I've begun to feel like the previous events from this morning and the day before had taken place in another dimension. As if all the memories from the past couple days were like from a long time ago. The mental recollections of me joining the Utarus against the Grimhorns, Ahmik's little misadventure, the outpost, Tsulu going insane, the Tremortusk fight, Maki's death, Plainsong all ran through my head like a video projection. It was like one of those dreams you vividly remember after waking up. Except that this wasn't something prior to waking up with a bedhair, this was all pretty much a reality. A reality that also involved me going balls deep inside a certain cauldron like no other. Simply because it's fucking me up real nicely.

I examined the next surroundings on the other side of the busted override node. I stole a peek behind me through the crack I squeezed through hoping that the ghost from the previous room doesn't follow me here. I wouldn't even put it past that thing to somehow pass through the wall so to avoid such a seemingly pleasant scenario, I'll have to jump my way to the top platform on the far end. The faster I get to the core, the sooner I get this terror adventure over with, and the lower the chances the ghosts would manage to do to me… whatever they do to people.

I paused and cast my eyes downwards. I'm beginning to use the term 'ghost' too loosely, aren't I? Well… I couldn't find a better way to describe them. Whether I like it or not, I'm in the middle of paranormal activity here. No other explanation. So without wasting more time and increase the risk of getting caught by one of those ghosts, I jumped to the first metallic arm carefully adjusting my footing.

So I guess I started believing in ghosts, after all. Well, can you blame me? I literally have all the proof that's been scaring me shitless since I got here. As if they're attempting to shove their existence down my throat and force me to believe in them. Well, good fucking job.

I turned around in my spot then hopped off to the base of the following arm and scaled across it to the other end that overlooked the next one.

And apparently, I'm in a cauldron full of those beings. Whatever type of creature they are, the fact still stands that I have to avoid them. It was obvious they were responsible for everything that is been happened involving the Tenakth and Tsulu's incident. How they did all that, it's still a mystery just like them.

I hopped off to the third and final arm and climbed up the small handholds leading to the base of the arm and when I found a stable spot to stay on, I kept a lookout everywhere while keeping my balance on my toes, wary for anything that might get thrown at me or, worse, the culprit themselves.

This isn't some trick pulled by real life people. No living human would have the capability to go that far even if they wanted to. I might be more of a practical thinker but it would be more stupid than smart to keep assuming that this was all somehow faked. I was actually willing to keep an open mind and start believing in paranormal beings should they get proven to me and perhaps, deep down, I did kind of believe in them all along. I just needed a slight push – or a shove in my case.

I paid my attention back to the platform I was aiming for. So I deftly scaled my way across the narrow arm and leaped to a hanging beam.

Crack.

"!" I freaked a little as the beam gave away under my weight so I quickly scaled up the other beams before any of them fall off taking me with them. When I reached the final beam, I carefully peaked atop the edge of the platform half expecting to see another shadow person greeting me over there. I pulled myself up when I saw no one and instead I found yet another out of order override node. Great. If this goes on, I'll never be able to progress. The nodes are important for opening new paths such as unlocking doors or making bridges out of the blue cords so I feel more anxious everytime I find one that doesn't work. But once again, I felt lucky when I noticed that the door behind the node was slightly agar, so if I managed to pry it open the rest of the way, I should be able to carry on.

I barely moved to make the first step when I heard a thud and I quickly turned around to spot the shadow figure standing on the other end of the chamber. My breath hitched but I quickly remained my composure when I knew that what's separating me from that abomination was the large pit I had to jump over the arms to get across. Unless that thing was a good climber, there's no way it will be able to reach where I am, will it? Welp, that line of thinking just goes to show how little I know about ghosts.

The creep began elevating over the pit and started approaching me airborne.

