Reality

Chapter 13: Revelations

"It's almost time," it spoke. As I took a step forward, it vanished, dissipating like smoke blown away by a gust of wind. I left the basement and returned to my new hospital room. A few minutes passed, and my parents returned with both good and bad news.

The good news was that I only needed to stay in the hospital for one more day because miraculously, my wounds had healed faster than expected. The bad news was that Vincent was nowhere to be found. I didn't know how to react or feel about anything; I just wanted to be alone with the horrible events that had been unfolding around me for almost a year now.

Hours passed, and I decided to read my favorite novel, "Pretty Little Liars." I was on the second book and was enjoying Spencer's character growth while increasingly disliking Aria and Ezra's relationship. After reading a few chapters, I decided to stop and watch some news on my phone.

Everything seemed normal until Vincent's disappearance was reported on the news. I was shocked to learn that his case had become a major investigation, with different detectives and multiple officers involved in the search. But the biggest shock came when they announced that multiple bodies had been found decaying inside a cabin in the woods.

After hearing those things on the news, I decided to call it a day. It was 11:30 PM, after all. I woke up around 8:30 AM to the sight of my parents packing up all the things we had brought here, preparing for my release from the hospital. By the time we left, it was around 10 AM. The streets that usually seemed so quiet were now bustling. Everywhere we went, we heard police sirens searching left and right for Vincent.

It didn't take us long to get home safely. Niklauz and Yuri immediately came over to visit me. We talked for hours. Then suddenly, Niklaus brought up the fact that some website had been spreading false rumors about me. Luckily, they got it taken down. Apparently, it was spreading that I had lost my mind and was an insane person, and that I had been brought to a mental institution, not an actual hospital.

I burst out laughing because my parents were there to assure that it was a normal hospital. After our conversation, both of them decided to go home because it was getting dark. We said our goodbyes, and they left.

We all went to eat and talked about how much I had gone through, especially the murder in the hospital. The killer hadn't been found, and some officers were speculating that Vincent was behind the death of the innocent patient. It didn't make sense because Vincent is not capable of doing that. I strongly believe that.

After we ate, my father guided me to my room since I couldn't move much yet. I decided to watch one of the most iconic movies for me, 'High School Musical'. I sang at the top of my lungs while watching it. I could hear my sister and my parents laughing. I also heard that they were happy that I wasn't minding the pains I was currently feeling.

By the time the film ended, it was 9:45 PM, and I felt sleepy. So I decided to sleep. I started dreaming. At first, they were happy dreams. But as I got deeper into sleep, I started having nightmares. It didn't take long before I saw myself in the woods. It wasn't just any woods; it was near the cabin where the three people had been found dead.

Then I saw it. It was back to being a shadow, with no visible parts. I was so scared. I tried running, but it felt like I was going in circles. Whichever direction I ran, I always ended up back in the same place—in front of the cabin where the shadow figure was standing, watching me. I got tired of running, so I decided to confront it. "What the fuck do you want from me?" I screamed.

"The time has come," it spoke. The flashback struck me—the time, the thing it said when I was in the hospital. "What do you mean?" I spoke softly, my voice shaking. "The truth. It's time for the truth." The shadow started revealing its different parts again—arms, feet, body—all visible except for the head.

"The identity of Zoren's blackmailer will be revealed. The person who spread those rumors about you. Prepare yourself," it said. The head started to form a face. I recognized it—it was Vincent.