Is all of this just my imagination?
I awoke again, and the clock neared nine o'clock. David was in the bathroom, getting ready.
My head throbbed, and memories from yesterday flooded my thoughts, compelling me to glance at the door. To my astonishment, the once-smooth door was now adorned with fingerprints.
A wave of fear washed over me for the first time. My mind raced with thoughts.
"The fingerprints on the door…" I stammered.
David, still brushing his teeth, mumbled, "I meant to tell you not to scratch the door,if it's damaged, we'll have to pay for it."
"It wasn't me," I replied, my voice trembling.
In other words, the scratching noise from last night wasn't external; it had come from within the room, right beside me.
Suppressing my escalating unease, I recounted the events from the previous night to David, who, despite his aversion to horror movies, was even more frightened than I.
Ding-ding.
A message flashed on my phone.
[Rules for the 5th floor.:]
[Avoid sharing a room with a woman with yellow hair.]
[Do not wear skirts.]
[Alcohol is strictly prohibited.]
[If you wake up in the middle of the night, do not look outside the door.]
[If you do look outside the door, go to the 4th floor.]
[Avoid looking in the mirror.]
The alarm blared, and David shot me an unsettling glance before swiftly retreating to the door.
My eyes fell to my attire: yellow hair and a brown skirt.
I had consumed alcohol before retiring the previous night, and upon awakening in the evening, I found myself fixated on the door.
It was as though these regulations had been tailored specifically for me.
"Anna, it's not that I lack compassion, but you can't stay in this room right now,"
David spoke with a fearful countenance, tightly gripping my arms and forcibly guiding me toward the exit.
His demeanor sent a shiver down my spine, and suddenly, I recalled what Vivian had confided in me the previous night.
Had she experienced something similar back then? The relentless cycle of karma, unfulfilled retribution.
I harnessed his strength to regain my footing, causing him to stumble backward.
The images from earlier reappeared in my mind, one by one, and with each step, my heart sank like lead.
Just as I reached the door, a sudden surge of force from behind propelled me, making me stagger and narrowly avoid colliding with the opposite wall.
David mercilessly slammed the door shut, leaving me in dumbfounded disbelief, my face a canvas of astonishment.
I leaned against the wall, dusting off my feet, and gazed down the corridor.
Vivian, seemingly materializing out of thin air, stood on the opposite side.
Silent, she was dressed in a white gown and pushed a garbage cart, her eyes devoid of life.
"Hello, may I assist you with room service?"
I raced down from the fifth floor, the elevator plunging at breakneck speed.
In a matter of seconds, I found myself standing in the heart of the fourth-floor corridor.
It was then that I truly grasped how, in the clutches of extreme fear, a person's heart can go into a wild frenzy.
Only moments ago, I had meticulously pressed the buttons for both the third and first floors. Yet, every time the elevator doors parted, it mysteriously returned to the fourth floor.
I stubbornly repeated this futile cycle, only to eventually concede defeat. It felt as though fate had chosen the fourth floor for me.
This level was peculiar;,apart from a faint light in the distance, an impenetrable darkness engulfed everything else. Despite being in a corridor, I could feel the unmistakable chill in the air.
With no other choice, I relied on the feeble glow from my phone to guide my way toward the source. It led me to a room from which the light emanated.
Inside, Vivian's voice was lively, mixed with Leon's hearty laughter. They seemed to be in high spirits.
My head throbbed, urging me to hurry into the room. It was warm and welcoming, devoid of any chill. When they noticed me, their smiles remained as bright as ever.
"Anna, where have you been? Why are you so late?" Leon asked, pushing a plate of bread towards me. "We saved some for you. Let's have a grand feast when David returns."
They continued as if nothing unusual had transpired.
Could it be that everything I had gone through earlier was merely a product of my imagination?
I couldn't help but ask, "Haven't you received any messages on your phones?"
David entered the room, casually shaking his phone. "Bro, with 8 million a minute in business, my phone buzzes all day."
No, it was evident that they had blatantly flouted the rules, and something had gone awry. I bit my lip, the sharp pain and metallic taste of blood jolting me into a heightened state of alertness.
I exchanged glances with a few people, their expressions fixed oddly on me.
"Anna, are you going through another episode?" Vivian hesitated briefly before speaking. "Some time ago, your mental state wasn't at its best, and we've been discussing it for a while.
We decided to take you on this trip today. Just a moment ago, you suddenly started crying and said we were all dead. I couldn't help but argue with you for a moment."
Her eyes were sincere, and her tone held a touch of supplication. "Please, don't scare me."
Is that correct?