"Motherfu-" I took that as my cue to make my escape quick. I shoved the tip of my spear into the door crack and grunted as I tried forcing it open in a panic. I was terrified to look behind but at least I managed to open the door a little bit more but still not enough. I gathered my courage to look behind me and found that thing steadily getting closer to the platform. Good, I still have time. Hopefully I'll manage to make use of it. I adjusted my body to the opposite direction and pushed the crack wilder, come on! Just a little bit more!

I heard another thud that sounded from a much closer distance, right behind me to be precise, that signaled that the newcomer had landed on the platform with me. Now I'm in deep trouble. I'm officially racing against time before I either slip away or get snatched from my ponytail.

"Open up already!" I practically screeched as I hysterically shook the spear to open up the stupid door. I could feel that thing getting close behind me already. And just when I felt like I was about to get dragged away by the entity, the crack finally opened enough for me to squeeze my ass through but I failed to realize it was just barely big enough for me to fit so, to my terror, I got stuck.

"Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!" I sputtered and then on impulse I turned my head towards the looming threat. Now the shadow was almost within arm's reach and I was forced with the chance to eye that thing upclose and personal. There was nothing on it that could be described. Even underneath the bright light of my Focus, it didn't do anything to make that entity seem more discernible. That further proved that those guys are no humans. What they can do, their physical appearance, they're all beyond human qualities. And now I'm face-to-face with one of them. If that thing got its hands on me, I'm done for.

With one final grunt, I managed to force myself through the crack before sharply turning around to find the shadow still there. However, it didn't make a move to follow me. Instead, I watched with shaky breaths as it slowly moved to the side and went out of sight. I warily poked my head through the crack to see where it has gone to but it had completely disappeared. So I retreated back inside before it changes its mind. I walked a few steps away into the next room and waited to calm my unsteady breathing and hysteric heart beats. Never have I felt this terrified in my whole life. Not even the machines had that effect on me. I'd take the fucking machines over those guys any day. I gotta get to that blasted core fast. While I still doubt the condition of the core would any be better than the rest of the cauldron, I can't call it quits. Turning back has become too dangerous at this point. At least I wanna make sure the core is available for use or not so that this shitty quest becomes worthwhile.

Speaking of shitty, the chamber I'm currently in is in an even more horrible mess than the rest. Literally every piece of machinery was broken down, small cracks covered the ground here and there and I can't touch anything without it spelling a small dust hurricane and the smell definitely didn't help. Even the red shrubs managed to find their way inside and the room was littered with them.

On instinct, I looked behind me to check if I was being followed by that freak. No, I'm still alone – for now. I lowered my head beneath a large metal beam and found a door on the far end of the room. It was a slide door that was open halfway through. At least I can fit through that one and won't have to pry it open like I did with the last one. You get used to relying on manual force to get things going when there's no electricity or any power source. Now that I mention it, there's not even a single hologram that could be seen anywhere. This place is entirely offline. I began walking towards the door warily not keeping my eyes off of my surroundings. I was so busy looking around that I almost ran into a shadow figure that was walking right in front of me.

"!" I silently freaked out before I dived for one of the shrubs and kept watch as that thing was heading for the opposite direction. Good thing it didn't notice me. It was walking off with its back facing me – or at least what I thought was the backside. I watched as it turned the corner behind that demolished carrier and I looked to see if there's anyone else besides it. Just when I thought the coast was clear and almost got up from my crouched position, I quickly ducked again when I spotted a shadow figure standing atop a high horizontal beam near the roof. How long has that thing been standing there? Did it see me when I walked in? If it did then it's not reacting to my presence. How long was it planning to wait until it has taken action against me if it saw me, that is? Amongst the shrubs, I turned my head around scanning the surrounding area through the plant stems to see if there are more of them. So far, I've had two sightings in this room alone but I don't know if it's from the same figure that teleported somehow or if there are more. And when I turned my eyes towards the shadow on the beam again, it was gone. I tried not to scream out a small 'huh?!' at the little surprise. It dawned on me that those guys can come and go at any moment as I avert my eyes. If they change positions randomly when I'm least aware, that would make me even more vulnerable.

