Arisu [ #JustWriteIt - Horror - Complete ]

Chapter Five - Down The Rabbit Hole

"Alice merely dreamed of her dramatic fell,
and all was well in her wonderland."

I've given you enough time to run.
I know where you are.
I'm coming for you.

~*~*~*~

He'd hoped that he had the manor's layout adequately committed to memory. Apparently so. The attic was exactly where he remembered it.

Coryn ducked under the steep doorway. Thick strands of cobweb clung to the back of his hood, stretching until they broke away and snugly nestled in the folds.

The arch mage stiffly turned around, pivoting on his heel. As his foggy vision began to clear, he grasped the door's tarnished handle and pushed it shut. Click.

He stood motionless for a moment.

Then he slid down to the floor, slouching against the tall wood board, knees to his chest, shoulders heaving as he drank the air around him.

His head dipped back, dedicating every shred of his attention towards listening for any signs of being followed.

A drowning, lonely gloom.

Not a step out of place.

It hadn't followed.

I'm safe... For now. He used the thought as motivation to pull himself into a proper sitting position.

Crossed his legs, kept his palms on his knees.

Better.

Where is Alice? I didn't pass her on my way here. Then again, if she gets into trouble, I'm sure she'd let everyone know with those shrill screeches of hers...

It was highly unlikely to go after her anyway. Or Trick. All monsters loved the thrill of watching terror unfold upon someone's face, but children were too easy to scare.

It would desire a challenge, to make victory that much sweeter.

And this time, the challenge was him.

Coryn looked around the attic with curiosity, wondering if he'd find a useful weapon lying about. The stained glass windows were open again, vaguely shaping a few shafts of blood-red moonlight.

His robotic eye managed to single out something of interest. The remains of a shattered lantern.

Shards of pristine glass; a dented frame of dark, tarnished metal; a melted candle snapped in half, hanging on by the wick alone.

It was beyond any hope of being fixed.

But how did it get there?

Coryn felt the urgent need to look away. The mystery was creeping him out ever-so-slightly. Partially, he didn't want to know.

But then again, he already did. The forsaken soul who once carried the lantern was long gone, plucked off the flourishing tree of life by it.

And there was nothing left of that person except their guiding light; the light that had failed to protect them from it.

Coryn sharply snapped from his thoughts and into a ready-to-flee position by an alarming sound.

... Ding!

... Ding!

... Ding!

... Ding!

Four chimes of a bell as the clapper swung to-and-fro. It was coming from both sides above, echoed by the hollow walls.

The shock crashed, overturned by a wave of relief.

He put a hand over his hammering heart, as if assuring it that all was well.

~*~*~*~

I've been by this locked door for a long time.
Are you scared by sudden noises? I heard your heart jolt. It's going very fast now...

I like that sound.

I can't wait to hear more.
Won't you invite me in?
~*~*~*~

Coryn tugged on his hood, pulling it down and over his eyes. He felt on edge, dreading any more unpleasant surprises.

It's time for me to go. He decided. Those children are smart; they might've already found each other. So I just have to find them.

A simple press and turn of the handle; voila - the door's lock would be undone...

Was something waiting for him?

Or was it just his paranoia?

Either way, he found himself reaching out.

Felt like touching a soild block of ice.

The door handle's temperature was impossibly cold. Is something waiting on the other side?

[Don't open the door, please don't open the door... With love, from A Sleepy Phantom.]