The glistening night descends as the wind howls through the silence of the town. There doesn't seem to be anyone, or rather, anything inhabiting the ruined and pale streets. It was all silent...
But since when can silence be considered a sign of security...?
She couldn't have thought of that when she had to compact herself between the interior of the walls like a mouse peeking from the holes and scampering from the inside.
She was sweating from exhaustion and was panting from fear. She remained in a crouched position on the wooden floor as she breathed in a high effort, almost getting dust in her mouth as she inhaled. The space between the walls from the inside is very dark but not so cramped, but for anyone who has claustrophobia, it would be a strong sense of agitation that no one would want to bear.
not even Lu...
She could hear the vague ambiance of the inner walls. It made her feel anxious but not so much as fearful. It was so dark that she could not even see herself. She felt hopeless but still determined.
"I'm going to be alright. I need to believe in myself.... While I still can." But when it comes to determination, there is also desperation. Bravery can never be generated without the sensitivity of fear. Lu couldn't deny that her experience in this world had already been terrifying enough, and she couldn't ask for it to tone it down. That's just physically impossible. But the one detail she can't renounce is her bravery and determination.
She feels around her back pocket and takes out her flare. She pulls off the cap, using it to ignite a red flame from the stick, giving her visibility in the darkness. She has no clue why, but she always likes to see the glow of red as it feels like a wonderful color to embrace. It even felt so warm like a candle: But don't touch it or you'll burn yourself, of course.
But now is not the time to be thinking of it. She begins walking further where the interior of the walls leads. The sounds of her footsteps echo as her bare feet step and bonk on the dry floorboards. She pushes herself past through misaligned wooden beams to find her way out, carefully not getting the flame near the dry wood as Lu could risk setting a fire. Or that's what she thinks, considering that this is a dangerous tool she's wielding as her light source. Luckily, the young girl saw some light over a board that blocked her path within the space between two wooden beams.
She extinguishes her flare by tapping the burning end on the floor and stepping on the mark to prevent a growing fire. The young girl then climbs over the board, pulling herself up. She found a large mouse hole, big enough for her to fit through. She stood right in front of the hole, with the outdoor blue light managing to illuminate the makeshift entryway, indicating there must be a window from this room or hallway. It's very unclear.
But before exiting straight through, she needs to ensure that the coast is free from enormous threats. Or, whatever he was.
I'm a bit nervous, or more than a bit.... I... I don't know how I can even make it out.... But he'll get me if I stay here!
She was hesitant to even poke her head out as she feared something would pop out of nowhere and give her a hair-raising jumpscare. But it mustn't be all that bad, right? She then inserts her stick in her back pocket, again, still wondering if it's safe to come out.
"Just, one peak...And-"
Before Lu could even finish her sentence, a tiny mouse appeared out of nowhere and jumped right in front of the girl.
She let out a fearful gasp as she was startled, falling back on her rear end. She held her chest where her beating heart was, as the tiny mouse crawled into the hole, and they both locked eyes for a moment. After a few seconds, the little critter looked to its right and then scampered away, leaving her still shaken slightly from the startle.
"Ugh, rats, or mice, I don't even know... I just want to get out of here!"
She crawled a little further with her palms and knees on the floor, slowly poking her head out of the hole only slightly, and looked in both directions at a small hallway with a purple-colored carpet, potted plants, and a row of windows that showed the outside.
"Good, no one's here." She said,
Lu carefully crawled out of the hole in the wall that had a dark red velvet color wallpaper with hexagon patterns that was partially torn. She brushed off any wooden dust that landed on her gray sweater with black sleeves and stepped into the middle of the hallway.
She can hear more audible ambiance of the hall and the muffled wind rustling from outside with the windows being struck by the breeze. It was undeciding for her to figure out which way to go. To the left? Right? She doesn't know. Puzzling.
Hmm.. I can't go through the windows. It's too high. I don't think they even open or go anywhere outside...
She scrunches her face slightly as she urges to figure out what to do. Without thinking, she decided to head to the left. Or what she thought was left anyway. She's a bit enigmatic when it comes to learning, which is left and which is right. She sped and walked forward until she stopped right before the end of the hall, seeing a vent at the end, at her level, and a large door on her left, with a mysterious painting hanging right next to it. It caught her eye due to how mysterious it was...
Huh... What is that black cloud thingy? It has a little red in it... weird!
Never mind that it's time to go now!
Feeling more determined, she tucks her hair inside the collar of her sweater and pulls up her hood over her head only revealing her hair at the front and her face in the small shadow of the hood. A little habit she has grown whenever she is out and ready to venture, but whenever it is time to rest, she pulls it down when needed. Strange, yet a comprehensive habit, especially for an eleven-year-old.
