Once the bloodied quill left the page, what followed was an oppressive silence. Hajun stared at his new name, then set the quill aside. His hand had already begun healing , the blood dried over a fleshy inkwell.
The muscles moved under his skin like maggots, mending and bridging the gaps. Too quickly did he imagine the squirming vermin eating away at his flesh, borrowing out a home under his skin.
He immediately regretted that thought, looking away as his stomach turned.
"…Is this a joke to you?" Bai Ze finally spoke, her voice enunciating every syllable as if chastising a child.
"Ah…well that is what the name means. A joke. Haha." His hand came to his mouth, then he cleared his throat.
"I know what it means, Mr. Park."
"Isn't it Nong now? New name, new life, you said."
There was a hiss of breath from under Bai Ze's mask, and he quickly shut his mouth. He didn't need to look to know that she was angry, so he looked off to the side. He decided that the clock on the wall was quite interesting, what with its numbers, and clock hands.
Surely it was a special clock. Because the hands didn't move an inch, nor a centimetre, in the several minutes that he stared at it.
What was the point of a clock if it didn't tell the time?
"That clock is uh, out of battery." Hajun pointed towards it, then coughed and put his hands on his lap. The silence was killing him, maybe in a literal sense, though he couldn't be sure.
"It does not have batteries. Nong."
"Ah. Right…so an antique?" Hajun ran his mouth, sweating slightly.
"No."
She didn't say anything after that, but he didn't have the courage to stand and walk away. It felt like being in the presence of a disappointed teacher, except this one would stab him if he stepped out of line.
Haa…I'm tired of this.
It really does feel like a huge joke. Except it's not funny.
It's really not.
Haha.
Well, guess I'm employed now?
Mom would be so proud!
Yeah right. When has she ever—
"—ong. Nong. Be a dear and tell me what time it is?"
Hajun blinked, snapping back into reality as he unconsciously met the eyes of the horned lion. That was a mistake.
Bai Ze smiled, having learned far too much about his lack of filial piety.
He looked at the clock almost automatically, to avoid those eyes if nothing else. Surprisingly, the clock hands had moved from where he'd last seen them. Now, instead of 12am, it was stuck at 4:44am.
Well that's not concerning at all!
"It's 4:44."
"That's correct! So you can see after all…I think you'll be perfect for the night shift, Nong."
"Ah…do you?" Hajun laughed awkwardly, starting at the desk and wishing for this nightmare to be over. He closed his eyes, then opened them again; but unfortunately nothing changed. If this was a dream, he would have woken up by now, right?
"Yes." She said as she pushed something across the desk. It was a badge, small, silver, and depicting a snake held under a bird's talon.
He recognized the bird. The silver phoenix was the insignia of the Fort Military, after all.
"This is yours now. Keep it safe, because without it, you won't be able to access, nor navigate this place."
Are you a branch of the military?
Was what he wanted to ask as she stood, and ushered him towards the door. But he had pushed his luck far enough today, so he decided against it.
"Ah, right. I'll remember that." He nodded as his fist clenched around the badge, before he slid it and his hand into his pant pocket.
"For now, head to the dormitory and wash up, and get some rest while you can." Bai Ze pushed him outside, then paused right before the door closed completely.
"Oh, right! Say hello to Lupin for me!"
Then it slammed shut.
"I don't think I will." Hajun stood there for a few seconds, then walked off. He didn't exactly have a destination, but he knew these paths well enough.
"It really is the same, layout and everything." He muttered to himself as he ducked into the side paths, the ones that were hidden enough to go unnoticed while also being shortcuts in general. They were a necessity for avoiding tardiness penalties, and stuck up snobs.
Now, in this waking nightmare, it would be for avoiding cultists, strangely military affiliated ones.
"Seems like it's the science wing…i don't remember it being so run down."
Hajun stopped in front of the western wall, where there should have been an exit behind the tool shed. But what he found was rubble, mossy and decrepit.
"What?"
That was when he looked back at what remained of the campus, really looked. Against the faint light of the rising sun, the remains of the science wing stood like a grave. Peeling paint, cracked windows, and a whole side that had collapsed in on itself, the bombing scars visible even through the decay and overgrowth.
This wasn't what he'd seen just moments before. Sure, the courtyard was abandoned, but the buildings had been fine, impressive as they always had been.
How could it suddenly change?
"Please don't step out of bounds…" A groggy voice came from behind him, and he winced when a hand grasped his injured shoulder.
"If they see you out here, covered in blood, you'll end up in jail, don't you know…little rabbit?"
"If…who sees me?" Hajun said through clenched teeth as he pushed that hand off and turned around. The man that he saw wasn't anyone that he recognized, nor was his mask anything that made sense.
A human mask, covering a human face. The wooden face of an old man covering the hidden face of a young one; It was more than just unnerving to see that.
"Students? Security guards? Or maybe serial killers, who'd pin their crimes on you?" The human mask grinned, wooden lips stretching wide.
"…Who said this is my blood?" Hajun returned the smile, his head cocking to the side. He could hear his heart beat in his ears, drowning him in a cold panic as his eyes flitted between the so-called killer and the crumbled wall.
