Hello, hello, hello, my lovely reader :)
Welcome back to my story <3

|chapter 14|

|where fears come to play (part 1)|
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The woods were dark and creepy as always. They were making their way to the villa when the flashback from that day started hurtling in Rune's mind. She blinked a few times to put those memories in back of her head but failed eventually and within no time, she found herself running in the woods along with others.

Flashback:

They were running, stumbling, tumbling and again running in those wood for their lives, crying. All the routes looked the same just like a labriyanth.

"I can't run. I'm tired." Jan said breathlessly

"No, Jan you have to, Or else she will find us and kill like how she did to Janet” Holding Jan's hand Rune helped her to move.

Suddenly, Abigail came in front of them "WHERE ARE YOU GOING? CONTINUE THE GAME..." 

They freeze at their places as if someone was holding them there. Out of fear they were shaking.

They turned the other way and started running there again. The trees were making them confused about the directions. In those silent woods, only their footsteps can be heard. They were pulling and pushing each other to move forward.

The dawn was near.

Once again they came face to face with Abigail. "LET'S PLAY..."

It seemed that there was no way to escape her this time. They stand close to each other, holding hands. Fear took over them.

A ray to sunlight falls on them. Soon the sun broke through the clouds making Abigail winced before drawing back into the trees.

She vanished in the air like the smoke from the flames, leaving them shaking.

They ran and found a way that lead them to a empty road and soon they fainted due to fear and exhaustion.
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"Rune? Rune, what happened? Where you are lost?" Ariadne shook her up making the memories to disappear.

"Um...yes?" She shut closed her eyes to figure out what just happened.

"Are you ok?" Aiden looked at her.

"Yes, yes, I'm good." She smiled at him.

"Okay, guys. Finally, we are here" Dylen said as they stand in front of that cabin.

"Let's go in" as Ivy said this they pushed the doors open to reveal a well-known room with eight corners.

They lit the candles and sat in the corners, facing the wall. The same one as before. Only one person was missing, Janet.

All of a sudden, the darkness thrummed with energy, all around. A cold presence filled the room, one that was terribly familiar. A well-known sent-the one with the fragrance of soil and blood filled the room, mixing up with the air.

No-one turned around to look, as they were supposed to continue it and as per the rules, the person who will turn around will be disqualified and will be punished.

They turned in anticlockwise, exchanging the place. Abigail can be heard laughing. She was enjoying her victory of dragging them again to continue it.

As per the sequence, it was Jan who has to start chanting. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She opened up to chant.

As she was chanting, Abigail tried to stop her. Out of fear, she did a mistake in its verses. A void appeared and she was pulled into it. Her screams echoed in the room making Dylen breakdown. He wanted to hold her and stop but can't as he wasn't supposed to turn around at any cost. He made a fist and punched the wall in front of him making his knuckles bleed.
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In the dimension where Jan was dragged in:

She found herself standing in the basketball stadium of her school. People cheering as two teams started to play the game. Confusion filled her as she turn to the side to look at her younger self standing there, cheering. “Ron! Ron! Yes, you got it! Baby you got it!”

She felt a knot tying in her chest when a tear left her eye to slide down her cheek staining the silky material of her dress. Frozen, she stand there looking at the scene in front of her.

It was the last goal and her school basketball team won the match. People started to scream and dance out of excitement. Ron, her then boyfriend moved towards her which made her to open up her arms but he passed through her like she wasn't there.

She turned around knowing what will she see. Ron went on to kiss a blondie lifting her as she tie her legs around his waist.  She choke and held back her cry. At that moment it time she realized about her younger self standing there, defeated.

The young Jan ran out of the stadium wiping her tears. Jan wanted to stop her, hold her and tell she'll get someone great in future. Someone who is her best friend. Someone like Dylen.

Till she can come to her senses, the younger Jan was gone. She tried to find her when she fell in a deep hole. She opened her eyes to find herself in a grave, sweating out heavily. Her heart started to palpitate.

She tried to get up. But failed as the space was so small.

Suddenly she felt a hand coming out from behind. One other hand came from beside. She started screaming as the clawed hands started moving, touching her body.   The hands were cold. Her screams became louder with every touch so do the movement of hands.

Her eyes went wide as a hand appeared to come from above. Her heart rate was getting higher as the distance between the walls was getting less with time, compressing her tiny body in that small space.
The hands stopped midway making her relax. She closed her eyes shut and sighed in relief when suddenly the clawed hand went across her head piercing through her mouth.
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Unwilling they turned again, exchanging their places. Now it was Ariadne's turn to chant. She started closing her eyes remembering each and every word of the verse when she felt something crawling upon her. She screamed stopping in the middle. A black void appeared and dragged her inside. She continued to scream.

Ivy was about to turn when she remembered the rule. Ariadne was the one to whom Ivy was close to after Janet. After that incident, everyone moved apart but Ivy and Ariadne were in touch. She was like a sister to Ivy.
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In the dimension where Ariadne was dragged:

An old house with wooden flooring. A couple was sitting in the living room sipping tea in front of a  TV.

Ariadne realized where she was, her foster parents home. A smiled touched her lips as she saw them both together, speaking. She wanted to jump in the living room and hug them but suddenly her smile dropped when she saw a girl peeping from up stairs. It was Ariadne her self from her teenage days. She was hurting deep down. The girl was weeping silently.

Their talked grabbed her attention. Memories from that day hit her mind. They were talking about Ariadne. That how they did a mistake adopting her. They were discussing on how to abundant her as they see there is no way Ariadne can fit in their environment. She was just not like other girls out there. But they never understood her, ever. 

Everything in front of her started flashing making her remember every moment they made her feel unworthy . Unable to take the scenes flashing in front she ran to the bathroom which was behind the kitchen in that house. She remembered everything about them and about that house though her stay was limited there.