Lu grips on and leans back to pull off the grille. It creaks and breaks off with a clank on the floor after she falls back. She gets up and crawls through the ventilation shaft in a crouched posture as she walks through the shaft. Even though it was fairly noticeable already, the bloating thin metal sound of the vent that she was making did put her on edge since she was used to not creating any attractions. The vents did not do her any justice, especially how dimly lit it is, but she wanted to conserve the energy of her flare in case for absolute reasons. It didn't take her long until she fell downwards in a short leveled height, and after landing was another vent cover that was a few steps away.
She takes a deep breath. Inhale. Then exhale.
"Ok, I just need to find a door, or a window, or whatever can get me out of here." I don't know what else is here...
She walks up to the cover and shoves it open with both of her hands. She falls face forward as the cover falls on the carpeted floor. It almost hurt, but she felt alright. She looks up as she gently brings herself onto her feet. A narrow space with a large boarded roof above her can only give her enough room to at least crouch slightly to still stand up. I think I'm under a table or desk.
She adjusts her hood, pulling it forward and slowly walking towards and stopping before the ledge of the supposed table or desk. She could not make out anything as of now until she got closer: Only the red velvet carpeted floor, and what she believed, white boxes on the floor and other desks from an estimated single foot height.
"Hey!" she whispered and smirked gently as she noticed the bottom of the door on her right-hand side. A little far away from where she was, but it was no problem. She can only suspect it was a door, considering it's shaped like one from her limited perspective.
"Yes. Freedom!"
Just when Lu was about to come out, she jolted straight back with a gasp as she landed on her bottom when a brown western boot stepped very close to where she was. "Ahh...." she whispered. What was that..? She got very startled and had to cover her mouth to not make any more noise. The boot stayed in place for a moment until another boot stepped forward, and they both turned to face the girl's direction. She could hear grunting and low-pitched vocal noises like when an old man was groaning in irritation, and what sounded like paper and pencils skidding on the desktop above.
It felt like someone knew where she was as if they were staring at her. And it felt like they were staring, with menacing glares, even though whoever it was didn't know about the girl's presents yet, it gave the idea of it.
No, no, no, no, not now, please!!! The girl felt hopeless now, and there went her chance to escape. She didn't know what to do other than wait impatiently for what the boots would do next. Would they leave, step aside, or move to another spot? Who knows.
Why does it have to be now? Argh!..
Complaining is not a solution to the circumstance at the moment. Lu needs to find her way out, even if it's life-threatening.
The pair of brown western boots then turned away as each footstep thumped on the floor with the golden buckles clinking after each step. She observed them closely before heading into action. The boots were then raised from the ground with a little click as a light was now turned on, along with a jumbling and static sound, and music started playing from a radio. Whoever it was must be now sitting on a chair in front of a desk and listening to horrible and distorted music to bear. The sound emitted some sort of buzzing, warping sound effect as if the frequency was struggling to comply with the radio.
"Mmm, what is that? It's hurting my ears!"
Lu tries her best to ignore the strange music and pokes out further to get a better view of the room. She sees the door on her right as she suspects, with a long countertop desk right in front of her and closes against the wall with the row of windows. It looks like an office because of the usual supplies and lamps on top. When she looked to her left, she saw him: The man she had been avoiding, sitting on his chair, scribbling away on his desk that was adjacent to the room while listening to the radio. Three desks took up three walls, and only one side had windows revealing the outside, which was supposedly nighttime at this moment. There was an open grate way high above and right next to the door and almost aligned with the desk at the windows that was close enough to the grate. She could make her escape by getting on the desk and taking a leap through the grate. As simple as that. Or so it seems.
I think I only have one chance, I can't screw it up...
She checks her surroundings once again. The man was still occupied on his desk with his radio. He was humming away with a tune that he enjoyed. Lu slowly emerges from under the desk and makes her way to the one that was at the windows, crouching while walking, and glancing at the man with dreadful fear as she tries not to make a sound.
She gulps in discomfort and hears her heart throbbing in her ears.
I hate this, I hate this so much!
Not once did she utter a single word as she walked. Only her thoughts could speak out loud. The radio may be taking up his attention, but who knows if he can hear even the littlest sounds that an ant would make. She could be exaggerating, but for good reason. She made it to the desk and very gently pulled out the bottom drawer to give her enough height to reach the ledge since the drawer handles were only knobs that she couldn't climb on. It only made slight scraping sounds, but it felt like she would get caught just by a soft cushion-like tug. She was that desperate. Lu then carefully stands on the massive stack of paperwork in the drawer, it creaks only slightly, but every noise puts her on edge.
Shut up! I don't want to get caught!
