—— — - ——crash! — — - — — — -dun! — — - —*
Rummaging through the broken drawers of the room, the girl searched for her elusive item. The relentless downpour from the gray sky seeped through the shattered window, allowing icy droplets to invade the cold abandoned space.
'...not here...'
With the drawer now emptied, a puddle beside it momentarily illuminated the area, casting a fleeting flash of light before succumbing to the encroaching shadows.
'... not here too...'
Grumbling in frustration, the girl surveyed the floor cluttered with various objects and trinkets. Her brows furrowed as she realized none of them were the item she sought. Having experienced failure in the previous five rooms, she moved on to the next, hoping to find it in her her search.
— — — — — - — — — — — — — — - — -
Moments prior, Iyako, who had left her sister alone inside the room, went on to find her mother's ID. Her father's message still played in her head, but with small pout and a growing envy in her heart, she decided to search for it without her little sister's knowledge.
There she was casually walking through the spooky abandoned halls as she had grown accustomed to it. As some of her memories are still blurry, she first began her search from the farthest corners of the current floor however, she just came out after a couple of rooms but with no clues nor progress.
'Where could it be...' The girl thought sulking.
She thought it would be easy to find as simple as an ID, but that had proven her wrong. As she nears by the next room, she walked through the door as it had been left open.
'Hm?'
Taking a peek, it was the one with glass shards still scattered on the floor, remembering this was the very room she initially woke up from, and also know as her mother's office. Realizing this, she feel a little more motivated thinking this might be it, so she decided to clean up a bit before searching.
After all, she'd been taught that glass shards are dangerous, so she didn't want it to be there laying on the floor when she's busy searching.
With a bit of an effort, she finally swept off all the shards using the broom that was station in the corner of the room.
'There!' Wiping off her sweat, a small accomplished smile was painted on her face before she flinched as she almost forgot what she came in here for.
'Oh right! Mama's ID!'
With a gun-ho pose, she then went straight to the cabinets as she, one by one, removed the contents and making sure she didn't miss anything.
'Iyako will find it for sure!'
As the girl's energy was slowly being drained, it was a matter of time before the morning sky caused a drizzle of the rain that gradually turned into a downpour. She felt a little chilly but continued on with her search anyways. However...
"❕❕❕"
With a thunderous roar from outside, her body flinched as her fluffy ears stood up fully alert before looking around to find the source of the noise.
'It's raining?' When she realized the rain coming in from the window along with bright flashes of light, her perked up ears returned to its original floppy state.
'That was scary...' she thought to herself as she shivered a little from the dropping temperature.
Continuing on, she went towards the drawers, then to the various lab equipment, and lastly she went over to the boxes. As she was about to return the items she just put out, she heard faint footsteps coming from the hallway.
"...❔"
Ears twitching with every step, she stopped rummaging through the items as she turned her head over the doorway.
'Hm...? Did Lil sis finally come out?'
Feeling a little curious, she stood up and took a peek outside but found no one. She wanted to call out to her but being mute, it didn't help as she could only go to where her sister should be.
'Lil Sis?'
Walking through the hallway, following the sounds, she was getting closer to source as it suddenly stopped into a corner. Sighing as she thinks her sister is being silly for wanting to go to a dead end, she took a turn to see what her sister could be doing.
'Sis, What're you doing he-'
She paused as she looked over the empty space with no one there. There was a window which she looked up and down outside but still nothing but fog in sight. Slowly taking a step back she looked behind her and it was as quiet as it should be.
Realizing this, her tiny hairs all over her body rose as her she quickly turned around and ran. Little did she know there were eyes staring at her little figure as she went towards her sister's room.
As she kept running a little worried about her sister's safety, she walked past the open door.
"...!"
When she arrived, what caught her sight was a girl with almost perfect reflection of her muttering in her sleep with a scrunch up expression on her face. When she saw her sister, her shoulders then began to relax as she crouched down. As she does so, she could barely hear her sister's mutterings...
