The Chase in the Hallway

Kids were running in an empty hallway; their footsteps echoed through the hall. Behind them was a shadowy, woman-like figure. As it approached closer and closer, its features became more visible. She was wearing a white dress and had long black hair. Only one eye could be seen between the bangs of the woman, a knife in her hand. Her tongue was falling out of her mouth along with drool, an evil smile on her long, pale face.

The boy fell while running. “I’m dead for sure now!”

The girl held the hand of the boy and helped him get up.

“Don’t fall now! Run…” said the girl.

“Hm… yes!” said the boy.

“Come here, kids, hahaha…..” Evil laughter echoed through the hallway as she chased after them.

A door could be seen at the end of the hallway. They reached out for the door handle. *Click..click..click..*

“It’s locked from the other side, damn it…” said the boy.

“There’s a crack just below the old door handle. Try to reach the handle from the other side with your hand,” said the girl.

The boy reached for the door handle through the crack.

“Open it up fast, she is chasing us! Hurry up!” said the girl.

“I know, I am trying.. I am trying..” said the boy.

With a click, the door was finally unlocked.

“Bingo! Go, go, go!” said the boy.

They entered through the door, and the boy shut it with a loud bang.

“Hurry, put a talisman on the door!” said the boy.

The girl quickly reached for her purse, picked out a paper talisman, and put it on top of the door.

“Let’s get out of here! The talisman will hold for some time. Run…”

A sacred barrier formed behind the door. The pale woman came running down the hallway, hit the door hard, and fell. She then got up and started banging on it violently.

The sound of her banging could be heard by both the girl and the boy from the other side as they ran.

They started running towards another door next to the hallway, the sounds of her assault echoing around them. After a few minutes, the banging stopped and they heard her whispering something, but they kept running.

A loud boom sounded behind them. They looked back and saw that the door had been shattered by the woman. The broken pieces fell like dried leaves from a tree. The barrier was broken. The woman reached her hands around the right and left side of the doorframe, and her face appeared from the darkness as she came through.

She looked towards the girl and boy and said, ”You can't run forever.. hahah..”

They looked back and saw the woman sprinting towards them again.

“She’s coming again, quick, run!” said the girl.

Both the girl and boy sprinted towards the next gate. After they opened the door, they saw there was no ground below—nowhere to escape.

“No other way around; we need to jump,” said the boy.

“Are you crazy? We will die!” said the girl.

“Trust me, we won’t die!” said the boy.

He grabbed her hand, ran forward, and jumped. While falling, they saw the woman standing on the edge of the doorway they had jumped from, watching them before walking back inside.

As they fell into the void below, the boy picked a talisman with an image of a bird drawn on it from his pocket and threw it into the sky.

The talisman transformed into a giant owl, which caught both the girl and the boy in a saddle basket on top of its back, then flew towards the sky. The boy moved towards the neck of the bird, grabbed the leash, and steered it in the correct direction.

“You can open your eyes now... and… um.. let go of my hand,” said the boy.

“Um… yes, yes,” said the girl. She laid flat on the saddle and started crying while looking at the sky. “I thought I was going to get killed by that woman! Thanks for coming to my rescue,” she said while crying.

“I was scared too, to tell the truth!” said the boy.

“Yes.. huff.. huff..” the girl said, wiping tears from her cheeks.

Then the girl came to the edge of the basket and looked at the landscape: a large forest covering the land with thick, mist-like clouds between the trees. The stars twinkled in the sky, and moonlight shone on everything below them.

“Did you get the dolls that looked like your friends?” asked the boy.

“Yes, here.” The girl checked the dolls in her bag.

“Nice. Now we need to reach the altar in my tower and perform the ritual,” said the boy.

“I hope they become human again,” said the girl.

“This world is not for the living, you know. I hope you find your way out of here soon, along with your friends, of course,” said the boy.

“Hm.. I hope so,” said the girl. She slowly closed her eyes and fell asleep.

“…In this world, nothing dies, as they are all already dead. The dead can’t be more dead…” The boy kept talking, then looked and saw that the girl had already fallen asleep.

He got up from his seat, approached the girl calmly, covered her with his jacket, and whispered “Good night, princess” in her ear.

The girl muttered in her sleep, “Grandpa…” The boy smirked but said nothing and returned to his position. They continued towards the tower in the mesmerizing night.