"My father..." Aefia spoke with shadowed eyes as she recalled every last detail with hesitation. "He doesn't even care if I exist... so I won't mind if I ever heard he had been captured or let alone, killed." A fragile smile popped onto her face as she set down her crowbar. "I don't know what kind of a father you are....but I will try my best to help you then... Mr. Wayond."
"..." The watchman stared at the young girl's face with a shock and a hesitant face. Just when, he recalled that he has completely forgotten to tell her about the experiments and where the hostages were kept, let alone for what use the small key was for. "If you don't mind... do you not want to know what the experiments are about? You will need to know about it if you want to be released from this area with your soul still intact inside your body." He added in a hurried manner just before she had started walking away.
"If you know precisely, this abandoned house isn't left unguarded by monsters who alert their master that the intruder is somewhere around... here." She used her shoes to loudly tap the wooden surface of the flooring, creating sounds that attracted multiple beast at once at their location. Her hair pin and scapel wrapped tightly in the warmth of her fingers despite the ice cold air surrounding them.
At first, the watchman was left curious and cautious with what she was doing. It was confusing for a regular person like him who barely fought a beast and survived while completely severed, to know how to take on multiples at once, so it was almost a state of panic for him too. You better know what you are doing young girl. If the one of us dies here, we will be turned into monsters equivalently tortured as these.
His thoughts encircled her as a subject, her calm face was left with absolutely no expression as she turned around and walked towards the opposite hallway, as if she didn't just do that to attract the beasts that were practically marching their way now. Heavy and quickened footsteps caused a little bit of dust to fall over their heads as the old flooring creaked loudly as if it were to snap any moment and they would be crushed under the weight of multiple beasts before they were eaten alive.
"I know you will be a little anxious that I don't know what I just did." She spoke softly with a smile as a few approached her from the front. "But I honestly perform better when I am out in a state of rage and panic, and in absolute pain." Her arm moved swiftly across the beast's face that showed deep wounds despite the short blade she was using. Her sleeves were drenched with blood as she used her knees to kick them in the stomach and stab their throat in one solid move.
"Now... I can't just handle them by myself... So you will have to learn how I did just now, just to make sure you are taken down with a surprise attack." Her voice rang with no movement at her face, as her face, half-stained with blood stains freshly embedded onto her pale face, highlighting her features to a glowing point in the darkness.
Her fingers spun the scapel around as she threw it vertically towards the watchman, who ducked immediately to get out of the trajectory as he heard the sound of a body dropping behind him. His eyes turned towards the mess on the ground as the pen-like body stayed half stuck out from the forehead. She did that with her bare hands? And with only a single movement? And expects me to fight like that? To keep myself alive?
His head turned around and around as if it were in a roller coaster that were merged with a merry-go-round as a seat, and he felt like vomiting with the sight as he held his mouth with hso own blood covered hands while leaning to the corner to breathe for a swift while. "As expected... you can't handle it." Aefia spoke while placing her fingers on her chin and with a calculating look on her face.
"Well then, I would like to directly get into knowing about the hostages. I can't waste another second standing like this." She continued speaking while using the upper part of her sleeves to wipe her face, returning it to her usual pale expressionless complexion. Her eyes stayed stuck at the man as she waited for a response, but only when there were sounds of more footsteps did the man pick out the scapel, jump to his feet and grab her shoulder along with him in a run.
I don't want to face any more killing... I am a little too naive for this! He thought to himself while turning corners and letting go of the girl, knowing very well she would follow him anyway. This kid... she is a mass murderer... and not of any type! I must... stay out of her sight when she hunts down more beasts. How else... can someone just use a scapel to kill three at once?!
His eyes diverted towards his bloody fingers wrapped around the dripping metallic body. He wanted to puke that instant, as his cuts at his arms ached all of a sudden and he got pushed into a wide, damaged closet. His eyes were shut for that time as he got dragged away and pushed into a dark chamber. Then, a very short while had passed as he heard the sounds of those rapid footsteps approaching but his closet door didn't close.
Abruptly opening his eyes, his vision caught the sight of the girl looking left and right, trying to deduce who or what that was. Then, she held a finger in front of her mouth and pinched her nose, followed by a walking gesture and breathing out. At last, she ended the show with her hands pressing against her throat and held a thumbs-up. It was all easy to decipher, up until the point she said to not breathe until the person has completely passed by, not even a speck of him should be visible.
He had acknowledged it by covering his mouth as she speedily but quietly slammed the cabinet door shut, with a wind that blew away dust from settling on his face for a swift moment, while allowing it to fall over his face the next second, making it impossible to not sneeze. Still, his hands were covering his mouth and only his eyes were free, using them to see through the small gaps of the door, and watching the maniac passby with a crunched back, walking fast and slow, trying to find someone with a paranoid feeling. With this realization in mind, he finally managed to understand how the girl was still alive in this abandoned house.
