49 Man-eating Room

 

Neither party made their move. As time progressed, the fear in Han Fei’s heart dwindled. In a few more minutes, he’d complete the hidden mission. Once that was over, the situation would have another tectonic shift. The landlord’s ring gave Han Fei a frostbite.

However, despite being stuck between two ghosts, he was surprisingly calm. Han Fei teetered between the world inside and outside the room carefully. He stood right at the entrance into his ghost neighbour’s lair, but Han Fei still had a very polite smile on his face.

Room 1051 was swaddled in darkness. The blood red eyes appeared to materialize out of thin air. Han Fei was unable to tell what their owner looked like, but he felt acutely the dangerous presence given off by the creature. It was more than just a chilling presence, it carried a unique form of malice with it, specifically a glutinous desire. ‘My neighbour from Room 1051 wants to eat me?’

Han Fei had raised a loud commotion earlier. Strange noises came from the other floors. The ghosts behind and in front of Han Fei became agitated as if worried that other ghosts and monsters would come to join this party. Heavy breathing came from behind Han Fei. The syrupy liquid once again dripped onto his back. Five stick-like fingers reached into Room 1051 as the ghost behind Han Fei attempted to pull Han Fei out. But once its fingers crossed the threshold into the room, the ‘darkness’ morphed into a thick liquid and surged towards the entrance. The hand failed to land on Han Fei for it was held in place by the condensed darkness that originated from inside Room 1051.

‘The tenant of Room 1051 can melt into its surrounding darkness.’ Han Fei thought back to the black figure he saw earlier. It had no face and it did not wear any clothing. It was just a human outline. ‘There really are all sorts of tenants inside this building.’

A low growl emitted from behind Han Fei. The latter did not turn back to look. He tried to minimize his presence as the two ghosts got caught in the conflict. ‘Fight, yes, please fight each other and leave me alone!’

Horrible noises kept coming from behind Han Fei, but the situation before him was dangerous enough to keep him from turning his head around. ‘There’s only 5 minutes left.’ Studying the timer on the mission interface, Han Fei’s heart raced but, on the surface, he was as still as water.

When there was 3 minutes left, the tenant of Room 1051 finally decided to do something. The room itself came alive. The thick darkness yawned like a giant maw and sucked both man and ghost into the room!

Bang! Hearing the door close behind him, Han Fei’s heart skipped a beat. This was something unexpected! All traces of light disappeared. With how dark everything was, it felt like Han Fei’s power of sight was taken away. ‘The ghost behind me has been dragged into Room 1051 as well?’

Han Fei felt extremely unsafe. He moved his body closer to the wall. Soon his shoulder came into contact with something. It did not feel tough like a wall but was soft like a person’s stomach. ‘Someone is standing beside me? The person is so tall that his stomach is at my shoulder? No, wait. It’s more likely that this person is hung from the ceiling!’

The only source of comfort for Han Fei was the shared struggle of the ghost behind him. He could hear the ghost making endless groans and hisses. In this complete darkness, the ghost’s vicious wails provided comfort to Han Fei. At least, he knew there was another outside presence inside the room with him. Chill winds swept through the room. Darkness slammed against the wall like waves. Han Fei prayed for the ghost behind him. ‘Please hold on for another 3 minutes!’

Han Fei’s eyes were fixed to the timer at the mision interface. ‘The clock is still ticking. That means that the ghost behind me hasn’t been defeated. That is good news…’ Just as this thought bubbled up in his mind, Han Fei heard a piercing scream come from behind him. The darkness in the room lightened but the ghost behind him sounded like it was heavily injured. ‘Don’t leave me so soon, I was just praying for you!’ Han Fei panicked. The horror of the room was beyond his expectation. Unable to see anything, and with a horrible smell assaulting his nostril, he felt like he had stepped into an abandoned morgue. The sound of fighting and screaming from behind him abated. Only 10 seconds had passed.

‘Are you still there? Please hold on a little bit longer!’ Han Fei really panicked now. The tenant of Room 1051 appeared to have limited movement. It was weak outside its room but was disproportionately strong when it was inside it. The sound of fighting soon turned into frantic knocking and finally the sound of nails clawing on the door. The ghost behind Han Fei had given up on him, it just wanted to escape now.

Even at that moment, Han Fei still did not turn his head around. He had no idea what was happening behind him. But from what he heard, things were not looking up. If the ghost really slithered away, then he’d be left to deal with the tenant of this strange room alone. While the tenant’s attention was still on the fleeing ghost, Han Fei sidled to the side. The viscous darkness turned almost palpable. The ghost behind Han Fei radiated a piercing chill. They were no longer fighting over Han Fei. Compared to Han Fei, the owner of Room 1051 had a bigger interest in the ghost behind him. The ghost realized that as well which was why it desperately tried to escape. The ghost never intended to enter Room 1051 in the first place but it was blinded by its greed to claim Han Fei. When the door closed, it was already too late.

Icy presence flared up from behind Han Fei. Without knowing it, Han Fei had managed to stumble his way to the entrance. At that moment, the ghost behind him exploded with all its energy.

Bang! A loud voice came from the front door. The door opened for a gap. Han Fei had no idea that was the case but he did notice a bit of light stream into the room. The ghost caught the opportunity to escape but the darkness in the room bound around it like shackles. While the two were caught in the intense fight, Han Fei silently moved his way to the door. His arm reached for the door handle. ‘This is my chance!’ Han Fei pushed against the door. Just as his body tipped towards the light, the invisible darkness enveloped his body, encasing him to the spot. ‘It won’t let me leave?’

The ghost behind him and the tenant of Room 1051’s fight was drawing to an end. The ghost behind Han Fei just wanted to escape. The neighbour from Room 1051 did not possess the energy to hold two individuals back. The gap grew bigger and more light diffused into the room. The ghost behind Han Fei no longer cared about its prey. Seeing the light, it quickly slithered towards it.

At that moment, Han Fei’s hand that held the door suddenly pulled back, tightening the gap. Witnessing this, the ghost behind Han Fei screeched beseechingly as if questioning Han Fei’s motive.

“You’re not leaving without me!” The darkness twined around Han Fei’s body. He knew he was not going to leave this place without outside help so he shouted, “Don’t you need me to be your scapegoat? Bring me with you! My old friend won’t abandon me like this, right?”