Demise Game

8.treasure hunt

Time passed by weird in this dimension — or wherever it was you were.  If you didn't have your watch, ticking your time left before you had to leave, you knew the time would have passed by with you unaware.  The air was stagnant and still, dust seeming to coat everything.  Up until now, when was the last time this place had been disturbed?

        You had been traversing through various different rooms for the past thirty minutes, empty offices in varying states of disarray, with no sight of a straw doll, Natsume, or Shiki.  At some point, you had picked up a marker, drawing large 'X's on the walls of each room you went into to make sure you didn't go in circles.

        Not that it mattered; you felt no closer to the elevator or to finishing Natsume's task.

        "Shit."

        At some point, you had come across a hall almost similar to the one you started in, doors lining both sides.  The hallway itself was in more disrepair, patches of the floor missing and giving way to a seemingly-endless abyss, and the doors were more spaced out.  Unfortunately, there was no elevator in sight, further trapping you in this labyrinthian dimension.  It was something right out of the Backrooms, or even one of the J-Horror games you played late at night.

        It was also extremely, incredibly annoying.  You weren't getting anywhere, and you felt sleepy, ready to nap at a moment's notice.

        Still...  You couldn't just give up.  You really had no choice but to continue forward.

        Ugh.

        When none of the rooms in the hallway seemed to be of any help, you started to turn around the corner, carefully stepping over a larger hole in the ground — only to stop.

        Thump.  Thump.

        It was faint, large footfalls coming from the direction you were about to head to, slowly growing closer to your location.  Carefully, as quietly as you could, you took a step back, and then another one.

        There was no way that was Natsume, and if a cat was heavy enough to sound like they were stomping on the ground, you would be very concerned.

        No, that...  Was something else.

        Thump.  Thump.

        You refused to take your eyes off the end of the hallway, afraid that if you looked away, whatever it was would appear and see you.  Carefully and cautiously, you opened the first door you got to, thanking the heavens above when the door didn't creak.  There was no hesitation to go into the room and shut the door closed.  For good measure, you used the keys you had found earlier to lock the door before sitting down next to it, curling your legs up as you listened as careful as you could.

        Thump.  Thump.

        It was louder.  Most likely, whatever it was had turned the corner, and you pressed both hands against your mouth in hopes to quiet your breathing.

        Thump.  Thump.

        Thump.  Thump.

        Thump.  Thump.

        It felt like a millennia as you waited for the sound to fade completely.  Your watch had showed not even fifteen minutes had gone by, but by the time silence fell again, you felt as if you had ran a marathon, sweaty and nauseous.  For extra measure, you waited a couple more minutes before standing up and opening the door, peering up and down the hall to make sure there wasn't anything hiding.

        It was empty.

        You let out a long breath, some of the tension escaping your muscles, but you had no time to relax.  Who knew when that thing would come back?!