As Inspector Aerel raced to come up with a speech and pored through reports, Rien de la Fontaine was still asleep in her dormitory bed, though that was quickly about to change.
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[Rien's POV]
When I first fell asleep, there was darkness. But at one point, I heard the drumming of rain as the softness of my pillow thinned into something damp and chill.
*Pitter patter, pitter patter*
The black of sleep faded to grey veils of rain and mist as my surroundings melted into the dull canvas. Rain fell around me, kicking against a perfectly still lake, each droplet striking the cold, mirror surface with tiny, violent splashes.
Mist clung low over the silver water, swallowing the horizon while the air tasted cold and metallic, settling in my lungs like ash.
In front of me sat a derelict stone fountain, sputtering weakly, spewing sad little gouts of water upwards before slumping back into the basin.
Lying against the structure was a small figure in a white dress, the fabric clinging to her as though it was soaked through.
What was going on? Wasn't I just in bed?
I cautiously reached out, still half-asleep. "...Hello?"
The figure stirred and lifted her head. It was a little girl. Slightly tousled short brown hair brushed her shoulders and thin frame.
However, the little girl had no face. No eyes, no eyebrows, no mouth—just a blank slate. She slowly pushed herself to her feet. Her head tilted slightly, as though studying me.
Then, a voice came from her, small, soft, and innocent. "H e l l o ."
My heart jumped high into my throat and landed back into my stomach. I stayed frozen, locked in place.
"Who are you?" I asked weakly.
"I C an ' t T el l Y ou ."
I swallowed. My heart rolled around in my chest and stomach like a tight ball of discomfort in a rock tumbler. "You probably can't tell me how I got here either, right?"
"Tha t Is Cor r e ct." The little girl took a step back, teetering slightly before settling down on the cold rim of the fountain's basin amidst the grey sheets of rain.
*Kwal-kwal, kwal-kwal, gushhh*
The fountain continued to gurgle. For a moment, we just stared at each other before I broke the silence, even though every single muscle in my body was jittery and begging me to run. I wiped my sweating palms against my jacket, taking a deep breath and trying to force myself to calm down.
"You know," I swallowed lightly, shoving my hands into my jacket pockets, "this is usually the part where I'm supposed to panic."
And to be honest, I was panicking. But then, something possessed me to do the most irrational, most unbeta-like thing in my life.
I stepped forward and sat beside her.
The stone was freezing and it chilled my legs. But something about the faceless girl… Well, she didn't seem dangerous.
My heart was having an easier time, compared to when there was the knocking in the middle of the night when they delivered my letter.
"A re Yo u N ot A fr ai d ?" The girl asked. The little girl's voice was barely audible above the sad weeping of the fountain behind her and pouring rain.
"Yes," I replied honestly. My voice wavered slightly. "But just a little bit."
I tried for a small smile. "You won't hurt me, right? If you were here for that, you'd have done it already."
She didn't have an answer for that one.
Time passed, and after a little while the fountain fell silent, and so did the downpour. It wasn't so bad then. My body was no longer begging me to bolt away while my thighs shivered.
That was… progress.
As the grey world around us fell silent, the little girl looked around, noticing the change.
"Th ank Yo u Fo r Th e C omp any . So me on e Wi l l C om e . T r us t Th e m . Ba d T hin g s A re Com i ng . "
I raised an eyebrow. "Huh? EEP—"
Suddenly, I felt something slimy curl around my head. I glanced down to see a thick, slimy grey tentacle, and I felt the same pressure on my wrists and back, then around my waist, the tendrils slowly wrapping around me.
One wound itself around my leg.
*Splash, chol-ssok!*
Quickly I was pulled down, down,
down,
down,
And down through the surface of the lake as the light faded and scattered into thin refracted rays above me.
*Glug, glug, bogeul-bogeul.*
Small silvery bubbles of air escaped from my mouth and tumbled through the water upwards before more tentacles slapped around my eyes, nose, and mouth.
My lungs screamed as I was envelopped in the chilling tomb of water, the pressure pushed in on me on all sides. Guess this is what drowning and being crushed feels like…
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*Knock, knock*
I bolted upright in bed and air tore into my lungs.
"Fuck." My voice sounded dry, and my heart was slamming so hard it hurt. Breathe, Rien, breathe…. Oh, fuck fuck fuck—
*Knock, knock*
"Hey, first year. You awake?"
I stared at the door, my breath still not caught up.
Right.
Reality.
Great timing…