Huff.
Huff. Huff…
Gasping for the very air that hit him in the face shortly after, in the form of small gusts of cold, misty wind, Aves did his absolute best to strain his leg muscles, mainly his quadriceps, in order to gain a head-start on the ghosts that were closing in from all around him.
The distance he had to cross in order to reach the narrow gap was only about a few meters in total, but, in this apparitional realm, where doing something was a lot harder than in the normal world, assuming that the people around him weren't the only ghosts in the vicinity, and that there were a lot more beyond this encirclement, he had to make sure to put as big of a gap as possible between him and ghost-Isabelle — who was the closest to him — just in case anything went wrong later on and he had to slow down a little.
He couldn't let the ghosts touch him no matter what.
As Aves crossed what he estimated to be the first meter, it was only now that he realised how truly difficult it was to run within the vision, reason being that it felt like he was running with a bunch of extremely heavy weight-cuffs strapped onto his limbs.
Aves, in the heat of the moment, couldn't quite tell how fast, or slow, he was actually running, but if he had to estimate it, he would say it was somewhere between speed walking and jogging.
That might seem decent at first glance, considering the fact that the ghosts were moving at a much slower pace than he was, but it wasn't his speed that was worrying him at the moment. It was the fact that he had to push himself past his limits to maintain that kind of speed that made him wonder whether he would die of exhaustion first before the ghosts even got to him or not.
'Will I even make it out of the restaurant at this rate?' Aves couldn't help but think to himself, exasperated.
Assuming that he made it past the encirclement, he still needed to reach for the stairs, travel down those very stairs, make it past the — god forbid — jam-packed lobby full of people — probably ghosts at this point — and out into the streets, where Aves would decide what to do next when, or if, he reached that point.
The main point was that he doubted that he had enough stamina to last him that long.
Regardless, this was a do or die situation, and Aves couldn't afford to slow his pace down, in the event that something unexpected suddenly happened — which was something the vision was most well known for — so he just had to hope that everything would end up working out in the end.
Aves was undoubtedly more than a little frustrated at the moment. He was frustrated for being in this situation, yes, but more than that, it was for being thrown into it without a single warning. If he'd known beforehand that he would be blessed with stamina that belonged to a koala, he would have definitely come up with some sort of contingency plan to battle that disadvantage, such as staying near the restaurant's exit to make a quick escape. He had assumed, based on the first vision, that he couldn't move a single step once he stepped into this ghostly realm, so it was partly his fault for being quick to make those assumptions.
In fact, it could be argued that it was actually entirely his fault for being in the mess he was in, due to him going to a restaurant filled with people despite knowing full well that a vision could occur at any time.
'I guess, deep down inside, even I didn't fully believe that the first vision was real…'
Aves slowly shook himself out of his self-blame, for he realised that even if he had been fully prepared for the vision, he still would've landed in the same situation that he was in right now. There was one reason for that: he didn't know what triggered it.
If being in large crowds triggered it, then there was really nothing that Aves could do to stop it, since he couldn't just hole himself up in his room for the rest of his life.
'I need to focus. There will be more time to think about all of this if I ever survive this.'
Keeping his eyesight steady, his tri-coloured eyes reflecting his unwavering focus on the gap closing in ahead of him, Aves made sure to keep his thoughts away from the shadows looming nearer to him at the fringes of his field of vision, mainly because he didn't wish to trail off and think about possibilities that would make him unnecessarily panic in situations like these that required his utmost calm.
Well, it was that, and the fact that recalling those ghastly expressions scared him more than he would've liked to admit.
'Almost there!' As he felt one of the first signs of exhaustion manifest itself, in the form of sweat sliding down his cheeks and falling soundlessly onto the ground, Aves slightly bent his knees in preparation for pulling off his next stunt.
That's right. If Aves' quick mental calculations were correct, he wouldn't be able to make it through that narrow space, that separated the man's left leg from the woman's right leg, without touching either of them if he just bent his upper body. The gap was too low for his body to naturally do that at the pace he was running. It just wasn't physically possible.
He had to dive through it.
Easier said than done. He had to consider a number of different issues that might arise from performing that reckless action, such as, trying to keep his body from drifting off to either of his sides for fear of touching the ghosts, or making sure that he didn't jump too high so as to not accidentally touch either of the two ghosts' arms that were dangling on their sides aimlessly.
There were a lot more issues than that, but he didn't have any time to think over them as his mind suddenly went blank, the ground beneath him occupying his sight, as he kicked his feet slightly off the ground, all the while making sure that his arms were as close to his body as possible, his entire being bracing itself for what might possibly be his last moment, and dove.
