Chapter 101. Weird Brightness

Chapter 101: Chapter 101. Weird Brightness

Chapter 101. Weird Brightness

The shuddering and violent rattling of the door refused to stop. Rosa genuinely felt like her heart was about to rip straight out of her chest. She had never been so utterly terrified in her entire life. Her physical strength felt like nothing compared to the immense force being thrown against the door from the other side. Her entire body trembling violently, tears slipped down her cheeks as she cried out in fear, straining with everything she had to keep the lock in place. She searched the room wildly for anything she could use to barricade it, but she knew that stepping away from the door even for a second could be fatal.

The gut-wrenching terror coiled tightly in her chest, making her bones rattle with every impact. The groans and grunts echoing from the hallway were powerful and insistent, rumbling through her ribs, vibrating through the heavy wooden door, the walls, and the windows. All she could picture was a gigantic, bloodthirsty lion on the other side, clawing and throwing itself against the wood after catching the scent of her blood. Oh my God, she thought, her mind spiraling into panic. He wants to eat me. The beast wants to eat me.

She pressed her weight against the frame, trying her absolute best to keep the door shut, her body jerking violently at intervals whenever a heavy thud pounded against the wood. Then, without warning, the force stopped. For a few agonizing minutes, everything went still. She froze. Her breath hitched in her throat, her eyes wide with desperate hope, thinking the ordeal had finally ended—but then the rapid banging returned with a force so overwhelming she couldn’t hold it back. The door burst wide open.

She gasped, her trembling lips letting out a loud cry. She threw her back against the door, desperately using her full body weight to keep it closed, but she failed. Her legs scraped helpless grooves against the floor as the door shoved inward, widening more and more. The guttural groans echoed directly into her room. She braced herself, expecting the creature to leap inside and rip her apart, but suddenly, the brute force froze. It abruptly pulled back into the hallway, and the door slammed shut.

Because she had been leaning so heavily against the wood, the sudden slam nearly knocked her to the ground, but she managed to maintain her hold. Pressed tight against the door, her entire body shook so visibly she looked as if she were stuck in the freezing, silent plains of the North Pole. She kept her shaking palms pressed flat against the wood, her breath coming in ragged hitches, her eyes wide as she stared forward. Her heart pounded so wildly against her ribs she felt like she could pass out.

Low, menacing groans still sounded outside. The walls still rattled. The floor beneath her trembling feet vibrated, and the overhead lights kept flickering uncontrollably. She stood frozen for a few minutes, staring blankly into thin air, cold sweat dripping down her body. Deep down, her voice didn’t even have the strength left to shout.

Without thinking twice, she slapped her palms together, squeezing her eyes shut as her quivering lips moved. "Oh my God," she whimpered aloud, tears spilling over. "Oh dear Father, hold me in your hands. I commit my spirit!" she cried out loud. "Please don’t let me die. I am still too young," she sobbed. "I am still so fucking young, so please do not let me die! Please, help me. Please. He’s going to eat me."

Her voice squeaked hysterically as she prayed, but the violent trembling didn’t stop. The windows continued to rattle violently against their frames. All of a sudden, the window at the far end of her room cracked. She watched as spiderweb marks crisscrossed rapidly across the glass before it smashed inward, as if an invisible force had wrecked it open. A second later, the adjacent window cracked and smashed inward as well, showering the floor with shards. She flinched against the door, her eyes wide with horror as she stared at the broken pieces scattered before her.

Then, just as suddenly as it had begun, the trembling began to recede, gradually fading into nothing. Rosa frowned in total confusion, her eyes darting left and right as a sudden silence fell over the room. A heavy stillness descended upon the building, bringing everything to an abrupt, complete halt. She froze. The vibrations stopped. The entire building stayed still, and the flickering overhead lights returned to a steady, normal calmness, brightening up the room as though nothing had happened.

The only disaster that remained was the silent cracks spider-webbing across the walls and the broken pieces of the window lying on the floor before her. She stayed frozen for a few minutes, her back still pressed firmly against the door. She looked around, her chest heaving, her heart still pounding wildly in her chest.

What the...? she thought, blinking rapidly as she clenched her palms together. Were my prayers actually answered?

She swallowed hard, licked her dry lips, and gently turned around to face the door, but she kept one hand pressed firmly against the wood, convinced it was a trap. The beast is probably just waiting for me to let my guard down, she thought, the fear lingering stubbornly in her mind. It’s still waiting out there. It still wants to eat me.

She blinked nervously as she stared at the door. Unable to contain the rapid pounding in her chest, she could feel her pulse throbbing violently everywhere in her body. She swallowed, keeping her palm close to the wood. The silence was piercing, the calm devastating in its intensity. It sent an eerie, prickly feeling shooting straight down her spine. She couldn’t stay still. Nothing about this felt right. Her breath continued hitching. The groans and growls of the beast had long disappeared, but there was no way it could just go silent like that. It was definitely setting up a counterattack. It was going to start again—she knew it.

As she waited, a new sound caught her attention. It was a low, painful growl—the distinct sound of a human in deep pain coming from the other side of the door. The familiar, brooding baritone of the growl immediately pierced deep into her ears. It sounded like Don. She tilted her head to the side, her mind racing. It must be my imagination, she thought. She scoffed and shook her head quickly. The beast is deceiving me. The beast is probably a supernatural one... yeah, just like Tim. It’s trying to trick me.

She shook her head again. I’m not falling for it. She kept her palm pressed against the door and waited, but the painful groans continued, getting increasingly loud. She stared at the door handle, unable to help to herself. She hesitated for a few moments, but finally, she grabbed the handle, gently pulled the door open with a slight crack, and peeked through.

Sure enough, there was Don, groaning on the ground in deep pain. He was shirtless. She couldn’t see the rest of his body through the slight crack in the door, but she could clearly see his bare, muscular chest. A sudden flush instantly colored her face, but then she noticed something else: there were two bright runes glowing on each side of his shoulders.

She quickly flung the door wide open when she saw how deep in pain he was, but as she stepped out, she froze. She swallowed hard, the flush that colored her cheeks spreading instantly all over the rest of her face. She ground her teeth together, quickly spun around to face the door, staring straight ahead.

Holy fuck! she thought. He is naked. How the fuck is that possible? She clenched her fists together, completely overwhelmed by embarrassment. But his groaning behind her registered something urgent in her memory: he was in agonizing pain.

Did the beast attack him? Did it rip off his clothes?

Forget about this, Rosa, she thought to herself, closing her eyes tight. It’s not like it’s your first time seeing his nakedness anyway. Just get it over with—cover him, clothe him, and take care of him. You can figure this out later.

She spun back around, though the embarrassing redness didn’t leave her face. She genuinely felt like her head was about to explode. Staggering over toward him, she knelt down on the floor, her eyes darting frantically over his body.

"Don," she called out softly, her hands hovering uncertainly over him. "Are you okay?" ℯℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Her attention kept snapping back to the bright runes on his shoulders. The phoenix tattoo she had noticed earlier on his left shoulder was glowing a bright, vibrant gold against his skin. It felt unreal—supernatural and magnificent. But the other mark on his right arm didn’t go unnoticed either. This one looked more like a tiger, a beast, or a wolf, and it was glowing a completely different color. She frowned, tilting her head to the side. It was glowing a stark, sharp red.

Nothing about it made sense. She pressed her hand gently against his skin, tracing her fingers over the golden phoenix glow. Why was it glowing like this? Her mind couldn’t comprehend what she was looking at. And why the sudden glowing red wolf tattoo? She had never seen that on his other arm before. Had it been invisible until now, or did he somehow just get it? What was with the weird brightness coming from them?