Perception (ONC 2021)

Chapter 10: To See

Marie shielded herself as more people fell from the sky. She heard herself screaming hysterically. Everything was a crazed blur as chaos reigned, and she wasn't the only one running. Suddenly, everything tilted sideways, and the woman found herself on the ground. She sneezed as grass tickled her nose.

"Be careful! That was close."

Marie blinked. With a few tries, she managed to utter a shaky sentence. "Wh-What do-do you mean?"

The man stood up and pointed at a patch of grass. Looking around, she noticed that everyone stopped. There was one other thing. The rain of people ceased.

Then, another disturbance. With eerie synchronisation, a few people stepped forward.

"Praise the god!"

Marie noticed how a wide disturbing smile curved across their faces. With step after step, they began to walk. In an almost comical manner, the people walked over the bodies, uncaring. They kept moving forward until they suddenly burst into flames. The second wave of people stepped forward.

"Praise the god!"

Hysterical laugher rang across the field.

"We can finally see!"

They walked and rapidly combusted.

After that, silence descended upon the rest.

Marie turned towards the man. "Th-thank you."

The man nodded and stared at her with pitying blue eyes. "Welcome to your new hell."

...

Lauris began to wander. Desperate to take her mind off the threat of death, she decided to explore the house. The words of the man resounded in her mind.

"We're going to die anyway."

Lauris bit her lip. She looked up at the staircase. Did she want to know? Did she want to know when she would die? The woman shook her head. Of course not. It would make her a paranoid wreck, and yet, something within her needed to know.

Taking a deep breath, Lauris climbed up the stairs. She paid no attention to her surroundings. No. She didn't want to. At least, not now.

She sighed and stopped at the room. There were others milling about, presumably searching for their name. Though, some seemed more fascinated by the strange black fire from the torches.

Maybe they were averting their eyes from reality.

Lauris shook her head. Skimming along the rows of names, she stopped.

Somehow, she knew.

Lauris – 19

That one belonged to her. There were others with her name, but this one belonged to her. She frowned at the number.

But not even a day has passed since her arrival. Why 19?

Come to think of it, was it not strange for so many people to believe that boy's story? How did he know, and why did Nora play along? Were those two with the twins as well?

Lauris sighed. She turned around and stopped. On the side of the hallway was a door.

Why didn't she notice that?

She blinked as the door blurred and disappeared. The woman frowned. Was she going crazy? Shaking her head, she began to explore the second floor.

Lauris looked around. She frowned. Why weren't there any doors? Was it just that corridor? Was there nothing else? She stopped as she heard a scream.

"He just died!"

Lauris froze.

It was the boy, wasn't it?

Without knowing why, she began to move. She numbly climbed down the steps, and walked towards the outline of the boy.

Lauris stopped. She crouched down and gasped.

Lacerations carved themselves into the flesh. Cut after cut after cut, the face began to distort. Then the body disappeared entirely, leaving no trace of its existence other than the pool of blood.

Lauris scrambled back, ignoring the strange looks pointed her way.

It all made sense now.

The mystery of the face carver - it was The Twins, the despicable twins. There could never be justice for the dead because it was the work of some dimensional monster, not a crazed killer. Her parents would never know who killed her. She would never see her loved ones again.

The woman began to laugh hysterically.

Why was this happening?

What was the point?

"Has that woman gone mad?"

"Why is she laughing in front of a dead person?"

Lauris stopped. She looked back. "What do you mean? The body disappeared. Only a pool of blood is left." She walked over and pointed. "See?"

The woman froze as she saw confused and fearful looks point her way.

"She's gone mad."

"Is she with the twins?"

Lauris blinked. "D-do you not see that?"

Silence.

Lauris shook. She shakily walked towards a corner and rubbed her eyes. Looking back, she shook her head.

Was she going mad?

Lauris strode past the crowd.

She needed some fresh air.

The woman stopped at the door and gaped. A sort of black miasma leaked in from the door. It quickly dissipated, but the woman understood what it meant.

Destruction.

If there was a cloud of that stuff, then whatever touches would have its existence wiped out.

Lauris frowned. How did she know this?

"Because you can see."

Lauris turned around. No one.

She blinked.

"You can see, but you have yet to truly see. Be glad. If you could, you will be driven to madness. Be blind, be ignorant and be happy."

Lauris shivered.

To see.

Didn't Nora say something about actually using her eyes? Not only that, The Twins as well.

Lauris rubbed her forehead. She looked back and stopped.

That door that disappeared...

What if -

Heat thudding in her chest, Lauris rushed up the stairs. She looked around. She could see it.

The second floor was not just the platform for the corridor. The second floor seemed to stretch endlessly to either side. White flame torches flickering beside each door.

Lauris could not see the full extent of the house. She wanted to explore, but she shook her head and rushed into the corridor.

"I knew it."

Lauris grinned as she saw a door on the side. A silver handle jutted out of the carved stone, a stark contrast to its surroundings. The woman reached out and hesitated. She did not like that grinning skull stuck in the middle. Its eye sockets seemed to contain swirling darkness akin to that miasma.

Darkness.

Lauris backed away.

She looked around, trying to discern anything that stood out. Walking out of the corridor, she looked and stopped.

Above each door was an embedded statue of an eye.

******

This is the part where the pieces start to come together.