She was able to grab the ledge of the desk and with great effort, while still keeping silent, she pulled herself up and on the desktop. She looked to the side to check up on the man: he hadn't noticed anything as of now. Good. She turns back around and heads towards the grate, slowly walking and avoiding the scattered pencils and trinkets with paper files underneath. Her heart was still racing, and her palms became sweaty from the intense anxiety. But she suddenly stopped as something had caught her attention. A document that had someone's name written on it. A name that she was far too familiar with and even made her fear vanish in a second. Her name...
Sisi...
Was she here? Was she in this place like me?.. Is she in this world?
More questions come, and things that are unknown. Could it be?
She suddenly then snapped out of her thoughts when she heard the man fiddling with the buttons and knobs of the radio, creating more static audio, as well as remembering that she needed to escape as soon as possible. Luckily for her, she could get close to the grate, and with a gentle running start, she leaped forward from the ledge and clutched onto the grate as she pulled herself in, escaping the dangerous scenario. Or so she thought. When Lu allows herself to fall over to the other side, she lands on top of an amplifier, causing it to fall from another amplifier that was sitting underneath it crashes down on a mini table where a computer monitor was, and it too crashed down, with the screen shattering into millions of pieces, and creating a loud sound.
Lu falls at the front of the door after losing her balance on the amplifier, and seeing the destruction is the worst thing imaginable. So much for being stealthy.
"Oh no, what have I done?" The girl's facial expression turns pale and into shock and despair as she brings herself up from her knees and looks at the mess while clutching her hands on her head with her heart beating rapidly.
"No, um, urgh... I need to hide! I'm gonna get caught!"
Suddenly, a loud and deep groan can be heard from the other side of the door, with thumping and intimidating footsteps alongside. Lu looks back at the door, and with fear, she runs into hiding, desperately trying to find a hiding spot and sees a long red couch at the corner of the room and runs to hide under, performing a baseball slide and lying on her belly until she waits for the threat to be gone after this.
Just wait until he's gone! don't move, don't speak, just wait!
The door to the office is forcefully pushed open, and out comes a tall man as he slowly uncoils his long and humongous fingers from the palms of his hands. Fingers that were as long as a school ruler were longer than regular rulers, if not more. They were skinny with the bones of each finger looking noticeable, and the knuckles cracking and groaning which made the young girl terrified to the core as she quivered and covered her mouth as tears slowly streamed down onto her cheeks from the horrifying sight.
It was too much for her to bear.
She couldn't redirect her attention away from his disfigured and skinny face with his brown handlebar mustache and curly beard concealing his widely grinning mouth, along with his bloated and jiggling lower torso that felt like his skinny legs were his only support, as they quivered only slightly, even though it doesn't even mean that the man is at all fearful. If anything, he enjoys feeding on fear. The man breathed heavily and made odd vocal noises in a low tone. He wriggled his fingers slightly as if he was hoping to catch anything that disrupted his occupation. The young girl could only watch in hopes that she wouldn't be spotted by the giant being, feeling goosebumps crawling on her skin. She hated being here and wanted to get out now and never come back. The man noticed the shattered monitor and the fallen amplifier and bent down to put the amplifier back into place and examined the monitor carefully so as not to pick up a single glass shard.
Lu expected the man to find a broom and dustpan to clean up the mess. Still, he simply put the computer back on the mini table and headed towards the display stands of musical instruments, where he took a guitar in his hands and started playing a song, strumming the strings with his enormous fingers and not even minding the mess that Lu created, behaving like he doesn't care.
What? Why would he leave that there? I, uh... Don't understand this world.
Lu examines the room quickly to make out any escape route she could find. She sees it as a music room with a piano in the right-hand corner from her perspective, a row of guitars sitting on stands, drums either set or stacked on top of one another and violins that are hung up on the left-hand wall next to the door. There were also towers of boxes at the corners, piles of paperwork, and even some scattered around, and a few desk tables that were warped out of shape. It's really strange how no one seems too bothered by this chaotic clutter. What is this world?
"This man must be a musician. I think that's why there's lots of music stuff here..." The Musician." Lu whispered.
The Musician stopped playing his guitar for a moment and then, using his long and skinny fingers, he reached over to the right, placed a music stand in front of him, and took out a notebook from his guitar case right next to him. He opened it, skimming page by page until he stopped on a specific one and resumed playing his guitar. It must be a song that he wrote. Lu looks around for another exit option. There doesn't seem to be anything else other than the door, which the handle was too high for her to reach, and there's also a keyhole below the handle, possibly requiring a key to open it.
She sighed silently from the overwhelming situation and clenched her hands behind her head.
This is going to be harder than I thought!
She looked up, feeling displeased, but then she jolted up slightly to focus on something. A small rolling stool that was close to the Musician's office door. "I can use that to get the door handle, but I don't know if I need a key. I'll figure it out."