"Iyako... sorry... please don't leave..."
'...'
Crouching down, she felt a little sting from her heart as she saw her sister's lonely state. However, shaking her head, she still hasn't forgotten about her sister's stubbornness of not wanting to leave her room. Afterall, if she really was sorry, she could've left the room and apologized to her...
Despite that, the little girl thought there must've been a reason why she doesn't go outside, at first she thought nothing of her sister's warnings and fears because she thinks that her sister is a scaredy cat. But after the strange sounds of footsteps belonging to no one, a growing unease sprout from her heart.
'Lil sis is still here... Who was that?' is what she thought before holding the tablet tightly in her arms as she closes the door, hoping to keep her sister safe while she's sleeping.
- - - - -
Whilst Iyako is going through the usual dim hallway, she hears occasional footsteps nearby. Though sounding a little different, whenever she hears them, she stops and finds a place to hide before continuing on. However, as she was about leave a room after searching through it. She heard the footsteps once again but this time she saw a familiar figure limping past an intersection.
"...?"
The figure's silhouette was that of a woman in her mid forties as she was donned in her lab coat. With a nostalgic color of platinum blonde hair tied into a ponytail. Their expression wasn't noticed by the girl as the woman had walked past the corner, away from the little girl's gaze.
'Mama...?'
Standing still surprised from the sudden appearance, the girl's widened eyes turned into a lively wide open smile as she then began to follow the figure that she once saw.
"✨❕"
Excitedly she ran towards the figure as they turned towards each corners, not noticing the girl's presence since her footsteps covered hers. Happy thoughts formed into the little girls head, as the item she's looking for might be easier to find and the long-awaited reunion with her mother.
'Mama!' She yelled, wanting for her mother to be heard. Whether fortunately or not, she was mute as the voice that came from her mouth were mere inaudible whisper.
The figure didn't stop as the girl struggled to keep up with them with her short tiny legs. She was getting nearer and nearer, and when she saw the figure went through the staircase then headed down without any stopping, the girl unknowingly slowed down as she gazed towards the flight of stairs leading onto the floor below.
- - - - -
Inside a familiar room, Masako could be seen talking to herself. She didn't mind that there was no voice replying to her since she knew the one she's talking to cannot speak. Continuing on her ramblings...
"Iyako, I know you want to go out and play but you shouldn't go outside. You see... there is a scary monster out there so it's best to not meet them."
"..."
"Well you might not believe me but I can sense something bad is going to happen..." The girl spoke with a solemn expression before continuing on a whisper "...though I guess I'm a bit relieved that it still didn't fail me even if I'm still caught by that..."
Shaking her head feeling like she's derailing a bit.
"First. Don't enter the rooms with the blo- I mean dirty red doors." While the girl is speaking to herself, to one she's talking to wasn't listening anymore.
"Second. Don't EVER go to the elevators." Emphasizing the word 'ever' through her trembling voice. With the marks still visible on her body, she looked down closing her eyes as she took a deep breath.
"Lastly... Don't go down... I don't feel anything bad down there yet... but... it's best to be safe than sorry..." The girl said as she then noticed that the room had been a little too quiet, since normally she hears Iyako making some sort of noise when replying.
"—Hm, Iyako are you listening?"
When she turned around she saw Iyako sneaking out of the room.
- - - - -
There Iyako was, in front of the stairs leading down. Remembering her sister's warnings, she hesitated a bit. Her dull blue eyes stared at the darkness as it then stared back at her.
A moment of silence played as the air grew stagnant.
'Mama is down there... If Iyako asks for Mama where her ID and Papa is... then maybe...'
As her memories had began clearing up the moment she found the tablet, she wanted to relive those memories once again with her beloved parents, the people that took care of her and those that didn't abandoned her... that didn't hurt her.
Maybe with the addition of Masako to the family maybe things would be livelier and brighter, she thought about it and kept thinking about how fun it would be...
"..."
However, she stood there still as she placed the tablet in front of her. She played the recordings once more, like cold water being poured down your daydream. When she thought of her little sister's last warning into another perspective...
