Hi.

Chapter 2: It's everywhere.

Ciel ran out of the bedroom at first chance. He wanted to be quiet, but his feet stomped on the hallway, which could alert the creature. The young man didn't know if he was being chased, nor did he expect to hit a wall among the darkness. He had been living in the last floor of this apartment for two years now, yet in panic, he had completely forgotten where to go.

Panting and pressing his hands on the walls, Ciel felt a door, and quickly opened it. He went inside and closed it quietly. Unfortunately, he didn't know where he was; it could be the kitchen, or the bathroom. If so, he didn't have a place to hide. Ciel patted his way further into the room and realized that he was in the guestroom once he felt a small dresser.

With a strike of hope, Ciel hid under the twin bed. It was close to the floor, unlike the one in his bedroom, so perhaps the creature wouldn't see him. The curtains of the small window of the room were open, he could see whenever a lightning struck by. The rumbling sounds, the wind, and the rustles of the tree branches outside didn't allow him to hear if the creature was in the room or not.

A few lightnings were heard, which lit the room for brief seconds. The creature stood in front of the bed, its feet not on the floor, but instead the tips of its pitch-black shoes barely touching the carpet.

Ciel covered his mouth with both hands so he wouldn't make a sound. He stared at the creature searching, its feet dangling off of the floor as the thing floated. Ciel could feel his racing heart beat throughout his body—He was trying everything he could to not panic or faint. The air around him felt heavy and dense. So much so, that whenever the creature got closer to the bed, he could sense its presence with greater intensity.

The door opened again. As the creature moved above the floor, it floated out of the room. The thing then turned the corner and the door closed slowly, a squeaking sound reverberating in the room. Under the bed, Ciel took a deep, shaky breath.

The door suddenly slammed open and the creature appeared in front of the bed. Ciel's eyes widened and his mouth fell open, but not a sound came out of his throat—He couldn't scream with how promptly the creature appeared. And it was the quietest of the sounds that alerted it. Ciel's attention was caught immediately once he noticed a glimpse of light coming from the hallway; the lights were back on! The creature's feet rested on the floor and it bent down slowly, its cloth folding on the floor. Ciel brought his hands to his chest, digging his nails into the palms of his hands.

The doorbell rang. Ciel blinked once, and the creature was gone. He couldn't be certain, so he waited a while longer. The air in the room got lighter, the breeze coming from the open door cooling Ciel's sweaty forehead.

The young man looked around and slid off from under the bed. He took a deep breath of relief. He still trembled and his legs could give out at any moment, but he couldn't stop to end up caught. Running out of the room, Ciel made his way to the front door, turning on the lights as he went along. Since the thing also appeared when there was light, Ciel always glanced over his shoulder.

Ciel clicked on the answering button on the intercom. "Who is it?" he asked.

"It's the landlord," the woman answered on the other end of the line. "My daughter woke me up and told me that the lights had gone out for a few minutes. Is everything alright?"

Ciel took a moment to reply. "Yes, Miss Paula." Immediately, he regretted his answer, but he had something on his mind that could help. "Thank you for your concern." Even though it was almost one o'clock, and everyone in the building were most probably asleep, it seemed like the landlord sensed that something was wrong.

"No problem. I'll be on my way, then," she said and went back to her apartment.

Pacing to the living-room, Ciel looked around. The lights seemed to be fine, but the storm outside was still strong. He padded toward a cabinet and opened the small door. Sighing in relief, he took a flashlight. It was working perfectly, but he picked up one extra pair of batteries just in case.

Ciel walked into his bedroom and turned on the lamp on the nightstand. He got in bed and held the flashlight close to his chest. Something caught his attention and he looked at the exit. Stealing a glance at the clock, he noticed that it was almost half past one. He would have to endure until it reached two hours so the creature would leave. It was as if he could feel that thing still in the apartment.

A click sounded in the room from the door handle. Ciel was startled violently, but he didn't move from his place. Instead, he clenched his hands around the flashlight he had hidden under the covers. He watched the door opening slowly, revealing the creature on the other side. Ciel swallowed dryly as it walked inside. This time the thing wasn't floating. The young man felt like crying once he saw the creature's menacing smirk. "Please leave me alone," he begged.

"I can't," it answered with a deep voice tone. The creature leaned over the bed, making Ciel look up at him with widened dark-blue eyes. "You are good at hiding, but I will get you... soon."

Ciel whimpered, almost crushing the flashlight in his hands. The thing walked backwards until it was out of the room, and the door closed. Apparently, it was gone, but Ciel waited until the two hours were up. Once it was time, Ciel turned on the flashlight and closed his eyes, falling asleep in a matter of seconds.

In the morning...

Ciel had gotten in a bus as usual. His eyes opened and closed slowly as he looked outside, the eyelids heavy. He noticed the bus was approaching his stop and he stood, wobbling slightly. Taking a deep breath, he pressed on the button and made his way to the front of the bus.

The bus stopped and the door opened. Ciel stepped outside, opened his dark-brown umbrella, and went toward the building ahead. He had a black jacket over his white sweater and part of his blue jeans. Besides that, he had his impermeable black shoes, but all that wasn't enough to protect him from the strong wind and the heavy rain. He had managed to bring his red scarf, yet he had forgotten his gloves and warm cap back at the apartment. His head pulsed in pain, and he felt as if someone was constantly pressing him down.

Ciel opened the backdoor of the supermarket and closed the umbrella before going inside. "Good morning," he greeted his coworkers as he almost dragged his feet to the staffroom.

One of the other workers, Alois, a blond, tall young man with bright blue eyes, approached Ciel. "Man, you look like shit. You're paler than you already are and you have dark circles under your eyes. Are you alright?"

Ciel looked slightly up at the blond for a few moments. "Can I stay over at your house today?"

Alois raised brow and asked, "Again? Are you having problems at the apartment?"

Even though Ciel could stay over at a friend's house, he couldn't make such request every single day; it could be a bother on others. But he wanted to stay away from that creature more than anything. "Kind of," he answered quietly.

"Well, today I'm going to have my father over for dinner. Can it be tomorrow?" the blond young man suggested. "You know, you should get some sleep. Ask the boss if you can rest for a while."

"And have money taken from my paycheck? No thanks," Ciel muttered. "I'll take the offer for tomorrow. I'm going to change now," he told Alois and continued his way to the staffroom. As long as he had a place to stay besides his apartment for now, he didn't care which day.

Ciel covered a yawn with his hand as he reached the entrance of the room. He blinked his watery eyes a few times and realized that the lights were turned off. Ciel wiped his eyes and reached for the light switch. Before Ciel could turn on the light, someone's hands grabbed his shoulders, and the young man was tackled. Ciel let out a scream once he hit the floor with a thud. He looked up at who was on top of him pinning him down, and stared into crimson eyes.

The creature leaned down to whisper to Ciel's ear, "Let's work together."

Thanks for reading, and please (guest) review. I'm feeling upbeat, but I felt like updating this story. Have a nice day/night. Happy holidays to you guys/girls if I don't update anything by Christmas.