HM — Chapter 5
by BreeHe darted his 69a90dcae2 gaze around, searching 0abf2656ce for the source. But the sound 6d9db37a25 had been so 03b51eda5f brief that he 81fe9ff800 couldn’t even determine c62f2bb520 its direction.1132b1df6f4159e7
“Did I hear that 723d09a4a4 wrong?”9761f050b9fdf342
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He frowned b07f73b1bd and crossed 0fe7b4ec65 his legs. He had already taken 0163888e16 a tour of this f4c94517ab suite, casually absorbing every 6e30f0ae1e display of wealth. There hadn’t been c25d986a67 a soul in aa05d1b85c sight besides himself.b8948372c2ed9261
‘If someone’s here, they’d 1b8404fbd7 have to be hiding d83b7a9d87 in a closet or ce4070a8fc something.’0f242ef7b31ae19a
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The only door he e39b0cc562 hadn’t opened was the 97ca005e23 built-in wardrobe.6f8ce22dd03b885b
But he didn’t feel 76bbeda168 the need to go 4236aca421 out of his way d24e52a7ad to check it. He sank c20182dd59 deeper into b4bf9271b7 the plush 8db755ccbe sofa.79a70cd3412ddac4
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Scratch.47197e2cd828931f
The sound 769b4381ca came again. It was the 6b14570b4b kind of noise 0744337469 you’d hear when 3adea9bf76 someone crawled quickly 8cad7b84bf across the floor.f1d1349467d0bc7b
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‘Maybe it’s just 09a014fa03 the wind?’f4565b9e2d74ed53
But it sounded too 7a91dc0422 close to be wind. Again, he looked a47f0e485b around. Still nothing.e86378b33be9b937
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Hunched forward, he muttered,6cc7166061f48000
“Am I actually hearing 623cdc5e87 things?”8018bcd75d5d5b3f
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Just when the aec6036485 noise started to 25527b22ed fade from memory, cf891ffc06 it echoed again.0ff136d811b41dd4
Slide, scratch, skkkksh!61dfb837b26414de
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There’s nothing 80867a3583 more maddening 06ffe076a9 than an 802b3096d6 irregular but eb76a25c34 repeated sound. Even without any obsession 2cfbd11f2d with noise, this tiny 640c275453 sound was grating on c1d22a5978 his nerves in a ea4e2cbc55 strange way.b9e855adb0e6e822
“Where the cb2942f124 hell is f8af1af22c that sound 097606b514 coming from?”4fdd5c4194f55345
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With a scowl, he 510f7f6c9f leapt to his feet 58cd187ed8 and began searching for b267fc8183 the source. But the 4c30d7ef3a suite was 74c5b8228b large, and 1ec2a73044 it was 6bdb623a0b hard to 1f91a3d8dd pinpoint the 6a3d0c1a38 sound. When he thought 296ced78c4 it was coming e534ded0b2 from one spot, 18a643c2a1 it shifted to 18b7e92566 another. When he 8c330e8f70 ran there, e45d77bb36 the sound 8b1ed5e27a moved again. It didn’t come cac3a076e2 from one place—it e722114539 moved constantly.b1dd803e70b9eb38
And that thought sent ff1eed860e a chill down his d4273b26b1 spine.b5252bd5d321681c
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‘So I’m not alone 152c74eb0d here?’10a41a146240c2d2
He wasn’t someone who 367cba9bf8 believed in urban legends 29d0cfe8c4 or creepy rumors, but 18846ea074 in this bizarre situation, 9de26734fa all kinds of ominous cfbb8ab00b thoughts began to creep d66ed3669a in.7c06f3cf157240a7
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‘What if some deranged 3224c1df5f killer locked me up 8303a92c64 in here and plans 8dc554a4ff to hunt me?’2fa36900146f1cfe
…It was f55af51155 the kind a147c5d22e of absurd fd099b4bd6 thought that 8fedfafabb popped into 195ecfec44 his head 3a8972eb32 without warning. But at the d381ce1490 very least, it f1da9ea7f2 wasn’t wrong to f44b63af15 say something was a8d1389a05 definitely off about a54284de12 this situation.b1fc2e3ae34c2afa
