Screeeeeeeee!

Scratched walls and barred windows dizzyingly flew past them as Hope and the boy dashed down the dark labyrinth.

His right hand was clasped over the boy's wrist, tugging him along as the sound of wretched cries and laughter chased after them like a taunting host.

"L-look out!"

Hope spun around and reflexively aimed his rifle.

Cree!

A beastly human, lost and wild as it was in its insanity, leapt towards Hope.

Bang!

Its head snapped back, a hole piercing through its head in which one could see the other side.

[You have slain a dormant beast: Profaned-]

'Shut up.'

Just before Hope turned around to continue their run, he caught a glimpse of the shadowed behemoth down the hallway.

Screeeeeeee!

Blue night dimly shined through the windows carving out an image of the behemoth—an ugly morbid fusion of piled humans twisted and contorted into a maddening knot, their faces carrying curved slits for sinister smiles.

It reminded him of his First Nightmare. Where the townsfolk clambered over each other desperately, their bodies being tangled, melted, burnt together in one pile of jerky limbs-

!!!

Hope almost lost his footing from the flashed image.

'Ignore it. Dammit. Ignore it!'

Scritchh- scrit-

Their size almost filled the width and height of the hallway. But in between those tight corners were more Profaned beasts trying to crawl through in hopes to race up to them.

If it could with their lanky selves.

The behemoth hefted its enormous weight forward, their arms and legs poking out like thorns as they mimicked the scratches along the ceiling and walls, adding to the insanity of those bustling lines.

After the monster emerged, there was nothing else they could do but run.

Questions could wait. And if not, then one at a time.

But there was no doubt that even the boy stared at Hope differently. If there was any trust in his eyes, it was that he had found a companion to run away with from the chasing monsters. Someone that he could rely on with a weapon had the presence of a soldier. Or a killer. But all the same of having the best chance to escape through this nightmare.

The boy and Hope then turned around a corner and was greeted with another long hallway. Only this time there were no windows, but the cloud of darkness for them to run blindly into.

'Oh the fucking odds-'

Hope roughly shook his head from the bitter thought as they continued running forwards.

Focus. He had to focus.

But what he needed most of all was distance.

He needed enough time between them and the behemoth for him to properly act.

Hope guided the boy's grip from his hand to the strap of his backpack before rummaging inside in search for something.

Seconds later, he dragged out a flashlight and illuminated the dark hallway.

Ksssh..scritch...scritch..

Gun in hand, flashlight in the other, as they plunged further down the shadowed hall.

There along the walls as they sprinted past stood series of thick large doors with small, faced glass at their top center—keeping anyone from entering, or anything inside from leaving. More scratches to their sides and above and below also appeared around them, pulling at their eyes the further they went. A giggle and a hiss escaped those deep lines like a dark secret. But not even the boy seemed too fazed by it anymore with the obvious death chasing at their heels.

The monsters' laughter and screams echoed down the dark corridor, scratching their ears and minds with a terrible tune. Their acrid smell, the source of the musty air, of decayed flesh attacked their nostrils almost suffocatingly so.

"Huff! Huff! Huff!"

Poor kid didn't have much stamina either.

His wrist felt thinner when Hope grabbed it earlier. He was already starved and small, but Hope could feel the subtle difference.

Did the boy lose more weight? Even Hope felt slightly faint. Not that he necessarily was going to pass out—not that he could anyways, probably collapse instead—especially with the adrenaline that made his fingers and toes tingle as they raced forward. But his body felt like it was transitioning to a light and delicate state, just as he felt when he wandered in the desolate wastelands.

His grip tightened on the flashlight.

Just how long were they in here?

!!!

As if on command, a fast film started to replay in his head. But of course, it all happened too fast. Like the fly of a bullet, or the blink of light. It streamed and compressed his mind as it recounted the seconds, the minutes, the hours of their constant travel. All happening in reverse: The gradual fade of foggy night being drowned in light; the dark halls being eaten away as the sun rises; the chilling air slowly being replaced with warmth...

And it was night again.

Then it was light-

Slip-

Hope felt the boy stumble. From that he was shaken back into the present. Ominous scratching also resounded around them as if mocking their hurried manner.

Scrit-scritch...

Whether the scratches could only sense whenever he observed them, they had a timely hiss and giggle at that moment.

Hope narrowed his eyes from the sound.

It didn't matter anymore how long they were in here.

What mattered was to escape.

Escape. Escape. Escape.

He had to escape.

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Even the scratches agreed...

...in their provoking way.

After what seemed to be forever down the throat of pitch darkness, Hope's flashlight illuminated a dark rectangle hole in a wall.

