Souls of the damned hovered all around the darkness watching Elianna as she tried to touch something next to her; it felt wet and warm as if the liquid was just spilt at the moment. The unapproachable figures twisted and twirled in place, trembling all over until a light appeared at the centre then they started circling talking in a strange language with faint voices and felt ghostly to touch. Elianna's arms wrapped around herself in an attempt to reassure herself. It was fine, she said to herself in a soft manner.
Tesssskeebeeem… Saakaabumm…. The voices spoke as if a snake lurked around waiting for a chance to bite.
Darkness is the worst enemy in a foreign ground and ignorance adds to the misery making it impossible to stop all kinds of horrible imaginations from popping into the mind. Everything gave her a sense of déjà-vu; the atmosphere, the darkness, the smell full of ironed blood… The details were so vivid that she thought someone was playing a prank on her by dragging her into some kind of a movie cast.
The light descended forming into a cute shape. With two small horns and two glimmering eyes that called the face of an angel and two wings made from feathers, the creature wasn't far from being a perfect fluffy little thing. The two orbs gazed at her then a twisted smile formed on its face. It was too strange to call it a fairy, or an angel or a demon.
"What's this?" Elianna thought it was a doll the cast wanted to appear at the exact same moment. However, her eyes stopped at the floating souls turning in circles as they whispered the strange sentence.
Tesssskeebeeem… Saakaabumm…. Her body trembled in fear and trepidation. It was too real to call it a prank.
Tesssskeebeeem… Saakaabumm…. Her mind tried to rationalize but her heart had already taken control of the body causing the fear to be the main dish of the night.
[Hello, little bud! I welcome you to the party of the dead where you can only win if you are a full corpse drowning in blood and misery.]
The creature's voice resembled one of a distant scream that a woman let out when she faced a terrible and certain murder. Her eyes felt like popping out and falling on her lap from widening. Her voice felt like leaving her and she screamed as her eyes moved to the blood around her. The whole ground was drenched in blood as if it rained rotten ichor; the light emanating from the little creature looking like a cupid made the scene look like hell. The shady colour had made it impossible for her heart to calm down. She tried to erase the gore from her hands but it only worsened.
[Aaah! My favourite music! Your screams are music to the ear.]
She looked around searching for anyone present. Her mind worked the better under stress, the little creature spoke of plural and it was a must that many existed. The light that the creature emanated dissipated and torches lit in the air, casting their dim luminescence. Amidst all the blood, she heard the faint sound of someone breathing. She crawled following it until she fell on a familiar silhouette.
"Emmanuel," she shook him with her hands. "Emmanuel," she called with a whisper. "Please, wake up! I am scared."
Emmanuel blinked once then twice and sat down holding his head. A headache touched him faintly then dissipated as soon as he saw her. He mumbled her name and looked around then noticed the small creature observing them from a distance.
[It seems that our second guest has woken up. Quickly, find the others and awaken them, they are near you. We need to start the party.]
"What is happening here?" Elianna yelled placing her hands in front of her in a defensive manner. "What do you want to do to us? I have a home to go back to."
[Unfortunately for you, little bud! You cannot return. You are destined to keep partying with us. Fortunately for us, you accepted our invitations. You promised you would entertain us.]
One figure then two then a third appeared one after the other, looking horrified and angry. They still had their costumes. She checked on Emmanuel behind her and he didn't have his scythe. On the other hand, she lost her flower crow but her phone was still in her position. Emmanuel pulled his phone as well and examined it thoroughly before a shadow cast on his eyes.
"It seems there is no signal here," he said, disappointment weighing his tone.
It was at this time that the newly appeared silhouettes looked at the creature and grimaced. The first one to step up was a man wearing the attire of a prince; he had blond hair that looked dirty in darkness. He pointed at the creature with an accusative finger. "Hey! What are you doing right now? Are you in your right mind?"
[We have never been so civilized. We are delighted to see you all waking up so energetic. I recommend you keep that energy for later.]
"Are you filming a movie or what? I have to go because I cannot be late for my audition tomorrow."
Emmanuel leaned closer to Elianna's ears as her eyes studied the talking men, he seemed familiar to her mind. "Don't you recognize him?" he whispered.
"I think I have seen him somewhere."
"Indeed, he is Jack, our mighty class president. He always scolded you for coming late and putting the appearance of the class to shame. Remember?" Emmanuel pointed at a girl wearing princess attire. "She is Maria. You mustn't forget her. She was the one who pulled your hair when you got the role of a princess in the class project for the end of the year. For the third one, she is Diana, the girl who tried to act like your friend but gossiped behind your back."
"How come I am paired with a couple of former classmates who made me feel bad? You are an exception. You didn't act badly with me. I guess it was my fault back then. I tried to retract myself from everything and they thought it was arrogance. The opinion of a group can be easily winded."
[Now, now, all of you. Relax and let me explain the rules here. From now on, I will tell you something important; something that will make some of you have a heart attack. Though, I wish we could share better moments together. Be aware of the consequences. Do you see the shadows around me?]
The creature's eyes went wide and the mouth twisted into an evil smirk as everyone's eyes turned to the souls of the damned. Elianna instead turned her head to Emmanuel. "What do you think of all this?" she whispered.
Emmanuel couldn't think straight at the moment. He obviously had many thoughts he didn't want to share and many secrets he didn't want to divulge but the situation wasn't like he expected. Waking up in a dark place where you can't even see the edges and having the impression you are in a murder game didn't do him any good. He swallowed and forced a smile on his face. He swore to never let his crush see the extent of his weakness.
[You will all turn into our guests if you die. Your souls will be trapped here forever and you will never be able to reincarnate. Feel free to grace my ears with your screams, it feels disappointing when you don't do.]
Elianna's phone vibrated in her pocket. She pulled it out and opened it showing the blue screen she was used to seeing. However, it turned read shortly and a message popped up. Emmanuel eyed the content with curiosity.
{WHATEVER YOU DO, DON'T UPSET HER.}