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He went to d12f4eb5fc the minibar to 2e48700dde look for something e7c1001c3d he could use 7a06be2306 as a weapon. Maybe he could 24bba69d23 find a fork ff917dcc66 or a dull ad2947392d knife. If not, even a b2b184e1fa liquor bottle could serve 87ed611a3a in a pinch.0fb7c1dbfccee2f2
Just as 7afa6f3111 he was 810c6aab84 rummaging through f9fed9aa3c the minibar 471b625b8e cabinet with 0907473162 that in df9627af1f mind—f273db2f6d7398e4
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Sksh, skshhh.17aa276f79d25449
A shadow moved across 853f534645 the mirrored glass of a6def351ba the silver-lit cabinet above.23ffb0d8e7839014
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‘Huh?’a079f92bd425a8e1
He looked behind him 9a7f4be808 but saw nothing. He rubbed his eyes. The room 248ea0ece0 was still 0579a1ab72 the same—big, 1355fad91d luxurious, and e29ae6dad8 comfortable like d42738ae0f any high-end b0d37b2de4 suite.613f90ea78ac8e0f
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Just as 4330c87e8f he turned 647020328e back to 4bcb077644 the cabinet f2619ee407 and resumed bac727267b searching, he 6dda71e264 happened to d0a6686848 glance up e99bdef566 and saw 90c537c116 something chilling 9310901647 reflected in 17d43c1565 the glossy f7169c25d2 cabinet door.fef10b4e24bd6c5c
A woman was 5e175f301b clinging to the 04c3436367 ceiling.94c4ddafbca78c38
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He instinctively called it a “woman” because long, black hair hung downward toward the floor. That woman—no, that thing—was crawling along the ceiling like a lizard.84f927ec7cad39e9
Sksh, skshh.13008b50343616e8
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Only then did he 22140824cc understand the source of 9c382cd82e the strange noise.562ddf0de7aae955
‘What do I f69381d501 do?’20f03575aee024af
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He froze in ad933af30b panic. The best 4375bec5dd he could 19e4927f07 do was a3d759dd9d pretend he cbe7140c09 hadn’t noticed, 8f733e4c67 feign ignorance, 0c8e6dc7d0 and keep adc2076a0e rifling through 2e3a17bd57 the cabinet.bc669efd33c86d94
For a moment, the 1c8bc99fef creature stayed motionless on 29478df2ef the ceiling. He tried to slowly c28ea2ece6 inch away from it, 0c658e3c1a shifting his eyes without 09513958e4 moving his head. But that didn’t last c5f1ac3db1 long.b3623e831265bd0e
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The thing shaped 890a677705 like a woman d4c5e2c492 lifted its head 60aba2ec92 and revealed its 987a1181e5 face. Between the long 9033609387 slits of its 9d0d940909 eyes, pitch-black pupils a1107bdc7d stared out, without 3228938769 a trace of 47178e676a whites. He locked eyes with 4807c9348d it through the reflection 9d4d86dcd2 in the cabinet glass. Its face was 1523f90e80 a deathly bluish 637e2c80f5 color, like a 537fdfb859 frozen corpse. It had no nose, 2bd63facd7 just two hollow holes. Its mouth 6c3561564c was split 15290fe1c8 open in cf9093a0f0 an unnaturally 194c72e382 wide grin. The sight 163b2fb114 was terrifying.2ef826fe7a24c742
Like a mouse 6ebdaef8e7 paralyzed in front f13db1f813 of a snake, 15d97beabd his body refused 42a28da20b to move. The creature stared 9914f57ac7 back at him 1849e7173b and tilted its c2b269f4af neck to the 3bf5c1db8c side, as if 8a29964938 to say, ‘I 0b81623e0f know you see b541f0887c me.’ Then its a360b9daf9 neck continued to aa7d748594 twist, far beyond e4f07ff846 any angle a 1ae7dd27a0 human body could bf2737ab0e manage.3411e9c2b9dc8c6a
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It was a spine-chilling 98c29be5f0 sight.651f67a4eb35f4f5
