Neighbour

[ 10 ]

Your ears are ringing. It's a relentless high-pitched noise that reverberates in your skull, making your temples throb as if a thousand needles are piercing them. The pain is disorienting - you can't think, you can't hear anything beyond the incessant ringing, and you can't breathe. It is as if all the oxygen was sucked out of the kitchen in an instant, trapping you in a vacuum bubble.

On your skin, there's a scorching sensation, as if you're being seared by an invisible flame. Yet, it's in stark contrast to the icy cold that penetrates deep within your core—a chilling frost that leaves you feeling hollow and numb, like your very soul has been frozen.

Simon's gaze is still fixed on you. The silence is a tangible entity in the room, a monster that feeds on every sound, leaving an echoing void in its wake. It amplifies the ringing in your ears, making the world around you grow quiet and dark.

The stranger behind you still has his knee pressed to your back. You resist, your muscles straining and twitching, like a wild animal ensnared in a hunter's trap, desperate for freedom. But he doesn't yield, he remains as solid as a rock, his grip on you unrelenting. His nails dig into your flesh, a sharp pain that keeps you rooted in place, stopping you from moving your arms, which are pinned helplessly behind your back.

Your eyes never leave König's body, or the puddle of blood that continues to grow bigger, spreading and staining the white tiles.

Deep down in the pit of your soul, you know he is gone, that he has been taken away from you. However, adrenaline courses like a wild river through your veins, and your body is completely overwhelmed with a chilling sense of terror and a deep, unbearable despair. The emotional turmoil makes it difficult for you to think or comprehend the harsh, cold reality of what has just transpired. You keep muttering König's name like a sacred invocation, as if by chanting it enough times, he will come back to you and bring an end to the nightmare that you are in; a nightmare for which you feel solely responsible.

When the stranger rises, it's as if a mountain has been lifted from your back. His iron grasp loosens, freeing your arms. Your body aches as gravity drags you down, but you fight against it and fling yourself at König, wrapping your arms around him.

His skin is still warm to the touch. But as your fingertips trace a path along his cheek, a path you've traced countless times before, you can feel the heat slowly fading away.

His eyes are glassy and lifeless. They are riveted to the ceiling, and you find yourself wishing, praying, begging for him to just look at you one last time. But despite your pleas and the countless times you utter his name, begging him to wake up, his body remains still.

His lips are parted, and you can see a trickle of blood dripping from the corner of his mouth, staining his skin.

You press your palms to the ground as you push your body up to sit on your knees. With shaky hands, you carefully lay König's head on your lap. You cup his cold cheeks and press your lips to his forehead.

Suddenly, you feel two firm hands gripping your shoulders and someone attempts to force you to stand, but you stubbornly refuse to move. Your arms instinctively coil tighter around König's lifeless body, your fingers clutching the fabric of his shirt as if it were a lifeline, gripping it with a desperation as if clinging to it could somehow bring him back.

The clamor of voices and the commotion around you is deafening, but your mind is shrouded with a heavy fog of disbelief and grief. You can't focus on the words being exchanged between the stranger and Simon, their heated conversation sounding distant and muffled.

"...What the hell, Ghost?!"

"Keep your voice down...!"