CHAPTER 03 - The death watcher

My soul was trembling in fear. The heartbeat kept on growing, fading. Over time the sound was increasing. 

A dusty window from where a gust of wind came caught my attention as I moved my head following it.

Just at that moment, the flashlight fell on my eyes, and I glanced back at the entrance with a minimal gaze.

I noticed a shadow standing in front of me, wearing a long white blanket and holding a lantern in one hand.

"ARHHHHHH!" I screamed, rivalled by the blast of thunder and rain.

Moving back, I tripped my leg and crumpled to the ground as the shadow started approaching me.

"Bell! Anna!" I screeched helplessly, but when I turned around, no one was there.

Gulping, I gradually shifted my gaze at the entrance. 

Boom!

No one was there, just a black cat roaming around. 

Putting my hand over my chest, I gasped when suddenly I heard a husky voice right next to my ears.

Someone mumbled, "Don't look into the cat's eyes."

After undergoing all this, I wanted to end my life. It was getting complicated, and I had no more power to endure beyond.

With closed eyes, I perceived strange energy. As if I was moving without actually moving.

It was tricky to explain what that feeling was, after all.

I turned my head around with my eyes slightly opened and found the same appearance.

His eye shape was narrow, and the color was golden brown. His bloody red hair was somewhat wavy, and some of his hair was covering his left eye.

But before I would tear my throat by screaming, he removed that mask from his mouth and stopped me. 

"DON'T!" He said with a terror look on his face. "Or else she'll catch us."

I was astonished listening to him. After all, who was he talking about? 

"Who will catch us?" 

His teeth started vibrating when he told me the name. "Lisa Dorling," he said in a hissing tone.

Lisa Dorling? Who was she? And what was that man doing in this house?

I had countless doubts wandering in my mind with no clues.

Looking around, I found myself imprisoned in a prison-like place.

A room covered with darkness from all sides, impossible for even a single ray to reach there.

All of a sudden, I detected a mind-blowing melody playing from afar.

Anyone listening to the tune would be fascinated by the harmony. It was like this. 

Melting within its sweetness, my heart was also being drawn towards it.

I just wanted to mix in that syrup-like sound, but that guy pulled my hand from behind and restrained me from slipping on it.

"She's coming," he murmured.

He dragged me behind the walls of a prison and shut the door with his trembling hands.

He asked me to be as far back as possible. Everything was so strange that I could do nothing else than believe his words.

Now I was starting to hear that tune more clearly and audibly. 

"There she is... Lisa Dorling."

I shifted my gaze and automatically covered my mouth. 

She approached us, wearing white clothes, hair opened, and one eye was bleeding.

The familiar black cat was behind her. 

"AGHHH! G HMMMM!" She screamed in a demonic sound. Low pitched and cracking every time she yelled. 

I got chills down my spine when she was in front of me. 

So, she was Lisa Dorling.

When she gasped, I could feel my breath halted. She glared at us and left from there.

"Appreciate that you were in this jail. Otherwise, you were dead."

I was starting to get suspicious. What was all this happening? Anxious, unsettled, I was losing hope.

My feet got numb as I collapsed on the ground. I tried to get up, but all my efforts went in vain.

He sat next to me, seeing me struggling, but I slid back in despair.

"Don't panic! You are safe here with me. She will never be able to come inside this place."

Out of curiosity, I questioned him. "W-why?"

"Because that's where she died the last time." It would be a lie if I said I wasn't afraid of his words. Now he was my only support who could show me the light out of this hideous place.

"W-w-who are you?" I stuttered, looking at him.

"I'm the last person alive in this place, Anderson Parkmerg. Except for me, she killed all of them in her heart-wrenching game."

With that clever glance, he smirked at me and asked. "Aren't you curious to know about this place?" I stayed quiet, but he started telling the story with a grin.

"It is a matter of the time when Norwood was the land of happiness. This kingdom settled on a freakish Island owned by Mike Stewart. It was under his rule when I started working as a statesman. His son was a turning point. It was a headache for him, seeing his son spending nights with various women every day. Because of his s*x obsession, he had fixed his marriage with a village girl, Lisa Dorling. As soon as she stepped in, the storm arrived..."

He stood up and moved towards a wooden box covered with dust. Leaning a bit, he shrugged the dust off and said, wandering his hand on the handle of the box. "Want to see something? Come here and open this box."

I got up quietly and went to that box. The thought of what would be inside that box made my heart restless.

I extended one hand and opened it within the next breath. 

A dead body, covered from head to foot with new white linen, was lying under the box.

He slid his hands and removed the linen. 

Her clothes were like that of a royal queen with bloodstains over them.

There was grief on her face. And a broken bangle tied around her hand with sharp edges. One end of the bangle pierced her vein, and the blood fell off. Her skin seemed colder. 

Her lips were a bit blue and appeared to be a bit of blood inside her nostrils. 

My body shook with fear. Widened eyes refused to unseen the view.

My heart leaped into my throat as I shrunk back and stood there voiceless.

"She died seventy years ago, but even today, her blood flows out of her vein proves this place is cursed." His words throbbed inside me. 

I left with nothing but a numb body when he explained further. 

"Her curse does not let anyone live. I spent my life in this dungeon, never even got to see the rays of the sun." He dangerously smirked at me. "Are you not afraid that you will also have to spend your life with me? You're lucky enough to exist. Your friends Anna and Bell had sacrificed their lives already."

His words were a complete shock for me. I was taken aback as a tear escaped from my eye. "No! It can't be-"