I flinched as I spotted another figure standing a few feet across from me that was standing by a Shellwalker's crate. Just the sight of the crate made me feel nostalgic for fights with the machines again instead of these fuckeries. If I ever bail out of this hell on earth, I'll be more than ready to beat the shit out of five machines at once but please let me get out of here first. But if my estimates based on the layout of previous cauldrons are correct, I'm still halfway through to the core. And a gang of ghosts standing in the way between every room and the next is slowing down the process. In that case, I gotta be quick about it. Or at least as quick as I can be without getting caught. Who knows what those things would do to me if they see a dumbass lone human among them. It's all obvious now. They are the ones behind the Tenakth incident. They somehow, someway, managed to wipe out an entire group of aggressively trained warriors, let alone single ol' me. From what I can surmise, they possess their victims living or dead. And when they do take ahold of the living, they use them to kill the others. I don't stand a chance against those guys. I definitely don't. Stealth should be my best option in this case. Question is, am I actually hiding from them or can they sense me somehow? Can they see me hiding amongst the shrubs? So far, I'm perfectly fine where I am at which could be taken as a good sign that I haven't been spotted yet. But I gotta get out of my hiding place and preferably sooner than later. Luckily, the shrubs extend a bit further ahead towards the door on the other end. But I can't see much further as there's an elevated part of the ground blocking my view from where the exit is at.

So, after making a quick survey around, I carefully snuck my way across the shrubs hoping I wouldn't run into a shadow person standing in them. Those guys are capable of popping up anywhere it seems. I kept my eyes open as I tried not to breathe too loud while never daring to let my head go an inch above the shrubs. I moved up the slope then made a turn before continuing forward for a few steps until I have reached the end of the shrubs. Only a small distance separating me from the door yet it was the fine line between stealth and capture. I bit my lower lip and my eyes widened with anxiety as I was assessing the situation. My heart beats felt like they were gonna cause my ear drums to burst.

There was no one in front of me but when I looked behind me, I found a jinn standing a decent distance from me. Hold on, it wasn't there just a few seconds ago. If anything, it got closer to my location. I really hoped that it was standing there by chance and not following me. I could see its black head atop the shrubs from my hiding spot. Now that I have made it to the elevated part of the room, I could scan the entirety of it from a better perspective. And by scan, I used my Focus to check out the shadow – to make absolute sure that what I was looking at is no ordinary creature by any means. Sure enough, I was greeted by the sight of the no data screen.

"What are you?" I mouthed with furrowed eyebrows. Not even my Focus can see them, which kinda sucked because detecting them with the device would have helped me pinpoint their locations and decide the next course of action. But being forced to manage without it, I looked around the place to see if there're more shadows. There wasn't much to see from behind all that junk littering the whole place which is making the situation all the more dangerous with the amount of corners potentially hiding nasty surprises around them. I tried to peek around them as much as my angle allowed. I didn't even neglect checking the roof to see if one of them could be standing there. Even the one that was chilling nearby was nowhere to be seen.

That's when I have to make a serious decision: Should I keep a low profile or make a run for it?

It's a huge gamble considering the jinn that may or may not be around this or that corner. I don't know what might be waiting for me where I can't see. I gritted my teeth. God, how I wished my Focus could detect paranormal activity. But how can you analyze a being from a ghostly realm? Those things may be able to manifest into visible creatures but to the Focus, they're just undetectable apparitions.

I heaved a sigh through my nose before raising my head to see what else I can find from my hidden spot among the shrubs. I spotted a piece of broken structure that could work as good cover but it was halfway through to the door. I could still make it over there if I'm quick enough. I took one last look around me making sure to be absolutely thorough. I hoped that the coast was as clear as I deemed it and that I didn't miss anything. In fact, I haven't seen any jinn recently in the past few minutes. Every single one I've spotted previously is nowhere to be seen. I was wishing badly that they have gone for good and not just hiding from my sight. Maybe during the time I was hidden, they didn't know I was in the room with them.