He could jump it, if he just got a running start. He just needed to get past this guy, preferably without dying.
"Pfft—!"
Hajun grit his teeth as the killer began to laugh, his hand covering his mask, which had the face of a wrinkled old man.
He opened his mouth to speak, but froze like a deer in headlights. The flashlight in the killer's hand had pointed right between his eyes, temporarily blinding him.
"Fuck–" Hajun hissed, shielding his eyes with his arm.
"Oi, little rabbit, do you think I'm stupid? You're literally bleeding right now." The masked killer grinned, stepping forward.
"Ghk— I'm…not." Hajun said as he sidestepped the light, but it quickly followed him, casting his sight into a haze of white and yellow.
"Your shoulder looks pretty busted up right now…and you say it's not your blood?"
"It's not. I'm not bleeding." Hajun's voice frayed, desperation turning to conviction.
"Wha? Euh?" Hajun could feel a hand squeeze at his shoulder, as the shadow of the killer leaned over him.
"Oi. Where'd the blood go?" He heard the killer's confusion, but didn't stick around to see it. He kicked him hard between the legs, then when the lanky man faltered, he kicked him to the ground, taking off into a sprint.
He had reached the wall, and was just about to vault over the lowest point of what remained of it, until something grabbed the back of his shirt collar.
"Hrk—" Hajun choked as he was jerked back and thrown against the side of the tool shed. He felt the rusted wall dig into his back upon impact, but he didn't have the time to catch his breath before a blade came crashing down, aiming at his throat.
He only barely dodged out of the way, with what looked like a switchblade slicing past his cheek to bounce off the wall with a clang.
"Oh you're fast…! Hah, Hah Hah! I wasn't going to hurt you, you know? But that…that hurt!!" A wooden mask twisted in rage pushed right up against Hajun's face. He almost saw eyes, black and deranged before darkness blocked them from sight.
"Ha…! Haha..! That was the point, bastard!!" Hajun kicked at him again, but this time, the man didn't so much as flinch. He tried again, pushing away the face that was far too close, but his attention was diverted when the killer grabbed his wrist and slammed it against the wall.
He heard the crunch of bone snapping as his vision went white. Even without the flashlight in his face, he couldn't see what was coming until it was too late.
"A little birdie told me that you…heal fast. That's why the Doctor finds you oh so fascinating, isn't it?"
The human mask smiled slowly, the lips and eyes stretched into thin crescents. Beyond that smile, there was teeth, yellow and bloodied as if it had been eating raw meat.
"But if I cut this off…" The sharp point of the blade dragged over Hajun's wrist, cutting a shallow line. "Would it grow back?"
"It would be an experiment! To find that out…right? He would praise me for helping his research, don't you think?"
Hajun couldn't hear what came from that disgusting mouth next, because his ears were ringing with static, overpowering and demanding.
[ Kill him. ]
That was the only sound that broke through to him, and he followed that instruction without hesitation. Black claws ripped free of his fingers within seconds, then tore into the hand that held the threat, the blade.
"Aghk—-!? Where did—??" The killer hissed in pain, and Hajun laughed, wanting nothing more than to pull, and rip that arm from its socket.
"If I rip this off, will it grow back?" He snarled, his teeth gnashing as a thrum of pain rippled out from his skull. It felt as though his jaw itself was stretching and growing, sharpening his fangs for what the chimera demanded he do next.
[ Bite. Kill. Consume. ]
His jaws opened, as his prey tried and failed to pull away. But before they shut, a blood curdling scream shot through his ears and into his skull, echoing.
It was from the woods, somewhere past the crumbled wall. Both Hajun and the killer snapped to attention, watching for a sign of the source between the trees.
Hajun's claws retracted, and the killer pulled back, stumbling before standing and watching the shadows beyond the wall.
"Not again…! Those stupid trust fund fucks!!" He swore as he ripped a strip of his sweater off and tied it around his bleeding arm.
"One of em dies for some dare and it's me who they'll blame…!"
The killer scoffed, then looked to the rabbit, or at least, what seemed to be one, what with the long white ears held high and listening. The poor rabbit's eyes were wide, terrified, but what of, he couldn't tell just yet.
"Oi, rabbit, get up." He walked over and kicked his leg, snapping the man out of his unresponsive stupor.
"You're one of us now, right? Then act the part. Don't be a hassle, or a burden, or I'll get rid of ya, you got that?" He spat on the rabbit, whose white mask flinched, its ears flattening.
"Pfft—! You and Lupin both do that! Adorable fucks!" The killer snickered, then hoisted the rabbit man to his feet. He pushed him forward, towards the woods where the scream still echoed, if you listened hard enough.
"No hard feelings, yeah? Consider this a training shift!" He grinned, making sure to push the rabbit into the woods first, before he followed suit. It was one thing to follow the white rabbit, but whether it led you to wonderland or hell, well that was a different story.
"For your sake, let's hope its wonderland. Wouldn't want you to die on the first day!"