The Missing Linck

• TWELVE •

I resist the urge to flail wildly and push Reid away from me. There's this almost inaudible voice in me that's telling me to stay still. And then there's the rest that's screaming its lungs out to get me to shove him away and ferally thrash about until whatever's causing this terrible fire dies out. Despite its tiny voice, I feel compelled to obey the first.

It takes such a colossal effort to keep still as my very first (and strongest) impulse is to follow the second. Torn so, I at least manage to get distracted from the blinding pain now alighting my torso. It steadily spreads all over my body like a wildfire in a forest, all consuming. It binds me to the ground, keeping me too befuddled to even react anymore.

I find myself hating the clarity now. It just makes the pain worse. I further wish for the old blurriness when a low hiss sounds time and again. It resembles a snake's hiss but has a sinister edge to it that makes my blood freeze.

It draws closer and closer and closer and closer until-

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My eyelids feel so heavy that it feels almost impossible to open them. My eyes long to be able to take in my surroundings so I force my leaden eyelids open. I expect to flinch as bright light hits my eyes and squint my eyes in readiness but there's barely any light in wherever I am.

The only source of light is a small slit in the wall opposite me at a height of maybe three feet above me. Dim light filters in through the slit and touches upon parts of the room, illuminating them enough for me to see that this is a mostly empty and tiny room.

I'm somehow propped up against a wall that's wedged in between the dirt caked walls to my left and right barely a couple of inches away from my sides. The wall opposite me is also like the ones to my sides but only with a dusty door with a grimy glass panel that seems blackened on the other side. Two feet above the door and near the right corner is the aforementioned slit that seems like a rough chunk dug out of the wall.

Apart from me, there's only a short and wide table halfway between the door and me in the room. Something lies on the table and is covered in a cloth that makes it unrecognizable. A musty smell overpowers my senses and it's far from pleasant.

All in all, this seems like either a place that has totally been forgotten for several decades or one that's purposely ill-maintained and is to be used as a prison of sorts. Either way, to say I'm scared feels like a gross understatement. I'm this close (gestures to a teensy distance between thumb and index finger) to being scared to death. In case the room has been forgotten for decades together, this is nowhere I should be. If it's the latter case, what am I in for?

I strain my ears to try to hear any signs of life but the only thing I hear is water dripping from somewhere close by that I can't see.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

I begin to count the drips to distract me from the exhaustion that threatens to overwhelm me.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

How'd I wind up here? The last thing I remember is Rei- I gasp as it all flows back to me. The pain. The fear. The hiss. And then nothing. It's like I remember but it's purposefully being concealed. It's like a man-made cave - it could be natural looking but anyone could spot that it's crafted that way by a human. The edges are too clean-cut to be natural.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

Reid. He has a hand in this, only I can't figure it out. And 'Alex'. Valor said he couldn't read my mind but that I was broad-

A pair of feet burst into my thoughts, clearly running as their owner crashes open the door seconds later, closing the door behind them. I can't make out who it is because their silhouette is seen, the background lighting making them appear just like a shadow.

They stand there for a long time, still and rigid, while I wait for them to say something, all the time trying to figure out their identity by any characteristics I can make out. They're at least five feet and eight inches by the way they tower over me.

After what feels like several hours, they say something in a low voice that quickens my heart's pace. No, not the kind you reads about in romance novels. The kind that seriously makes you wonder if the end is here.

And I realize at once who it is.

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Okay, I have zero apologies to make to excuse myself now. As it was pointed out to me, this story is turning out more mystery/thriller than horror. I'm trying to fix that in the upcoming chapters so please send me any suggestions you have by comment, PM or drop a message on my message board. Any ideas and suggestions will be welcome and appreciated.

Plotwise, I really like the way it's going to shape up in maybe five to seven chapters. You might not, in which case, I'm sorry hon.

As usual, theories are welcome and feel free to let me know anything else you feel about this chapter, any chapter or the story in general. To me, this chapter feels kinda filler, so sorry about that...

Thank you for reading, and hope I chill your blood soon 😂😂

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