A/N: What the heck! I swear i uploaded this chapter yesterday, but for some reason it just didn't show up! i'm really sorry about that guys, hopefully it works this time.
"That sucked!" Cailey wined as she leaned against the back of her chair. The two of them had now made it to school, and after getting a sound lecture from their home room teacher about being late, they were now working on the group project they had started yesterday for their first person: science class.
"You're telling me," Beverly groaned, massaging their temple. "Byron's not usually that... never mind, I don't wanna think about it anymore."
"What're you gunna do about the book?" Cailey asks, looking over the instructions idly to make sure they weren't missing anything. She didn't want to do this project at all, but she'd have to put in at least a little effort if she didn't want to repeat the class again.
"I'll probably end up keeping the damn thing and pretend I lost it." Beverly kept their voice low so the teacher wouldn't hear them swearing. "I might as well. I'd rather get in trouble for something I actually did instead of the actions of a stupid boy, y'know?"
"Yeah I—"
"Cailey?"
Cailey froze. She was suddenly overcome with a very strange feeling.
"Cailey? You okay?"
Like she was being watched, but not by the popular girls in the corner. They were currently staring at their nails while a boy in their group did their share of the project in exchange for a date after school, which they had no intention of actually following through with. He would be left stood up and alone.
"Seriously, Cailey. You don't look too good."
This felt different anyway. Not just that she was being judged, that she was in danger. A chill ran down her spine, but she also felt hot all over.
"Cailey!"
Cailey gasped, her mind snapping back to the here and now. What just happened? Of course she wasn't being watched. She was at school, and was [relatively] safe. "Oh, sorry. I uh got a bit distracted there." She giggled, but there was no humor behind it.
"Right," Beverly drawled, totally unconvinced. "Take a look at this page here. I think there might be something missing."
Cailey did, and promptly vomited all over it.
I couldn't believe my horrible luck. Of course it was a hospital; why wouldn't it be? If I didn't know better, I'd say Spooky had planned this. She'd let herself be defeated so I could end up in this stupid place.
If it wasn't obvious by now, I'm deathly afraid of hospitals. An incident happened to me at one when I was younger that I would rather not think about at the moment, but yeah I don't like them. Not at all. And the fact that this one was abandoned, and there seemed to be some sort of fog covering anything, didn't help things that much.
If Taker noticed that I was keeping super close to him as we began exploring the lobby, he didn't say anything about it. It was a pretty normal looking hospital waiting room as far as waiting rooms go, and there was faint music coming from unseen speakers. It was a rather simple tune, played by what sounded like a hi-hat, and a guitar or maybe a piano. It could even be a harp; it was impossible to tell. Though the song was slow and calm, the fact that it was the only thing to break the silence added to the creepy atmosphere.
"It is just as I suspected it would be," Taker grumbles. "Now that we're here, I am unable to sense the area outside of this one."
"So there's some sort of magic barrier around it?" I decide to ask this instead of thanking Taker for the opportunity to strike up a conversation. Talking about something unrelated to our current area would definitely help right now.
"Indeed." He replies.
"Anything sticking out at you about this place so far?"
"Well, there are definitely some entities down here; none of them are human. At least, not anymore."
"Specimens?"
"Most likely. Be on your guard."
I couldn't be anymore on guard if I tried! I say silently to myself. It was true. I was this close to starting to tremble in fear. This was the first time I'd been this afraid in the Mansion, and nothing that terrifying was even going on!
Desperately needing to take my mind off of things, I begin to scan the area for doorways. Unlike the rest of the Mansion which was pretty much linear, there were multiple direction to choose from. There was a door behind the desk which I guessed lead to the offices, a hallway on the left leading to patient rooms (I really did not want to go that way,) and a hallway on the right leading to the bathrooms.
"There is a strong presence coming from the left hallway," Taker says, because of course he does. Damn it, I did not sign up for this bullcrap! And then, before I can decide what to do, Taker has started moving into the hallway, and disappears into it.
"Oh, gosh." I say out loud as my brain assaults me with one grisly image of Taker's terrible demise in the hallway after another. Part of me wants to follow, to try and protect my friend, but another part of me wants to run far away from this madness and never come back. After all, if the almighty Taker can't handle this place, how would I, a pathetic human girl, manage it?
Wait a minute, what am I saying? I may be human, but I am not pathetic. If I was pathetic, would I be able to survive 1000 rooms in this place and beat Spooky? No, I think not! I just let Spooky's influence rub off on me again. There's nothing shameful about being afraid. It's the body's natural response to something it feels is threatening, it helps keep us safe. Without it, nothing would stop us from given in to the call of the void. Still, that leaves me with two options: fight or flight?
Well, fleeing isn't an option, I don't think. Since Taker can't feel the outside, something tells me that I won't be getting out of here that easily. So that's it then. Fight. I will explore ever inch of this place, and I will conquer it!
I'm just about to follow Taker when I hear something. A quiet shuffling sound coming from behind the desk. I'm completely on high alert now, the little hairs on my neck standing on end as a chill runs down my spine.