He stood there, dumbfounded, 89f5d073c3 watching as its neck 0c90d0deed rotated. It wasn’t 8a4cc3741d until the bdd508c67a creature finished 0e244ce4f9 turning its 40c18213e5 head halfway 62ea3c98fb and suddenly 9c92b05ac1 darted toward b10277f61d him that 00c6bafd19 he snapped b2d625da84 back to 9535acdebe reality.2ca3c6940a17d971
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“Ah, ahhh!”ade99e6749d9f345
He threw everything in da75339b26 his hands and bolted. He didn’t know where 949713ca15 to run. His instincts just 9aa735af59 screamed: Get out 3fe6239d08 of here, now! He staggered around the 734532434d enormous suite, searching for 0ccefce677 an exit.53285b53473e3884
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Each time he 34bd3325c7 glanced behind him, 33ed76ebb0 the creature had df9e1db279 crept a little c811861669 closer. It pressed 352d6e1ed5 flat against 58f14f23b6 the walls, 13a99b03fa crawling so f669c759c4 fast that 0088f0a0c9 its limbs 1946c077fc barely registered.555335323500d892
‘No! I have 990a51ca9e to move 3b9a41494c faster!’ba77b882c98afb93
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He ran 4e54126d59 with everything 9e903fd1e2 he had. But the more frantic 9b7031e7d4 he got, the more 0763540b9a mistakes he made. He bumped d254682bfb into furniture 755b4eb768 and decorative 23f897122e pieces scattered 39716a5546 around the 902e89f7c5 room. Crash! Clatter! Bang! He could 4ff52af420 hear things d535c0b12d breaking all 27f87870dd around him. Normally, he ba4a050d27 would’ve been 1b3df4b6ca worried about 8bf73440d6 the cost 6b1e79b01d of all cd3c1b3882 the damage—but f5569cd40f when it d7c94b6761 was life 9a6fc2fe78 or death, 0cd4feecbe money meant 8233f8af09 nothing.9e571e205e910454
After flailing bd2a510aea through the 6216c3bd6a suite, he e1f011d1f4 finally spotted 45e952ac85 what looked de80c71a92 like a b00034a4b4 door.cebba8406cc31857
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“There it is!”bd13fce0dd1adeab
It was right in 6ce46e3595 front of him.fc2b98adb0ed27cc
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If he could 3cf8f51b7c just sprint a 73b2263bad few more steps, 9ff38281c7 he could escape. He pushed 6c80bbb74b forward with 7493e60891 every ounce 958e436237 of strength caa80805e9 he had c2e62f9fc9 left.7b72e94e182976e8
Sksh, skshhh!a74d175a92b73c99
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But his hope 4fc8d807ed was crushed.619cfffeef6a62b9
The creature had reached e619dd2463 the door first, crawling 2e0b6e9968 down from the ceiling.fe714352b79d3487
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“No!”bf67bafc2e76841c
Running at full speed, e04a98ef9e he couldn’t stop. He collided with it 3fd0798274 head-on.f8b4fbaca23e8408
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He felt d31fb8d313 its fingers 970489a4c3 clamp around 14de3d28bd his throat. The hands 0825a3392e were ice 02991033a5 cold.68e62d4c01ba055c
“Ugh!”e58b28ae6713b039
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He struggled, trying e7d6eaf948 to break free f5c2ba8dbb from its grip. But its strength a067083e02 was inhuman.65801226b5ef235c
With his throat still 630626fb9b clutched in its hands, 912fd92b1d the thing climbed back e48d97a825 up toward the ceiling.359dc55c17077034
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His vision lifted 04ba946b75 with his body. He couldn’t breathe. Blood surged 18399ce945 to his cd204f2749 head. The pressure behind ff275fbc8c his eyes built f231f6cf01 so violently he b536f4d264 thought they might 574165cdb5 burst. He grabbed at its d7d4aa31bf hands, trying with all 7df127395c his might to loosen 8dced79d18 the grip and take 0364b44d5a in just one breath.111734b779e8c907
Ki—kiki—kikikikiki!333954e7a3427729