She closed the door when she found herself standing in front of the mirror in a room. It wasn't a bathroom but an unknown room. It has no doors only a bulb hanging above her head. She gulped as a reflection appeared in the mirror. It was her reflection but it was crying. Beside it, another reflection appeared. It was biting her own hand making the blood to flow and licking it.

A third reflection appeared this one was strange. Its eyes were dark and empty. It was crawling across the mirror. Ariadne moved back, touching her back to the wall. She started to shake out of fear. She was frightened. Many more reflections started to appear. She was going crazy looking at them.

The reflection started to crawl on the walls. Ariadne was moving from one wall to another to not let that reflection to get a hold of her. The reflection seemed to disappear. Ariadne moved forward to check whether it returned into the mirror or not when suddenly it jumped on Ariadne from above.
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They turned again and exchanged their places. This time it was Ivy who has to chant. She wiped her tears which were falling on her dress. "Here goes nothing" she started to chant.

She heard someone calling her. She ignored and continued. Then she felt a hand on her shoulder. "Ivy..." the touch was well known to her. She stopped and turn around, "Janet?" A void appeared and dragged her in.
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In the dimension where Ivy was dragged:

She heard sirens of police vans and ambulance. It was smoke everywhere. She turn around as her eyes got wide looking at what was in front of her. A car was laying across the road on the highway. Same car as her dad...

Police was trying to pull people out of the car which was now all broken and in flames. They pulled out a women and a man covered in blood. She realized it's her mom and dad. She started to run across the road when a car came and hit her as she shield her eyes with the hands.

She found herself sitting in a corner of the same room. But there was no one. She was alone. Confusion took over her as she stand up to check what was going on and where everyone went. When her eyes landed in a corner where someone was sitting scratching the wall.

"Hello? Who are you?" She questioned.

She got no answer. She got a little scared.

"Hel...hello...hey..." Still no answer.

She moved to stand behind that person. "Hello?" It turned around and Ivy screamed.
Its a face was dripping down revealing blood and muscles. It started to move towards Ivy. She moved back, till her back was touching the wall. It came in front of her and bent to take in her cologne. Ivy turned her head to another side. It moved away from Ivy and smirked.

Suddenly it attacked Ivy eating off her neck. The blood from her throat splattered on the wall.
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Only Rune, Aiden, Dylen and Callan was left now. This time they took longer to turn as they were wistful of not able to save Jan and Ariadne.

Callan started chanting as it was his turn. He felt like he was being lifted up in the air and he stopped to confirm whether he was in the air in actual or not. The void appeared again scrapping him in.

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In the dimension where Callan was dragged:

Three boys were kicking someone who was on ground holding his stomach and screaming in pain. Callan ran to save him but stopped mid way when they moved away laughing  revealing a boy in a yellow shirt. It was no one but Callan himself. They were bulling him.

“you little girl crying like girls again? Hahahaha!” A bully called out.

“so pathetic of you. You are a shame” Another one spit on him walking away followed by other two.

They were coming in the direction where Callan was standing. Frightening and unknown of what was going on, he started to run to save himself from them. He panted when he came in front of a fountain and sighed in relief when there was no sign of them being near.

A hand came through the fountain and dragged him inside.

He was floating in water in what  looked like a container made up of glass. He was choking and the water was getting in through his nose and mouth, he started swimming upwards. 

Few black shadows appeared and started pulling him in. He was trying to break through, but they were so strong that he was getting pulled deeper and deeper.

He was not able to hold his breath in for any longer. The water started to gush in through his nose and mouth. He was drowning. His eyes slowly closing slowly.
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They turned again, this time all three of them were crying. Now it was Dylen's turn. He remembered Jan and started to chant. His thoughts were occupied by the moments he lived with Jan. He smelled Jan's cologne. In a hurry, he turned around in a hope to see Jan. The void appeared and dragged him in.
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In the dimension where Dylen was dragged:

He was standing in front of a big door. Voices can be heard through it. He pushed it to find himself in the court room on the same day when his parents was getting divorce and it was the last day of hearing.

He moved across the court room and came to a halt when he saw his younger self sitting with his head down, taking in everything going around.

Time passed and he stand there looking at how his family is burning down slowly in pieces in that court room. 

Judged broke his pen nip declaring his parents as divorce. Not to take in what was going on, he closed his eyes shut. He was hurt. Broken. A perfect family he called was no more. He can't look at his mom crying again in that same court room as his dad hugged her mistress. He ran out and pressed all the buttons of the elevator. He wanted to get out of there. The doors of the elevator opened and he stepped in pressing the ground floor button but rather to his surprises, the elevator started to move up.

The elevator stopped, the doors open but no one entered. The doors closed again and started to ascend up. Again it stopped. The doors opened and soon got closed as no one entered it this time too.

The elevator started descending down now. Dylen doesn't understand why it was happening. The elevator stopped, the doors opened and a lady entered. He moved to a side giving her space. The elevator started ascending. It was keeping on ascending up without stopping anywhere.

The doors opened finally revealing the terrace. He came out of the elevator and moved his head to find nothing except that single building on which he was standing. It was deserted all around.

"Are you going down?" He asked the lady.

She kept silent. "Ohkk...I guess you are going down. Bye" he stroked his hairs backwards. The lady lifted her head to gave him a creepy smile. Her smile was extended from the end of one ear to the another. She moved towards Dylen. "Um...miss..." He opened his mouth to speak when suddenly he felt a push and he fell down the terrace...

Please don't forget to hit that
Dull star and make it shine :)
• • •

Will Rune and Aiden will meet the same fate as others?

Will they be able to bring Abigail again?