Chapter 1  

    I stare at the camera screen, flipping between shots, trying to find the best one. I stay home as much as possible because I don’t really like people. Then again, why should I? It's not like they really care enough to like me back anyway. 

But sometimes, I just need to get outside and escape my tiny apartment. The park this weekend had been full of plenty of people to photograph, but none of the images turned out right. 

I nearly toss the expensive yet old camera onto the threadbare couch, but instead I set it on the coffee table and stand. Stretching my back, I walk to the bathroom to get ready for work. 

I stare at myself. Long ashy colored hair, plain green eyes. Scruffy because I hate shaving. I, Yomi Akisato, am a 20 year old bum. A failed photographer barely scraping by at my job at the cafe. I mean, being a barista isn’t rocket science. 

It's not a hard job, running the cash register, and the pay is good enough to cover the bills. I tend to get dirty looks over my bum appearance, but I don’t mind it and neither does my boss, Aoi.  Coworkers are a pain, but no one in the world actually likes their coworkers.

It’s close to the apartment so I can walk. I slip on my shoes to do just that and lock the door behind me. When the sunshine hits my face, I stop and take a deep breath. It’s slightly chilly today but the sun is out. 

It reminds me of the day my parents abandoned me on that hiking trip when I was thirteen. To this day, I’m not sure why they did it. Maybe I was just too much of a cranky teenager during the pandemic when we were cooped up in the house. I didn’t listen or do what they wanted and started failing classes. I didn’t think I gave them attitude, but maybe I did. 

I’ll never know, I guess. I haven’t seen them since. When I finally got off the mountain and hitched a ride back to town, the house had been packed up and was empty. 

I calmly open the door and walk into the cafe, letting go of the past and all those feelings of abandonment. It's not a very big cafe, with cream colored walls, a dark brown wooden floor, and a clear glass counter on the right. There are a few lighter colored tables on the left. It gives you a kind of cozy feeling. 

I barely got 6 feet in the store before I clench my jaw in frustration. 

“YOMIIiiiiii!”  My annoying coworker Haru screams as she jumps onto my back. This happens everyday when I walk in to get started for work. She's about 5’1 in height. Her short wavy brown hair has a few streaks of red blended in, making her blue eyes stand out. 

“Get off,” I growl. 

Haru quickly jumps down. I swear I'm like a tree to her. I am about 6’1 after all. But why does she do this every day? I’m so lost in thought, until she turns to me and sticks her tongue out. 

I tilt my head and frown, and she rolls her eyes. “Were you even listening? I said you're no fun.” 

I'm so over this. It’s like everyday is starting to merge together. Nothing ever changes. 

I snap out of my thoughts as Haru smiles and says, “What? Can I not try to cheer up my grumpy coworker?” 

I look at her for a moment thinking about how I should answer when I hear Aoi yell from another room. “Get back to work you two.” 

Haru as her normal chipper self raises one of her hands to her forehead to solute and yells back, “Yes, boss man, sir.” 

I roll my eyes and stutter back, “Yes sir.” Then I continue to walk over to my spot behind the register. 

I wonder how the boss knew we weren't actually working. But he's probably so used to her messing with me everyday when I walk in that he just assumed it's part of the morning routine.

You probably understand by now that my life is not exactly a paradise. I have to deal with annoying coworkers everyday and go home to nobody.

I jump a little as Haru comes up to me and hollers my name really loud, making my ears ring. I look down at her, leaning away and frowning.

She just smiles and says, “Time to focus.” 

I sigh and turn away.“I can already tell that it’s going to be a long day.” 

A few hours later, I’m so bored that I’m about to fall asleep. Not many customers have come in this time of day. But then the bell above the door chimes as someone walks in. 

A tall middle aged man with blonde hair walks in, holding the hand of a ginger haired little girl. The man’s white t-shirt is pristine but the little girl’s yellow dress has dirt stains on the knee.  

She grins as she runs up to the counter to look at the donuts in a spinning case. She points and jumps up and down. 

