Ameranth

Chapter 5

Rae opened her eyes from what felt like the longest dream. Sitting up, she looked around at her surroundings. Nothing was out of the ordinary, it was just her bedroom. She thought to herself about how real the dream had felt.

Putting her hand to her forehead, she checked for sweat, finding nothing. She was perfectly fine. The fever was gone, practically untraceable. In fact, all signs of her ailment were untraceable, even her family. She stood from her bed, noticing a nip in the air.

"Hey Dad? Max? Hello?" she called, stepping to her door.

She opened it, passing through the hallway. The living room was empty and pristine. Not a soul in sight. It seemed as though no one had been there in a while, yet it also looked as though it was cleaned recently.

"Odd.... Where are they?" Rae went to check the hallway outside the apartment, only to find it empty as well.

She closed the door and sat on the couch. Twiddling her thumbs, she stared at the floor, imagining where they could have run off to. She wasn't sure why, but things just didn't seem right. It was as though maybe the dream didn't end. Maybe she was still in it. She considered the possiblities until her train of thought was broken by a knock at the door. Rae ran to the door with a burst of relief.

"There you ar-" Rae's relief disappeared quicker than it came.

Stepping back in fear, the door opened further to reveal her visitor. Rae was unsure of how to describe what she was seeing. The echo of Max's question from earlier rang in her ears. Do you believe in ghosts?

"Hello Miss Angelo, may I come in?" the guest was the tall figure that Rae had seen fighting Max in her dream.

"I.... I... I don't think so...." Rae continued to back away in horror as the figure stepped in, regardless of her reply.

His eyes seemed to see all and nothing. One could not tell what he was specifically looking at, unless he was looking specifically at the person who was trying to find out. Rae shook her head as she backed against the coffee table. She yelped as she fell to the floor. Filled with confusion and scared for her life, she rushed to her feet. She could feel that the being's gaze did not leave her direction.

"Now listen, I don't know who you are, but you're not welcomed here." she mustered.

"You say that Miss Angelo, yet you did not close the door. So here I am." the figure waved his finger back and forth in a taunting manner. "Would you really expel a guest?"

She felt a weight on her shoulders, as though he was restraining her with his gaze. He stepped forth once more, every step made the room crack, like fragile glass. Until finally, the whole room shattered into bright shards and fell into a black nothing beneath their feet. Despite such a strange sight, Rae and the being stood straight within the blackened void, as though there was an invisible platform upon which they were allowed to remain. The figure looked around for a moment, quickly snapping back to Rae.

"Your world is shattering Miss Angelo. A shame that we devote our lives to such fragile concepts." the being persisted, still stepping towards Rae.

She backed up several more steps before being obstructed by an invisible wall, similar to what they seemed to stand upon.

The figure continued, closing proximity until her breath seemed to bounce off its chest. Her body felt excessively cold and weak. Out of fear, she began to shed tears.

"I'm not powerless... You're- I'm very powerful, I'll hurt you!"

"I doubt that." the being brushed his hand against her cheek in a mocking fashion.