Total pages in book: 140
Estimated words: 140940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 705(@200wpm)___ 564(@250wpm)___ 470(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 140940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 705(@200wpm)___ 564(@250wpm)___ 470(@300wpm)
Lunita followed closely behind me with her gaze up on Pavel as he remained several steps ahead of us.
I whispered, “Are you okay?”
“No.”
“Then, stay close to me.”
She snapped her view to me.
“What?”
She shook her head.
I faced forward and continued.
The staircase twisted upwards, defying the laws of architecture and reason. It spiraled up like the double helix of a DNA strand.
With each step, the space around us became darker, swallowing the weak dimming light. And this was no ordinary darkness; it was an entity in and of itself, thick with the stench of dread and decay.
A darkness that was alive.
Breathing.
Whispering secrets meant to remain unheard.
A little girl cried in the darkness.
Lunita’s footsteps faltered.
Pavel and I stopped.
The little girl cried out again.
My heart boomed in my ears. “Did you hear that?”
Pavel nodded. “But. . .it didn’t come from one place. It is as if the sound just lives here on the stairwell.”
“Yes.” I shivered. “That was what I was thinking too.”
Lunita got to my side, forcing me to get closer to the wall. “I’m scared.”
“You can go back.”
“No.”
“Then, continue to remain close to me.”
“You can’t protect me here.”
“I can try.”
As we climbed higher, Lunita’s breathing became labored. And I wasn’t sure why.
Was fear filling her lungs?
Or was it a clear sign that the oppressive atmosphere in the staircase was weighing heavily on her as well?
Either way, we pressed on.
The more we rose, the more the stairs creaked, and the walls felt closer and the air became staler, and the sense of foreboding grew.
A little girl screamed, “Stop! Please!”
We all froze.
And then a man’s voice whispered in the darkness, “Shh. Don’t make any noise now. Be a good girl.”
Terror quaked within me.
I glanced over my shoulder “Did you hear that?”
Lunita went down one step.
I stared at her. “You did hear that.”
Lunita’s eyes watered. “T-that’s his voice.”
“You do not have to come up.”
She looked up toward the floor that was barely in view. “I know now. . .where we are going.”
“Where?”
“To his apartment.” Tears left her eyes. “Max lived above us.”
The revelation hit me like a physical blow, sending a chill down my spine. Sorrow rocked me too, but somehow I remained standing.
Of course. None of the alters would be willing to deal with the very thing that shattered them.
Surely, their brain had tried to bury that sicko’s apartment deep within the recesses of their mind.
“W-we don’t have to go up there.” Lunita wiped the tears away with the back of her hands. “The original isn’t there.”
Pavel spoke behind me, “Actually. . .”
I turned to him.
Pavel let out a long breath. “That is probably the exact place where the original is.”
I swallowed.
“Maybe even. . .” Pavel frowned. “Maybe the original never left his apartment in her mind. For her, this is where life ended. . .where she gave up.”
“No.” Lunita took another step down. “That’s too sad. I killed him for us. Tell her to get out of that bad man’s place.”
I studied Lunita.
Her body trembled and shook.
“No.” She wrapped those shaking arms tightly around herself as if trying to hold herself together. “No. No. I don’t want her to be there. All these years?”
Her face was contorted in anguish. More tears streamed down her cheeks. “Tell her to leave. . .”
“Lunita.” I kept my voice low.
“Tell her to go, nasty lion!”
“I want you to stay right there. Alright?”
And then Lunita began to sob. “Tell her to go. P-please.”
My heart broke so hard that I touched my own chest. “If I see her in the apartment, I will tell her.”
Sobbing more, she took another step down.
“I promise.” I turned around and Pavel appeared as if he was close to crying too. “What, cousin? Are you going to tell me to hurry? Or that it is time to go? Or—”
“No.” Pavel’s face shifted to a neutral expression. “We need to find the original. No matter how long it takes. No matter if. . .we get stuck in here.”
I widened my eyes. “Alright. Then, let us go.”
Chapter forty-five
Hand-in-Hand
Kazimir
Together, Pavel and I headed up those stairs with Lunita’s sobs loudly sounding behind us. Eventually, the oppressive darkness of the stairwell began to relent, giving way to a dim, eerie light.
We stepped onto the floor and entered the hallway.
This is very different from the hallway down below.
There was no warmth or feeling of anyone living on this level.
Moonlight filtered through a cracked window at the far end of the hallway. The wind howled as it forced its way through the breach in the glass, carrying with it a bone-chilling cold and a sound that was almost like a mournful wail.
A screech.
The hallway stretched before us, more a passage through purgatory than any earthly domain. Shattered glass littered the floor, crunching under our feet with each step.
Dear God.
I damn sure wanted to turn around, but Pavel moved forward, so I did too. His presence—unwavering and familiar—was the only constant in this terrifying moment.