Subterranean | H.S.

S00

TW// violence

Persephone's pov

I walk down the long, never-ending corridor with Arnie's hand in mine. The only thing I'm hearing at the moment is the squeaking of his little shoes, which echoes through the empty and boring space. White walls make me think only about the loneliness of all patients here.

"Phee?" I hear a fragile voice, coming from my little friend.

"Yes?"

I lower my vision, staring at his pale face. "Aren't you scared of walking alone at night?"

His question catches me off guard. Suddenly I catch myself looking around us, in search of something out of place.

I stop myself from answering his question right away. Something I always dreamed of was having those long, alone, night kind of walks around the city. I find silence very calming. Such a nice way to clear your mind and just take a breath, alone. But also such a shame, because since I am a woman I don't have the chance to make this wish come true. I hate living in this world, where the only things that matter are men, violence, and money. Them using money or violence to solve whatever problems they have.

Even though I have an answer I decide not to tell him what's really on my mind.

"Of course not." My steps stop next to his door. "And you know why? Because there's nothing to be scared of." A bright smile shows up on my face and he's nodding his head as answer to my words.

I push the handle and let him inside. I begin to close the door behind me but a loud bang comes from nearby and stops me. My body flinches, and my heart beats faster and faster. The pulsation in my head starts to be more and more hurtful. Everything stops, the earth stops its movement, and the world pauses for a second. My heart is going crazy, trying to make a hole in my ribcage. A thin layer of sweat covers my skin in a matter of seconds.

I can't make out what exactly caused the noise.

"What was that?" Arnie whispers and reaches for my hand. He hugs me tight and I can feel him shaking very clearly.

"I'll check that, give me a minute, okay?" My voice is calm but shaky. My fingers run through his blonde hair. I swallow painfully.

I step away from Arnie, who's now sitting on his bed. A little dinosaur sits in his hand.

"I'll be right back, okay?" He nods and covers his head with the duvet.

I can't believe my moves when I'm closing the hard surface behind my back.

"Everything's fine, no need to panic Seph." I mumble under my nose and try to keep it together.

I stop myself from going further just to return to the room and grab the nearest object that was within easy reach, which turned out to be a fucking hairbrush.

Very fucking well Persephone.

I come back to the spot where I stood before and begin to walk slowly. My fingers are turning white from how aggressively I'm holding the brush. Bones in my feet begin to make that crushing sound and my whole nervous system begins to play tricks on me. Always choosing the right time, aren't we?

The whole building continues to stay quiet.

The craziest and most idiotic ideas run through my head, not leaving any second without any newer version of something tragic or simply scary.

Please don't be a goddamn ghost.

A man's raised voice can be heard, coming from behind one of the closed doors. The heat is almost burning the skin of my cheeks.