Feed The Evil Within, Ruvik x OC

4 - Freedom, a Cage

Sorry about being so late with updates and edits! I've gotten pretty busy IRL. I began writing this when I was still in high school, and I'm about to head to college! I work full time!!! So much time has passed... anyways, I'll update when I can but I have to leave this chapter unfinished in editing! I'll do my best to complete a paragraph a day, to a chapter a day from now on...

My footsteps echoed through the corridor of one of the most decrepit places I'd ever seen in my life. I wasn't one to go frolicking in abandoned buildings; a shard of glass crunched under my feet as we passed a broken window. This was one of my first meetings with something I could only describe as a monster; fear pierced the depths of my heart as I stared into its glowing eyes, moving ever closer, reaching... past me. As if it hadn't seen me, the corpse shambled by. Ruvik himself was following closely behind, phasing back and forth while still remaining in my eyesight. In a living nightmare, despite his appearance, I was comfortable with him being there. It made me feel laughably safe. 

It seemed like I'd been walking for a couple minutes when I came across another hall, and although most of the doors were open one was closed. Curiously, I reached out and twisted the handle, the click of the door showing I had successfully opened it. But, I didn't expect to see a man lying on the ground, pointing his gun directly at me. A shiver ran down my spine as an unpleasant memory washed over me and nearly made me retch. Of course, I gasped when I saw why he was where he was; one hand clutched at a wound on his leg, his face twisted in pain. I rushed over to him with utmost urgency, collapsing to the floor and glancing around for some kind of first aid; but alas, there was nothing. The man with the glasses was groaning in pain, but I could not leave him like this.

The blood made my hands shake. He was clearly losing blood and fast. But I couldn't pause and be shocked by such a meager amount of blood; seeing a dead body would be much worse for my psyche. Ignoring my fear, I tore off a piece of my dirty dress and hoping it wouldn't infect his wound I tightly wrapped it around his leg before tying it off. I applied as much pressure as I could, but the fabric was soaked with red in no time. "Who are you? Haven't seen you in here," By the hiss in his voice I could tell his pain was lingering. It wouldn't just all of a sudden disappear, but I hoped he'd feel at least slightly better.

I continued placing pressure on his leg, sure it would stop the bleeding. "I'm someone who's attempting to help you." My initial shock grew when he tried to push me away; he was acting rather rude to a person who was trying to save him from dying.

"This place is surrounded with those things...! It's not safe here, go!" I held sturdy, although I knew I wouldn't be able to if he was at full strength. By the way he was talking I knew he meant the corpses; they seemed harmless, but perhaps he'd agitated them in some way that made them hostile. I shook my head, persisting despite his protests.

{NOT COMPLETE}

"They won't attack me. I walked right past them." I replied, with confidence. Yes...but that was only because of Ruvik's presence. He watched from the doorway... I can feel his steady glare.

"...run....Ruvik is here...run...!" The man coughed. He seemed panicked when he saw Ruvik.

"My name is Elise. Yes, that's Ruvik. Who are you?" I asked. The man stopped and stared at me in wonder. He then laughed bitterly.

"I guess you meet all kinds of people in hell...I'm... Joseph. Nice to meet you, Elise... Now, can you leave me alone...?" Joseph struggled to get up.

"That's quite rude, Joseph. I just helped you." I crossed my arms, standing to my feet and watching him attempt to stand.

"If he's not...attacking you, then you must be a freak too. Stay...away from me. If you're with him, then it's bad news...." Joseph finally stood up and limped away from me, in another direction. It wasn't long before he opened the door and was gone. Ruvik walked towards me.

"Should I end his misery...?" His face seemed darker than usual... what did he mean by that???

"Uh...I'm sure he'll be fine..." I said, feeling as if had I said yes, I would never see that man again. Ruvik walked to my side, not bringing up the subject of that man again.

"Please, Elise. Return to the Red Room." Ruvik said, his normal creepy demeanor even more so in the candlelit decrepit hospital. I sighed, then nodded. As I turned around, I saw a door that wasn't there before. Ruvik gestured towards it. "Ladies first."

I opened the door, and there was a red velvet curtain blocking my view. I brushed it aside, only to reveal the room that I now called my home. Ruvik stepped in, holding the curtain at bay for me. I followed.

"I must take my leave for now." Ruvik said quietly, striding towards the main door. The door behind the curtains seemed to dissappear as they fell back into place.

"Why are you leaving?" I asked, not wanting to stay alone. He turned to me, his eyes blank.

"The human mind is truly a strange and wonderful thing. The experiments I've conducted on it have led me to be able to determine another's emotions. Are you, perhaps, enjoying my presence?" His eyes seemed to be alight with a sort of determined flame- it was small and not very bright, but he seemed... intrigued? He turned away. "Interesting, Elise. I will continue to further experiment with you at a later date."

With that last bold statement, he walked out of the door, leaving Elise alone. Elise walked towards the door, but stopped when she heard the familiar lullaby...the one made for her and her sister. She turned towards the direction of the sound, the melody sounding almost broken. It came out slowly, and sad. It seemed to be coming from the engraved mirror on the wall.

Elise slowly walked towards the mirror, extending a single hand out in front of her. As she touched the mirror, everything went white- she was blinded. As the blindness faded from her eyes, it became clear that she was no longer in the Red Room. She seemed to be in a hospital.

"You are not a patient here." A feminine voice spoke, and the voice belonged to a nurse- she walked out from behind Elise. Where had she come from?

"What do you mean?" Elise asked. She was also uncertain as to the patient remark.

"You don't belong here- you shouldn't be here. You shouldn't be anywhere." The nurse said, speaking in a cryptic tone.

"That's... hurtful." Elise said, frowning. What was the nurse trying to achieve?

"You shouldn't be anywhere for a reason, but especially not here. Especially looking like that, number three." The nurse said with an emotionless tone. Why was she referring to Elise as number three?

"I can't help what I look like." Elise replied. She didn't know what else to say.

"Do you know that there was originally one? Then it became three. One suffered one's fate. Three escaped that fate. Did you know that one and two have it in the same exact place?" The nurse spoke. Elise was beginning to feel angry. She didn't understand any of this- all the nurse was doing was talking about numbers. Elise turned around, and a clinking sound hit the desk the nurse was behind.

"...what's this for?" Elise asked, staring at the key before her.

"The truth, Elise. It is a nasty truth indeed, but when you want to learn it, come back and use this key. You may not be a patient, but you are a guest and hospitality is required." The nurse then disappeared from sight. Elise picked up the key- it had a red ruby rose as the centerpiece. Elise slipped the key into the pocket of her red dress. She then walked back to the mirror and white claimed her vision once more....