Tension

This corridor was more of an endless absurdity. That was the only thing I could agree with Leo on.

I couldn’t see the end of it from either side. It stretched endlessly in both directions, the white light sealing each end – a tunnel to death.

I walked quickly to my left as I moved away from my cell, trying to find my way out of this ‘prison’. If the exit couldn’t be found easily, then I had to explore. So I did.

Every few meters along both sides of the corridor were doors similar to the one I had seen earlier. I tried to force them open, but most were locked, and my efforts led nowhere – only to disappointment. I repeated the process several times, trying every door I encountered, failing each time.

The white neon lights on the ceiling, accentuating the corridor’s brightness, suddenly shifted to red, bathing the walls and floor in a blood-red glow. The oppressive atmosphere began to spread inside me. I felt as though I were walking through blood itself.

Some of the neon lights malfunctioned, blinking in a jerky rhythm that caught my eye. The sight stopped me in my tracks and made me freeze in place.

With the alarm pounding inside my head and the light aching in my eyes and brain, I felt weakened. My body no longer responded to my orders as clearly or with the same resolve as before. Walking was painful. Thinking hurt. But I didn’t have time to stop. I had to move before he could catch me and throw me back into my cell.

I leaned my head against the wall, closing my eyes tightly, massaging my temples with one hand and delivering quick slaps to my face with the other to force my body to obey and my mind to function again – at least long enough to escape. I repeated the process only a few times, quickly. I had to stay focused.

I resumed walking, feeling the crushing pressure of the light and the alarm, as though they were leaving permanent scars on my ears and eyes.

“I feel weak… It's as if all my strength is abandoning me against my will. This isn’t normal at all.”

My body, plunged into torpor, moved forward with difficulty. I no longer knew if I was still the one controlling it or if I had simply become an external observer of this weak shell of flesh that was mine.

Would I be able to escape the slumber I was falling into if I wasn’t in charge of keeping myself awake? The question had no answer. I just kept going, hoping for some exit to appear by miracle in front of my eyes. Yet there were no miracles in this corridor – only despair and chaos awaiting me.

“I’m tired… too tired. My mind is giving up against against my will to this environment. I should–”

I stopped moving and listened more carefully to what had interrupted my thoughts.

Between the shrill cries of the alarm that it was incessantly spitting into my ears, I distinguished another sound. A strange sound.

“A laugh…? Strange… I feel like I've heard it somewhere before”

Strange it certainly was. It came from a rather hoarse voice and spread in a jerky fashion before picking up again, blending into a horrific melody – a duet with the alarm announcing hell.

Searching around, I saw nothing. No sign of life. Just the red stretching as far as the eye could see.

As intriguing as it was terrifying, focusing on this laugh helped my mind to ease and my body to regain a semblance of energy somehow. I couldn’t explain it or understand it. I was simply surprised to find myself standing back up, recovering my abilities, staring at my body in disbelief.

I started walking again – or rather, running from door to door without wasting a second. But it brought me no luck. All were closed, to my utter despair.

“But this laugh… I’m sure… I’m sure I’ve heard it before. This feeling of recognition won’t leave my chest… it’s weighing on it. Something’s strange. I can still hear it, but it’s as if it’s coming from the walls… from somewhere the person laughing can watch me struggle…”

Lost in my thoughts, I missed several doors and ran straight ahead without checking any. When reality caught up with me, I looked back and realized my mistake, clicking my tongue.

“Well… fuck it. I’ll try to find the end of this corridor… if there is one.”

I abandoned the idea of checking every door and ran without thinking about them anymore, keeping my eyes fixed on the nonexistent end of the road ahead of me, the same chaos unfolding everywhere around me.

I must have been running for several minutes, but nothing changed in sight, and no one was chasing me. I slowed down my pace to catch my breath.

I was about to stop and rest for a moment before continuing when, beside one of the doors ahead of me, it looked like a person was leaning against the wall. It was screaming loudly, despite being drowned out by the alarm. Those screams belonged to someone suffering, expelling pain from deep within, as if being tortured at that very moment.

I approached slowly, trying to figure out who it could be – or rather, what it could be. As I drew closer, it became clearer. It wasn’t someone. It was something – a wooden puppet, to be exact. No eyes, no clothes, no hair, no distinctive traits. Just a plain puppet carved from wood and left there with no personality to distinguish it from any other, as if abandoned by its maker, deceived by his creation, or lacking time to finish it, leaving only a crude piece of wood shaped like a puppet.

The screams were coming from it – there was no doubt. The closer I got, the clearer they became, and the more obvious it was that the sound originated from it. I couldn’t understand this strange phenomenon, yet another addition to the growing list of things haunting my spirit, forcing me to ask questions I couldn’t answer or comprehend.

“Somehow… this puppet reminds me of the doll. No mouth, yet sounds are as clear as if it had one. I know I shouldn’t, but… I want to know before going.”

I crouched in front of it, intrigued and curious.

I extended my hand, trying to reach the screaming head of the puppet – to feel it, to grasp what I couldn’t understand, hoping some light would finally illuminate my mind.

Closer and closer, my hand advanced slowly. Fear? No. More like dread – the dread of not knowing what awaited me.

Suddenly, one of the puppet’s arms lifted to its side, drawing my gaze to it instantly. I snapped my eyes back to its face just in time to see a pair of eyes form in the wood – human eyes – staring at me, veins bloodshot and red as the corridor itself. Even without a mouth or eyebrows, I knew those eyes were not here to welcome me – or help me.

I jumped back to my feet, keeping my gaze locked on this atrocity before me. Who knew what might happen if I didn’t?

“Ryota!” A voice shouted from afar – but not so far from where I had come from – my name echoing amid the chaos.

Despite the red lights blurring my vision, I could see a black dot rushing toward me, growing larger by second. The person was running as fast as they could.

“Leo! I still have a little time – he’s not that fast, but… fuck! The puppet!”

I had looked away for only a second, yet when I turned back, it was gone. It had disappeared.

My head began to spin. The world revolved violently around me. I collapsed to one knee, unable to keep my balance, clutching my head in an attempt to steady myself and stop the dizziness.

A chill ran down my spine. Fear crawled from my toes to my brain, breaking through my thoughts.

“Something’s coming… I know it… I know what this is…”

“Ryota! Ryota! It’s coming here! We’re–”

The doll in my backpack began to thrash violently, kicking against my back while screaming – a mix of high-pitched shrieks and strange, muffled sounds, as if it were breathing rapidly in terror.

“What? You called it here? Why did you make it come? What’s the point of making me suffer more when I'm already in this shitty situation!?” I shouted, panicked.

The zipper opened from the inside, making its voice clearer.

“It’s not me… I promise… I didn’t call it! It’s not me! Please… it shouldn’t be here! We have to move… quickly!” The doll cried, completely panicked, terrified of what was about to happen.

Leo was closing the distance, his silhouette now fully visible. Just a few more seconds, and he would be here.

I had to move.