Chapter 9
911 Words
Arden's pov
You must return.
Its tone was firm, indicating that it wasn’t asking, it was informing me of what would happen next.
As I suspected, the sea of nothingness began to warp, trying to pull my consciousness away from the space.
I remained composed, my gaze steady.
“Will we meet again?” I asked.
The wraith stared at me, although its eyes were stitched, I could tell it was watching me intently.
After a moment's linger, it answered.
“We will meet again, descendant of Ishmael.”
As it replied, I forced out a hollow smile.
“Farewell then, I trust you’d honor your words.”
The change was as swift as the first time, and I felt the cold air on my bare skin whilst staring at the scenery in front of me.
“It’s red,” I muttered.
“Yes, well… you really outdid yourself.” Jamie chimed, throwing a hand over my shoulder.
I glanced at him, then back to the Morettis’s estate walls.
As Jamie said, whatever instinct had taken over my body really overdid things.
The gardens were a kaleidoscope of red and green mixed with several hues of color.
The gray walls were also streaked with blood. To cut a long story short, it was a mess.
The victim’s bodies were mangled, cut in weird angles, which made me question where I had gotten the knife, but some of the wounds were too strange to be knife cuts; it looked more like claws, like someone had clawed at the flesh of the victims.
I stared at my hands, noticing some torn flesh on them, but I wasn’t bothered in the slightest.
“Don’t fret, it happened to the rest of us after our awakening.” Jamie smiled, but I gave him a deadpanned look in return.
“I’m not bothered. I need to wash up.”
Jamie shrugged, then called out.
“Damian, please take Arden to one of the unused rooms upstairs.”
He clapped twice, gesturing for the old butler to lead me.
As he did, I heard footsteps approaching, then turned my neck towards the source. Only then did I notice the remaining members of the Moretti family staring at me.
“Do you need something?” I asked.
Melissa let out an exasperated sigh before mumbling words I couldn’t hear.
Vani, on the other hand, returned to the mansion, and Vanessa followed suit.
My gaze swept past the bloodied garden once again, yet I felt no remorse nor emotion in particular.
Without wasting any more time, I followed the old butler.
***
The room I was given was exquisite, ridiculously huge even, with expensive furniture and well-crafted artworks to add some aesthetic to the room.
Even though the bed was a king-sized one, it was large, probably enough to fit up to four people, perhaps five.
Anyhow it was, it probably worked out fine for me since I would be free from some slight inconvenience, even though I couldn't appreciate the beauty behind the designs.
Ironi,c isn't it, the novelty of life.
Something I once longed for, something I chased desperately so my mother and sister could live a better life, I attained that, but after death and after their deaths.
My once cherished dream now feels irrelevant, and I probably won't understand my sentiments since I feel so hollow inside. The longing lingers, but not for a beautiful dream, but to make another's life a nightmare.
The world doesn't reward good people; if it did, then perhaps my family could have been living a good life somewhere.
Well, not that it matters anymore. The dead don't dream; their corpses are but hollow shells devoid of intelligence and life.
I couldn't mourn properly. I know what I lost, but I don't have the feelings to mourn them.
Putting irrelevant thoughts aside, I walked into the luxurious interior of the bathroom.
This place was even more grandiose than the living chamber had been, the tiles were neatly arranged and smooth in texture, the tub wasdecent-sizedd enough with showers just below the large aquarium lodged at the ceiling of the bathroom.
Perhaps the previous me would have been awestruck by the dream-like scenery, but sadly, he was dead.
To me, it all felt Grey and empty. I couldn't feel an ounce of emotion in me, even when staring at the well-designed quarters.
There was a strange orb resting on a cylindrical table made of glass, glowing a faint blue hue.
'That's probably the control of the water system here.' I thought to myself before stripping and stepping into the tub.
As I did, the orb glowed brighter, and water seeped into the bathtub, filling it up to my neck.
It was accompanied by a fragrant scent that seemed to have some sort of calming effect.
I closed my eyes, about to sink into the tub filled with water, when a strange, appetizing energy tugged at my remaining sanity.
My head turned to the window of the bathroom, where I could see the sunset.
Below its glow was the forest, littered with various trees and wild animals.
Whatever it was that had the appetizing energy was fast approaching, causing my chest to beat.
It felt like despair and rage, one strong enough to resonate with mine.
I subconsciously licked my lips as a feral smile slowly adorned my face, causing my eyes to narrow.
"An interesting prey is fast approaching... how amusing."
- Writer