Lu looked at the Musician to see he was still occupied by his guitar. He was also singing his song but without any lyrics and in a balance between a high and a low tone of vocals. She didn't want to get close to the horrific man, but she needed that stool to get out of there. It's now or never. She gathers up the best strength of bravery she has, acquainted with fear of course, and slowly crawls herself out from under the red couch. She crouches down and gently walks towards the stool. The red carpeted floor muted her slow footsteps, but she still felt on edge. Her heart began to race, pounding through her ears. But she's able to reach the stool even before she knows it. The Musician is still occupied with his guitar playing, and it amazes her that he can go on for more than three minutes without his enormous fingers being stressed. But it's also unsurprising due to the size of his fingers.
Ok, you got this. Just slowly and carefully... Lu then clutched her hands on the bar of the stool, and using all her might, she slowly pulled it to the door. The wheels were a little bit squeaky, but the Musician couldn't have even noticed as his hearing was primarily focused on the sound of his guitar.
Lu was still pulling the stool and was halfway close to the door when the Musician all of a sudden stopped playing, the young girl noticed this and stopped pulling the stool. Her body felt a shock wave of chills flowing through her nerves. It was too late at the last moment. The Musician made an unsettling grunting noise as his neck cracked slowly when he looked to his right grinning. In grave fear, Lu hid behind the stool, away from the Musician's sight before he could spot her. She almost could have given her position away if she had rested on the stool, but instead, she crouched and covered her head as her heart raced even more, with eyes and mouth clenched shut. The bone-cracking sound of his neck was so disturbing for her to bear. It sounded like an old man's sore back that made a cracking noise, only more nerve-racking.
The Musician scans the entire room behind his gold-framed and blue-tinted round glasses. He even rested the tips of his enormous fingers from his left hand on the ground, tapping with each one as if he was expecting something to come out. But he finds nothing out of the ordinary, not even noticing his stool had been moved. He turned back to the music stand, skimmed through some pages, and found a new song to play before he resumed playing his guitar again. Lu, silently, lets out a sigh of relief.
"I need to be more careful... I'm almost there."
She resumes pulling the stool, giving her last strength to get it close to the door. Finally, the stool is now in place. Well done!
Lu climbs on top of the stool and can reach the handle, but it doesn't move. It could only jiggle in place but not twist down.
Locked. I knew it... but where would the key be?
She looked back, and the slightly opened door of the office caught Lu's attention.
Maybe the key is in the study, on one of the desks.
She glances at the Musician, who is, once again, too occupied to notice what is going on from behind his back. Lu carefully climbed down from the stool and slowly walked her way to the office. She gently opened the door further just so she could fit through, and she would not have to worry about making too much noise as the man was in the other room, but she could not expect him to not enter here. She needed to act fast.
"Where's the key? Where would he put the key? Hmm..."
The young girl decided to check the desk where the man was. She ran towards the large chair and managed to climb up on the seat and reach the ledge of the desk. She pulled herself to the desktop and saw there were music sheets, a tray of guitar picks, pencils, and erasers, a reading lamp, and the radio that he had been listening to for a while before. She suddenly gasped.
"Hey, it's here, I knew it would be here..."
She finds the key hung up shortly above the desk and on the wall where a nail is pinned. She walks up to it and jumps up to push the key off the nail. She picks it up and carries it in her arms right after it falls, clinking on the desk.
"Alright, you're coming with me now!"
Lu then carefully fell off the desk and onto the seat of the chair. She then dropped the key down on the carpeted floor and clinked again in a muffled tone.
But then, trouble arose: Lu was placing herself in a little sitting position to carefully drop down to the floor when she stopped and heard loud footsteps from outside. She gasped and said, "Oh no!" She froze for a moment in shock but then quickly pushed herself down and landed on the floor, picking up the key with both arms and quickly sliding under the other desk from where she was hiding from the start, just in time, as the Musician had entered the office. Lu still has the key, held by her arm, as she lay on her stomach while watching the pair of brown western boots moving once again, step by step.
Oh, Jeezy, it's like he's following me everywhere I go.
The Musician moved around at the desks seemingly collecting some papers and supplies, since Lu could hear the sound of shuffling paper and the clattering of pens and pencils. He didn't suspect anything at all... Well. not yet. The Musician is not in the room where the door to her escape was, even though it was another obstacle. It could also be a blessing in disguise unless she could get back to the door and leave before being spotted.
Maybe when he's not looking at the door, I can get out of here. When he's over there, I can go.