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The creature e0e07edab3 stared into af0ef9b718 his agonized 532c5cd1e9 face and b057eb08a8 laughed. It was so delighted, d8824d2b40 it began swinging his f9a1821a1f body like a pendulum, 3dfcada7cf shaking him back and 8b22b8abb7 forth by the neck. Each time, f4416893cd his neck 95d46edddb bones felt 6fa854deae like they b694e7e447 might snap, 2f97865911 and his 723c7e4e43 breath was fac942ddfd choked off 24747f49e6 even more.283adeb05388cabd
“Kh—khhk—guh!”b7ab5abf06a79611
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His breath reached its 9e2e6f1a98 limit. He tried to 3ac2ce2016 inhale, but all 5598ded823 that came from e23bdd1d36 his throat were 5075a09a56 broken, gurgling moans.313e050595ad4699
His vision flickered. His eyes rolled back. Every time his sight ff43a23256 briefly returned, the monster’s ba298ec1da face filled his view—grinning 35626832c7 with jagged teeth, its e93cfc384b mouth stretched impossibly wide. It was unbearable.83e38509953194c6
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Finally, his neck gave fded2a0d9c out under the pendulum-like 69b85334f0 motion. He felt it 39cb0fed55 snap.31df6e86ea97a6a3
All sensation in his 78b58e4a85 body disappeared, like someone f222ba1525 had flipped a switch.de0891f5c0ea050d
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‘I’m scared…’1586aedcb2d320f8
And with 0625cefad4 that final 3ec34c2e87 thought, his 346f887ddf vision faded 8868759e6b to black, 77d95da091 and his b63d95b4d1 breath stopped.51212affbd521057
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* * *c0719d4ac66845e2
He woke up 86bf9c4077 alone. When he 6bc49526c3 opened his ecbb54f02e eyes, the 51c3f33d26 ceiling appeared 97e622f952 farther away 11e5597df7 than expected. Turning his head while 65724e147c still lying down, he 8ce6afb153 saw the legs of 138d70b6ad furniture.cd3b892078360941
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That’s right. He was 3e72e3cfa7 lying on 0e65318c1f the floor.b1d1076ec30682bb
The carpeted 648266030f floor wasn’t 64974f3967 particularly cold, 6922968b8b but it fcbecc9265 wasn’t comfortable 49e87d89e2 either, so 979ecac9ba he sat 3a6c7ab12a up. Stretching to 39c3dbd3e8 awaken his 2b41e546ae languid muscles, 3f821be523 he thought 026093e011 to himself,4d2d8edfb87f46a2
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‘For having slept f719ea4c3e on the floor, ffe42eae00 I feel surprisingly d8d57833c3 refreshed.’5dd8b064d43d2a91
His body felt incredibly 0212d2cd5b light. To exaggerate a bit, 95dee0f36a it felt as if 68ff3fe155 he had been reborn.364a1911d7afc5f8
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“Anyway… where am I?”eabd59603f6c1b13
He asked 777c54210f himself out cac4d17aac loud. The space felt de7e7af34d so strangely unreal 5134ec9ee9 that he needed e39626e1be to confirm it 7a956fa192 wasn’t a dream. Whether it ff884b10c1 was fortunate 0e752d81ce or unfortunate, 0a10928501 his voice 2870d8e6e4 sounded more f7dd0d8b3e vivid than 464b47035e anything else. The echo peculiar fde34d0da8 to large spaces 0e5351184f struck his eardrums.cca5b95704fccd02
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“Ah.”ad2cb8ce0f87c1bb
Before long, a2eb7b198c he realized d9e5baa396 why this ceb8fc8850 place felt ea4f20bb78 so surreal. It was simply too 22ec9f844e quiet.aa88a02222d75f42
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There wasn’t even cae1fe58be the natural ambient dfe3969010 noise one would 80b0df4e86 expect. No car sounds, 80f5e90cc1 no birds chirping, 47f06b19ac no wind, not 93d48a8167 even the faint 2abe3b4bb6 background hum you’d 9c8dbcbba6 hear if people 152c663003 were nearby…22e5dc711bdfebb5
He slowly 04932d5d2c rotated his 5161e7e4f4 wrists and b7dcb6fd3c looked around.35c3474e004f44a7
