It had been years since the beginning of the SBURB Beta. Years since the world had been destroyed, and they had met the trolls. Years since the day the world ended. Years since the day they started playing the game. Years since the day that the universe they knew got destroyed, their parents died, and met new ones.
And they were in the new universe, made into the Bilious Slick, the universal frog. Quite happily in fact. But few things never changed.
Rose couldn't shake off the feeling of having someone looking at her. She did live with Roxy after the game had ended, but this was different. Whenever she was alone, she had a feeling that someone was staring at her.
Must be one of those feelings. Rose shrugged, reading the book Fifty Shades of Grey, with a few alteration from the original from her own universe. Her lips quirked a bit up as she read the lines, enjoying the silence of her home, the softness of her bed, the thought of being alone. She remembered her mom sometimes not being home on these days, and these days were when she enjoyed the time reading, the rain drizzling onto the window as lightning flashed outside the dreary environment.
Just like the old times. She smiled at the thought as another lightning flashed. The lights suddenly flickered, and Rose looked up to see the lights going out, leaving her in darkness. The windows showed faint light, but it was difficult to navigate. Just like the old times indeed. Rose thought, placing the book open, standing up and making her way around the house, her hand outstretched, brushing against occasional furnitures. She remembered having candles in the living room cabinet. Perhaps I should remember to place a flashlight near the bedside next time. It would be a far easier task. She thought to herself as she opened her bedroom door, kicking past scraps of paper and unfinished knitting.
The hallway was, strangely, pitch dark, possibly due to the lack of windows. Giggles sounded in the hallway, quite familiar in a way, and yet she couldn't place it. "Roxy?" Rose said aloud, before realizing the stupidity of the question. Roxy was out tonight, at John's house, along with Jane. A girl's night out. Roxy had invited her, but Rose had declined the offer. No thank you. I don't want to have another relapse with alcohol addiction.
But now, she wished she would have taken the offer. She wasn't afraid of the dark, no, but she was quite dreary and lonely in the house all of the sudden. She stepped into the room, leaving the door ajar as she placed her hand against the wall. It's just her house, after all. She just needed to take ten steps to reach the corner, where she will turn right, and she will reach the staircase.
One.
She stepped forward, closing her eyes, feeling another door adjacent next to her.
Two.
Clicking of her shoes resounded in the hallway.
Three.
She brushed past a painting. Of course it had to be a wizard.
Four.
She brushed the empty wall between the paintings.
Five.
Another painting. No surprise.
Six.
Pedestral. With a wizardly figure.
Seven.
Another painting. Again. No surprise.
Eight.
Wait a minute.
Nine.
Rose stopped suddenly, and turned to look at the door slightly ajar. No movement. No sound. She thought she had heard a second set of footsteps. Was Roxy here? And she had not known? Had she come home early?
"Roxy?" She asked, a bit of curiosity in her voice. There was nothing to be afraid of. Burglars won't come to this household. Nothing of value to steal except the wizard statues. Let them take that. Rose thought. Most of them are now Roxy's. It just brings back painful memories anyways. And if any tried to harm Rose, it wouldn't matter. Godtier still existed for them.
Ten.
She touched the wizard statue at the corner of the hallway. Now step right, and there was the staircase. Descending slowly, in the middle of the dark, she grasped at the handle of the stairs, looking around in the darkness. Finally at the end of the staircase, she exhaled. Something was wrong. She could feel it. But of course, she could be wrong. People were afraid of the dark, and the sooner she found a candle, the better. She was about to go to the cabinet when the lightning flashed. The whole house was illuminated for a split second, and there were two shadows, one herself, the other staring at her. She turned briefly, only to hear silence and met by emptiness.
"Roxy?" She asked, a bit of surprise in her voice. Then she regretted the next word. "Mom?" But no answer. Only silence greeted her. Had she imagined it? She went to the cabinet, the rustling from her skirt the only noise save for the rain hitting the window, and the distant thunder.
She opened the cabinet, the dragging of wood on wood giving her a sigh of relief. Relief? Was she afraid? She hoped not, and she grasped the small paper box containing the matches. Finally. Light. She was about to strike a match alight when there was another lightning. And she looked up briefly onto the mirror, and dropped the box she had been holding.
No. She had to be imagining things. For a split second, she thought she had seen herself. It was a mirror, of course. But the reflection was… disorienting. A stretched smile, pure white eyes without pupils, seeming as if they were glowing. Dark skin, and surrounded by darkness. No. She had to be imagining things. Most likely to the book she read, the darkness, and her overactive imagination. She lit the match, and checked the reflection. No. She was herself. No Grimdarkness.
Perhaps she should contact someone. Roxy, maybe, or Kanaya. Even John, Dave, or Jade. Talk the night over, and maybe fall asleep half way. Lighting a candle, she held it up, illuminating the living room, casting shadows of the stone wizards. Yes. She had been imagining things. Of course she had. Rolling her eyes, smiling a bit at a bit of pointless fear, she went upwards, into her room. There should be a bit of Internet Connection somewhere in her room. The battery on her laptop was full, and even if it wasn't, there was her cellphone.
She arrived at the room, now with light to guide the way… only to find the door closed. Did she close it? She thought not. She opened the door to find the same messy room, the book closed neatly on her bed, the knitting kit laying everywhere, and scraps of fanfictions littered everywhere on the floor. Shrugging, setting the candle on the desk, she grabbed the laptop and jumped onto the bed, opening it before freezing.
The book. She had left it open so she can view it later. Why would it be closed?
Just as the candle blew out, cold, dark, feminine arms slid around her neck, an embrace from the back. There had been no one on the bed, and she was leaning against the wall. Or had been. Someone was definitely hugging her back now. Someone with dark gray skin, white hair. Rose twisted her neck a bit, despite the seizing terror in her heart. She could see a pair of white eyes staring back at her, the menacing, threatening grin, and most of all, her face.
"Qwkxinw v'xj eiaw k'kibsw." The raspy, and yet clear, echoy and yet silent voice whispered in her ears.