The young girl's sight settled on the main desk where she got the key, hoping that the man would go over there and be stationed for a while to give her the chance to escape. Someone must've granted her wish as the Musician slowly walked over to his desk and stood in front of it, again, supposedly rearranging some stuff. Lu didn't take her chance until she was certain that the man stayed in place. More than ten seconds have passed, which says a lot about it. Probably she's feeling too paranoid to move. Gathering up her courage, she crawls out from under the desk, with the key in her arms, and slowly makes her way to the door. Luckily, the door was left open slightly, and it did not take her long for her to exit the office without being seen one bit. Her heart was still running a marathon due to how close she was to the man, the stiffness in his voice created a lot of anxiety for her.
She lets out a sigh of relief. "Yes. Freedom!"
The young girl ran towards the door, carrying the key, and the rolling stool was still there, thankfully. She pushed the key up on the stool and then climbed on top herself. She picked up the key, and the moment of truth came. She inserted the key in the keyhole and twisted it to the left. It clicked, and she then jumped up slightly to pull the handlebar down. It worked.
Yes, I can finally get out of here.
Only, her celebration was short-lived.
Lu held on to the door handle as it slowly swung open and only dropped down a second after letting go and landing on a three-step stairway leading down. Suddenly... a bell chime can be heard as the door opens fully. It startled Lu for a moment, but then she started to feel dreadful as she heard the concerning grunting sound again, which made her crouch down in surprise and look back for a moment, hearing distanced rapid and thumping footsteps and aggressive moaning...
And she knows now that it's time to - RUN!
She darted forward, running down the small stairs and straight forward down a cluttered hallway with walls crowded with boxes, crates, and amplifiers, along with musical instruments. The Musician ran towards the door and immediately saw Lu running for her life, and started giving chase. Lu passed through several shelves of items, dodging every tower of boxes and amplifiers, and ran up on guitars and pianos that formed a slant. Her heart was racing as she ran with all the strength and speed she had as the man, sprinting after her, shouted in his high but deep voice like a mad person knocking down the shelves of supplies and pushing over towers of amplifiers. He ran with his long and enormous fingers like a gorilla while creating chaos and then started crawling up on the top of the shelves and continued chasing from high above with his fingers lifting him high above for support. Every second, Lu felt as if the man was catching up and that soon she would get caught.
The Musician ended up getting himself caught with his hand getting stuck between a narrow shelf. He collapsed with another shelf of drums falling onto him with a loud crash of wood and metal. Not dead, but moreover stunned for now. The young girl kept sprinting as she breathed heavily still in a shock of dread, not even bothering to look back. She was too scared to even stop for a single moment, no matter how exhausted she was.
"Need to get out! I need to get out!"
She then took a right in the hallway when the central path was blocked by warped desks and cellos and then swiftly came to a halt. It was a dead end with a door in front, but it was all boarded up, and the fallen shelves of books reinforced it even more. There was nowhere else to go!
"Oh, no, no, no, now what?"
The Musician's echo can be heard. He's back on the move. She needs to hurry! Lu looked around, searching for an alternate route, until looking to her right, and saw a ventilation shaft close to the corner where the door was blocked. With so little time, she ran over to the vent and started pulling off the cover with all her might as The Musician's voice was becoming louder as he was coming fast, with anger in his behavior. Groaning, she tugged as best as she could,
"C'mon, c'mon, please open up!"
Falling back, Lu pulled off the cover and quickly got back up to crawl inside the vent right before the man could even catch her he spotted her and ran forward, barely even getting her in his clutches.
Lu fell straight down as soon as she made it through the shaft. She could hear the man grunting in irritation. Her heart was racing fast and was frozen in place as she laid back on the cold metal floor, breathing heavily, along pulling down the hood of her sweater. It was a nightmare she would never forget.
"That was too close. He was about to get me... I'm glad he didn't."
The young girl didn't want to move out of here since she was in the clear. But she had to for the sake of leaving this place. She yawned in exhaustion and couldn't even move a muscle due to her being tired. "Maybe a few minutes of sleep wouldn't hurt, right? Just a few minutes and-" She yawned again before she could finish her sentence and gently laid herself down on her side, almost curling herself in a ball as she slowly drifted into slumber as she murmured to herself,
"Just a few minutes, And I'll... I'll go."
...
A cloud of black mist emerges from nowhere, with a glow of red can be seen front and center, with parts of the cloud concealing it... Whispers ascend as the red glow grows closer, and a hair-raising sound of anxiety emerges as it rises too rough to bear and a large and irritating rumbling sound takes over... Until it all cuts to black...
She woke up with a jolt and gasped in shock, breathing heavily from what she had witnessed. She realized that she had overslept. Much longer than she was supposed to. But what was she dreaming about? What was that red glow?
She struggled to speak perfectly at first.