"Okay." I whispered after a deep breath preparing for the small steps I'm about to take that may as well be the factor deciding whether I'll make it out safely or get caught. Out of pure paranoia, I gave the room one last examination. Come on, Talanah. Move your ass already. Nobody is there. Just go!

And so, I have finally left the safety of my hiding spot between the shrubs and quickly yet steadily snuck towards the structure while still in crouch position. On my way there, I took quick peaks at the room with the corner of my eye. Those bastards had better not show up the moment I decide to be exposed. At least I made my way behind the structure. There was a small crack in it through which I examined the entire room to see if I'm good to go again. There was no one out th – huh? Wait a second, I think I see one of them at the other end of the room near the door I came from. Though I wasn't really sure if that was a jinn or just an object's dark silhouette. My Focus light doesn't go that far. How can I be sure that's not the real thing standing over there? It kinda looked like a shadow figure but it was distorted and completely immobile. Maybe I could wait for a couple more minutes and see if that thing is going to do something. But a few minutes are too long to spend in my current position and that anything could happen in this timespan. On instinct, I looked behind, left, right and above me to see if one snuck up on me but I was still feeling extremely uncomfortable; like I was being watched. I looked through the crack again to find the thing at the far end of the room has moved a few feet to the side. Just what is that?! It seemed more like an object yet at the same time it looked suspiciously like a jinn from that distance.

Object or jinn? The question kept repeating itself in an annoying mantra. If it was a jinn then I wonder if it could see my flashlight. Even then there's no reaction whatsoever. If it was an object, then it could have been budged by the jinn. Still I can't take my sweet time. From what I have learnt from the jinn so far, they can render themselves invisible. Just because they disappeared, that doesn't mean they're gone. They could still be in the room with me for all I know. Maybe all the time I was here, I was being watched by them and I was none the wiser. They just choose to make themselves visible at certain times. That's a good incentive to stop hesitating and hightail it to the next room, no?

But before I could so much as twitch to make the next move, the weird object fell to the floor with a dull thud. Huh, so it wasn't a jinn. But what is it? The mysterious object slowly got dragged in my direction and I narrowed my eyes trying to discern what I'm looking at until it fell in the perimeter of my flashlight. I was prepared to see a piece of machinery or any scrap remains. I wasn't prepared for the sight that got revealed in front of me.

It was a dead goat. And not just a dead goat. The insides were emptied out and got replaced my human limps. But what got my breath really shaking was the sight of a human head impaled on the severed neck stump.

My heart felt like it wanted to burst through my chest and straight out the roof. I've seen my fair share of corpses in my line of work and never have I felt this shaken up. Just the sight of these mixed remains was too abnormal for me to stare at with a straight face. In fact, now that I think about it, I'm actually more terrified of what could have done this than the sight itself. The presence of a dead animal whose parts got swapped for human ones implies the extent those jinn could go to. It means that they won't just stop at killing the victims. They will also mutilate them and toy with the remains until they achieve that grotesque appearance. How they do that remains just a theory. All I could easily assume that they possess people like they did with the Tenakth and have them do the dirty work. And from what I have read from the note back at the outpost, it just reinforces the possibility.

So is this what I have been staring at for a whole minute? Not a jinn. Not a piece of junk. But mutilated animal and human remains mixed together. The human head was what made me think that was a jinn, but the lower deformed body also tricked me into thinking that was something else. That's why it reeked so bad when I first got in but how did I not notice it? Maybe it was hidden somewhere else, or maybe it's been standing there this whole time and I didn't pay attention. Lord knows what would have happened if I turned my head and saw that thing right next to me, floating in the air no less and that was the unnerving part; that thing has been standing upright all the time. It wasn't nailed to the wall, no – it was being kept in midair as if it was being held there by someone invisible, further supporting my belief that I shouldn't misinterpret the jinn's mere disappearance as them leaving the place. And I could bet having that body dragged straight to my location was no coincidence. It's like they wanted me to see it.

