Porcelain White

Fear quickly flooded the room. Several objects trembled with the relentless advance of whatever filled the entire tunnel, as if they too could feel it. Numbed by fear, the three adventurers stopped, but a supernatural lucidity emerged from among the dolls; one among many stood out.

Pale, cracked porcelain, fractured by time and sorrow. Soft gray and faint shadows danced upon it. Its lilac hair, with a black dress and purple skirt, contrasted with its complexion; its shiny black booties remained as if untouched by time. The doll's cloth hat obscured its face.

Like an inexplicable call, it caught their attention, and following it with their gaze, Mina and Íthil could see a large, flat lever switch. In a hurry, Mina used all her strength to activate the dilapidated mechanism, which engaged with a groan under her enormous force. As it activated, an old alarm blared throughout the tunnel. Ancient light turrets creaked, rotating on the ceiling, while an unknown language sounded on the loudspeakers that, more than sounding, coughed indistinguishable words.

"The room is closing! Back there! Behind the tool cabinet there's another exit," Íthil said while carrying Jacob on his shoulder. With a gentle tremor, a metal gate interposed itself between them and what was coming through the tunnel, revealing a previously invisible exit among the furniture at the back.

"We must take them all back!" Mina exclaimed as she overturned an enormous metal cart where she carefully wrapped each of the dolls in the room with its respective nightgown, taking all the wooden dolls, even those that seemed to have been in that place for a much longer time.

"Mina, leave that, let's go!" Íthil protested, checking the security of the newly discovered tunnel, looking nervously at the door that had just closed, the only thing between them and the implacable entity following them.

"NO! We won't leave them... We'll get them all out, even those that NO ONE IS LOOKING FOR!" Mina said as she pushed the metal cart, full of dolls, with all her might.

"Let's go, there's no time," Jacob said, picking up more nightgowns and throwing them into the cart Mina was pushing. After a few steps, it clicked when it reached a metal rail on the ground. Turning a bend, the cart began to gain momentum. Right in front of them, the tunnel inclined upwards as if the place itself wanted to prevent them from escaping.

"Come on, we have to get out, just a few more meters!" The three began to push the cart with all their might up the slope that extended into the darkness. Soon, exhaustion and fear began to weaken Jacob.

"Help Jacob, Íthil, I can go up alone, I'll take the cart!" Mina pushed with all her might, powered by fear. Still, Íthil looked at Jacob while looking back at the doll.

"I don't like that thing, but come on, PUSH HARD, GUYS, JUST A LITTLE MORE!" Íthil urged them on as he also pushed. Mina, sweating, glanced at the doll too.

"I don't remember putting her in the cart, but something tells me that even if we wanted to, we wouldn't have been able to leave her behind." The three pushed hard, a glimmer of hope finally appearing. That was until they heard a rumble of rock and metal at the end of the tunnel; it was making its way towards them.

This was followed by a galloping sound, then a metallic screech, like the scream of bending metal. At that moment, the fear was so great that Mina loosened her grip and the cart began to slide backward. Íthil couldn't stop it, and Jacob let go of the cart.

Muted by fear and blinded by blood in the semi-darkness, he fell into total panic. He called out to his companions at the top of his lungs, but suffocated by fear, the scream he hoped to make never came. Horrified and scared, he raised his hand, searching for his companions. Wandering with his hand raised, he only found cold. Just then, lost in the darkest part of that tunnel, he felt his hand being taken and reaching a metal handle that he immediately recognized as the cart's brake.

"Damn it, Mina almost crushed me with the cart! Push harder, dwarf, are you okay?" Jacob nodded with a gesture, his voice still not returning. With a shower of sparks and light in complete darkness, Mina took the cart, this time driven by fear and determination she held it, while Jacob pulled with all his might, but Íthil slipped and as he fell his hands frantically searched for something to hold onto.

His search led him to touch a chain with his hand; touching it, he looked up and saw, beneath the cart they were pushing, a gear.

"There, quick, use the chain!" Íthil's gaze was directed towards a lever; he put the chain in the gear and pulled it. Immediately after, a mechanical purr was heard at the upper tip of the tunnel. Suddenly, the cart began to ascend, assisted by the chain, but not quickly enough.

"Don't look back and push," Mina whispered tearfully to herself, while a hot, putrid exhalation, the smell of a thousand sorrows and hundreds of horrors, followed them closely, pulsating with an unhealthy heat. None of them turned around, they didn't have the courage.