The next thing he knew, his arms were touching the now rough, carpet-covered floor in a seemingly perpetual motion of dragging and bumping, sending bouts of searing pain to his overly alert brain. What followed next was his head, but that wasn't nearly as pleasant of an experience as what his arms had gone through right before it. His neck, merely an inch away from being snapped clean by the awful landing, bore the brunt of the damage as the crown of his head skidded across the floor for a short moment before the rest of his body came tumbling down after it, subsequently flipping Aves upside down and sending him rolling the rest of the distance across the floor as inertia took it from there.
His distracted vision taking a split second to recover, due to his survival instincts kicking in, Aves rolled onto his side and, ignoring the blood running down his elbows, looked back in the direction of the encirclement, specifically the man and woman that he had just passed.
There they were, already looking in his direction, a pair of identical insidious smiles etched onto their visages, as they stood straight, yet were still able to slowly glide along the floor in their pursuit of him. Ghost-Isabelle, a few paces behind those two, due to Aves' jump having put him a few more meters ahead of her, was still blank-faced in her chase.
The fact that Aves managing to escape the ghosts' encirclement didn't prompt any sort of reaction from them, whether it be a change in expression or an increase in speed, brought a smile of relief onto Aves' face.
'I did it!' Most of Aves' joy, however, stemmed from the fact that he was still in one piece after that crazy stunt.
Unfortunately, his joy was short-lived, since it turned out that he was correct in assuming that there would be more ghosts outside of the encirclement, because, just by looking around him, he could count around ten or so more ghosts, scattered around the rest of the second floor, making their way towards him in the same eerie way ghost-Isabelle and ghost-peanut gallery did and were even doing right now.
Not wasting anymore of his precious hard-earned time, Aves slowly propped himself onto his feet, all the while ignoring the fact that his muscles were screaming in protest from fatigue, and started making his way toward the flight of stairs leading to the first floor. It wasn't long before he was running again, but just not at the same speed as before, for his battered body wouldn't let him.
The next few moments were much less intense compared to before, due to the fact that, by some stroke of luck, none of the ten ghosts ahead of him were blocking his path toward the stairs. Regardless, Aves didn't let his guard down, nor did he slow his pace, for fear of any surprises that might suddenly jump his way if he did so.
However, Aves still briefly split some of his attention to try and look for any windows he could use as a quick escape instead of having to go downstairs and hope that he would get lucky enough to encounter a miraculous path that led him out of the lobby, which was surely swarmed with ghosts by now, and into the streets.
The drop from the second floor wasn't that high, so he would surely survive the fall even if he suffered a few injuries in the process.
'There aren't any. Damn it, who the hell designed this restaurant?!' Aves cursed.
Since there weren't any outlets on the second floor besides the stairs, Aves just had to stick with his original plan and make the rest of his way over to the stairwell.
Every second that he spent, every step that he took, Aves could feel the fatigue building up within him and reach heights that would soon prove unbearable to him if he didn't find a solution to his problem soon — the problem being that he still had a long way to go before he was able to make it to the exit.
The last dozen meters trek, though uneventful, took its toll on his fragile body, and Aves could even feel that it wouldn't be long before his willpower proved not enough to keep him going.
By the time he made it to edge of the stairwell, Aves' entire body was begging him to take a rest, to give up and keel over on the floor, to let death take him into its warm embrace, for that was a better fate than having to go through all of this agony. He was nearly tempted to do exactly that at some point. However, one look at the ghosts behind him was enough to convince him that even running a few more miles in this condition would be a far better fate than falling into their hands.
'Almost there!' Aves tried to encourage himself.
Taking one wobbly step onto the stair case, Aves felt his vision blur for a moment before a wave of bone shattering pain overcame his senses and threatened to knock him unconscious. He held onto his wavering consciousness, like he would to dear life, because he knew that it was over for him once he let go.
Gritting his teeth, Aves tilted his head to the side, all the while bearing through the pain that accompanied that small action, in order to make sense of what happened exactly.
Rows of stone-slabbed steps entered his vision, but Aves' attention quickly locked onto a confusing liquid that obscured his vision. Slowly reaching out to wipe his eyes, his now once-again clear vision watched the grey liquid dribble down between his fingers and spill onto his clothes.
This time, already knowing what to expect, he lifelessly dragged his other hand against his forehead, only to discover the same liquid coating his fingers once again.
'Blood.' Aves realised. 'I probably lost my footing, fell down the stairs and cut my head. Just what I fucking needed.'
