A Voice of The Immortal Beloved
AWAKENING
Noire woke without remembering falling asleep. Blinking her eyes open, she realized she had awakened in a bed not her own.
The ceiling above her was unfamiliar. The air was cold.
She pulled the covers closer, her body slow to respond.
“Where the hell am I?” She shuddered under the covers.
“I’m so cold.”
No answer. The room sat in silence. She could hear no footsteps, not a single voice; no movement beyond her own shallow, uneven breathing. She figured someone would eventually walk in and explain what’s going on, so she waited…
…but nothing came—no one ever came.
—
When she woke again, the room hadn’t changed—it was still dark and empty.
This time, she pushed the covers off and headed for the bedroom door. Peering out, the hallway seemed to stretch longer than it should have and there was only one other door at the very end.
Stepping inside revealed a glistening white bathroom; everything was blinding, sterile white: the tiles, sink, tub, and even the mirror. Noire squinted and slowly approached the sink. Walking up, she flinched at her reflection then halted, covering her face.
“This room is so shiny white,” she whispered. “I thought my eyes were, too.”
She released her hands, leaned into the mirror…
She couldn’t believe—her eyes! There were no pupils, there was no color, no life behind them. They looked drained white.
Trembling, her hand slowly and pitifully rose to her face. Aghast, she parted her mouth, only to shriek at the sight of fangs. Sharp, clean, and wrong—so, so wrong. Her chest tightened. Almost human to instinct, she waited for a heartbeat, clutching her chest in the other hand.
…
But there was nothing.
Why can’t I feel my heartbeat? Panic starts to pool her thoughts.
“What the hell happened to me?!” Her voice cracked against the walls. Weakness immediately settling in panic’s place, followed by the mirror in her breathing. Suddenly and heavily, she started out of the bathroom and staggered down the stairs. Then, just as she reached the bottom, something shocked her still. It felt dark, like a looming, and watching presence. It moved through her like a pulse. And then…
There was a knock at the door.
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