"Wha... What? I, uh... um... Uh... What was that?.. What?... What happened? Never mind, I need to go."
She quickly got up pulled her hood back up over her head and crouched while walking to the rest of the ventilation shaft. She rubbed her eyes as she moved forward, readjusting her vision from the long slumber she had. She was groggy when she woke up, but after seeing she overslept, a jolt suddenly turned her energy to maximum level. It's very uncommon to see a child suddenly wake up and ready to start the day. Or what felt like a day.
"Ugh, how long was I asleep?"
Longer than expected, of course. Ever since the chaotic chase from the Musician, she had been exhausted, especially from the entire journey. But at least she has gotten some well-deserved rest. She stumbled upon a vent cover and peeked through it. She couldn't distinguish what was on the other side, but her best assumption was that this could be another part of the building and that an exit door or window, or maybe something else to get her free could be around. There's only one way to find out. She pushed open the cover with minimal effort as it was on a hinge and fell into a box full of packing peanuts. Her landing was soft and squishy and even fidgeted with one of them just for a little joy.
"Hm, not real peanuts, but it's fun!"
She flung some packing peanuts up in the air for enjoyment and gave a little smile. Only once as there was no time to play, unfortunately. Lu then shoulder rams one side of the box, until on the fourth try, she manages to bring the box down on the floor as she tumbles out on the floor with packing peanuts scattered around. The young girl then stood back up and looked around to see the lobby of the building. Considering there were a lot of musical instruments, this entire building must be a music store. Although it's mostly quiet. It took Lu this long to realize it. Well, better late than never. Lu was in an aisle that had a wall of amplifiers and shipment boxes, along with guitars, violins, record discs, and piles of music sheets around, with some instruments and discs strewed, withered, and broken into pieces.
Wow. I guess no one tries to keep things clean.
She stepped slowly in the middle, still viewing the entire room. Even noticed how instruments were hanging high up in the air hung by strong ropes. It was amusing to her, but she had seen more abnormal sightings. She directed her attention downwards until she found a small clarinet on the floor, almost in front of her. It fit her size and was merely lying there. She walked over to it and picked it up, mesmerized by the instrument.
"Wow. I haven't played mine in a very long time."
She cleared some dust away and inspected the instrument before adjusting her fingers properly on the keys. She then moistened the reed of the clarinet and started blowing into the mouthpiece of it. It had been such a long time since she had played one, so her skills may have worn off a bit, but her muscle memory still stayed. The young girl could only create the slightest of noise as she struggled with the instrument. She blew the best she could, and the clarinet played off-key sounds as she pressed different keys. It was only a minute after she stopped, knowing that she had a lot of regaining to do. "Well. Maybe if I practice some more, I could get better!"
Before she knew it, she heard a loud, muffled noise coming. She turned her head to the left to hear the noise coming closer from a boarded-up and blurred glass door from the nearby corner. Meaning trouble was on its way.
The man with long fingers!
She scurried to her right, and with quick thinking, she crouched and hid inside an open shipment container that had fallen on its side, waiting patiently. Suddenly, the Musician burst out from the door, crawling upside down from the ceiling and then standing back on the floor as he placed himself down. He was still concerned about looking for the young girl, planning to use her to join the ranks. Lu stayed quiet and tucked herself close from inside the box. Luckily, the man then climbed over the wall of amplifiers out of sight, but he didn't go far away. He was only on the other side of the aisle, doing whatever commotion he was causing.
The young girl slowly crawled out after knowing she was in the clear for now. She looked around and saw that the way to the other side of the aisle was now blocked off with boxes in the way. The man must've knocked a wall of boxes down as he was climbing over them.
"Great! now I need to find another way around." The girl whispered in annoyance. She turned back to the way she was hiding, quietly as the man was still around, hoping to find another way. There was barely any opening around.
Hm... Maybe I can make my own way out!
The young girl notices a towering old man's clock resting against the huge pile of withered saxophones and calliopes that could get her to the other side, all she needs is something to climb over it since Lu is too small to reach the clock. She looked around to find anything useful, and there she found a large drum tucked away in a corner.
Oo, I can use that!
She walked over to the drum, only half an inch above her size, but it was still perfect for her to use. She slowly pulled the drum out of the corner, using the thin metal bars of it. It was merely light enough for her to drag easily, but she then felt the drum caught under a box that was sitting halfway on the edge of a cradle. She looked up to see it, along with a bucket on top.
Come on now!
With full force, she tugged the drum out from under the box, but it then turned into her biggest mistake.
Lu stumbled back after getting the drum free, but the box scratched towards her only an inch. However, it caused the bucket to then fall on the floor, with wooden building blocks inside rattling and the bucket itself clanking on the floor. The huge growl of the Musician turned Lu into fearfulness.