“I want that one, Daddy.”

Her dad just smiled a tired smile and nodded. “Ok, honey. Hello, sir. Can we get the chocolate donut, please?” 

I nod and open the case. “Yeah, sure.” 

I reach in with the tongs but spy the little girl through the glass. With her arms crossed and pouting bottom lip, I pause, waiting for her to say what was clearly on her mind. 

“No, not that one. This one.” 

The dad squeezed her hand and said, “Ok, the glazed one then.” 

But the little girl jerks her hand out and stomps her foot, tears pooling in the corner of her eye. Then she starts shouting. 

“No, no, no, no.” 

I stand back up, tongs in one hand and the other pressing on my temple. This kid is giving me a headache. The quickest way to end this is to help the dad out. 

I drop my hand back to my side, then lean over the glass to give an exaggerated whisper to get her attention. 

“Psst. Can you be a little more specific? Which one do you want exactly?” 

She freezes, slamming her hands on her hips and glaring at me. Coldly she says, “No, I can’t read.” 

I tilt my head, confused as I straighten up and say in my normal voice. “What does that have to do with donuts? Just point to the one you want. The color or tell me the  filling.” 

She just sticks her tongue out at me and turns her face up and away. Her father kneels down and says firmly, “Now, Zuri, you apologize to the nice cashier.” 

Zuri quickly balls her hands into fists, swings them to her side and stomps her feet hard on the floor. 

“No,” she screamed louder than ever before. 

“Zuri,” her dad groans between his teeth. She grabs his hand and pulls hard, trying to lead him out of the cafe. 

The dad sighs and rakes his other hand down his face. “We’ll just take 2 cream filled donuts to go please.”

Awkwardly, I nod and open the case again to grab the donuts. “Ok, your total will be 6.99.” 

I put the donuts in a bag and place it on the counter at the same time the man sets his money down. 

“Will that be all, sir?” 

“Yes. Thank you.” 

“Thank you, and come again.” 

The father takes the bag and leaves, little Zuri still pouting and glaring at me by the door. The second they are out the door, I let out a sigh of relief. That was frustrating. Why do people have to cause so much trouble? 

Haru comes  up behind me and yells, “Sneak attack!” Then she jumps on my back again laughing. 

“Oh my God, get off. Why do you always do this?” 

Then the boss walks out of a room in the back and says, “How many times do I have to tell you two get back to work?” Then he walks back in the direction he’d come from. 

Haru slides down my back and I step away with a relieved sigh. Haru sticks her tongue out and crosses her arms, reminding me of the little girl who just left. 

“Fine, you win this time, Yomi.” 

I groan, grinding my teeth. What did I win? If only the prize was a better life than this one. 

It’s dark outside now. I'm walking home, and I have to say I was right. It was a long day. 

Yawn.

 I look up at the sky and sigh heavily. I really wonder what it would be like if my life was better.

 Looking back down at the sidewalk, I see the lighting of the streetlamps illuminating my path. I yawn again,  exhausted.

 I can’t wait to get home and sleep. Plus, my back hurts. I think Haru jumping on my back several times a day has given me back problems. “I just want to sleep for a year,'' I groaned.

 I let my mind go blank. The bitter silence is starting to get to me. I'm trying to avoid thinking of something unpleasant, but I can't think of a single good thing in this world.

 There's nothing I'm looking forward to or even hoping for anymore. “Agh,” my head hurts. “I'm probably thinking too much,” I mumble as I press the palm of my hand to my forehead. 

Whoosh. 

I shiver as I realize how cold it’s gotten outside. It almost feels like it could be the middle of winter right now. “Huh,” I feel something wrap around my ankle. 

I stare at it for a minute before picking it up. “Seriously they still have these fliers everywhere,” I say before crumbling the paper up and tossing it in a nearby trash can. 

What a joke. The government still hasn’t given up yet. They’re still trying to get people to take a stupid shot over the ZETT126 pandemic that was almost seven years ago. Why do they still care? I grit my teeth in anger. 

