Stuck

Level Two ♕ Dexterous

"No! No, no," I moan to myself, my hands grasping the roots of my hair, which was unbound and laid in writhing curls around my shoulders.

I blink several times and look around. Though my vision is much better without the contacts in my eyes and I can see things up close, everything just beyond hugging distance breaks out into fuzz.

"I... I'm far-sighted," I whisper in horror, my hands drifting from my crown to rest over my mouth, blocking the sob in my chest from escape.

How am I supposed to get through these trials without any proper vision? I won't be able to see someone coming after me until they're right on my tail! Hell, I can't even see three feet in front of me!

"You need glasses," comes a voice.

Without a word, I turn and look next to me. That's where I heard it, but no one was there. A shudder runs through my veins, raising goosebumps along the surface of my skin.

"I'm not beside you," she says.

"Who are you?" I ask, glancing about me.

"I just spoke a few minutes ago," she replies hastily. "I'm Mallory, your Patron. I help you throughout this by giving you advice."

I frown and rub my finger inside of my ear, feeling to see if there was any sort of device to allow me to hear her. "How can I trust you?"

Mallory's laugh sounds in my ear, right where my finger is. I drop it with a huff I feel nothing out of the ordinary. "You can't. That's what makes this even more interesting! You can decide to go with what I say.... or not."

I sigh and shake my head. This is too much. "Where do I go?"

"To get your sight back," she replies. "The first objective is to get back from your disadvantage. There's only one pair of glasses here, and you need to get to them before the other two do. So leave your room."

"Two?" I ask, approaching the door. 

"Were you not listening?" Mallory demands. "Mister Plummer declared that there are two people who are far-sighted, and one near."

I can't help but notice how she says his name, with the tone of complete respect and awe. Though it bothers me, I decide to ignore it. "Yeah, but he also said we couldn't get to any of the objects until Level Three, and I think we're only on the second one."

I stand up and move towards where I heard the hissing noise from earlier, judging it to have come from the door. I touch the heavy metal once I reach it; it feels cold, but at least it's open and not locking me inside of this room anymore. I have a feeling that I wouldn't be able to open it on my own. 

I step outside, and a massive pressure rolls from off my shoulders. I feel freer than I had been while in that baren room. Because now I had options and places to move around in. I pull my hood up over my head, concealing my red mess of curls.

Surrounding me seems like nothing but wood. Wood everywhere. Making up the walls, the floors, the ceiling. Barely any light was provided, making it even harder to see in the darkened hallway. And creeping around doesn't look like it'll be easy when there's a creak at every step.

I peer around, hoping that even the blur my faulty eyes provide can offer some sort of silhouette or movement.

"You're in the clear, girl," Mallory says jokingly.

I roll my eyes and push past, bumping into the corner of the wall before proceeding down the corridor. I feel completely off balance and flustered without my sight or anything to defend myself with. I feel like there's someone watching me and laughing.