Seriously getting tired of all the bullshit he had been subjected to as of late, Aves groggily dragged his head along the wall that his back was leaned on, and shifted his attention onto what would have been his next target.
Apparently, had Aves not fallen down the stairs and still been able to walk, he would have had to make it through a seemingly endless horde of faceless, expressionless, frowning or smiling freaks. They were all motionless, as Aves had realised earlier that they would start chasing him only when he had his back to them; even if he turned to face them after that, they would still continue floating towards him.
'So I was doomed from the beginning.' Ironically, Aves felt glad that he hadn't stood a chance in the first place. After all, if it turned out that he'd had the chance to leave, but missed it due to being incapacitated, it would have been a very cruel way for him to die.
'Not yet. I still have some energy left in me. I'm not frozen just yet.' Aves, his eyes revealing how truly tired he was, wasn't going to give up just yet.
Knowing that ghost-Isabelle was about to turn the corner and most probably start making her way down the stairs, Aves slowly reached his trembling arm out, pushed against the wall to his side with all the strength he could muster out of his broken body, and tumbled down the last few steps, ushering him into the first floor.
If he was going to die anyway, he didn't want it to be done by Isabelle's hands — ghost or not. He would much rather it be a random person doing the deed rather than someone he cared about.
Fracturing a cheek bone or two on the way down, Aves had to take a few deep breaths in order to turn down the urge to curse out loud about how painful everything felt. He had to keep his cool in this final stretch, after all.
'I guess this is it.' The mere act of breathing taking its mighty toll on him, Aves finally felt whatever modicum of energy that he still had within him finally leave his body.
The throbbing pain, rising from all over his body, being the only indicator that he hadn't died yet, Aves, his face gazing upward at the ceiling, started wondering when exactly he was going to breathe his final breath, since he couldn't actually see anything due to the red liquid that started covering his vision one again.
Wait…
Red… Red!
In this monochromatic setting, where colours aside from the omnipresent black and grey were non-existent, seeing the colour red only meant one thing…
His lips trembling from the overwhelming excitement, relief, and maybe even suspension, Aves dragged his lead-heavy arms across the floor, put enough strength into them to flip him over, inciting another round of pin-prickling pain all over his body while doing so, and stared at the gorgeous sight ahead of him.
The ghosts, now nowhere to be seen, were replaced by the familiar yet not-so-familiar crowd of people ogling at him as if he was a special species about to go extinct in a zoo.
He was out of the vision again!
Not minding the chatter that definitely revolved around his chaotic condition, Aves hastily flung his arm ahead of him, hoping that he would be able to grab onto something he could use as support to get up.
Fortunately, a stool was nearby, so he was able to pull it toward him in a disharmony of wheezing and grating, respectively caused by Aves fighting the urge to black out, and the stool scraping against the ground. Feeling the strength return to his body the longer he spent in the real world, Aves wasted no time in heaving himself up and onto his feet.
Aves wasn't sure, but that desperate action might have seemed crazy to the crowd, considering that their voices slowly died down by the time he was done propping himself up, all the while convulsing in pain.
'I need to use this chance to get out of here as soon as possible. There's no telling if the vision might return anytime now.' Aves wasn't going to let himself get fooled twice by the fickleness of the vision.
Pushing aside a member of the crowd that ran up to him to try and support him, not because he was being purposefully rude but out of fear that the vision might suddenly return and screw him over, Aves, his eyes slightly bloodshot, started limping his way to the exit.
It didn't matter how much strength was returning to his body at the moment, he couldn't do anything more than limp, as he had twisted his ankle and even fractured a few bones when he fell down the stairs earlier. Still, nary a single whimper was heard from him as he made his way past the astonished faces of the crowd.
The moment he felt the cold night breeze hit his sweat-clad face like a jet of water in the middle of summer, as Aves stepped outside of the double doors, he couldn't help the quivering smile of relief that crept up onto his face as he realised that no matter what happened next, the worst had already come to pass.
"Aves, wait!" The clickety-clack of shoes hammering against the floor accompanied the forlorn voice that called out to him.
'Isabelle…'
Slowly turning his head around, only to feel his heart get squeezed by an invisible vice immediately after, Aves noticed the slight heart-broken expression that Isabelle wore as she clumsily made her way down the last few steps of the stair case.
"Where are you going?" Isabelle, now panting to catch her breath, asked.
Aves slightly opened his mouth but no words came out.
What was he supposed to say? That, if he stayed here any longer, he might die to ghosts that were invisible to everyone else but him? That, instead of facing his fears and confronting those ghosts, he decided to run away, possibly leaving her in danger?
