Liminal 3: Shattered Dimensions

Children

Adaliya sat on the cold, hard floor, her breathing still ragged from the encounter. She glanced at the Mimic's body, now lying still in a pool of its own inky blood, its once nightmarish presence reduced to something almost pitiful in death. For the first time since entering this forsaken place, a thought crept into her mind that hadn't dared to surface before:

*These things can die.*

Sarah collapsed next to her, wiping the sweat from her brow with trembling hands. The gun still rested loosely in her grip, her knuckles pale from how tightly she had held it moments before. The two of them were silent for a moment, their breath heavy in the stillness, the enormity of what they had just survived sinking in.

Adaliya felt something wet against her skin and looked down to find a tear in her suit. It wasn't deep, but the fabric was torn open, and beneath it, her arm throbbed. She gingerly pulled the fabric back, hissing as she saw the jagged cut on her forearm. It wasn't deep, but the Mimic's claws had left their mark. Blood trickled slowly from the wound.

"Let me see that," Sarah's voice was soft but urgent. She dropped the gun at her side and leaned closer, her eyes filled with worry. Her hands reached out, gently pulling the torn fabric aside to get a better look at the wound.

Adaliya winced, feeling Sarah's fingers trace the edges of the cut. "It's not too bad," Sarah murmured, almost to herself. "You'll be okay. Just need to bandage it."

For a moment, their world seemed to shrink to just the two of them. The horrors of the backrooms faded into the background as Sarah knelt before Adaliya, her brow furrowed with concern. She was close now—closer than they had been in weeks, months even. There had been so much chaos, so much loss.

Sarah's breath was warm against her cheek as she worked, her hands surprisingly steady despite the terror they had just faced. Adaliya could feel her heart pounding again, but this time, it wasn't out of fear. Her gaze flickered to Sarah's face—her dark, focused eyes, the way her lips were slightly parted in concentration.

Their eyes met.

For a moment, neither of them moved. There was something unspoken in the air between them, something fragile but intense. Adaliya felt the world shift, not in the way it had when the rooms twisted and broke around them, but in a far more subtle, intimate way. It was like standing at the edge of a precipice, knowing that one step forward would change everything.

Sarah's breath hitched. Adaliya swallowed, her heart racing in her chest, unsure if it was the fear, the adrenaline, or something more that made her pulse quicken. Sarah's hand lingered on her arm, and in that moment, everything else—the backrooms, the Mimic, the death surrounding them—seemed to fall away.

They leaned closer.

But before anything could happen, a piercing, unnatural shriek tore through the silence, making them both freeze.

The sound was high-pitched, metallic, and unnatural, a noise so sharp it sliced through their moment like a knife. Adaliya's blood ran cold as the screech reverberated through the empty store. It was as though the walls themselves had come alive, screaming in fury.

Sarah jerked back, her hands still trembling, her eyes wide as she scanned the shadows around them. "What the hell was that?" she whispered, her voice barely audible over the ringing in Adaliya's ears.

The shrieking sound came again, this time louder and closer. It was a shrill, guttural scream, unlike anything they had heard before, and it made their skin crawl. It wasn't the Mimic—it couldn't be. This was something else.

Adaliya staggered to her feet, wincing as the pain in her arm flared up again. "We need to move," she said, her voice tight with urgency. "Now."

Sarah nodded, quickly grabbing her weapon and standing beside her. The two exchanged one last look—an understanding passing between them, a promise of survival. Whatever that sound was, it was hunting them, and it was close.