It was a warning.

This means they know I'm here.

The moment the thought popped into my head and it was like a kick to my ass that sent me flying towards the exit without hesitation this time. I easily slipped through the half open door and when I turned around to make sure I wasn't followed, I yelped as the deformed corpse suddenly became right where I was at literally a second ago. But this time, it moved. And the sight was just traumatizing to look at.

The back of the body was facing me. But the human head slowly turned 180 degrees to look at me with glowing red eyes and a disgustingly twisted grin.

"No…" I practically sobbed as the terror began to take its toll on me at the unbelievable sight. The severed human head attached to the goat's neck was smiling at me as if it was gloating at my condition. I didn't want that abomination following me around as I go in further. So I grabbed the door and forced it shut as much as I could. But since there weren't any handles, I had to grasp the edge of the door and dragged it to the side until it was just open enough for my hand to slip through but definitely not enough for the jinn's gross toy to do so.

BANG!

I gasped and jumped back as the corpse was suddenly flung to the door with a loud thud and I could see through the crack the head's eye glaring at me with the same sinister yet lifeless grin, as if whoever was moving that thing wanted to scare me until the last moment. Well, they'll be pleased to know their success.

I turned around trying not to weep from what I just saw. The jinn weren't fucking around at this point. They're gonna make sure I'll leave this place without my sanity if not my life. Even if I survive, will I ever be the same again or has my mentality taken a blow for the rest of my life?

No, I don't want to be traumatized. I can't. I'm a machine huntress for goodness sake. I'm supposed to be in tip top condition both physically and mentally. How will everyone rely on someone who's practically screwed in the head? And if that was to be the case, what am I gonna do then? Will I wake up screaming every night? Am I going to suffer PTSD flashbacks or perhaps start getting jumpy and begin imagining ghosts and moving corpses everywhere?

I shook my head as I began making my way to the next room. No no no no, I'm not allowing that. No matter what happens, I gotta be mentally fortified. Even if I piss in my own armor more than a few times, I can't allow myself to go bananas by a bunch of stupid jinn and their shitty corpse pranks.

"I can't let them feed on my fear. I'll show those black trash bags." I gritted from between my teeth and wiped my nose as I walked through the short twisted corridor and shoved past the door that lead to a wide room where there was a head of a Tallneck. Yeah, I've had a scenario like that before with another cauldron, albeit less miserable. Because while the previous Tallneck was fixed and now up and roaming its site, this one isn't going to go anywhere anytime soon. The massive round head was cracked and covered in dust and rotten weeds, most likely fell from the arm that used to hold it; now just as dysfunctional as everything else. The body was nowhere to be seen and I think based on past experience that it must be in the lower level, but of course I have no reason to go down there, don't I? I can't afford to waste time trying to fix a Tellneck that's obviously beyond repair, and even if I had access to the body somehow, I still have my jinn stalkers to worry about. But I don't get it; even if I could get this Tallneck to stand up on its feet, I have already uncovered the entire map so what good could this one have done?

Bang.

I jumped at the sudden noise and quickly went to take cover behind the declining Tallneck's head. I know when something makes that noise that I have to take cover behind the nearest surface and stay on maximum alert. I'm definitely not alone. Not that I was really alone in the first place buuuut… you know what I mean.

I hope that I'm hiding at the right angle. This room doesn't have any bushes in it so I have to choose carefully where I hide. That's why I sharply turned my head around me to see if I was being approached from behind before aiming my attention around the large head I'm hiding next to. There is a large round door that's already opened behind a dim override node. Good. I won't have to force my way through this one too. Let's just hope things stay that way.

