The Haven

6. Eternal Darkness (1) Power Transmission Tower

The water in the bathroom began to rise above the height of the bathtub.

As her body moved away from the floor, she floated on the water's surface. She closed her eyes to calm herself, but her eyelids trembled anxiously. At times like this, she shouldn't do anything. She had to resist the urge to cry out, "Help me!" or "Someone save me!" as those desperate words seemed ready to burst from her lips at any moment. If she did anything, she would lose her focus and put herself in greater danger.

The water quickly rose to halfway up the bathroom's walls. Her body was getting closer to the rectangular light fixture embedded in the ceiling. It was only a matter of time before the bathroom would be completely filled with water. Soon, she would be fully submerged in the murky water, and any desperate attempts at survival swimming would be futile.

Hallucinations become clearer as you become more aware. The more you try to escape, the faster they engulf you. The more desperate your desire to live, the closer you get to death. Knowing that everything was happening in her mind, yet unable to control it, left her constantly feeling powerless. She was helpless against herself and the difficult situation she found herself in.

As expected, the water filled the entire bathroom. Her horizontal body sank completely into the water. Her ears quickly became clogged. The sound of rushing water echoed through the room, while bubbles of water bubbled frantically from her nose and mouth.

Through all that noise, a distant rumbling sound could be heard. It was sudden, sharp, and grand, like a gunshot. What was it? Before she could think deeply, she felt suffocated. She couldn't hold her breath any longer on her own. Eventually, she opened her mouth, and instead of air, she filled her body with water.

Then, there it was again, a loud bang! A second explosion, terrifyingly amplified from the earlier noise, echoed through the air. She felt her muscles tense sharply in response to the unexpected loud noise. A sharp scream, one she had never let out before, burst from her lips.

Like waking from a nightmare, everything returned to its place. For a moment, she did nothing. She just calmly observed her body, floating peacefully in the gentle water of the bathtub. It wasn't long before the bathroom light went out. Could it be a power outage? It seemed likely, especially after the loud noise she had just heard. She groped around with her hand, then left the bathroom. She grabbed the flashlight she had left outside and illuminated her surroundings.

Walking through the living room, stepping on water droplets that had fallen from her hair and body, she opened the window wide. The low mountain range behind the house was ablaze, flames shooting up from the western end. That was where the power transmission tower was located. So, there was a power outage. Considering the loud explosion followed by a larger one, it seemed that the situation was not any different for the transmission tower further away. Who would intentionally do such a thing? Or was it an accident with no one involved? Regardless of the cause, the transmission tower and the house were a bit far apart. What was important was that, according to ominous but logical expectations, the transmission tower might not be repaired. Police station. Fire station. Hospital. Convenience store. University. Swimming pool. Power company... There weren't many people keeping their positions.

She turned on the emergency generator in the backyard and turned on the power to the equipment in the laboratory. She decided to temporarily suspend the use of electronic devices and lights unrelated to the experiments. She dressed warmly by the light and wiped away the moisture on the floor.

As she walked around the house, she suddenly felt like she was in a horror movie. Dust sparkled in every space illuminated by the light as if forming some kind of shape. Facing blatant emptiness covering even the darkness in an empty space was something she had to confront head-on with sharp emptiness. It was scary. She wished someone would hold her, stroke her head, and tell her it was okay, not to be afraid.