'...Don't go down... I don't feel anything bad down there...'
The girl held the tablet tighter.
'Did Lil sis know Mama was going down...'
With a frown growing on her face, the idea of her sister wanting to keep her beloved mother to herself stung her heart. It didn't help as there were no messages left for her from her father, causing her to purse her lips.
'... Lil sis... liar...'
After taking a deep breath, her eyes narrowed along with her furrowed brows. Looking back to her sister's general direction, her eyes were covered by her bangs as she then decided to take a step down the stairs.
Then...
Her vision darkens as a nauseating feeling crept up her mind, for a moment a flash of light reflect unto her eyes before losing her balance, causing the world spin as a high pitched ringing covered her ears.
"...?"
With eyes heavy from opening back up again, her gaze darted to the ground trying to comprehend what just happened. Her heart beating slowly as her body ached as she frantically looked around... only to see nothing unordinary but the fallen tablet right in front of her.
'... What happened to Iya—'
Silently groaning as she sat up, she tried to push herself up only to freeze as she saw red splatters dripping down. She could feel a wet sensation coming from her forehead, however, when she tried to wipe it off, her palms were dyed crimson with droplets trickling down to her knees.
'...Huh?'
Ragged breaths marked the return of a haunting memory. Shaking her head upon taking a deep breath, her gaze once again landed on the tablet.
'Mama... Iyako just needs to find Mama... Everything will be alright...'
Grabbing the tablet laying down on the floor, she stood up weakly as her body leaned against the walls as a support on going down the stairs carefully. Each step echoed through the empty space with the sound of downpour playing faintly in the background.
Slowly...
...But steady...
As the dim light then began to fill as she slowly approaches.
"...❔"
Taking the final step to reach the floor that was once below her, she raised her head taking in the scene ahead.
It was a familiar sight yet the time passed changed it. Her solemn dull eyes flowed left to right as she took in what she saw.
Across the misty water vapor floor, there were pillars of concrete painted in white and patches of grey from erosion. Open cellular office area filled the vacant areas along with desks, office equipment and documents. When she looked to the side, glass walls were containing this very floor which fully displayed the details of the ruins of the city landscape, though some glass panels were broken or shattered, objects near the broken panel were drenched by incoming rain, unprotected by any barriers.
"..."
As she took a step deeper, her body was shivering whether from the cold or from something else she doesn't know. She took a peek inside one of the cubicles.
'Auntie Rin...'
Gaze landing on the picture frame, a black haired glasses wearing woman in her twenties, her face inked in paper unrecognizable due to the passage of time. With their name plates untouched from the desk, the girl opened the drawer to see the woman's personal items.
'...Uncle Onin...'
She went through the next, a man with the same uniform, though they were on the wider side, she remembers his scolding voice whenever she used to run around in the office. Though she didn't really cause much trouble as she often playfully runs and hide, she still like the candies she was given by that round security man.
'...Big Sis Vera...'
With a photo of the a brunette pony tailed woman, and the previous black haired woman. Though the same age, their personality were the deciding factors on how the girl referred them as.
As she gone through the cubicles one by one, she remembers all the employees she'd interacted with, on how they treated her and what their relationships meant to her. She felt nostalgic as she wanted to see them again and continue playing with like how she used to.
With the static sounds of rain, she ventured further...
Her thin pale arms wrapping the tablet, she looked over the state of the city, not knowing what to feel. She could only look down with other thoughts but was disturbed by a sudden cylindrical pen holder rolling towards her.
"...?"
Intrigued, she looked up as she saw a white cloth covering a lump that rustled around one of the cubicle.
"— - —— — "
Her fox ears perked, attuned to the cluttered noises coming from a nearby desk, revealing a familiar platinum blonde hair. As the woman in stained white, stood up, unmistaken to be her mother, the girl came a bit closer in her excitement.
'Mama!'
