Broken Sky

47| The Voice of a Stranger

I snap my head back toward Lais, but she's gone. What the hell?

I can only stand here, still trying to absorb what's really happening. It's getting hard to breathe, and it's getting colder with every second passing by.

The rain is drenching my body -- I can feel my damp shirt and jacket sticking onto my skin.

Darkness keeps enveloping the entire city, until I can't see anything. It's now pitch black, and I feel like a blind person as I try to step forward, lost.

My heart races even more the longer Lais isn't in my sight. My worry escalates -- I'm becoming a paranoid -- especially after hearing such words from the stranger.

I'll make sure to teach him a very good lesson if I ever find out who he is.

"Lais!" I shout and hear my own voice echo in the dark.

Then a double door suddenly comes into view. I frown but step toward it nonetheless. Halting right in front it, I wonder where it will lead me to.

Standing here alone seems like a bad idea -- nothing will happen if I allow myself to be stuck in this void, so I decide to open the door, pushing it with my hands.

The sound of the door creaking open is so disturbing. It's painfully slow and makes the hair on the back of my neck stand.

Cold air blows through my face, and I shudder. Suddenly, I wonder if I still want to continue.

But I do, stepping my foot through the door. The other side isn't pitch black anymore but is still dark.

I travel my eyes around the place. It looks like an abandoned warehouse, so dusty.

I walk further in and stop when something catches my sight.

There on the cold cement lies Lais. She's unconscious. My heart skips a beat, and the more I get closer to her, the more fear engulfs me.

No. No. No.

By the time I tower her, my whole body is shaking. Lais lies in a pool of blood.

I bend down to her, my eyes wide in shock.

Someone has slit her throat. And that's where the blood is coming from.

"No," I cry, my hand trembling as I touch her. "Lais!" I shout, picking her body up before pulling her close to my chest. "No, please--" I choke.

But she just lies limp in my arms, lifeless. I shake my head wildly, feeling numb all over my body. My heart feels like being stabbed by a thousand knives.

My hands are now stained with her blood, while the world around me feels like crumbling. I feel death, so close to me, approaching me.

It's better to die than to watch her like this.

"No!" I sit up on my bed, knocking the headboard behind me. My chest is heaving up and down -- I'm panting like I just ran a marathon.

My heart hurts like hell.

I stare down at my shaking hands. There's no blood.

Was I dreaming?

"Baby, what's wrong?" Lais' voice, filled with concern, snaps me out of my trance.

I jerk, snapping my head toward her, and see her staring at me with a worried look. She's lying beside me, on my bed, both of us topless, the blanket covering the lower parts of our bodies.