I kept exhaling one shaky breath after the next in the form of small misty bursts out of my mouth. In the middle of all these scares, running, climbing and the adrenaline rush, it took me just now to notice that it's getting gradually colder here. As if the smelly stuffy air isn't bad enough to get into my lungs. Guess the possibility of passing out from horror isn't the only one I should keep in mind.

I kept my eyes open from behind the dead machine's head for whoever might have made that noise. Where could they be? They aren't just being invisible, are they? I scanned the area (with just my eyes, not the Focus) for any signs that could identify as being the source of what I had heard earlier but all I found was the filthy metal floor, random scrap pieces, ivy plants going anywhere they could reach and the dark door I'm supposed to head to.

Should I just make a beeline for the door and be over with it or would it be too risky to make a move without making sure the coast is clear first? Because I don't wanna spend an eternity thinking up my next move like I did with the previous room. Just remembering it made my chest sting with the horrible imagery of that accursed corpse flash through my head. Just the thought made me look behind me again to reassure myself that that terrifying pile of rotten flesh didn't magically cross through the door I had closed. Will I encounter something like that again? I sure hope not cuz seeing that thing almost made me cry. Anyway, I've made up my mind. I'll just head over there and – wait! There's someone over there!

A lone shadow slowly sliding across the floor straight towards the other end of the head I'm hiding behind. If that thing goes there, it will see me. So I carefully left my spot the moment the shadow headed over near the place I was at and ducked behind a broken piece of cauldron machinery, probably was part of a large arm or something. I didn't have the heart to peek behind the head to see where the shadow has gone off to. The risk of getting the hell spooked out of me if not caught was what compelled me to go for the opposite direction, only to stop behind a junk pile at the sight of another shadow standing at the other side of it. It didn't see me, did it? All I gotta do is stay crouched and hope it never does. I carefully peeked behind the pile only to find the shadow gone, instead another one popped up further ahead of me so I quickly took cover beneath an arc of broken machinery. As much as I'm glad that there are so many hiding spots available for me to find, it also made me worry as to how all these were formed in the first place. I know the cauldron was a mess to begin with but to see it falling apart like that is downright alarming.

I waited for the jinn to pass by me so I could move from this cover to the next. I looked left, right and up to see who else might be there. And when I looked behind me, I saw the shadow figure turning around a tall vertical metallic beam but never showed up on the other side of it. But a shorter one appeared from behind a thin pole that was impossible to completely hide anyone behind it. This room in particular has too many jinn appearances, doesn't it? I gotta wait for the right moment to leave my spot. But everytime a jinn disappears in one place, another appears somewhere else, which made me wonder whether some of them were the same teleporting jinn or they were all multiple individuals. But the answer didn't matter as much as the fact that I'm wasting time here.

Come on, fuck off already. I gritted my teeth as I waited for those freaks to vacate the room so I could finally get out of here as well. If they were any regular humans, I could have waited until they turned their backs to me if not pick a fight. But you can't tell between crotch and ass with those guys. I decided that if I stayed low as much as possible, I could crawl my way to the exit. Despite the risk, it's better than waiting here until who knows how long. The protruding structures along the way should keep me hidden as long as I stay behind them. So, after a careful peek around lest I get surprised by a jinn chilling around the corner, I headed over to the nearest large surface and turned around it. Good, no jinn on this side. When I peeked behind to see if I'm still alright, I saw a particularly tall jinn standing motionlessly in the middle of the room until it melted to the floor and vanished. It took all of me not to flinch at the sight and moved on. There was another figure that was poking its tiny head from above a pile of hanging cords but there was nothing beneath them, and when the dark oval head hid behind the cords, it was gone entirely. Just when I thought that was all, I spotted a weird black shape dashing right in front of me until it vanished in thin air. Seemingly the jinn can take on all shapes and sizes, not just humanoid ones. But I didn't care about such a piece of info as much as I did about sneaking my way out of this overcrowded chamber.

