Kronii sighs
"I wonder if I should start taking him with me? He's so paranoid about IRyS..."
She remembers how she once felt the same way and laughs
They'll all learn eventually
She inserted her key into the door, ready to greet her boyfriend
However, she froze.
The door wasn't locked.
In fact, it was already open
Just inserting the key in was enough to open it all the way
She poked her head inside
It was broad daylight outside, but inside you'd never be able to tell. It was completely dark
She reached for the lights, but her boyfriend was nowhere to be found
"Helloooo? Anon?"
No matter how much she called, no one answered.
Her only companion was the resounding echo that followed
She initially thought this was a prank, and prepared herself to mess back with them
She moved around the hallways for a while, turning on every light in every room, calling out, looking for signs of life
It would be a while before she noticed it
A second set of footsteps, following her own
Every now and then, they would come and go
Matching her exact pace
"Haha... okay, anon! I think it's about time we did away with this..."
Again, there was no response. The echo felt like it was mocking her, forcing her to listen to her own rationalizations
Eventually, she found him
"Anon? Anon!"
She rushed to his site. He was laying down against a chest, living but completely exhausted
He was naked, stripped of every sign of humanity from head to toe
Uninjured, yet covered completely with his own semen and other fluids
She even thought she saw blood, but it couldn't have been. It can't have been his, he was completely intact
"Who did this? What... what happened?!"
In response, he gave a short moan, and slowly slung his head to face her, mouthing something
"I need you to... I need you to speak up, please... it's okay, I'll find who did this..."
His voice weak and fizzling out, he used the last of his energy to speak out
"...Hope... has descended..."
"...What?"
But it was too late for elaboration. He had passed out, pushed to utter exhaustion by his assailant
Kronii slowly raised herself up, looking around in sheer paranoia. Yet, no matter where she turned, the halls were completely silent
Except... for the footsteps that followed her, when she walked
As she turned around to leave, she felt it
The feeling of someone else. The warmth their body emanated, their breath rushing past her neck
They were... right there... behind her!
There was definitely a person!
"...!"
But when she turned around, to capture her boyfriend's rapist, there was no one
All she could do was hit the wall in frustration, the knock echoing deeply within the halls
Yet, as soon as she did that, the lights she had carefully turned on went back out
"GWAK!"
Terrified, her first instinct was to run for some time, those footsteps following her no matter how quick her pace.
She leaned against a wall, catching her breath
She's been in darkness this whole time, so she lights a torch
"Hirys!"
"GWAAAAK!"
"Why are you RUNNING?"
"...!!!"
She fell down to the floor, the torch being knocked out of her hands, her unknown assailant barely even visible.
They stomp mercilessly on her torch, putting it out
But she knew that voice well
Even in darkness, they pinned her to the ground, climbing on top of her, holding down her arms
She felt like the prey of a wolf
All she had while her eyes adjusted was the sound and feeling of the assailant's breath, right against her nose
But she didn't need to see to know who it was
"Why...?"
"Your boyfriend looked like he needed some hope."
"...No... please..."
And once she did finally get a look, no matter how unfocused... all she could see were the deranged, animal-like pinpricks staring at her in the dark
And that was the last thing she saw before Hope descended

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Pub: 16 Sep 2021 04:42 UTC
Views: 206