Extra's Descent

77  Curse [2]

 "Oy! Come back here!"

"That's why it's running away Claire. You keep scaring it."

"Ahh! Fuck."

For the entire day, Claire and Rachel had been trying to accomplish their quest.

What quest?

Finding a lost cat.

Though they've already found it a few hours ago, it would always escape their grasp. And before they knew it, they were already far out into the forest.

Scrunch. Scrunch.

Silence gripped the entire area with only the sound of foliage breaking it.

Once again, the cat was gone.

"There! There it is!"

Extending her hand in the cat's direction, Claire pointed at it.

Noticing the raise in her tone, Rachel turned her head towards the direction.

But before the cat could enter her peripheral view, Claire had already run off to chase it.

"Claire, wait!"

"No, I'm already starving. We've been at this for the entire day."

Truth be told, they didn't have to do the quest, it was optional.

But ever since falling off the rankings, Claire had been on a tight budget. Her allowance was cut off for the time being.

And Rachel…

She was a cheapskate.

"Where is…"

Shading her eyes with her hand, Claire tried to look for the cat who was 'gone' again.

"There!"

"Where?"

Nyaa~

Because of Claire's voice, the cat was startled once again.

"It went inside that run down cabin."

"That makes it easier then."

22:54

"Mhm."

The cat had isolated itself. Something that mages could work with.

"But doesn't that cabin look kind of… creepy?"

"...Yeah."

Rubbing her shoulders, Rachel was hesitant to step forward.

"Oy. Creepy or not, let's just get this done."

Rachel nodded and stepped forward.

She had a bad feeling as she silently muttered.

"....This feels like a horror movie scene."

"What was that?"

"N-nothing."

At that, the two beckoned inside the cabin.

Arriving at the entrance the two took silent steps to avoid alerting the cat.

"The door is open as well…"

Claire had a bad feeling as well. But in the end, they were mages. Just a little creepy old cabin wouldn't scare them.

As soon as they entered the cabin, a chill ran down the two's spine.

"....What the."

"Are those…. Dolls?"

Looking around, the entire cabin was filled to the brim with dolls in each shelf.

"What kind of sicko would collect these kinds of dolls?"

Claire roamed around the room and scanned the dolls.

The dolls appeared to be handmade, most likely sewed.

Rachel approached one of the dolls and extended her hand to grab it.

As she scanned the doll, a sudden chill ran down her spine.

"These dolls… Don't they look kind of real?"

"Don't be crazy, Rachel. How could a sewed doll look real?"

"The clothes look sewed. But the face… It looks…. Real."

But Rachel was snapped out of it as she turned her head to look at Claire.

"Wait the cat."

"Ah, right. Fuck where is it."

Rachel lowered her head to look at the doll again.

Only to find…

The doll's eyes suddenly turned pitch black.

And she could've sworn it was smiling back at her.

"....!"

Thud!

A chill ran down her spine and she dropped the doll.

"....What in the."

But when she turned to scan the doll again, it appeared normal.

Was it just her imagination?

But whatever it was, Rachel could say that it was definitely creepy.

"..."

Claire seemed to have the same thoughts as her, as her voice reached Rachel's ears.

"This place is creepy...."

Fucking creepy.

Rubbing her shoulders, Rachel took a step back. She was then snapped out of her thoughts as Claire called upon her.

"Rachel, the cat… It isn't—"

Claire turned her head only to find Rachel in a kind of trance.

"Rachel?"

"A-ah."

Rachel was snapped out of it as she spoke with an urgent tone.

"Forget the cat. Let's just get out of here, please."

"Then what about the rew—"

"I'll pay for all your expenses."

Claire was taken aback.

Ruffling her hair, she seemed to have noticed the urgency in Rachel's voice.

She then cursed under her beath.

"Ah, fuck. All that running around for nothing. Alright, fine."

At that, the two then turned around to leave.

But as they arrived at the exit a shadow loomed over them. A thin man with gray disheveled hair and lavender eyes stood by the exit.

"...!"

"Uh?"

Claire was startled but not as much as Rachel. Skeptically raising her brow, Claire greeted the figure that had arrived.

"Uh, hello. Do you live here?"

"Yes."

His voice was raspy, and just the sight of the man sent chills down Rachel's spine.

Her alarm bells were ringing.

But Claire seemed to have not noticed it. Rubbing her head, Claire pursed her lips.

"We're sorry for the intrusion. We didn't think anyone lived here. We'll be going now."

"It's nothing."

"..."

Rachel couldn't speak up. There was something eerily creepy about the man that she couldn't quite put her finger on.

Noticing her silence, Claire turned to look at her and frowned.

"Rachel, don't be rude."

But Rachel didn't respond and shook her head.

Claire then turned to look at the man and tried to be as polite as she could.

"Sorry about my friend. She's quite the introvert."

The man then stepped forward and he opened his mouth.

"What about a doll before you go?"

"No."

This time, Rachel finally voiced out her thoughts.

Laughing, Claire tried to keep her tone polite to avoid being rude to the man.

"S-sorry. We don't need anything. You can keep the doll, Sir."

"Hmm…"

Claire then walked ahead, leading Rachel's hand and stood by the exit.

Turning around, Claire gave her farewells.

"If you excuse us, Sir. We'll be going now."

"Mhm."

It was at that moment when they realized.

"...!"

They couldn't move.

"What the…"

The two quickly turned their heads around.

"..."

The man wasn't there anymore.

An ominous presence started to bore down on them.

A sense of pressure started to grip them.

And the pressure…

It came from the front.

The two slowly turned their heads back in front.

And that was when they saw the man from a distance.

"..."

"..."

The two were taken aback. With wide eyes, they started to tremble.

Fear.

The sense of dread loomed over them. And the two could not find the right words to say.

The man…

He was smiling.

"His eyes…"

They were pitch black.

"Hehehe."

The sound of laughter coming from behind them.

A child's laugh.

"Hehe."

Turning around to trace the source of the sound. What met their sight was a doll that stood on its own on the floor.

"Hehe."

Its eyes were pitch black, just like the man's.

"Hehehe"

More laughter.

Another doll chimed in from the shelf.

"Hehe."

And another one.

"Hehehe."

More dolls.

"Hehe."

Until an innumerable amount of dolls had all started to move gradually.

Rachel's body continued to shudder in fear. Even if she wanted to move, she couldn't.

And even if she could move, the fear had already gripped her to the point where her legs were frozen.

Her stomach started to churn from the gripping fear as her mouth continued to twitch.

"Hehe."

The only sound that echoed throughout the entire cabin was the sound of children's laughter.

"Hehehe."

"Hehehehehe."

When Rachel turned to look at the man, that was when she noticed.

Threads.

They were unable to move due to the threads.

The man stood still with a smile. His pitch black eyes staring deep into their souls.

And that was when..

"Hyaaaaaa—"

The sound of a little girl screaming.