The awful memories flood back into my mind. I let out a sigh. I need to stop thinking about this. Trying to push back all those memories, I let my mind fall silent for a while.

But the silence is obstructed by the sound of heavy footsteps behind me.

 I stopped and quickly turned around to see if I could spot anyone but there wasn’t even the slightest hint of movement so I slowly turned back around and continued walking.

    Maybe I'm just being paranoid. No one would want to stalk me anyway. No matter how much I tried to prevent myself from thinking about it, I still got a cold chill down my spine. It sounded so real.

     There it is again! My stomach was starting to turn as I felt the uneasiness set in. I walked faster as I heard the footsteps behind me pick up the pace. 

    My mind is racing with questions. 

I've really got to get home, but with whoever this stalker is following me I don’t want them to know where I live. 

Maybe I should just start walking towards the police station instead. Could it just be a cruel prank someone is trying to pull? Is this stalker gonna murder me? At that thought I stopped and I couldn’t hear anything but dead silence. To make sure this isn’t some sort of prank I decide to say something. 

 There’s practically a lump in my throat telling me to stay quiet, but regardless I stutter, “Who's there? I can hear you following me.” I receive no answer. 

    It remains quiet for a few minutes before I gulp, whispering under my breath, “Great, now I'm probably screwed.”

 I hadn't even started to walk again when the sound of the footsteps continued, the sound growing louder behind me making my uneasiness worse.

This isn’t a trick then. This is real. I look down at the concrete feeling the uneasiness and frustration consume me. I have to run but if I do, it will just make things worse.  

My mind has practically gone wild leaving me with only a few options. Start running and get caught, depending on the attackers physical ability. Just stand here and admit defeat and let them murder me. Or I could turn around and find out what they want. 

I have been so lost in my thoughts that I didn’t realize how close the stalker had gotten, practically right behind me. Shit, I was thinking way too long. Not having much choice I begin to turn around. A strong arm wraps around my neck and some sort of cloth presses against my face. 

Struggling to free myself I pull at their arms, desperately trying to lower them. My voice is muffled as I shout, “Get the hell off.”

 It’s getting harder for me to breathe. It’s like all I can see is some sort of fog blocking my view, but I refuse to die yet. I may be a total loser, but I don’t want to give up.

 Quickly I swing my head back and hit the stalker square in the face. They let out a heavy grunt, confirming the stalker's gender as male.

 I could feel something cold drip on the back of my neck, and the stalker's grip loosened. 

I took the opportunity to swing his arm back and take off running. 

    Footsteps close in before I’d even gone a block. Before I could look for an escape route, something hit the back of my head. My vision swam and my legs gave out. My face hit the cold concrete. 

I lay there motionless, head throbbing. So this is how my life is going to end. This pain is unbearable. I groan as my vision blurs. 

Footsteps shuffle near my body, but the pain is too much for me to do anything about it. The attacker grabs my hair and I scream. Then everything goes black. 

(Authors Note)

(just wanted to thank you guys who have read this far already and let you know that I will appreciate any feedback you may have. Also I wanted to apologize that it takes me so long to add more chapters but I'm working hard. So if you can stand it keep reading ok.) :)

I sit up, my head throbbing, I touch the back of my head only to be greated with more pain. There's a knot there. 

I look around but the only thing I see is the darkness engulfing me.

Where the hell am I?

 It's pitch black and I can’t see anything, not even a window or a door. I stand up and decide to try and find some sort of light switch. Carefully I make my way over to what I hope is a wall and then start slowly feeling along the sides for a switch.

 How did I even end up here again? I can’t really remember very well. I do remember getting off work and walking home though also being hit with something but that's about it. 

Someone must have jumped me or something and brought me to this weird place.

 If someone brought me here though shouldn’t I be tied up? This doesn’t make any sense. I just want to go home and forget everything. This is annoying. I don't feel like worrying about things like this. 