They skidded to a stop in front of it and were revealed it to be leading to a stairwell.

However, the path to the bottom was blocked with large broken cement stacked into one mountainous heap.

Hope gritted his teeth.

'How unfortunate.'

"Come on, kid."

"Wah!"

The boy yelped from the abrupt pull, still holding onto the strap of the backpack from the complete stranger as they sprinted up the stairs.

After four flights of stairs—as high as they could go before another barricade—they reached another hallway with barred windows.

Hope had an eye for only one window.

Which was at the end of the hallway.

He quickly shoved the flashlight away in the backpack before breaking into another run.

He didn't know how the behemoth would catch up to them; maybe through breaking the floor again, or maybe stubbornly climbing up the stairwell as well. If it did, that would buy them some time to-

CraSH!!

'The hell-!'

The sound of loud metal crashed behind them, screeching as it clashed against the floor.

Hope turned his head and saw in that moment a black limb from a Profaned beast reaching out and grabbing onto the boy's leg.

"Aaah!"

Creee!

Hope forced himself to halt in his tracks and reach for Adam.

'Dammit!'

"Hey-!"

WHAM!

Before Hope could react, before he could grab onto the boy, the door next to him exploded as well and slammed him right into the barred window.

Glass cracked in his ear. He slid down the floor as the door weighed fully on top of him.

Pain spiked through his back and head; a stinging sensation icily burned him from the impact. Hope choked back on a painful grunt as his arms braced the pressing weight of the door.

Past its small glass window, he could see a Profaned beast snarling, baring its teeth as it thrashed wildly at him. High pitch torn metal filled his ears, deafening him as the beast continued to mindlessly attack as if the door was a part its prey.

Kwang! Kwang! Kwang!

"Erg!"

In the forced tight space, Hope struggled as he reached behind his pocket while using his left forearm to press against the door.

Krsch!

He then thrusted his right arm forward, breaking through the glass.

Tiny shards of the window pricked through his sleeve like fangs.

The monster's face froze, eyes still wide from its frenzy, as a black shard in Hope's hand pierced deep into its throat.

[You have slain a dormant beast: Profa-]

Hope ignored the Spell as he wiggled his hand out of the flesh.

He finally pulled away—the body collapsing on the door, his hand stained once more—and he slipped out from underneath.

He stumbled forwards as he grabbed the rifle on the floor and raised quickly to aim-

Hwiik!

But Hope's finger didn't pull the trigger.

He stopped.

Hunched over a couple meters away was Adam.

The boy's back bent forward as his hands clasped around a knife's handle.

His face sullen and his breathing shallow as he stared in shock at a Profaned beast's head underneath his blade.

He hastily pulled it out and scrambled away.

The monster dropped at his feet, its eyes following him hauntingly like guilt.

Maybe it was for the boy.

Because at that moment there was a look of realization forming on the boy's face as he stared longer at the monster.

Human it was.

And yet, it was not human.

What only remained was a remnant of someone who had all but tried and failed when they entered their Nightmare.

That revelation stirred something inside the young boy.

"I..." He gulped as he looked down at the bloody knife. "I-"

Hope stepped forward.

"Not bad, kid."

"...!"

Adam made a noise of surprise as Hope hoisted him up.

No time for stalling now.

Still holding onto the boy, they sprinted again back down the hallway, the cold night illuminating to their right as their shadows faithfully clung to their feet.

Hope again could feel a phantom crawling, scratching beneath their feet, as if tracing each quaking step they took no matter how fast they moved.

Scritch...scritch...

The scratches.

Scri- scrit- scritch...

The scratches listened; he was sure.

Outrageous as they were, darkly grinning as they did, a smile that stretched and curved and repeated madly at and of itself, breathlessly laughed between the lines.

Finally, as they reached the end of the hallway, Hope tossed something to the boy.

"Lucky day, kid. You're going to have an early practice."

"Huh- Wai- what!?"

Adam caught the rifle clumsily between his thin fingers.

His sunken eyes frantically looked at the firearm in his hands as if he were holding a ticking time bomb.

Sure, he probably wanted to learn earlier.

But maybe the pressed time was overwhelming.

Possibly.

Not that the boy had any recollection of the talk they had before.

But-

'I didn't promise exactly, did I?'

Hope cursed silently in his head after that thought.

Promises. Promises. The invisible tie of holding one down responsibly because of some words for actions that are yet to be fulfilled. He didn't explicably say 'i promise' or any of the sort. But it felt like he did.

And he hated that.

"Sir, what do you mean for me to- I mean I can't-!"

"Listen."

