When she finally decided to open her eyes, Eliana found herself in the middle of a vast and empty void of darkness.
Fog that seemed to come out of nowhere rolled in and clouded her vision, making it terribly hard to see.
The doll disappeared from her left hand but the fluffy teddy bear was still cradled in her right arm. Instead, she somehow held a candle lantern in her hand.
A gust of wind suddenly blew by and the dim light flickered in the darkness.
It wasn't much, but it was the only thing keeping the darkness from swallowing Eliana whole.
Eliana noticed that her hands were small like a child's and her clothes were different. She wasn't wearing her bear pajamas anymore, she was wearing some sort of white nightdress.
Not that she was very fond of nightdresses, but she was sure she never owned such a dress before.
She continued to mentally fuss about it when she started to hear the giggling of a child echo from a distance.
"Hellooo," She hollered, "Is anyone there?!"
"Let's play! Let's play hide and seek, hehe!"
"Aren't we already?" Eliana said, searching around the fog with the lantern for the source of the voice. It had gotten too thick and now she couldn't see a thing.
Out of nowhere she felt a sharp pain on her side as if someone pinched her.
"Ouch, damnit! That was extremely rude of you, whoever you are, and why would you even do that?
But it replied with a quick and remorseless "Hehe."
"I dare you, do it again. Swear to god if catch you doing that again!" She made a gesture across her neck with her index finger while still managing to keep the bear secured in her arm.
"Hehe! Only if you find me, will you be able to find me? Find me, hehe!" Then Eliana heard tapping that seemed to come from tiny footsteps as it skittered away farther and farther.
With the lantern lighting a tiny faction of the way, she ventured through the fog to follow the sound.
The floor didn't feel solid or concrete, but seemed to be constantly shifting with every movement like water and as she continued to walk, a splashing sound followed every footstep.
'So I'm walking on water?' She wondered while peering underneath her.
There was nothing really to see and even if there was, the water's surface kept moving so Eliana couldn't see anything clearly.
She stared at the ever moving darkness for a couple of minutes then she moved on.
Soon she found herself standing in front of a door that was painted an eye catchingly bright scarlet. Its design looked quite similar to the standard six paneled door she had in her bedroom, just a different color.
She narrowed her eyes.
Eliana had seen these kinds of scenarios in horror movies (Insidious to be specific) and seeing a big red door in the middle of nowhere isn't exactly a good thing.
Her eyes darted left and right.
'It's not like I have any other option,'
All around her was more of the emptiness that seemed to stretch for miles and miles.
'I could just ignore it and keep walking but what are the odds I'll find something other than this door in this vast expanse?'
Eliana looked behind it and there was nothing there. It was the same from the behind as it was in the front.
'Or could this be the front and the side I was facing earlier is the back?' She tapped her chin.
She heard a creaking sound come from the other side and froze.
Eliana slowly walked around to go investigate, sucking in her breath and mentally preparing herself for the jumpscare that's waiting to happen.
The door was open just a crack and she peeked inside to see a tiled room, illuminated with a bright white light. She noticed how familiar that dining table was and the specific way the folded sky blue towels hung on the stove.
'This is… Is this the kitchen in my house?' Eliana furrowed her eyebrows. For some reason, she couldn't quite believe it but when she saw a neon pink square stuck on the fridge door, she was convinced.
Eliana continued to examine and all the way near the stairwell, she could see shadows dance through a blue light emitting from the living room.
She reached out for the golden knob to open it even further and it slammed shut right in her face, making her jump and nearly drop her only source of light.
Eliana stood there, too stunned to move and her mouth wide open.
"Wowza… this place just gets ruder and ruder doesn't it, Mr. Fluffs?" She clutched the teddy bear tighter.
She leaned her head toward the teddy and whispered,
"If you somehow start talking and moving around, you better not be rude too…I brought you along and the least you could do is be polite."
She placed the lantern and Mr. Fluffs on the floor and tried the door.
'Ah, of course… It just has to be locked…' She though as she heaved a deep sigh.
She found and traced the key hole with her finger. It's obvious she needed a key but where exactly was she going to find one? It's not like it will randomly show up when she needed it, right?
Eliana dropped her hands to her sides.
'Huh? What?' She felt a bulge on her right pocket.
Then she fished out a long, slender skeleton key.
'Or not? Haha, what irony...' Eliana smirked as she observed how the golden surface of the key reflected the light, making it slightly glow.
She pushed the key into the keyhole and turned it.
(* Click! *)
Eliana opened the door, but what she got was not what she was expecting.