ADAMANTINES -Human Extinction Threat

What has become of Alice?

Christine tiptoed slowly to the window located on the far side of Alice's bed. It was positioned above and at the mid-section of the bed. Hurriedly and carefully, she pushed the tiny rusty locks, setting the window free.

The poor aged window shrieked with surprise as Christine pulled it wider, having been undisturbed for a long time. Thin threads of cobwebs snapping unceremoniously, letting go of the fight to holding the door closed and intact, overpowered and humiliated by Christine's mighty power.

At last, substantial light sprayed every corner of the room, disturbed fine dust dancing under the miraculous ocean of light, which had finally threatened the scary ghost of darkness. There was nothing much around the room as it was hardly used.

Despite her heart dribbling in her chest, Christine sighed with solace, observing the outline of the one she believed was her precious Alice, still sleeping under the refuge of the blanket. A slight glimmer of joy and hope shined on her face the moment she noticed Alice's chest rising and falling under the cover of the blanket – insinuating that her daughter was still alive and breathing.

She is still alive....she must've been very exhausted, Christine mused internally, though something still bothered her.

But how comes she seems completely unaware of my presence and the noise? She panicked, wrinkles mapping her entire face, and uneasiness crawling chillingly on her skin.

Curious to find out, Christine tiptoed further, and stood just next to her head, while taking in every detail around Alice. And it's then that she noticed something very disturbing. Alice's breathing rate looked somehow unusual! It was way too slow and extremely shallow. A sudden pang of worry slithered into her; making her hands to tremble uncontrollably.

Worry written all over her face, Christine, afraid that Alice was in a dangerous health state or on the verge of death, maneuvered her hand and held the upper end of the blanket; ready to peel it so as to uncover Alice's face.

But to her surprise, just before she could initiate the action, a weird change event occurred in her mind. Instead of her peeling the blanket off Alice's head, she instead relinquished the grip on the blanket and started lowering her head close to Alice's chest; Curious to confirm something first. Something that had weirdly popped out in her mind.

But all of sudden again, Christine startled and raised her head quickly. Standing upright like a post and extremely alarmed. She raised her hand over her mouth and bit her fore-finger nervously, out of confusion, disbelief and worry.

Why is that? Christine mumbled internally. Heart thundering inside her chest.

Filled with great urge to confirm the fear, she decided to perform another listening. She lowered her head slowly until her right ear came inches away, above Alice's chest.

Immediately, her eyes dimmed, and brows wrinkled. Her lips started to part slowly, a clear sign that something was terribly awry. So much she wanted to pull her head away but this time, she was determined to ascertain the fear by not withdrawing her ear immaturely.

Horror and fear flooded her entire face, draining color out of it. Her lips quivered and started to tremble, as more bolts of panic struck at her. Christine sealed her eyes shut, in attempts to deny it.

But it was still there! And it was not pleasant. She was very sure it was it. Faint but audible, like that of a sleeping cat. Only that this was Alice and not a cat.

Christine shot her head up again, breathing furiously.

Oh! Let it not be true...let it not be true, she prayed internally, ready to act right away. She had to save Alice before it was late. For she had confirmed it a hundred percent.

A wheezing sound! A very dangerous sign about Alice's dire condition.

Antsy for a squint at Alice's face, and despite her inner voice constantly warning her to stop and run away, Christine, completely blinded by the fear that her daughter was in critical condition, stretched her right hand and held tight a part of the blanket just above Alice's head. Immediately, her scalp prickled and muscles stiffened. There was something that was warning her not to do it. That her eyes were not yet prepared for what was hiding beneath the blanket.

As if frightened by the voice, Christine closed her eyes. Her face facing upward and started peeling the blanket until she was certain it was past Alice's chest. Fear pulsing through her, she started counting internally from three down to one.

Three........two..........one...

She peeled her eyes open at once, but what she saw next nearly choked her breath out! Her heart leaped into her throat, forcing her to shriek with horror and jump rearward abruptly; like a threatened hare. Screaming of horror and eyes nearly bugging out of their sockets, Christine flew rearward and crashed on the partitioning wall with a soft thud, causing her to loosen her hold on the shade hat and letting it slip away from her hand. The hat hurtled blindly to the dusty floor, where it finally rested not so far away, between her and the bedroom door. The entire house shivered and groaned from the impromptu impact, coughing out a fog of thin fine dust. Choking clouds of dust that had accumulated over the aged walls and ceiling for years. Angered and ready to avenge the unwarranted intrusion determined to contaminate everything within the house.

Leaning and cringing on the wall with the help of her hands, Christine was rendered sightless and gulping for fresh air as the provoked dust unleashed a hell of wrath upon her. Coating her entire body with a thin sheet of dust and inducing both a sneezing and coughing spree upon her.

Unable to fathom the assault any further, Christine had no otherwise than to seek help from the fallen hat. With her teary eyes closed and using her left hand to seclude both her mouth and nose, Christine bent her knees ploddingly, until she was in a squirt-like position and then started scrambling for the hat.

Luckily, she got a hold of it which she planted over her face without any delay. The horrifying image she had seen still tormenting her sealed eyes, causing more panic to bloom inside of her.

Her mouth and nasal cavities now within the respite of the shade hat, Christine had not time to waste. Not when she was also shocked about Alice not having felt the nasty effects of the dust nor her screams or sounds of her crashing on the wall.

She considered that as a red flag.

Christine took in a deep shuddering breath, attempting to calm herself before she got to open her eyes. She was still very petrified, shocked and afraid to unseal them.

But she had to. She opened her eyes and narrowed them over Alice's upper torso.

Immediately, her heart leaped into her throat, gasping and eyes bugging out of her head. She jumped backward like a gazelle, fear gripping her in its jaws and heart going berserk.

What on earth has become my daughter? Christine shrieked with complete disbelief. Fighting hard to suppress more screams.

Lying there on the bed was one scary-looking Alice, or rather what looked like her. But this was not the Alice she knew – the one she had conversed with some moments earlier. This one looked like a real monster from hell!

Panic flared in Christine's eyes, mouth open in a silent scream. Her feet feeling like they were wielded to the floor as terror swelled in her. She was unable to free; frozen and staring in silence horror!

Thank you for reading till this chapter! Lots of love to you...

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