"Keep pushing, I'll slow its movement." Containers and boxes slammed head-on into whatever was chasing them; they heard several containers sliding past them. The thing whinnied with frustration and resentment, each box hitting with supernatural weight as if each contained the burden of many old grudges. Still, it only slowed it enough for them to escape.

"Take this! Extend your hand," Jacob extended his hand and grabbed a control with a large button that he pressed without letting go of the cart, and still blind, he heard an elevator begin its movement.

At the same time, huge old and rusted engines roared, closing two enormous solid lead gates.

"Mina! Íthil! Push, we're almost there… I can feel the exit!" Jacob shouted while Mina's legs and Íthil's arms could no longer give anything. Terrified and trembling, they reached their goal.

Heavy lead doors held back the fury of that being while resentment and rage pounded from the other side with infernal impetus.

"It's unable to cross the lead, it'll have to go around, that'll buy us time... Recover as quickly as possible," Íthil vomited with strong spasms of fear and exhaustion while Mina trembled, clinging to the cart, heavy salty tears streaming down her face. Íthil wiped Jacob's eyes with water from his canteen as the elevator ascended in silence.

"We must know its name and form to harm it… we don't know its identity, that's why it's so strong," Jacob mumbled while taking gauze and applying it to his eyes.

"Yes, I understand, but I have no idea how to find out," Íthil took his wand and clung to it, as if his very life depended on it.

"It's very strong... I don't know if we can escape, I feel its hatred like heat beneath us," Mina replied, trembling, stunned. She felt the fear that her kind rarely let her feel. Only moments remained, the elevator was taking them back to the upper mine.

"When the door opens, the rail will lead us straight to the exit. Outside it will be weaker, we can see its form and maybe with the information of the place and some luck they will guess its name," Mina and Íthil nodded and clung to the cart. A few seconds later, the elevator hooked onto the transport rail and the cart resumed its journey.

Amidst creaks, the cart entered the upper mine again; the smell of terracotta and mud suddenly filled the lungs of the three adventurers. Little by little, the tunnel began to lose light. Whatever was behind them was catching up; they heard galloping one moment and then barefoot steps on wet ground the next, others dragging as if losing their limbs. None dared to look back; fear propelled them and they clung to the only light they saw in front of them. As they exited, they could see an enormous empty shell of the centipede that had fought them not long ago, almost destroying them.

"Hold on, we're about to get out! It might be weaker outside, but it will also be more aggressive!" Everyone gripped the cart tightly as it screeched as if propelled by an invisible force, and so the wagon reached the outside.

The cart reached the end of the rails and with a dry thud, it stopped at the very end. Illuminated by a lamp at the end of the rail, it remained there while the adventurers ran to prepare themselves.

"Whatever you do, you cannot look at it directly, if you do, you will die!" Mina took a belt and fabric, covering her eyes.

"Reductus Videntia!" Íthil cast a zodiac of blindness upon himself and Jacob secured his bandages.

A minute later, a stormy silence. Only fear resonated louder than the beating of their hearts, and at the end of a long, horrible few minutes, they heard it drag itself out of the mine, murmurs infested with madness and words tinged with the deepest hatred. Its voice resonated in their heads so strongly that every consonant struck them in the back of the neck, drilling to reach their most vulnerable feelings.

"Don't listen to it, every word will tear away your sanity!" but the adventurers were broken and helpless, and in that vital moment, they couldn't act.

"Huddle together quickly, we'll all be lost if we don't act now!" and suddenly those dreadful whispers were overcome by several female voices that sang with all their might with melancholy and strength, allowing them a little light amidst the madness, it allowed them to act and have a chance to fight.

—Red buttons of April—

Jacob threw his chakrams while Íthil shot magical arrows. The thing ran at full speed, impossibly dodging both magical and physical projectiles.

—Red promises that will not open—

Mina gripped her anger and in a charge struck what she felt was a grotesque face with her fists, but unable to push the thing back, she quickly jumped back, creating space between the two.

—Just one more summer, let the small button bloom—

Íthil, in an incandescent discharge, continued to scorch his target with all his might. The thing screamed in pain, unleashing an odor that once again caused Íthil, Mina, and Jacob to vomit.

—Like a red and crimson field, April's desires will not come for me—

Screaming with an inhuman voice, the thing furiously struck the ground, knocking everyone onto their backs, then throwing a wooden log at Jacob and kicking Mina, finally heading towards Íthil.

