made Aiko's blood run cold. Aiko stared at Heiya she was speechless, Aiko then snapped, "Go." she hissed. "RUN." It killed her to say it, to send her off alone. But what other choice did she have? If they both stayed, they'd both die. If Heiya had any chance of surviving, she had to take it now.

Heiya looked at her with wide, panicked eyes, but she obeyed. Her legs took over before her brain could think, feet hitting against the ground as she tore off into the cemetery. She ran far away, her mind scrambling. She tried her hardest to pick up the pace but, this was the fastest she could run. Heiya kept looking over her shoulder, she saw the ghost still right behind her, following.

Heiya covered her mouth to prevent her from screaming, then Heiya had bumped into Something. Someone? Which made her heart stop for a millisecond.

Aiko couldn't even breathe. Her stomach twisted as she watched Her run. Her hand clutched her own lamp tightly, hoping Heiya was okay. Each breath coming out ragged. She watched until Heiya's light dimmed, until it transferred to someone else. She let out a big sigh of relief knowing she was okay.

Still, Aiko couldn't stay where she was. The longer she sat still, the more convinced she became that something would find her. She slipped into the dark again, moving fast, weaving through stones and fog, trying to be quiet. The cemetery stretched endlessly. Every statue, every tree looked the same. It was too dark to see properly, but she didn't care. Seeing nothing was better than being seen.

The cemetery was massive. Every grave and tree looked the same in the growing dark. But she couldn't stop. Not now. She ducked behind a tall tree, crouching low.

Two figures dashed through the space just ahead. She heard a distant shout, a male. "NAOYA!"

Aiko heard fast footsteps approaching her hiding spot, then another voice,

"No, no!" A girl whimpered, running straight for Aiko's tree.

Aiko's mind spun fast, suddenly she had an idea to cover the light from being seen. Her fingers curled around her hoodie. Without even thinking, she yanked it off and began wrapping her own lamp tightly inside it, hiding the glow.