Never Again 9 "Stage One, Passed"

The safer things seem, the more dangerous it actually is.

This logic, Xi Rin understands very well. Staring at the extravagant hallway before her, Xi Rin starts to become more and more suspicious. This place seems to emit a strange feeling. Her guts told her that something was up. Perhaps it was the brightly lit hallway, that seemed a bit too bright or the s.h.i.+ning wood red in colour, as if doused in blood, it all felt too strange.

Opening the door down the hallway, she found herself looking at a kitchen. Spotless white counters piled neatly with food and ingredients. While a large dinner table acts as the centrepiece, making the place look complete.

Venturing through other doors, she found mostly just empty rooms, besides a bedroom and a washroom. But for such a big place, it was always deserted and empty. No people. And no way out. There are no exits and the windows? They won't even open. Nor can you rip them apart although it seemed to be made with paper.

Then, she starts to notice little things. Like how the light behind those windows is the same as the lanterns' light. It was the same hue and colour. Fake and unlike sunlight. And it never seems to change. Never flickering, never turning off. Always the same unnatural glow. So she had no way of telling whether it is daytime or nighttime outside. Nor can she see her surrounding.

And she is in a cave which is in the middle of the forest. There's no way to send for help. Screaming wouldn't be any help either. n.o.body would hear and even if they do, they'll probably think that it was a ghost. And it'll only hurt her throat anyway.

Eating and sleeping, it's should be months by now. Probably. With no ways to tell time, she can only roughly estimate. Is she really going to be stuck here forever?

Sighing in frustration, at least she has food and water to survive. But she still hasn't found a way out of here. So her days were spent like this:

Eat when you're hungry. Sleep when you're hungry. Find ways to escape. Otherwise... play!

But recently, no matter how much she eats, she would always feel hungry. Never full. And no matter what she does, whether it is eating all the food or attempting to destroy the house, everything is good as new the next day. She is certain there are no people around, so where does the food come from?

Ah... she started to get a headache from overusing her brain.

So today, she is currently in the kitchen. Staring intensely at the table.

She'd never done this before and would it be a good thing to do? But it seems so fun and a good stress reliever. Ah... just this once then...

So, she positioned her hands under the table. Then she bent her knees and... (╯‵□′ )╯︵ ┻━┻

BAM!!!

.

.

.

┬─┬ ノ( ゜-゜ノ)

That was definitely way too loud. It was fun, but d.a.m.n... that table is way heavier than it looks.

But as she was putting the big table back to its place, she suddenly realized something. Lifting the table, she had carelessly hit it against her legs twice and the corners have scratched her many times, giving her red lines. But.... the pain was almost nonexistent. Such a heavy table and sharp corners should have given her more pain. Furrowing her brows in confusion, she decided to test out her theory. So she pinched herself. The pain was nonexistent. Eyes widening in alarm, she pinched herself multiple times. The result still remained the same.

Not feeling pain... This is not reality. All of this is not real. It's a dream. An illusion.

Willing herself to wake up, her eyes finally open. Aching and tired, she was incomparable hungry and thirsty. Searching her bag that she carried since the beginning, she found the bottle of water that she had packed. Along with the mushrooms and white lilies that she found. Drinking the water, she took a glimpse of her surrounding.

And what she found chilled her to the bones.

It was the same hallway. With the lanterns and mahogany wood. But it was no longer brightly lit. Casting shadows against the floor laid white skeletons of all sort. As though they were sleeping, the corpses rested at peace, not knowing that they have died.

But that made her realized one horrifying fact. If she hadn't woke up, she would die.

Suddenly out of nowhere, a deep voice spoke. "Stage one, Pa.s.sed"