—Greedy soul let me bloom, cruel child making a bouquet—

The thing galloped and grabbed Íthil by the legs and arms and began to pull his limbs, while Íthil screamed in pain, Mina furiously struck its sides to try and free Íthil without success.

—That April night, fields without flowers or gentle breezes to feel—

With the scream, Jacob located the thing and with several violent blows of his chakram, he severed a limb while Mina struck a leg managing to knock the monstrosity sideways.

—Just a morning of pearls, oh dew! You have no buttons to adorn—

Íthil, as he fell, spun his wand and unleashed the most destructive magic he knew, destroying the other arm of the thing. A wet thud in the mud let them know that the creature was on its knees trying to get up, but it rose and let out a terrifying roar that threw everyone back.

—Sweet April butterflies, take me far away, let me fly, I want to look at the sky—

Exhausted and with no more cards to play, the three adventurers gathered and charged once more against it, hoping to defeat it with no other trick than to attack head-on.

—Gentle April breezes, arrive with new buttons and make them bloom—

With a roar and with all its horrible being, it galloped towards the three adventurers, and just then the voices increased their volume, silencing the sounds of whatever was pounding the ground as if in continuous pain.

—Carry the joy I could not know, carry it for me to the next heart—

Mina, Jacob, and Íthil heard a resounding groan followed by a dry metallic thud as if an enormous chain gripped something while those voices sang a final verse full of resentment and sadness.

—Deep darkness that took us, LET US BLOOM!—

The voices screamed as a cry impossible for a human throat shook the place with its power, plunging into the depths of the mine, hitting with full force as if something was dragging it back into the darkness.

Dawn broke outside the mine, and a curious deer approached a pile of dry leaves from which a hand emerged. The deer licked those fingers.

"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Mina stood up, letting out a loud scream.

"AAAH! PONK! Awwwwww," Jacob also yelled in fright as he hit his head on a log he was stuck in.

"Damn, my head hurts. Are we all here?" Íthil merely dusted himself off as he emerged from a bush.

"I can't believe it, we survived! Mina! Íthil! You're alive!" Jacob staggered as he walked, regrouping at the center. Mina, however, ran to the cart.

"Hey… the dolls are gone!" Íthil and Jacob ran together towards the wagon that was lying on its side and contained nothing but the nightgowns. With sadness and fury, Mina kicked the cart and began to silently collect the clothes. Íthil and Jacob joined her and took all the clothes as they watched how only a deep sinkhole remained of the mine, slowly filling with water and mud from the surroundings.

"I perceive nothing, this tomb has been sealed… it will not open again," Jacob said.

"Yes, the animals are returning… I see birds and that deer shows that the area is free of aggression," Íthil pointed to the deer that was watching them from the forest.

"But where are all the dolls?… I don't think I lost them," Mina said, angry.

"Maybe they fell while…" Jacob tried to explain, but Mina interrupted him, shouting:

"NO!! We didn't lose them, we got them out! I pushed the cart! I got them out, I didn't leave any behind! We got them all out! ALL OF THEM!" Íthil and Jacob didn't know what to say.

"Mina, we need to check the surroundings and see what happened. I doubt we hallucinated everything, but even so, we must retrace our steps." Mina said nothing, just righted the cart and put all the clothes in it, and without a single word, they began the journey back.

All the way, Mina remained angry. Íthil and Jacob had no idea what to say. A light, soft mist swirled beside their path, gentle and calm, very different from before, while animals passed in front of them as if waking from a long winter.

"Listen… I know it's not your fault, but I got furious when I saw that the dolls weren't there. I felt that everything was in vain and that just filled me with anger," Mina told them without turning to look at them.

"It's okay, we understand. We still don't know where the dolls are, but we definitely got them out, right, Íthil?" Jacob turned to Íthil, awaiting a response.

"Yes, definitely, I counted the nightgowns and none were missing, but seriously that was way, way above our level. I still don't know how we got out in one piece, I'm definitely not sleeping in the dark for a few months," Íthil said as he observed the branches over the path that barely let through a few rays of light.

"Jacob! It's good to have you on the team, I don't know how you knew how to act, I couldn't think of anything, I just froze!" Íthil punched Jacob's shoulder.

"Me? I was reciting the Massacrax code quietly, I couldn't do anything."

"But you told us how to defeat that thing twice, down below and at the end of the mine," Mina turned to look at them.

"Oh no, I barely found the cart when I let go out of fear, Mina took my hand and helped me," Mina looked back at him.

"No, I did that, I was terrified, I could barely move my legs." The three looked at each other.