I quickly crouched between two overlapping metallic plates and watched with wide eyes a terrifyingly tall and skinny jinn moving around sporadically. Unlike the rest, this one had long pointy limps on which it was shuffling on and a round head on top. It walked through the wall of the next chamber and disappeared. Wait; don't tell me… that thing went right where I'm going? Hell no…

It would be bad news if that weird looking jinn had transferred to the chamber I'm already on my way to. I knew that even if that was the case, I had to move onward anyway. And when I do go over there, well – I'll see what I can do from there. Under situations like these, it's hard to come up with a plan besides staying out of sight and just reach my goal then get out. The key here is to execute said plan properly. And so I began to maneuver between this hiding spot and that one avoiding the jinn in the way until I have finally reached the door undetected. Or am I really? On my way there, I kept wondering whether I had already been seen unknowingly but the jinn were just ignoring me. For all I know, they might be aware of my presence but they decided to humor me while, all this time, I've been playing Hide and Seek with them like an idiot.

I shook the possibility out of my head. The last thing I need is to unnerve myself more than I already am. I would have been fine with getting caught if there was a way to fight those creeps off. But if I don't want to end up like the Tenakth, I'd better avoid encounters. Speaking of encounters, just as I was about to sneak out from behind my current hiding spot, which was none other than a demolished drone, I spotted a shadow figure and held back a groan when I saw where it was standing.

Right at the damn door where I'm supposed to go. And that thing is blocking the way.

I felt like being smart and came up with the deduction that that guy won't budge if I asked him nicely. So there was one other thing I could think of: a distraction! And so I pulled out a rock and just as I moved my arm back for a good throw, I froze.

What am I thinking?

Am I really going to distract a seemingly powerful entity with a stupid rock? What if it didn't fall for it? What if it could sense where the rock had come from and, instead of heading towards it, it would dash towards ME?

I shook my head. No, this is just ridiculous. They can't be that smart, can they? Sure they are capable of possessing your ass, going invisible, elevating, moving through walls and whatever ghosts usually do but are they prone to getting tricked? I was seriously tempted to throw the rock to get that thing out of my way. And so I pulled my arm back only to hesitate again right before the throw. This would be a huge gamble. And I know how gambling doesn't work under circumstances like these, especially when losing the gamble comes with horrible consequences considering my disadvantageous situation. I slowly lowered my arm and put the rock back to my pocket. This was a risk I could simply not take. If there's one horrible mistake I need to avoid, it's treating the jinn like they were human enemies. This is almost like trying to grab a machine in a chockhold.

I raised my head back to the fellow guarding the exit. What now? How long is it gonna stand there like an idiot with too much freetime? Five minutes? Two hours? I shivered at the thought of getting trapped here that long while struggling against mixed feelings of boredom and terror. At least I'm in a decent hiding spot where I'm surrounded by a pile of machinery junk shielding my back and left side. To my right was a wall covered in cracks and rotten vines. Hopefully, no one shows up over there. I might be mostly hidden where I am but there's not much escape routes. I turned my head back to the door hoping that the jinn had vanished by the time I look back at it like they usually do but it was still there. Just what is it waiting for? Is it expecting me? Does it know I'm here? Wonder what it's thinking about. Probably dreaming about the next victim to possess. I'll make sure it won't end up being me.

Come on! Go away already! I tried commanding it using my thoughts with furrowed brows and gritted teeth before I sighed in despair shaking my head. This situation is bad. I need to move on as soon as possible but there's a blasted shadow figure standing between me and the only exit. I can't waste time but I can't help it either. I can't just walk over there and shove the thing out the way. I snapped out of my dilemma just in time to see the shadow figure elevating to the ceiling and vanished through there.

Okay, that's a neat trick. Now that it had finally buzzed off, I took one last look at my surroundings before sneaking my way to the door. I wished so bad that I'd receive less nasty surprises from then on, but this is exactly the kind of wish you'd get the opposite of and that doesn't surprise me in the slightest. What I would wish for however is to make my way out of this alive and hope the wish comes true.