At this moment, he hoped — wished — that the vision would return… return so that he would have an excuse for not being able to say anything to his worried lover.
At this moment, he hoped — wished — that the vision would return… return so that he would have an excuse for running away from his lover and into the night as he was doing right now…
Aves didn't know how long he had been running for, the adrenaline pumping through his veins numbing the excruciating pain that accompanied his pace, as all his mind could think about was not the safe haven that he ought to be heading to at the moment but Isabelle's cry of attention that he last heard before leaving.
It kept on repeating in his head like a horrible melody on loop.
He was pathetic. A coward.
He knew that.
But, if he were given the chance to go back in time and choose again, he would still choose to run. Because, as long as he was alive, there was always the chance to set things straight with Isabelle, or even defeat the vision.
Still, it didn't lessen the guilt that was gnawing at his insides… not one bit.
A flickering light coming from straight up ahead drew Aves' attention as it practically branded itself into his over-sensitive eyes that were still accustomed to the dim lighting of the vision. Walking nearer to it, he belatedly realised that it was a stationary bus.
Making a quick decision in his head, Aves limped his way over to the doors of the bus and made his way in. Even though his condition was terrible, Aves wasn't going to go a hospital; that was basically asking for the vision to kill him. He needed to head straight home, and the bus in front of him was the quickest way to get there, since his home was very far and Aves doubted that he would be able travel that distance on foot without collapsing.
It was deep into the night as well, so there wouldn't be a lot of people joining him on his journey… hopefully.
"S-sir, are you okay?"
Ignoring the bus driver's wide-eyed question, Aves clumsily took out a few coins and handed it to him.
"Go. Just go." Aves, his voice a whisper, haggardly said. The bus driver quickly nodded after a moment of hesitation.
Teetering on the verge of collapse, he started making his way down to the back of the bus using the support of a few standing poles here and there, noting a mother and her child eyeing him warily while doing so, and dumped himself onto one of the chairs, his head smacking the glass window to his side in the process.
Shuddering to the feeling of cold glassware hitting the crusty wound on his head, Aves hissed while suppressing a cry, for that was nothing compared to what he'd had to go through earlier, and shifted his weary attention onto the world outside of the now moving bus.
Street lamps shimmered into existence as their lights reflected off of the rain water sliding down the glass every couple of seconds, making for a beautiful yet illusory scenery. After taking in the sight for a couple of minutes, Aves eventually shifted his focus onto his barely-visible reflection on the window.
Half lidded eyes that reflected his drowsiness, dishevelled hair that stuck to the crusty, bloody wound on his forehead, a pale face matted entirely with signs of dried-off sweat and blood, and a small purple bruise on one of his cheeks — and this wasn't even taking into account the rest of his body — Aves definitely looked liked he had seen better days.
Tilting his head downward, slowly but surely, his slightly trembling hands came into view. Clenching and unclenching them in a bid to stop the shaking, that action only seemed to have the opposite effect on them, as they only seemed to go even more out of control.
Burying his face in his hands, his entire body now trembling non-stop, Aves started letting out inaudible chokes.
'Where am I supposed to go? I don't know what to do anymore… Why won't they leave me alone?' Aves poured all the grievances that he'd been bottling up inside of him up until this point by asking all the questions he desperately needed answers for.
He had never felt so weak and scared in his life. At first, he comforted himself by telling himself that all his problems would be solved by going to the doctor, but after the second vision, he knew that any semblance of comfort derived from that expectation was just his mind deceiving him.
This wasn't a problem that could be solved by going to a doctor; this was something that only he could deal with.
But he didn't know how…
Seeking solace in the warmth of his hands, Aves gradually started feeling his mind grow calm, his hands stop trembling, and the world grow more desolate.
A few minutes passed in silence, the only audible sounds being the rhythmic humming of the bus engine, until finally — abruptly, even — Aves leaned back into his seat, his slightly red eyes absently wandering along the few cracks present on the ceiling of the bus, his heart still as heavy as before.
"Mommy, is that guy on drugs?" The little boy, around four or five, suddenly asked his mother.
"Yes. This is what happens when you do drugs. Are you going to do drugs when you grow older now that you've seen this, Tyler?" His mother 'whispered' back.
"No, Mommy."
"Good boy."
Chuckling quietly at the duo's terribly concealed conversation, too tired to continue worrying about whether they would turn into ghosts, Aves let the cold night wind, seeping through an open window, envelope him in its embrace as he slowly closed his eyes and slept to the even rhythm of his own solitary breathing.
The last thought he had, before the familiar darkness fell over him, was how alone in the world he truly felt.