The condition of the world is deteriorating. Dark, mysterious entities lurk around, devouring the minds of the pure and vulnerable. They sense even just a faint hint of despondency like how they sense blood.
Human extinction is only a few steps awa...
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Chapter 12: Heavy Rain
A place so lively where silence only visits when the doors are locked was once again alive to its full extent, only the squeaking of shoes and resounding laughters were of running footsteps and frantic shouting instead. Ramsey was the first one to get to the first floor, followed by the others. When he instructed that everyone should part ways to try and find the missing child, he ignored the pounding of his temples, the deafening drumming in his ears, and the question as to why the walls felt like they were closing around him. Hiding anything that hinted distress in his face was his talent. Everyone but Matteo didn't notice how agitated and worried he was.
"Ramsey, are you okay, man?" Matteo, who was already perspiring, gives a firm pat on Ramsey's back. He was pushed aside by Penny before he could even open his twitching mouth.
"Move, now." For a second, Ramsey didn't recognize Penny's voice. She didn't sound like the soft, bubbly girl that she was. Her voice at present was as sharp as an iron sword, piercing through Ramsey and Matteo's heads. She was determined to find Elaine.
Emelie was waiting for the others outside the mall, looking at the dark sky above her. Hearing the faint peal of thunder from the distance, she closed her eyes. Please, Doug. We need you.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was the soothing whispers that led Elaine towards wherever she was at now. She could still hear them even when the rain was pouring hard. Her short legs almost seemed like they were moving on their own--an unexplainable feeling was pulling her, like a rope tied around her body, but she didn't struggle to free from it, instead, she embraced it. She gasped when she distinguished the familiar scene in front of her. It was the cliff that she always saw in her dream. Beyond the steep cliff was only darkness. She concluded that this must be a dream, only that it was different from the previous ones.
She lifted her feet above spongy mud, walked towards the edge, and peered down carefully, seeing nothing below. Vague, gibberish chanting echoed, floating thick around her. Little by little, the sound of the rain was growing tranquil, until she could hear it no more. Looking around, she wasn't sure what to think of the situation anymore. It felt too real to become a dream. Her thoughts were interrupted when a glowing white figure appeared. The chanting had stopped.
"Mommy?"
It couldn't be, she realized. She watched her mother pass away in a hospital bed while holding her bony hand. She was sure of it. Wiping the raindrops from her eyes, she looked at the figure from top to bottom. It was impossible to disregard the same features that her mother had--her signature closed lip smile, her ebony skin, and a dot of mole on her pointy chin.
Elaine ignored the drops of rain landing on her tongue as her mouth was locked agape. She wanted to run towards whatever that looked like her mother, and hug her, yet she froze in place. The figure smiled warmly and floated towards her, a hand reached out. Elaine didn't feel anything when she took her mother's hand.