"Who's there?" I call out in a hopefully intimidating voice. "I can hear it, come out and show yourself!"
There's a moment of silence, then slow rhythmic slapping and rustling of fabric, like a barefoot person wearing a long article of clothing that brushes against their legs every time they take a step. It almost sounds like me walking, but smaller.
Finally after what seems to be an eternity, I get a look at the... threat. But it, or rather she doesn't appear that threatening now that I can see her.
At first, she looks to be a normal little girl around seven or eight years old. Messy shoulder-length pale blond hair, oversized white and pink shirt/dress thing hanging off her dangerously thin frame, a strip of fabric that covered her eyes, and-wait. Humans kids don't have horns. Demon kids on the other hand?
I let myself take a deep breath of relief. Even though most people think demon kids are creepy and evil, this one didn't seem to be. If anything, she seemed a lot more afraid of me than I was of her so I really didn't think she would hurt me. Plus, I might not get along with Ron all the time, but I don't judge a group on just one member, or on unprovable stories about them. And also, despite the whole horn thing, the kid is quite cute.
All of a sudden I feel what can only be described as a big sister instinct take over me, and I feel bad about the way I talked earlier. The poor kid probably thought I was going to murder her since that's probably what she'd been dealing with in this place.
Even though it'll kill my knees, I get down on them so that I'm no longer towering over the girl, and try for a comforting smile, if she can even see me under that fabric. Wonder why she wears it? Is she blind? Or just worried that her eyes would make her too scary looking?
"Hey," I whisper so as not to frighten her further. "It's okay, I'm not gunna hurt you. This place just put me on edge, and I thought you were a... you know." I slowly hold my hand out to her, palm up. "I'm Zoe. What's your name?"
"M-my name?" Her voice is scratchy, but there is a definite child-like quality to it. "No one has asked me that in so long..." As she tentatively takes my hand, I notice that her nails are unusually long and sharp. Well they would be if she were human anyway, which she's not, so I really should stop making such generalizations, even in my head. they would more aptly be called claws I suppose, and she takes care not to scratch me with them. I slowly close my hand over hers, gaging her reaction. She doesn't seem to be freaking out, so I squeeze her hand gently in what I hope is a comforting way, feeling the warmth radiating from it. Like Ron, she's warmer than a healthy human would be, but unlike him it's not overly so. It felt sort of like someone's skin would when they've been laying out in the sun for a while.
"I... I'm Esmie."
"Esmie," I repeat, most likely grinning. "That's a beaudorable name."
The newly dubbed Esmie cocks her head in confusion. I giggle. "A word a made up. It means beautiful and adorable at the same time. Beaudorable. Get it?"
At last that ever present grim expression on the little girl's face breaks for a precious few seconds, a tiny smile taking its place. But then it goes, and I'm instantly wondering what I could do to get it back.
"I should warn you," Esmie says seriously. "Many people have came in here before you, but none have come back out. This place is dangerous, Zoe. You should leave... if you even can."
"Can't," I say simply. "There's some sort of magic barrier around this area. If we wanna get out, we'll have to find a way to get rid of it."
"...We?"
"Of course we! No way am I leaving you in this hellhole!" And then, I swear I have no idea how this happened, but they I'm squeezing much more than just Esmie's hand.
I sink to my butt on the ground with the kid on my lap, cuddling her tightly against myself. Her gown thing is really thin, so it's easy to feel the warmth from her body through it. At first she's stiff with shock, and I worry that I may have made a mistake, then she's practically melting into me, her skinny little arms wrapping tightly around my waste, returning the hug. She buries her face into my shoulder, nearly taking out my eye with her horn in the process, but it's thankfully not long enough to finish the job. She starts to shake slightly, and I realize that she is crying. This poor, poor kid. Had anyone ever hugged her, or done anything nice for her before this?
I shift her slightly to my left arm so my right hand is free, and run my fingers through her hair. It's not too tangled thankfully, and my fingers slide through relatively easily.
A moment later and Esmie's pulling back slightly, wiping her tears on her sleeve. At first glance it looks like she's crying blood, but her tears lack the thick sticky and stainy qualities of that particular substance. It makes me wonder about Ron's eyes that are constantly dripping. She I bring it up with him?
"S-sorry," Esmie stutters, staring down at her [I'm just going to call it a gown from now on since that's probably what it's meant to be.]
"You've got nothing to apologize for. Now—"
Esmie gasps, successfully interrupting me. At first I wonder why, but then I notice the shadow we're suddenly both engulfed in. With dread I look up, but then I sigh in relief. It's just Taker.
A/N: So I'd like to confess something real quick, sometimes I get kinda embarrassed/ashamed when I write super fluffy pieces like this. And I'm not sure why, after all there's a lot weirder stuff out there. Maybe it has something to do with the fact it's a self-insert? Maybe?
Still, please let me know what you think. I've been waiting to introduce Esmie to the story for a long time (she's The Demon Child that appears at the end of the DLC just in case you didn't know) and I'd love to know what you think. Did I overdo it with the fluff? Was there not enough fluff? Give me your honest feedback and as always, thank you for reading!