1.5 Months Later...
It's been a month and a half since I got the call from Stark. Hanna and I had been saving up money so we could furnish her room. We were nearly there, there was only about 1/2 inch to the top of the furniture jar. I put on my work clothes and walked down to the workplace. After a long, boring shift, I returned home and shoved my earnings into the furniture jar.
I went to sleep after changing into some pajamas, one hand on Onyx's side. When I got up, I changed and fixed breakfast, the smell coaxing Hanna awake. The jar was filled, so we made plans to go get some furniture after we ate. We opted to take my 'new' truck, so we could move the furniture easily. We made our way to IKEA, found a spot, and parked.
We made a beeline to the bedroom area, and Hanna started browsing the various frames. I was there for the heavy lifting, not for decision making. That was Hanna's job. After what felt like forever, she finally made decisions for all of the furniture, and we went to the back. I grabbed one of those cart things and pushed it along behind Hanna.
We tracked down all of the furniture and loaded it onto the cart. As we were checking out, an employee walked up to me. "Do you need help with that, ma'am?" He asked. "No, I'll be fine," I assured him. Hanna pulled the truck up to the front of the store, and I picked up the first box, sliding it into the bed of the truck.
I repeated this for the other boxes, then went and knocked on the window. Hanna rolled it down, looking at me. "Go put the cart away," I told her, and she climbed out. I slid into the driver's seat, tapping my fingers on the wheel as I waited. She climbed into the seat beside me, and after making sure the door was closed, I took off towards the apartments.
When we got back, we brought all the boxes up to the apartment. "You're on your own for assemblage," I told Hanna, going into my room. I yawned, stretching my arms before sitting on my bed. Onyx was asleep at the foot of my bed, and I gave her head scratches. My eyes landed on my desk, more specifically the secret compartment in my desk.
I sighed, closing my eyes and turning my head. Out of my window, I saw a white flash. The room seemed to warp, turning into that horrible place. The door faded away, the wall I was facing turned into a mirror, and my furniture either morphed or vanished. I started backing up, pressing my back against the wall.
I was snapped out of it by a knock at my door. "Tanya? Are you okay?" Hanna asked. "Yeah, I'm fine," I said, standing back upright. "Are you sure?" She asked. I took deep breaths, shaking my head.
"I'm fine,"