"No, what have I done?"
She quickly returned to the empty shipment container, hiding again as the man returned to inspect the aisle. He clung onto the shelves with his enormous fingers, raising himself high in the air as if to give himself more visibility to see what caused the disturbance. He breathed heavily, and his neck cracked as he looked all around. Lu hated hearing those sounds. It made her feel extremely uncomfortable. Eventually, he left to go back to the other side, crawling over the walls of amplifiers again.
Oh, god... I need to be more careful!
Lu felt frustrated at herself for being careless, but she didn't want to dwell so much on it for too long now. She inspects the area to find it clear and walks towards the drum to drag it to the clock. Before she could even do that, Lu then heard the sound of a piano playing a ditty from a distance. She stopped to listen, and it played a lovely tone that felt so mesmerizing that she couldn't even ignore the melody. She felt so amused hearing such a lovely tune and stood there listening as she embraced the song. She listened carefully to the melody and chorus, putting her in some sort of trance as she closed her eyes and smiled slightly. It felt familiar, but she couldn't remember where she heard it. If there is one aspect about the Musician, it's that he can play wonderful music with any instrument he's equipped with.
That is until... Hey... Hey... HEY! She gasped as she heard someone yell "Hey" to her, snapping her back into reality. She looked around to see who spoke to her, but no one was there... Was it in her mind? It almost felt like it. She was so engrossed in the music that she forgot that she had her consciousness with her.
Woah... That felt different... What happened to me? Something unexplainable did happen.
She shrugged off the thought, even though she won't forget it. The young girl went back to the drum and resumed dragging it to the clock. She positioned the drum close enough to the clock and didn't have to worry about making any loud noises as the man must have his ears concentrated on the melody of his piano. "Ok. we got this!" Lu climbed onto the drum and then the base of the old grandfather's clock. It was not a steep slope and was simple to walk up to. It seemed intact enough for her to avoid any injuries if there were to be any broken glass shards. The clock even ticked every second or two and became more audible as the girl reached the top of the clock.
She dropped down and grunted softly as she landed on a pile of ragged and wrinkled clothing as if they had been used for too long.
"Ok, this is it. I'm almost out of here!" She whispered.
Lu was hidden behind a wooden wall with two slim window frames with no glass. It must be a prop for those musical plays or recitals. She peeked from the corner to see the man playing the piano with his long and enormous fingers. He has been occupied ever since the girl had heard him starting to play. How long can he go for?
Lu did not think much of it as she merely wanted to get out as soon as possible. She noticed straight ahead was an opening of a line of empty boxes that were completely hollow, forming a little passageway tunnel for her to crawl through, almost like crouching through the vents from before, but a bit more narrow. She's confident enough to commit to this task, but it still scares her because of the man.
Ok, Lu. Deep breaths. That always helps...
Lu inhales... Then exhales...
Ok... ready!
Lu slowly crouched and walked to the passageway, careful not to make a single sound with one foot gently passing the other as she kept watch over the man, ensuring he didn't look towards her as her heart beat loudly in her ear. The Musician was facing away from where she was at. She had noticed right now that little ragdolls were sitting in small chairs that partially circled the man as if they were his audience.
But why do they look so real? As if they were real children... They don't seem to be very alive... Lu didn't like it one bit...
She's almost there. The man hasn't seen her. That's good! The young girl went down on her palms and knees, crawling through the tunnel. Now that her chances of escaping were high, she was confident of going back to the outside again. She had a grin on her face indicating how gleeful she was to be close to escaping. She knows she shouldn't think too closely of it, but it was irresistible not to. She was so close, but at the same time, she did not want to give her hopes up yet.
Once I make it outside, I want to find somewhere else to stay. Maybe a room with no doors so that no one could come in... I hope so, anyway!
She made it to the other side and stood back up on her bare feet on the carpeted floor. There was a door almost adjacent to the wall, but she didn't think it would lead her out straight away, nor could she reach it higher than she could or make any noises in case the Musician somehow heard. Her best chance was through the small little grate that was a little bit far away from the door and had no grille. There might not be any more options now.
"I hope that way helps."
She ran for the grate, sprinting straight ahead. But just when she was running, the piano music suddenly stopped. It caught her attention, but was too late. Oh no. He's back! The Musician, somehow, noticed Lu straight away running to the grate as he crawled over the heap of strewn instruments. Lu didn't stop running. She had to reach the grate to escape. The man, like before, ran towards the girl like a gorilla. But then, he picked up a guitar from the mountain of instruments, by the neck. Before he could even get her, Lu then slid through the grate, just barely missing the man's guitar slam as he smashed it on the ground, close to crushing her to death. The body broke into many splinters, and the strings picked and coiled. The man growled in irritation as the girl escaped from his grasp once again...