His steps moved away from the corridor they were, and Aefia held open one door of the cabinet while letting him get out silently. "Be fast... the next time. It's going to get way too intense for you to handle around the next checkpoint." She whispered loud enough for him to catch as her fingers sent the door back to its usual point and she ran, with her footsteps echoing behind her. The watchman was left in a state of confusion and panic as he shut his ears at that. So this is what was supposed to be intense?!
Nonetheless, he still had to follow her as the maniac on the other side had to abruptly turn around and walk towards their direction with a steady speed, with a fear of ghost and a fear of his own created monsters trying to kill him. Where in reality, Aefia was just playing a game of her own where she was psychologically playing with the maniac and draining his mind before she placed her final attacks on him and therefore clearing a way for her to leave the dungeon.
"You said your children were here....better show the way there now otherwise there will be no time left." She softly spoke with a heavy breathe while running with the watchman towards the stairs that led back up towards the house. She fell behind a little bit as Mr. Wayond took the lead and stepped up towards the stairs, while also looking ghostly at the lock, which didn't push open.
Seeing this, she stopped at the end of the steps and narrowed her eyes in question as swear build up against her forehead. The constant retry eventually told her that the door was indeed locked. Hesitantly, she held her clip towards the keyhole and snatched the scapel from the man's hand while falling to one knee and moving the man aside to find space to work. "Is there no other way up that you know?" She asked as she pulled open the blade of the pen-like body and brought our a thick wire which she bent into a new shape.
"No... this is the room they are trapped in." He answered with a shadowed face as he watched her insert the two instruments into the lock and as the maniac neared his steps towards their area. With panic, he slowly turned fully towards the staircase and breathed out. "But I do know a way out of this house. I am afraid I can't do anything more then to just leave you here to work by yourself then."
A ripple of shock and betrayal was sent into her mind but she was way too locked in for actually giving it a mind as her ears stayed hovering against the surface of the knob, listening for any sound of clicking while sending it further inside. Finally, the door opened as she went in with no hesitation. "Alright... fine... go flee this house." She added while breathing out, and with a dissapointment staying over her face. "But you should remember that the duchess won't spare you if I return like this."
She went inside and held the door knob as if to shut it at his face the second he regretted his choice. The man held a questioned gaze while watching the girl's expression change into a cruel smile. "Messing with an Imperial member of the family... you really had the audacity to cross the line and... go undercover to just troll around with me and drag me into this mess. The fine is going to be hefty enough to leave your children orphaned the rest of their lives."
The man soon realized what he had done and eventually came running back up the stairs as she muttered a few more words. "Good luck... selfish father. I was never a fool to trust anyone like your type of parents in the first place... That includes my own father." And the door slammed shut and locked itself again, with the instruments at her hand. He panicked as his fist banged the door trying to get to safety, but the maniac had already reached his area and caught sight of him. What have I done?! That girl was little too smart... and I knew she was cruel... but why did I step a little too far into this?!
"So it was you?!" The voice came from behind him as his eyes shrunk to the size of a dot. "It was you all along trying to get out my last nerves?! Testing my patience to the last bit?!" He laughed as his steps slowed and climbed the steps with a knife at his hand, with the sharp blade reflecting with a very sinister intention. The watchman felt his breathe leave his body without an intention. His eyes scanned the ground around him, with the sharp end of the blade the closest to him.
Inside, Aefia watched the kids who were sound asleep and crouched in front of their cells while clicking her nails against the bars. Their eyes opened, there were three of them, with the oldest looking about eleven years of age, the second looking to be nine and the youngest around five. The eldest woke up first to find himself looking towards a more human face in a very long time and came forwards rapidly to speak with her.
"Did you come along to take us out?" A smile popped into his face as the boy held onto the cold bars and knealed with both of his knees touching the ground. Aefia heaved a heavy breathe and stared towards the door, while hesitating to say the words. "It wasn't intentional... but it was also a very last minute decision... which has a huge price for you to pay if you don't mind." She answered shortly afterwards as the child grew curious.
"What is the price?" He asked as he too diverted his eyes towards the door, then he heard what was supposed to be his father's voice, begging for mercy. "Oh..." The sound coming out of his mouth sounded more normal then a shocking and betrayal one. "Don't worry... he is a greedy father... and I rather be rescued by a ghost then him."
Screams erupted from outside as stabbing sounds echoed into the room, waking the others up along with it. The sister and the younger brother stayed staring with horrid eyes as a new face appeared at their vision, with their father's voice ringing at their ears. The sound stopped as blood flooded into the room through the small gap at the end of the door as the door knob spun for a short while, then immediately, hurried footsteps retreating were heard. "Ugh! I forgot the keys!" The maniac shouted while walking away.
Silence lingered in the air as she diverted her eyes towards the kids and stood up. "Stay here... I will try to find the key to your cell door." She tried to walk towards the door, but her hand was grabbed by the sister and pulled back down. "Don't go yet! I know what experiment he wants to do on us! And you need to know about it too! Please just listen in even for a fraction of a second!"
Aefia nodded with the request as the sister let go of her hand and looked seriously at her face. "It's the Schrodinger's cat theory put into an odd experiment."