105
Through the flickering red light, I could barely make out the figure in front of me, my breath locked so tightly in my throat it felt like my chest was going to cave in. My pulse slammed in my ears, every part of me frozen, my wrist still locked in that grip, fingers tight, holding on like they had no intention of letting go. I didn’t move. I couldn’t. My hand was trembling, my legs locked, my eyes wide as they strained through the flickering glow, trying to see, trying to figure out who was standing there, but the darkness swallowed everything up the second the light blinked out, and I was left blind, stuck in place, my muscles coiled so tight they hurt. The silence was worse than the grip on my skin, worse than the racing of my heart, worse than the fear choking up my throat. And then—soft, quiet, right in front of me, a barely-there breath of sound—
"Shhhh."
The flickering light buzzed back on for a second, and I saw her.
Sophia.
The lanky girl stood in front of me, her wide, terrified eyes looking right into mine, her chest rising and falling fast, one hand still wrapped around my wrist, the other pressed against her lips in a silent warning. I hadn’t even realized I was holding my breath until the tightness in my lungs snapped, and the air rushed in too fast, leaving me dizzy. My knees almost gave out from the sheer force of relief, my head spinning as I exhaled shakily, my eyes squeezing shut, my shoulders sagging. I bent forward, my palms pressing against my thighs as I tried to catch my breath, my whole body trembling. My skin was hot, sticky, like I had just run miles, but I had barely moved. Sophia stayed right where she was, standing over me, shifting from foot to foot, her own breathing heavy, her fingers twitching where they still clung to my wrist. She was looking over her shoulder every few seconds, her whole body tense, wound up like she was ready to bolt, but she wasn’t running yet. She was just standing there, eyes darting back and forth, back and forth, scanning the hallway like she expected something to crawl out of the darkness and grab us both.
Then, without warning, she yanked me upright.
I barely had time to stumble back to my feet before she was pulling me forward, her grip strong despite how much she was shaking, her fingers digging into my wrist like she was too scared to let go. I opened my mouth to speak, to ask what the hell she was doing out here, why she wasn’t in bed, why she was sneaking around like this, but before I could even get the words out, she was tugging me down the hallway, her steps fast, too fast, her breath uneven as she muttered, "If Clarissa sees us, we’re dead."
The words were so blunt, so final, that my body jerked in response, my pulse picking up again.
"Wait—" I tried to keep up, stumbling slightly, my feet moving fast against the cold floor, my voice coming out breathless. "I thought Adeline was in charge. Why are you acting like Clarissa makes the calls here?"
Sophia didn’t slow down, but her fingers tightened around my wrist, her head tilting slightly, her voice barely above a whisper when she answered.
"Because she does," she said, dragging me along, her eyes still darting back and forth, scanning the darkness like it was alive. "Clarissa decides everything. She decides what happens when people break the rules."
My heart thudded, something about the way she said it making my stomach twist. "What do you mean?"
"Punishment." Sophia’s voice was quieter now, but there was something in it that made the hair on my arms rise. "Torture. Death."
The flickering red light buzzed again, flashing over her face for half a second, and I saw the way her lips pressed together, the way her hands trembled even though she was still gripping onto me, holding on like I was the only thing keeping her steady. I stared at her, my steps still brisk, still matching hers, but my mind was struggling to keep up. She was serious. She wasn’t exaggerating. She wasn’t being dramatic. My mouth went dry, my throat closing up as I looked straight ahead, watching the hallway stretch endlessly in front of us, the darkness swallowing up everything each time the light flicked out.
We kept moving, our footsteps fast, the only sound in the suffocating silence. Every time the light went out, the blackness was so deep it felt like the world around us had disappeared. I couldn’t even see my own hands, couldn’t see the floor beneath me, couldn’t see anything except the brief red glow when it flickered back on. Sophia was still clutching my wrist, still leading the way, her grip almost painful now, like she was afraid I would disappear if she let go. Her breaths were shallow, uneven, coming out in little gasps that barely made a sound.
Then, softly, her voice barely above a whisper, she asked, "What do you know about Adeline?"
I blinked, my mind stalling. I had to think about it for a second, had to really think. What did I know? What did I actually know about her? She had been Dominic’s ex. That was it. That was all I knew. Nothing about who she was, where she came from, why she was here, why she had any of this power. I didn’t know anything.
Before I could answer, Sophia spoke again, even softer this time.
"You’re not crazy."
I almost tripped over my own feet.
The way she said it, the way her voice cracked just slightly, sent a chill down my spine. I swallowed, trying to shake off the feeling pressing down on me, the weight in my chest. "What?"
We kept moving, the hallway never-ending, the flickering red light casting long shadows on the walls, stretching our figures out, making them twist, morph, vanish each time the glow died out. The blackness swallowed everything again, leaving nothing but the sound of our footsteps, and then—
"You’re not crazy," Sophia repeated.
Her grip on my wrist tightened.
"That’s what they do," she murmured, her voice barely a breath. "When you get here, they try to break you. They make you think you’re losing your mind. They bend you until you don’t know what’s real anymore. They make you follow their rules. They make you give in."
My mouth opened, but nothing came out.
My mind was spinning, twisting itself in knots, trying to process what she was saying, what she meant, what it all meant. My breath came shorter, shallower, my skin burning despite how cold the hallway felt. We kept moving, our figures disappearing into the darkness, into the black that stretched endlessly ahead of us. The red light flickered again, flashing across Sophia’s face for a brief second, just long enough for me to see the fear in her eyes before it blinked away again, plunging us back into nothingness.
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