"Outside at the exit, who said we couldn't see the creature?" Jacob asked.

"You?" Íthil and Mina looked at him and said at the same time.

"It wasn't me, I was too scared to even speak."

"So it wasn't Mina, nor me, nor you," Íthil replied to Jacob as they walked.

"You know what, it doesn't really matter at this point, it doesn't matter," Íthil continued walking without asking anything else.

The forest seemed to be clear; the darkness and cold that had accompanied them on the way there were gone on the way back. The cart they brought back advanced smoothly and without delay while Íthil looked at the 3 medallions belonging to the Klein brothers.

"You know, I don't think we came out of there alone… Something came with us," Jacob turned to look at Íthil.

"You're right." Just at the edge of the fog, tiled roofs and chimneys appeared. Upon reaching the village, exhaustion caught up with the three adventurers and adrenaline left their bodies, and so they collapsed, unconscious, right at the entrance.

"I see you're awake," Merril brought a trio of milk and honey cups as Íthil, Jacob, and Mina woke up.

"We collapsed at the entrance!" Mina hurried to get up, but Mrs. Merril stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.

"Calm down! We picked up everything you brought, everyone collected their respective belongings, everything is fine," Merril told them, at which point Mina turned to look at Íthil and Jacob, who were looking at her with equal intrigue.

"For now, we're stunned, Mrs. Merril, can you remind us what was in the cart?" Mina and Jacob looked directly at Mrs. Merril after Íthil's question.

"You brought us something to bury," Mrs. Merril said in a grateful voice and through tears. They looked at her and decided to rest for the remainder of the day.

The 282 funeral services took place the next day, a small coffin for each nightgown, even for those no one sought. Mina stood at the front without saying a single word, Jacob extended his prayers for those departing souls, Íthil watched from the back, crowds were not his thing. The singing and prayers were soft and methodical and intertwined with tears, like the relief of a long, hard wait finally ending, and that was happening at last, it was ending, with a sunset, without smiles or reunions, but at least closure.

Back from the event and in the streets, they began to notice something curious.

"Did you notice?" Íthil asked.

"Yes, I see them, many dolls are in the windows watching us," Mina said.

Jacob watched as the families went about their routine with those dolls in their windows and living rooms.

"Most likely, they are the youngest ones and some who refused to leave," Jacob looked around, noticing the dolls integrating into the village life.

"They are the dolls we took out of that place, but I don't remember bringing them, in the end, we did get them out," Mina said with mixed feelings, as everyone started packing back at the central manor.

"Everything seems fine, no one is sad or worried," Íthil told them as they gathered everything.

"Yes, in a way it's somewhat eerie, it's as if the village were haunted and they didn't mind. I've seen several people talk to them, many know, their daughters are in the dolls," Jacob looked out the window as everyone finished picking up the last briefcase.

Walking along the central street, they saw how the village slowly regained its joy, and the fog that surrounded them was completely absent. As they walked down the main street, they noticed how people focused on their tasks, on chatting, while children returned to playing on the outskirts of the village.

Regis and Merril were waiting for them at the entrance of the path to the central road while Hugo and Raya dismantled the front barricade, leaving only a guard booth.

"Thank you very much for your help," Regis said.

"It was nothing, we just did our job," Íthil said while Mina and Jacob nodded.

"No, really, I mean it for everyone, thank you very much," Merril said with slightly teary eyes as she affectionately held a doll with a strawberry nightgown and a hat in her arms.

"Thank you," they heard in chorus behind them; several families were there to say goodbye and there were also several dolls in the arms of their relatives who looked at them warmly, grateful.

After receiving enough sweet breads and food for a month, they saw 2 carriages arrive, one of them was theirs.

"Thank you very much for everything," the three adventurers said as they got into the carriage.

"I feel like we should have done more," Mina said in a low voice as she waved goodbye.

"It was the most we could do, we're lucky to have come back," Íthil said as he finished securing the luggage to the cart while Jacob glanced at the other carriage.

"Hey, have you seen, the other carriage! LOOK QUICKLY!" Jacob said loudly. In the other carriage, sitting in the external trunk, was the porcelain doll that had accompanied them in the mine. The occupants of the carriage were loading their belongings without noticing her, and for a moment they felt her smiling at them. With mixed feelings of fear and gratitude, they stared at her as their own carriage slowly pulled away from the place.

Some time later, rumors of a village inhabited by dolls and their owners began to spread. Some went to adopt one of those dolls, which, according to the rumor, could protect your house and business from evil spirits.