READY OR NOT - Landoscar

8 - I'll Find You

The afternoon light had faded to a muted grey by the time Lando unlocked his apartment door, the chill of the early evening sinking into his bones as he stepped inside. He shut the door behind him, the soft click echoing in the quiet space. For a moment, he simply stood there, letting the silence settle around him, grounding him in the solitude of his small living room. It was a comfort, this quiet—a place to shake off the strange energies that seemed to trail him since his latest dream of Pia.

He dropped his bag onto the floor, his gaze drawn almost magnetically to the laptop on his table. The screen, black and dormant, seemed to watch him from across the room, pulling him toward it like a whispered invitation. He exhaled, running a hand through his hair, reluctant yet unable to shake the pull of curiosity that had been growing in him since the moment he'd woken up.

The name Pia, spoken in that soft, almost ethereal voice, lingered in his mind. It felt like a key, a clue beckoning him forward. A question he could no longer ignore.

Lando moved slowly, almost reverently, toward the table. He slipped his fingers under the laptop's lid, lifting it until the screen blinked to life, casting a soft glow across his face. The keys were cool under his fingers, and he hovered there, fingers poised over the keyboard, unsure of where to start. His thoughts drifted back to Pia's face, to the way the man had appeared and vanished, silent but speaking volumes with those unblinking, caramel-brown eyes.

Finally, he typed a single word.

Vampires.

The search results populated almost instantly, a chaotic blend of myths, legends, and folklore from every corner of the world. Countless articles lined the screen, each promising explanations, theories, and tales about the mysterious creatures that had captivated imaginations for centuries. He clicked on a link, the words on the page blurring slightly as he tried to sift through the information, his eyes scanning over words like immortal, predator, souls bound to darkness.

He tried to focus, tried to piece together something meaningful, but the pages seemed to bleed together, details blurring in his mind. He read about vampires as creatures cursed with eternal life, bound to roam the world, unseen yet always watching, always waiting. There were mentions of ancient beings with hypnotic eyes, able to command the will of mortals with a single look. Others claimed vampires existed between the shadows, bound to live in darkness yet longing to touch the light.

Lando's heart thudded with each new line, his mind racing as he tried to connect the myths with the strange, quiet intensity of Pia. Could it be possible? The thought lingered, equal parts thrilling and terrifying.

As he continued reading, Lando found himself caught up in tales of old. Vampires, it seemed, held a quiet strength, an allure as ancient as time itself. They could move undetected, drawing their prey to them without a word. Their eyes—always haunting, always intense—seemed to see into the souls of those they encountered. He thought of Pia, of the way his caramel eyes had seemed to pierce through him, leaving him feeling as if his deepest secrets had been laid bare.

He skimmed through a passage about vampires' compulsion, a power that could lead mortals into dreams, into thoughts they wouldn't otherwise entertain. A shiver ran down his spine as he remembered the whisper that haunted him—you can't hide—threaded through each dream, an eerie refrain that pulled him closer to an unknown, inescapable truth.

Another page opened, detailing signs of vampiric presence. It listed a sensation of being watched, the feeling of someone waiting just beyond sight. His pulse quickened as he read, recognising each description as a shadow of his own experiences, as if the writer had somehow peered into his mind, documenting his every haunted thought. A voice inside him tried to brush it off, to dismiss it all as fantasy, yet the pull was undeniable.

Lost in thought, he let his eyes drift over the screen, his mind wandering into the recesses of memory. He remembered the strange, quiet silence that had fallen when Pia looked at him, the way Pia's expression had held unspoken words. It was more than a look—it was as if Pia were somehow bound to him, a silent figure reaching out through shadows and dreams.

Finally, he clicked on one last article, this one outlining signs of an ancient connection between vampires and their chosen prey. It spoke of dreams that became more vivid over time, of a haunting figure who returned night after night, slowly revealing parts of themselves, creating a connection that felt as real as the air Lando was breathing.

He felt himself growing dizzy, the weight of it all pressing down on him. He leaned back in his chair, rubbing his eyes as the words continued to echo in his mind. It was absurd, wasn't it? Yet here he was, alone in his darkened apartment, feeling the pulse of something ancient and unspeakable, as if Pia's presence had already seeped into the very walls around him.

The room was heavy with shadows now, the light from the screen casting odd, flickering shapes against the walls. He glanced toward the window, where the city lights blinked faintly through the glass, but his thoughts lingered elsewhere—somewhere darker, somewhere more still.

An odd certainty settled over him, one that both soothed and terrified him. Pia was real. Or if he wasn't real, he was something close to it, something that had crossed the border between the waking world and dreams to find him. Lando didn't know what it meant or why Pia had come to him, but he knew he couldn't simply ignore it. He'd already felt Pia's call and heard his silent demands in each dream. He was closer now, each encounter pulling Lando further into a mystery he was no longer certain he wanted to solve.

Closing the laptop, Lando let the darkness surround him, his mind buzzing with unanswered questions. Pia's face lingered in his thoughts, his name a soft refrain in the silence of the room. There was no going back now, no forgetting the pull of that shadowed figure who seemed to watch him from beyond the veil of sleep.

A whisper stirred at the edges of his thoughts, a soft murmur threading through the quiet—a promise, a vow.

I'll find you; he thought, his own words a defiant answer to Pia's silent call.

He rose from the table, casting one last glance at the closed laptop as if it might hold some final revelation, some hidden truth. But there were no answers here, only shadows, only echoes of what lay waiting for him in the world of dreams.

As he moved toward his bedroom, a strange calm washed over him, settling his heart as he prepared to face whatever lay ahead.