I blinked. Then I blinked again. Then again. Yeah, no, still fucking atop mount Trashmore. I pulled myself to my feet and stretched before immediately running a hand across my forehead. Hm. I didn’t feel any holes… The opaque black bag, however… Yeah, no, that definitely has a hole in it. Fuck. Guess it’s real then.

The bag fell behind me as I worked through a quick series of stretches. Not my normal daily stretches. I didn’t want to sit back down, nor did I want to somehow fall to my death in a literal pile of trash. So, I took it easy. My body felt the same. Maybe slightly lighter? Did I feel… Less anxious? Weird. I definitely should have felt more anxious now that I was back in my physical body… I think? But I’m alive so what does it really matter.

Glancing about, I found a prime target. I took one step forward before pivoting on that foot and kicking forward at the glass bottle with my other. It shattered as my boot’s steel plated toes made contact. Shards of glass launched forward, glimmering in the moon’s light.

Okay, that felt better. Let’s get the fuck out of here. The chilly night’s air felt refreshing as I worked my way down the piles of trash. It was a lucky break that tonight was a full moon, otherwise the hike would have been a nightmare. The dump my body had been left in was lacking even a single light, and I didn’t see the normal security guards you’d normally expect from a landfill this close to the city.

It was probably for the best. I did not want to deal with some asshole asking me how I got here or what I thought I was doing. If I got detained for trespassing again, but this time at a fucking trash dump I would literally die of embarrassment. And I’ve died once, I’m an expert on it now. I would definitely die- I bounced backwards, a loose pile of trash falling down the hill where my foot had previously set down. My breath caught before flowing smoothly and slowly. Fucking close.

Speaking of dying. What the fuck was that? Death is an actual entity? I wonder what They’re like. The purple wisp girl was cute. On one hand, I would love to talk to her again. On the other, I really don’t plan on dying anytime soon, so… Let’s not.

A sigh escaped me as solid packed dirt ground rested beneath my boots. I still had quite the walk to go, but at least the risk of falling to my death didn’t loom beneath every step. Time to sort myself out. My body shifted as I worked through a few additional exercises. I wasn’t sure how long I was left laying there or if dying would fuck with my muscles. So, they had to be tested. I needed to stretch them and ensure that I was in a good shape to continue.

My skirts fluttered as I smoothed them out with a frown. This was one of my favorite dresses. It was likely irrevocably damaged and stained. While that is certainly an aesthetic that I do adore, this dress was still far too new to age into grunge. My pockets were also empty. The asshole even took my phone. The rest of me seemed untouched, fortunately. My clothes were shifted slightly out of place, as if I was given a cursory search, but the pocket sewn into the band of my bra was untouched. A few other possible concerns eased. They must have been professionals then. How would I have even reacted to… Yeah. No. Gross. Maybe if it was a cute girl it would be fi-

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I cleared my throat while forcing my legs not the squirm. Regardless, the bit of cash and backup thumb-drive I had stashed survived my untimely demise and resurrection. Once I made my way out of here, I would find my way to… maybe a net café? There were a few in the city still. It was a workable plan. Besides, I was starving. Apparently dying was one hell of a work out.

The dirt was way easier to walk across than the hills of trash had been. Even now, I could see them towering along behind me and to my side, taunting me. Well, they can taunt me as much as they fucking like. I survived, so they can get fucked. Still, it was strange. There should have been lights. I passed unlit lampposts here and there. I even passed a few empty boxes that were clearly meant to be guard stations. Had I been killed on some holiday or another? I… don’t think so? Who knows though, there’s always something new to celebrate or mourn.

My breath hung in the air now. The night’s chill had moved from comfortable to less than comfortable. It still beat a summer’s day, and at least I had a nice walk to keep me warm. Despite that, my bones seemed to hold the chill. They ached with it. A shiver ran across my neck before I shook my head and sighed. Not much longer. I would be out of here soon.

…

It was the seventh empty box of a guardhouse which told me something was wrong. I should have noticed earlier, but I had just fucking died so cut me a break. It was the exact same as the last guardhouse. No one spent enough money to make something an exact replica, especially not in a trash dump. Even if it was build on an assembly line by robots and dumped here, it would have worn differently. But it was the same. Exactly the same.

I ran my fingers across its wood before nodding once to myself and kicking the fuck out of it. I shook my foot out with a wince before smiling slightly at the rather noticeable dent in the wood. Backing off, I stepped onward to continue my path once more.

The next guardhouse had the exact same dent. As did the next. As did the next. As did the next. But the next didn’t. The one after that did have a dent, however. Weird. I walked backwards and toward the not-dented guardhouse. The ache in my bones progressed closer to exhaustion with each step toward it. Once I was close enough to touch it, my bones felt as if they were made of lead.

I peered in it through a small window on its door, the inside was utterly blank darkness. That… Couldn’t be right. I jiggled the knob, but of course it was locked. I debated trying to pick it, but my raking set was hidden in my now-lost phone-case… “Fuck it.” I muttered before taking a step backward then stepping forward, carrying my momentum into a kick leveled directly beside the door handle.

The cheap wood splintered around the lock as it fell open revealing… Nothing. Absolute nothingness lay behind the door. A dark, blank void that registered in my mind as DANGER. WRONGNESS. My heart pumped as my brain told me to flee. To run. To die. To escape by any means necessary. To do anything, as long as it meant not being in that darkness.

Of course, that was when something slithered out of the darkness and wrapped around my legs. I tried to pull away. I even tried to slam my fist onto the tentacle of shadow. None of it mattered. It tugged, and I fell into the darkness too panicked to even scream.