    I'm still fumbling along the side of the wall when I feel something crawl over my hand. Its long cold body scampering over my hand with its many legs sent a cold chill shooting up my arm.

 Disgusted and terrified I quickly swing my hand back in an effort to swing it off. When I feel its cold body leave my hand I quickly wipe my hand on my clothes. 

I don’t really want to feel along the wall anymore but I need a light, but if i'm being honest I don’t think I really want to see anything in here. 

Taking a deep breath I start to feel along the wall again when finally I feel a switch. I try flipping it back and forth a few times but no light comes on. 

It must be broken.

 There may be another one somewhere. Feeling along the wall for a few more minutes I still find nothing. This is pointless. I stand there letting the silence take over.

 “Whoosh”. 

That sounded like wind. It must be coming from outside but I still don’t see any windows or anything so maybe there's some sort of crack in the wall. 

Although if there is that means it’s probably still dark outside. Also meaning I haven't been in here long or at least I hope I haven't. If there's one thing I remember it’s that I always got off work late.

 Maybe if I could find the crack I could try and dig myself out of here, but that’s not very likely. 

    I start to walk towards what I hope is the middle of the room when I step in something that feels slick. Trying to ignore it I keep walking but instead I slip and fall on the ground hard and something stabs the midsection of my back.

 Slowly sitting up I start rubbing the spot with one hand.

“Ouch”!

“ That really hurt.” I'm probably going to have a bruise there. I stop messing with my back and turn around to feel around the floor behind me for the hard thing that had stabbed me.

 I'm kind of surprised as I lift it up, feeling around it I realize that it's a flashlight. I start feeling around for a button to turn it on. Finding it I click it and the flashlight comes on.

 I stand up and wave the flashlight around me a few times to get a better view of the place and it looks awful.

 There were random balls of trash everywhere, spider webs, dust, and it even had what looked like a bunch of mold growing from well, “everywhere!”

There’s also filthy water dripping from the ceiling. You would think if you were going to take someone somewhere it would be nicer than this even if you were some sort of serial killer.

 Oh and that's right if someone put me in here there's got to be a door around here somewhere,“right”? 

Hearing the sound of the wind again I see all of the mold hanging from the ceiling move a little from the light breeze. 

I shiver and follow the sound of the wind hoping it can help me get out of this disgusting place. 

The room is overall not very big. In a corner of the room I see a blackish grey bag sitting on the ground and it looks like there's a small hallway next to it.

 I stare at the bag for a minute and wonder what’s inside. I come to the conclusion that it’s probably full of torture tools. I feel the uneasiness of this situation set in.

 Ok calm down Yomi calm down your not gonna die yet or at least I don’t think. “Ya wait a give me a pep talk brain”I mumble. 

I walk over to the bag and crouch down beside it to cautiously open it. 

“What the hell”. 

This isn’t what I expected at all. Instead of torture tools or something theres nothing in here except for 3 cans of food 2 bottles of water and a blanket. 

    Jeez what was this person planning to do. 

“Woosh” 

I stand back up and point the flashlight down the small hallway and see a dark silver door. 

“Finally, I can leave”.

The sound of the wind grew louder as I approached the door. Letting out a breath I say “ok here goes nothing” then try pushing and pulling open the medal door but it won't budge. 

Great just what I wanted to die locked up in a filthy room. I press my back against the wall by the door and slowly lower myself down to the floor. 

Ok I knew it this is the end for me, my life is over and I never had a chance to make anything good out of it. 

“If that’s how you want to play it god just kill me now”. I lift up my arms toward the ceiling expectantly, but of course nothing happened. It was kind of agitating. 

I keep my arms up for a few more minutes still halfway expecting something, then finally I give up, “ah come on nothing” I yell. 

Dropping my arms back down to my sides. 

Maybe this is all some sort of dream and if I fall asleep I'll wake up back in my bed. I'm exhausted, stressed, and my head feels kind of groggy.

 Sleep should probably do me some good. With that in mind I drift off to sleep.