Endless

cHaPtEr ThIrTy OnE

I woke up with a jolt.

Somehow I was in my bed...

No. That couldn't be a dream. I knew that all of that was real. How could it not be?

I'm glad that I was at least teleported to my bed once my quest was over. That was rather considerate. Although...

I started to panic as I felt that my hand was empty. When it shouldn't have been since I was clearly holding onto it. Unless I dropped it somewhere while I was asleep?

Alyssa's diary...

I really needed that. I needed to know why she was tormented, how she became this messed up. What was going on in this crazy place.

And I would find it no matter what.

For the first time in possibly my entire life, I sprinted out of bed instantly and eager to start the day. I wouldn't have much luck searching for it if I was just laying in bed doing nothing, would I?

I ran out of my room and knocked on Claudia's door repeatedly. She was rather notorious when it came to taking things of mine so I was pretty sure that she was the culprit.

I couldn't help but wonder how she'd react to it...surely she'd think it was just a made up story or something. Any sane person would have the same impression.
As the words "silly ghost stories" kept buzzing through my mind, I kept knocking.

...No reply.

"I know you're in there!" I shouted threateningly.

Huh, still no reply...

It was then that I remembered something that happened during that strange experience.

Before I fell into the underground, the last thing I heard was Claudia screaming for help.

Oh god...what if she was in trouble?! And after all that effort to save her. Was that all just for nothing?

Starting to feel really paranoid, I flung the door open.

No one was in there. But the thing that disturbed me most?

...The room was completely empty.

It was literally just walls, windows, and floor. No posters, mirrors, phones, nothing.

Although as I looked above, I saw a familiar message...

FuN iS InFiNiTe

FuN iS EnDlEsS

Well I didn't expect to see that again...I thought to myself bitterly. I'd rather not think about what "fun" Claudia might be having, but at that moment it was all I could think about.

At least Thomas was gone...there was no way I'd see him again, right? He was literally erased from existence.

Wait...what if...

I immediately rushed downstairs to see my mother.

...

"Mother! Mother!" I screamed as I frantically ran around the mansion to find her.

Eventually I saw her walk out her office, looking rather annoyed at me.

"You don't need to shout, Owen. A simple knock would have sufficed."

"Look, there's no time!" I shouted in a frenzied panic. "Claudia's gone. Her room is empty and I haven't been able to find her anywhere."

As I said these words my mother...she looked confused. Like my words suddenly shocked her, yet to her I seemed like I was babbling about nonsense that didn't make any sense.