"Oh goodness, they're wonderful!"
He squeals like a child, lifting the jewelry to his nose and inhaling like they're warm cookies instead of cursed heirlooms.
I stare at him, utterly baffled.
His chubby cheeks are bright pink, glowing with delight.
Meanwhile, I'm about two seconds from collapsing.
He turns to me, his smile flickering. "You don't look too well."
No shit. I spent the entire drive puking my guts out in a McDonald's bag. I'm sweating through my shirt, dizzy, and sure I'm dying — but I still manage my strict business-woman face.
"My money," I croak out.
He rolls his eyes and waves his pudgy hand.
A man appears, lugging a bright pink Hello Kitty suitcase.
I blink at it.
"That was the only one left," the buyer shrugs with a sheepish grin.
I snatch it from him. I don't care. I just want this nightmare to be over — and maybe figure out what the hell happened to the relic and what I need to remove it.
Prune juice? Exorcist? Sleep? Anything will do.
Then he says it.
"Did you see them?"
My head snaps up.
"Excuse me?"
His tone drops, eyes suddenly sharp.
"You saw him, didn't you?"
My heart skips.
Void.
Does he know Void? Does he know what that thing I took is? What's happening to me?
I grab his arm. "Please help me." My voice cracks — part desperate, part terrified.
He recoils in disgust at first… then his expression softens. He almost pities me.
He leans close.
"Run."
That single word slams into my stomach like a brick.
I stumble to the side and throw up again, gasping.
Run? From what? Him? The police? Void?
My phone buzzes. I fumble for it, hands shaking.
Rain.
I swipe. "Rain?"
Her voice crackles through the line.
"Rose… helllppppp—"
The call drops.
My blood turns to ice.
"RAIN?"
Panic claws at my throat. I grab the suitcase and bolt to the car, eyes burning with tears.
If anything happens to her… I swear to God. I'll kill everyone involved. I'll burn their fucking families too.
I drive like a maniac — running lights, ignoring honks. I screech into our lot, throw the car in park, and grab my aluminium baseball bat from the trunk.
They messed with the wrong bitch.
I storm up the steps, ready to swing first, ask questions never—
And then I stop.
The moment I step into the house, the world shifts.
There he is.
Void.
Sitting on our couch.
Watching The Amazing World of Gumball. The sounds of childish laughter don't match the cold in his eyes.
He barely looks up when I enter. His gaze drifts to the bat in my hands.
Then he smiles.
"This is perfect," he murmurs.
He leans forward.
"Because I have the perfect ball for that bat."
He reaches down, lifts something… and rolls it toward me.
I blink.
It bumps against my shoe.
It's…
Scott's head.
Lifeless. Pale. His dull blue eyes stare at me, wide open.
His neck is raw—red, meaty, and bloody.
I drop the bat.
And vomit. Again.
Void tilts his head, annoyed.
"You're being so messy right now. Who's going to clean that up, huh?"
He kicks Scott's head with his boot.
"Definitely not Scotty-boy here, that's for sure."
I stagger back, trembling, choking on a sob.
This isn't real.
This isn't real.
This can't be happening.
realization sinks in.
Rain.
My head whips around. I scan the room—no sign of her.
"Rain!" I scream, chest tight with panic.
"Rain!" My voice cracks, swallowed by sobs. "Where is she?!"
Void doesn't even flinch.
He turns to me slowly, like I'm nothing more than background noise.
"Oh, she's sound asleep," he says casually. "With a friend of mine."
My breath hitches. I lock eyes with him, silently begging for confirmation — that she's alive. That she's whole.
He rolls his eyes, annoyed.
"She's fine. But she wouldn't stop crying. It got… irritating. So I knocked her out for a bit."
His voice is ice-cold. Flat. Like he just swatted a fly.
And something inside me snaps.
Rage floods my veins.
I grab the bat off the floor and lunge at him, screaming.
I swing with everything I have — aiming for his head.
But he's too fast.
He catches the bat mid-swing. Effortlessly.
I try to pull it free.
My muscles strain. My teeth grit.
But his grip doesn't budge.
He leans in, eyes darkening.
"Big mistake," he says softly.
My heart drops.
Every instinct in my body screams: Run.
But I'm frozen — caught in a game I never signed up for.
And I just broke the first rule:
Don't challenge the monster.