1 Last Song

And everywhere was blood.

Anoi couldn't see anything. But she felt it. As she crawled on her knees, she could feel suspicious wetness everywhere. And the heavy smell of blood, weirdly refreshing and so nauseous, kept violating her nose. And then her fingers touched it – for a second, before she jerked her hand away – a soft, sticky lump, that gave off a subtle crunching sound as her fingertips were immersed in it.

What was it? Anoi didn't want to find out and simply crawled in an opposite direction.

"It's stuffy in here. So stuffy. I have to get out."

Nothing made sense. Nothing should make sense. After all, this is a dream, right? One of those nightmares, so weirdly realistic. Right? She would wake up soon.

"Wake…wake up. Wake up. Wake up!" She heard someone saying in a sing-song manner. "Wake up!"

Who's that? Who in the world can be singing in this desolate place? At this moment, Anoi didn't know if it would be better if she was alone in here, or with someone else hiding nearby.

If they were hiding, then isn't singing a stupid thing to do? Their location is obvious now. They will be quickly found out.

As the person kept on moaning, Anoi suddenly realized that the sound was coming from somewhere near her.

It's very close.

"Wake up!" A shriek startled her, and she started crawling faster.

Yet the sound didn't leave.

It followed her.

"Stop!" She screamed.

The sound disappeared. And then the song carried on, as if the person didn't mind being interrupted.

It was at this moment that Anoi realized she's the one who was singing.

"Hahah. Wake up. Right. I should wake up. That's enough. Haha. I'm going crazy." Her voice was trembling as she continued narrating, hoping it would make her feel less scared.

"I should stop. Else they will find me."

The floor, or whatever she was crawling at, was cold. Her toes felt frozen, and the wet patches on her clothes were burning her skin.

"Who? Who will find me? "

"There's no one here."

Anoi stopped.

"I am all alone."

The memories were slowly returning to her.

This morning she woke up at five thirty. The breakfast was hot tea and a bar of cheap chocolate. That chocolate was Anoi's weak spot. Not that she couldn't afford another brand, it's just that she was used to the taste. It was very sweet. Bordering with being unbearably sweet, to tell the truth. Her clothes… She took a blouse and a pair of jeans. Then it took a while to find a pair of matching socks.

The alarm went off at six twenty-seven. There was nothing to do in particular, so she stepped outside. It was dark then. And the rain was cold, so her hands quickly snuggled inside the jacket's pockets and her nose hid behind the scarf. And…

And then she got captured.

The car was slowly turning to the right, as if heading to the bakery. And then it suddenly parked. The driver opened the trunk. Next thing she knew, Anoi was cornered near the bushes and before she regained grip on reality, someone from behind, from the harrows, picked her up and stuffed her inside the luggage compartment of the car.

The weird smell in the trunk knocked her out and when her eyes opened, she was here, thrown in this room, or building, or whatever this place was. Her body didn't want to move and the only thing she could do was listen .

At first, there were screams coming from another side of the wall that she was leaning on. It went on and on, before breaking into sobs, and then stopping.

When the anguished shouting stopped, Anoi felt the floor slightly trembling. Something was thrown on the ground. Or someone.

And then there was peace and terrifying kind of silence.

And everywhere was blood.