A bright smile covered her eyes she wanted to ask many things from her despite the visible blood dripping down from her forehead. She didn't care much of her injury now that her mother is here that is always there for her to comfort her. Even though she thought her mother might get a little worried but thought she will apologize later on once everything is settled.
As she was about to show her the tablet, she paused as her dull eyes' gaze stuck on her mother figure as they drew closer.
"—— -—- —— — — — - - —— — "
Amidst unintelligible murmurs, Iyako observed her mother stand. The same white lab coat, the familiar hairstyle, the same recognizable voice, and that ever-present comforting smile? Yet, beneath her elation, her body resisted the impulse to rush into her embrace.
'Mama...?'
As the figure drew nearer, minute details emerged, sketching a different reality. The scent of decay mingled with the air, vines coiling like puppet strings, defying life. Her chest was torn apart, then sloppily put together like mesh. Iyako's fluffy ears drooped, recoiling from her mother's ghastly visage. Fear shrank her eyes, a step back involuntary, crushed under the weight of the unsettling scene.
"-—-— -—--— — - —ako..."
Decaying hands extended, bony fingers poised to ensnare the trembling girl, her hoarse voice whispered closer. Using the tablet as a shield, she covered her eyes, bracing herself.
"Iyako!"
Yet, unexpectedly, a force jerked her hair, barely avoiding the walking corpse's grasps.
A shout from a person she didn't expect, tears began to build up as she opened her eyes to see Masako right in front of her. The same Masako who wanted to lock herself inside of an old musty room, afraid of any dangers lurking outside.
'L-lil sis...?'
"...Thank God I found you..."
The girl from behind had a relived and worried expression painted in her face momentarily hugged her but before her could think, her little sister flinched as she looked in front before grabbing her hand.
'Lil sis... Why are you here?' The girl thought but her sister didn't answer.
They ran through the cubicles, avoiding any obstacles blocking their way. With their short legs doing their best to carry them as they ran for their lives, Masako's tears began to well up as thought about what would happen if she were a second too late. But knowing Iyako is still okay, she decided to shift her focus on escaping. As of now, Masako knew they were helpless little girls so the best course of action was to find a room where they could wait it out for the the figure to leave.
"Iyako we're almost there!"
Looking at the nearby room with a half opened door, a few more steps left for their temporary safety.
"Uwah!"
"❔❕"
However, her thoughts were disturbed as Masako accidentally tripped as she stepped on broken glass causing her to wince in pain.
"Aagghh... Fuck this hurts!"
"Lil Sis!'
With the rotten figure following just behind them, Masako who was down to the ground and Iyako petrified not knowing what to do.
Masako tried to to stand up but her leg got stepped on, feeling the slimy grimy texture of the rotten foot as it's weight held her in place.
"S-stay away!" She screamed with tears flowling down as her eys shrunk as experiences of the elevator flashed back into her mind.
Her breaths became unstable as the rotten hand gently touched Masako's cheeks as it's face drew closer to hers. As the girl silently waited for her demise, eyes that were tracking her from way before narrowed as she closed hers.
"Masako... I'm sorry I couldn't save you..." The hoarse whisper into her ears causing her eyes to open in surprise. But with silent scream and a crunch filled with a splatter, a white blur blocked her view, temporarily blinding her, before it disappeared as if it vanished into thin air.
Her head filled with questions, as she survived once again. She doesn't know what to think as she looked back down setting her gaze on the that woman fell down limply to the cold hard floor as if it's string had been cut off.
It's head nowhere to be found, leaving a bloody mess with it's caused her nose to burn down her throat. Traces of torn tissues and clear viscous liquid lead towards the broken window of the outside, which nothing should survive if it had fallen to such heights.
The girl with long white hair looked back, checking if her sister is alright, then to see her sister kneeling down on the ground crying with their eyes shrunken in shock and horror.
"Iyako..." She muttered as she felt a sudden pain in her heart seeing her innocent sister like this. Clenching her fist for her own weakness, she could only embrace her as the drizzling rain continues it's downpour.