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Chapter 2

I wake up in a dark room, almost pitch black.

Where am I?

How did I get here?

I feel a strong gaze upon me, as if someone were staring right at me, yet I am completely alone.

I am not tied up.

I'm not uncomfortable.

It's almost as if I just stumbled upon this peculiar room, sitting down to my own will.

I get up off the chair, feeling around for a door or, an exit. I just need a way out. The longer I look, the more frantic and desperate I get. The room is large, which makes me panic even more.

I am terrified, yet I am calm.

The room carries a dark and disturbing, yet tranquil and serene atmosphere.

It is completely silent, all I can hear is my own breathing and my thoughts; I am floating through space, alone, with nothing but my own mind to comfort me.

Muffled voices echo somewhere off in the distance. I lean against a wall and try to make out what they're saying.

All I can hear is a man shouting in some foreign language, but after that, I can't hear anyone speaking, instead, I hear footsteps.

A few minutes later, I hear a door squeaking open, I see a bright light. I can almost see their face, but not entirely.

When my vision finally adjusts, but it is not a person that I see. Instead, I see the blank white ceiling that I am so used to, the ceiling I wake up to every morning.

I sit up in my bed, bewildered. I only notice how out of breath I am after a few seconds, when I am trying to find the switch for my lamp. I feel around me until I find the button, and finally, I can see properly. My heart is still beating faster than it should.

I get up and clumsily find my way to the kitchen, where I make myself a cup of tea, and sit down. My head hurts, my vision is still a bit blurry, but- somehow- I manage to ignore that.

As I sit in my chair, I hear the floor creak. I become almost paralyzed as I remember what happened just across the road. The memory rushes back to me in flashes, but it's still just as horrifying.

For a moment, I think I hear footsteps behind me, but when I check, no one is there.

I must still be in shock. It must have shaken me so bad I've started hallucinating. Wouldn't anybody become just as frantic and grief stricken if they saw their neighbours dead body? If they saw any dead body?

I turn my phone off, change, grab my bag, and get out as quick as possible; making sure to lock every door and close every window.

I get in my car and begin driving. I don't think about where to; I just drive.

It was just a dream, and nothing more. I overreacted.

So why am I still so anxious?

I stop the car. I need quiet. I need to think.

No.

I need to do the complete opposite. I need to forget what I saw.

 Within a few minutes I find myself walking up the small, cobblestone steps of Ivy's house. I ring the doorbell, but there's no answer. Strange. I look through the curtains. All the lights are on, yet there's no sign of anyone. Even weirder.

"Piper?"

Sure enough, it's Ivy.

"Ivy, why are you outside so early?" I question her, not sure what to say, "You scared me,"