WTMR: Part 9

Chapter 5, Part 2: The Red World

Evelynn bounded up the steps, breathing heavily. Her palms struggled to grasp support that could keep up with her rapid pace, adrenaline coursing through her veins like she was high. Crashes rang through the stairwell, motions behind her a chaotic mess that shook the building.

A cough rang about her as dust fell from above, a gray powder that made her gut twist. It seemed like the concrete wasn’t holding up much longer. There was nothing to fling at the danger to her back, as much as she wished there was.

Another ear-piercing scratch rang about, followed by the largest vibrations she’d felt so far. She tripped over the next step while imbalanced, making harsh pain jolt through her face and cheek. The cold, hard floor was too harsh, too solid for her landing.

Evelynn’s red hands claw to get up, raw from the many railings she had dragged them on. Her thoughts raced faster than ever, stifling the pain receptors with the utter fear ringing in her ears. 

She was going to die.

The monster took the chance speedily, rushing up the steps as she picked herself up, ready to tear her apart, to feast on her organs or whatever it wanted with her. Its long shadow held surprising force, shaking the stairwell’s infrastructure each time it landed closer on the steps, which were much more like leaps.

Abruptly, it stopped, and Evelynn froze. The shadow monster seemed to grin at her, the eerie red world making it nearly impossible to notice, if it weren’t for the adrenaline forcing her body to work overtime. More gray dust had been falling, and Evelynn strained herself to look up, having to cover up for protection against the eye irritation.

Cracks like intricate spider webs had formed, spreading through the stone above her as if the solid and sustainable material was created from fragile glass.  Her breath caught in her throat, and she finally grabbed the railing, tightening her grip impossibly to shoot upwards on the support. Evelynn needed to run, now.

The monster taunted her, letting out the most retch-inducing giggle that rippled down her spine. The spiny leg fake stomped, making her freeze. Shadow limbs waved, landing for real the next time. 

The stairwell above cracked and cracked more, lights flickering away to thick fuzzy darkness, before coming back on to transform the world back to a murky red.

Voices edged into Evelynn’s consciousness, causing her to wonder if she was hallucinating. The monster had started inching forward again, Evelynn’s chest heaving harshly.

Echoes rebounded, times her parents yelled about a grade dropping, kids mocking her when she was younger, all the times a teacher told her they were worried about her.

Tears prickled at her lashes as she forced herself up, shaking now. With the next reverberating stomp, the stairwell above finally shattered, sending rubble tumbling down towards her. She screamed, legs forcing her to run, pure fear leaking into each step.

Clouds of dust were released into every corner of the room, and loud banging followed the concrete down the steps to the monster waiting below. She told herself not to look back as it screamed again, this time in pain, just to get to safety.

When her fingers finally touched the cold metal of the doorknob, the lights flickered again. The cold relief flooding through her almost made her laugh at the thought of getting away.

A slimy, cold substance leaked onto her hand. She froze, fear immediately locking up her muscles as she looked up. Above her, in a mess of shadows, were those empty eye sockets that would always haunt her dreams.