Lu had managed to avoid being smashed by a guitar and getting caught by the man as she panted out of pure shock from the near-death experience, as she lay on the floor, away from the grate entry and resting her back against the wall. The man pounded on the wall in anger, but he eventually stopped.
"That was way too close! He was going to kill me... I think this is my way out." She stood back up, unable to see anything. She took out her flare from her back pocket and swiped it on again to guide her way through the black void. Even after all this trouble, she still managed to keep her flare with her. At this moment. it should have fallen out of her pocket, but it's not a request when you need something to see in the darkness.
She heard rumors before of a young girl who had a twin sister long ago who was eaten by some sort of monster adult. And the other twin sister must've escaped. She didn't want to believe it, but considering her encounter with the Musician, it was very much inevitable.
The young girl can see, or what she's able to see, are various guitars and violins around, displayed on circular stands, and hung up on walls. There was also some studio equipment, the kinds you would need to film a podcast or film: a camera, a microphone, tripods, lights, and others. Before she was taken here, Lu thought of being an actor or actress since she liked to watch movies all the time at her real home and reenact certain scenes. It was a large area and it was crowded with these instruments but not by much. There were also record labels in boxes, one of them caught her attention. Something very familiar...
"Toh... Tobi.. Tobi-as. Lil-jah. Funny name!"
Lu continued walking through the area with her flare, illuminating the darkness. She didn't know where exactly to go and if she could find a way out. It feels like a ginormous maze that you have to navigate yourself out of, only in the dark, which makes it more challenging and somewhat disturbing. But it wasn't so new to Lu, only she couldn't simply not be scared due to a deranged music man trying to capture her and do what twisted acts he commits. She doesn't even believe that she was the first to enter this music store.
She stumbled upon another wall of boxes, almost covering the wall up ahead. It wasn't complete enough to cover the entire wall, but it was large, and Lu felt a little uneasy, feeling as if the wall would suddenly collapse on top of her. She found a little opening with a hole through the wall at one spot for her to crawl through, right after putting out her flare again.
"I hope this is the way. It better be, and I... Woah!"
The young girl finds herself in another room with more guitars and violins hung on the walls and displayed on circular stands again, as well as more studio equipment, and the carpeted floor was torn and scratched, revealing the wooden floor that was under.
This one is smaller and brighter due to the large windows leading to the outside. She felt the moonlight paying its attention to her, and she paid attention to the natural light. It felt nice to see such a beautiful light again. Hopefully, there will be stars to gaze at as well. At that moment, Lu didn't feel too scared anymore. She wanted to embrace the moonlight and pulled down her hood again, still in awe of the light, bringing back old memories.
She then climbed over a box and onto a display counter. She peers from the window and sees the rundown streets of the town. With no one in sight, everything was in ruins, as well as messy, from what she could describe. She took out and lit her flare again, wondering if there was any grate, vent, or anything in the wall for her to crawl through. She looked around, hoping to find one.
"Where's the exit? Where can I go? I'm almost out of here!"
Her heart was racing as she knew that she was very close to escaping, and if that man caught her at the wrong moment, then it was all for nothing. Lu was frantically trying to find a way out until she stopped for a moment, freezing in place while still holding her flare that was still fuming... She could see something that's outside... or rather someone. Who is that? Is it alone? Lu squinted her eyes to look closer, adjusting her vision. It's there. It's hard to see, and it's black.
Black... That looks like another child... A child in a black jacket... wait... It's a boy...! On the streets.
From where she was, it was almost difficult to distinguish his features, but she was able to see only a few of them.
"It looks like he's wearing a gray toque, a black jacket, a red scarf, and brown pants. Oh, and no shoes, just like me!"
It was awe-striking to see someone close to her age present in such a distorted environment like this town. She couldn't take her eyes away from him. He felt intriguing to watch. She only felt surprised when she noticed the boy turned his head towards her direction, looking at her back. He must've spotted her because of her flare. They both locked eyes for what seemed like an eternity. She doesn't know if she should confront him to greet herself or to best not cross paths in fear of meeting with the wrong people. But this boy didn't feel so hostile...
Who are you? What are you doing here?... What's your name?
Questions that are yet to be solved.
Lu was transfixed on the boy, until...
A large hand swooped in and caught her by the back of her sweater, making her yelp in shock and dropping her flare as she realized the Musician had caught her by surprise, without her hearing him from behind. The man held the girl up at eye level, staring at her and holding her with two of his long fingers.
She stared at the man's glasses as she squirmed and struggled in desperation and fear until she stopped knowing that there was no escape anymore and that she was trapped again. And for how long is unknown, until she sees what he will do with her now.