Hope quickly repositioned Adam's hands.

"Steady handgrip here. Back rests on your shoulder. Elbows in. Aim the crook at the beast and fire. Well, fire when it's close enough. Okay? When. It's. Close."

'Don't want to be wasting anymore damn bullets-'

"How close?!"

"You'll know, kid."

Bssccchh-

A white, blue light hummed and flashed across Hope's left hand. The dancing light swirled harmoniously as it took its shape. Adam's eyes widened from the sight and his jaw dropped.

"Are you a-"

Ignoring him, Hope raised his arm and swung it against the barred window.

Krsch!

A cracked gash appeared on the glass.

As Hope peered through it, he could see the next layer were the bars, but after that was another layer of thick glass.

"Tsk!"

Hope clicked his tongue in annoyance.

Who the hell built this sort of place?

Hope swung his arm again and again, striking the shield through till he could make a big enough hole for the size of them.

Krsch!

He could see Adam move awkwardly to the side as he continued on. Maybe from an outside perspective it looked like Hope had some animosity towards a simple window.

KrscH!

Well, maybe in a way he did.

Because years after this building had been built, it has now served as an annoying inconvenience to someone who was being chased by a bloody monster.

If there was something else to it, then Hope supposed it was from releasing his bitterness towards the Spell in this way.

As Hope was about to swing for the last time-

SCREEEEEEE!

A scream, terrible and thick with terror suddenly sounded below them.

It was the same sound of nails being scratched on glass.

The sound of a discordant choir that scratched the air.

A piercing tune that pinned and twisted inside one's mind.

Hope wouldn't be surprised if their collected voices could cut through flesh and bone.

Down in the middle of the hallway, a crack rose on the floor. Like a tiny hill, it grew until finally a crack appeared on its head and black burnt hands pushed their way through. Soon after, their arms appeared. Then their heads. Then their mangled bodies. And multiple sliced grins greeted them again with thin lips drawn back from long savage teeth as they released another deafening scream.

And following their teemed laughter, slipping impatiently past them were more Profaned beasts. Long worn-out gowns hung on their lanky bodies as they crawled and stumbled towards them.

One of them moved a lot faster than the others did.

It fidgeted on the ground, limbs pacing like a spider as it released a hollowing screech and-

Bang!

A thundering blow hit its chest sending it flying backwards. Its body toppled and crashed over the other chasing monsters.

Hope instinctively turned and outstretched his arm, catching the boy just in time from the gun's recoil.

Adam's eyes were stunned from the sudden rear, his hands gripping tightly around the gun in case it too would fly away.

"Like I said. Not bad."

Hope grabbed the rifle from his hands and slung it over his shoulder as he quickly perched on the ledge.

"Alright let's-"

'Stop.'

!!!

A cold draft blew in his face and Hope immediately gripped onto the window's frame as the pieces of glass and metal broke off.

The fragments fell, disappearing into the night's fog like a pebble being thrown and lost in a reversed sky.

And as well, no sound of impact followed.

Even in this stilled night, despite the chasing screeching monsters behind them, Hope couldn't hear a single clinking or shattering sound below.

No. Maybe he was paranoid.

Maybe the monsters' scratchy screams were too loud for him to properly hear.

Creee!

At that moment, another Profaned beast caught up to them.

He could hear Adam bracing himself with his knife.

But before the monster could reach the boy first, Hope's arm flew past Adam's head and struck the monster's shoulder, feeling the bone snap beneath his shield.

It screamed, cried, and bellowed, all of the noise it could release to deafen their ears. For once, Hope was slightly thankful for it because of what he was planning to do next.

He grabbed its shattered shoulder, pulled it towards him, then threw the monster through the window down to the abysmal fog.

And abysmal it was.

Its shriek trailed further and further down as if there was a true void in the earth.

Not even the damn Spell was saying anything.

But how was that possible?

The world couldn't have collapsed around them.

Even now—although barely with the fog heavily thick in the air—he could see the neighboring buildings.

Hope gritted his teeth as he looked back and saw the behemoth already three-fourths of the way climbing out of the floor. But the other Profaned were also closing in.

"Grab on, kid."

"O-out there!?"

Hope threw Adam onto his back as he leaned off the ledge.

"W-wait wait wait wait wait-"

Hope breathed in.

"S-sir-"

'Let's hope this Dreamer's body doesn't fail me now.'

As Adam continued to frantically call out to him, as the monster's hands greedily reached out to their guests, as the shadowed behemoth dragged its morbidly twisted self towards them-

Hope gripped his shield tighter, leaning lower on his haunches.

Then he jumped.