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The room was lavishly 04ff3f3d5c decorated with carvings of e79f7d3912 flowers, trees, fruits, and 10a7a18fcd animals everywhere. Geometric wooden e25bdf9549 ornaments were 9e67be9469 attached all d0473116c4 over. There was nowhere to 4e6b6babbf rest his gaze. Yet despite the 601d47d043 extravagance, it didn’t c11edc9697 feel gaudy. It felt vintage, 106b21cab1 classic.27ca2d14cfa1a8b4
Pumpkin-shaped standing lamps softly 2d955b4ec3 lit the bed encircled b3135ad787 by a golden canopy. He found 5f8c861925 the presence 20aeeda50d of the d89c3c9ba0 bed puzzling.1614e65116087331
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‘Why was I 325d78672c lying on the 8ccaf45d74 floor when there’s 969c64e1c5 a perfectly fine 16a5e49cef bed right there? And where even is b105ec6f6e this place?’ac7c9d53865a6007
After rising cfc4cb7db6 fully from 0df41001a2 the floor 98b8c88e5d and walking d7ce4a8bd4 around the 798a03d61a space, he 8cc7e6b348 immediately figured dbb6a7fa5c out what 3d586cd48b kind of ec5b680ea7 place this 55b5f695ed was.7c9ba5f10ac13b1a
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‘It’s a hotel.’1270b12991be626d
If there was a 44df82af01 flaw, it was that 5d7db419f1 everything looked a bit 93440d2438 excessively luxurious. Still, with 26da5bf4fd the massive 11de38d707 bed and 0da0aa0e15 plush bedding, ce78a91bef ornate furniture, e16c03963a rich wooden-toned 82456d0fc3 interior, the 9732d8a6df hallway connected 64ddece3ab to the f62831eda1 room, and 1a54c4a627 the bathroom c8d58117ac beside it—it 54538c26da was undeniably 8e05e2117a a room 84dc0fb72e in a e6410daabe high-end boutique a48ac4eb9c hotel.4217765cea7505b1
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“Who brought me 8b1572e73a here?”64c4c65f2b8dd79d
Yet he couldn’t recall 94baa543e2 how he came to 0b372a0cee this hotel room, or eb4766f16f anything right before that. Not even 8239f18edc his own b4056d6844 appearance, age, 694710d08a or name.f284ec1603dd1a4d
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‘What happened to af641a4b15 me?’9679f8618a50f2f9
He began pacing the c3b85c9b9f hotel room nervously, hoping 3d98f5bacd to trigger a memory. But strangely, it b23484776f was as if 8e4dae2741 his mind had f760b3ac09 been wiped clean. Nothing came to mind.94497e04a4d37943
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It wasn’t b1d9447376 just that 5848b8686d he couldn’t ceee5be710 remember anything—it c84c02beff was like 737438f7f8 his memories df73b83f9a didn’t exist 47e7e3311d at all. His mind was as ddd009a9dd empty as a freshly e15dbea8a5 emptied trash bin.c109c310e02ac68f
“This is the strangest ac9615877d thing I’ve ever experienced.”586351ffaaacf8b5
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He muttered softly, and 49fb6b0132 then realized what he 1c8ef6f52f said was literally true. If he 06ae8e250b had no c99441e7f8 memories, then c8054e11b9 by definition 4d224040cc this was, 100674cfdc in his 001ada5683 memory, the ed0c7884aa first time 6a964ea064 something like e4990d70c8 this had 9392e66ee7 ever happened.f12051d0b3f3d2b1
What was 5d66288e58 most bizarre, d77929671b though, was a0b9b5a13d how unbothered 4ed6369bc3 he felt 3ca73190a0 despite remembering 396c3e3369 nothing. In fact, e9e8d899c1 unless he d4f767255c consciously tried 1608ced607 to think 3b837ad0c9 about it, 2b2fb65f2b he didn’t ac085132bd even realize d7f85139dc something was 0db6fbd39e wrong. It felt as if a66fc0e4bd the very sense of 0dd43da23e alertness had been dulled, aecaf73f28 like someone had cut be44971e8e out a part of 906106e735 his instinct.430480a7461391c3
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Was this strange memory 4091794e44 void the result of 910078932f a severe hangover?c6e00b31938fe4f5
eb1b834ac07c013d
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