Pantomaniac

Chapter 31

Kef looked ahead but saw nothing. His mind froze. His vision was as still as a rock. He knew he was in a room but nothing beyond that registered. It was like his body had a mind of its own and it had decided to not move.

Minutes passed. Like a bell ringing at the end of a school session, Kef tapped back into reality. As he started registering his surroundings, the sound of sobbing seeped into his ears. He shook his head several times, fighting to block the noise out. He was certain that it was another one of the mime's tricks. But the sound did not stop. Instead, it grew louder and louder. Slowly, he turned his head towards the corner of the room.

Rina was sitting on the floor. Her back against the wall, she was looking at Kef with eyes wide open. Her hair was matted against the forehead. Tears streamed down her cheeks and he could see her shoulders shaking. Kef knew she was scared but he did not know why.

As Kef got up on his knees, Rina flinched. She pressed even harder against the wall, shaking her head repeatedly.

"Rina...?"

No response. Instead, she continued pressing herself against the wall, shaking her head.

"Why... what are you doing?"

"K-Kef...please...let... let me go...where's... Maya?"

Maya? Kef's mind spiralled into confusion. What was Rina talking about? What happened to Maya? And why was she afraid of him?

"What's...going on? I... Arggh!!!"

Kef double over. His hands shot up and grabbed both sides of his head. A throbbing sensation pierced through his skull. He felt like all his insides were about to come out through his mouth. It was blinding. Like a million knives were stabbing at this brain.

"Kef...?"

Rina's voice sounded a mile away. Kef continued yelling. He trashed about, banging the door and the wall. Until someone called him again.

"Abah..."

Kef stopped.

For a few seconds, he remained bent. His chest heaved up and down. Kef opened one of his eyes. Using the back of his fingers, he wiped his tears away. As he opened the other eye, he slowly stood straight. The mime was standing several feet in front of him. There she was, in the same mask and same outfit, standing opposite Rina, who was still looking at him. It was at that moment that Kef took in how massive the room was. It was no ordinary room. It was more like a cellar. Except that it was not underground.

The walls were infested with moss. As his eyes traced the surfaces, he spotted muddy bits, some of which hid behind cobwebs. Several webs hung on the top corner of the room, their reflection growing and shrinking with every second. That was when Kef noticed the entire room was lit by two naked light bulbs hanging from the ceiling. There was no wind, not even a trace. But the bulbs swung gently left and right, taking turns on each side. Kef's head started spinning as he allowed his eyes to follow the movement.

Realizing that the mime had called out to him made him break his stare. He turned his attention to the mime.

"What do you want? What??" Kef asked. He had reached his limit.

"Kef...who... who are you talking to?"

Kef glanced at Rina. She remained where she was and she had curled up, bringing her knees close to her chest.

Kef ignored Rina. "Tell me! What do you want??"

"Abah...why did you kill me?"