RED CORRIDOR

"Aaaargh…" Henry screamed as he slid down the slippery, bouncy corridor.

Without wasting any time, the end of the corridor appeared, and Haidar and Henry landed on the floor. It was as if they had been expelled from the mouth of the corridor in the ceiling. The mouth of the corridor then closed and shrank, disappearing. Haidar and Henry looked around and found themselves in an abandoned corridor. The floor was dirty, the walls were covered in black fluid and moss, and on one side of the wall, there were windows with old, worn newspapers taped over them, covering all the glass.

The atmosphere of the corridor was eerily quiet, illuminated by dim red ceiling lights that added a chilling air, making one's spirit uneasy. There were only two paths to choose from, both extensions of the corridor that seemed to have no end, and there were no doors in the area where they stood.

"As I remember, this corridor wasn't here," Henry said, confused.

"Kling-klang!" An empty bullet shell dropped to the floor.

"Of course you don't remember, because we're not in your mansion now," Haidar said while reloading his revolver.

"What do you mean?" Henry asked seriously.

"Welcome, Mr. Henry, to the place where the neighbors of your house, who are not human, gather," Haidar said, striking a welcoming pose with a cold smile.

"Hah? What are you talking about?" Henry replied, irritated.

"Buana Antara, Limbo, Preta Realm—this place has many names, but it's probably more often called The Border," Haidar said as he walked away from Henry, his back turned.

Haidar's words and the situation they were facing made Henry angry. He didn't want to accept this absurdity, but he remembered what had happened in the hall and the fact that Helena had now been taken by a creature he had never seen before. He knelt down, feeling weak from all these unfamiliar experiences. What he had long denied and thought of as a joke had now presented itself in a very harsh way.

"What are you doing, Mr. Henry?" Haidar asked, looking at him.

"All of this is too strange and confusing. I jumped here without thinking, chasing after Helena, but can we even get out ourselves?" Henry said, looking at Haidar.

"If Mr. Henry were alone, it might be impossible, but if you're with me, it seems like it won't be a problem," Haidar said calmly, glancing at his compass.

"Why are you so calm?" Henry asked, puzzled.

"Experience, perhaps. And as for Madam Helena, it seems she'll be fine if we move quickly," Haidar replied, tucking the compass into his pants pocket.

Henry stood up and walked toward Haidar.

"Are you sure?" Henry asked seriously.

"Just intuition, but looking at what happened in the hall, somehow it feels off," Haidar said, his expression showing he was deep in thought.

"Considering what happened in the hall and what you did, who exactly are you?" Henry asked seriously.

"I'm just a private investigator. This way, Mr. Henry," Haidar said with a cold smile, continuing down the corridor.

Henry followed Haidar behind him. After walking for some time, the surroundings looked so similar that they felt like they were walking in place throughout the corridor. Henry looked behind him, unable to tell if they were moving away from where they had been, and when he looked ahead, the end of the corridor was still not in sight.

"Are you sure we're on the right path?" Henry asked.

"Yes, I'm sure," Haidar answered calmly.

"Well, if you're confident," Henry said, his tone now more calm.

"Schlurk-schlurk." In the middle of their walk, Henry vaguely felt as though there were additional footsteps approaching, but unlike the sound of shoes, which Henry and Haidar's steps made, these footsteps seemed like bare feet stepping on something wet and sticky.

"Schlurk-schlurk." Henry felt disturbed and stopped. He intended to turn around and look, but the extra footsteps immediately stopped. Conflicted in his mind, Henry decided against looking back and kept walking.

"Schlurk-schlurk." A few steps after Henry started walking again, the additional footsteps returned, sounding very close. Henry, with fear, forced himself to turn around, on alert, anxiously trying to confirm what was following him.

"HAH!" Henry shouted to muster his courage as he turned around.

However, he found nothing except the long corridor they had passed, which was empty and seemed endless. But there was a feeling that something else was present here besides him and Haidar. Henry feared that whatever was here might be the same creature that attacked them in the hall.

On the other hand, Haidar, who noticed Henry's behavior, immediately opened his compass. He observed the red needle shaking, pointing at Henry, while the blue needle pointed in the opposite direction. Haidar readied himself, preparing his revolver, and vigilantly scanned their surroundings.

"Did you hear that?" Henry asked Haidar.

"Faintly," Haidar answered, nodding while staying alert.

"Do you know what it is?" Henry asked, his voice trembling as he walked closer to Haidar.

"Schlurk-schlurk." Just as Henry started walking, the extra footsteps returned. With fear, Henry immediately stopped moving, and the footsteps stopped too. Haidar's gaze sharpened, focusing on the floor where Henry stood.

"Ah, I hear it clearly now, and I know what it is," Haidar answered seriously.

"Did you see the creature?" Henry asked, frustrated with their situation.

Without saying much, Haidar pointed to the floor next to where Henry stood. Henry was shocked to see, on both his right and left sides, a red puddle forming the shape of a pair of footprints. Henry took a cautious step forward.

"Schlurk-schlurk." The red puddles in the shape of footprints disappeared as if absorbed into the floor, only to reappear suddenly in alignment with Henry's feet. The reappearance of the red puddles made it clear that it was as if someone had walked, leaving tracks on the floor. Henry felt a surge of panic and looked at Haidar.

"Run," Haidar whispered.

"Splatt!" Haidar was startled as a red stain in the shape of a smiling woman's face suddenly appeared on the wall beside him. From the area that resembled the mouth, red liquid flowed, and her eyes were deep black holes. Without saying anything further, Haidar and Henry immediately ran back in the direction they had come from. "Splatt! - Splatt! - Splatt!" No sooner had they begun running than red stains shaped like handprints appeared at various points along the corridor, as if they were being chased.

"Splatt!" A handprint stain appeared on the wall beside Haidar. "Chlurrrk," suddenly, a long, thin hand wrapped in red liquid with sharp claws emerged, quickly reaching out to claw Haidar's head. With swift reflexes, Haidar ducked, avoiding the claws as they passed over his head, while Henry also tried to move away, keeping his distance from the hand. "Splatt!" Another red stain appeared on the ceiling above Henry. "Chlurrrk," just like the one that attacked Haidar, a long hand emerged, targeting Henry's head, which he didn't notice.

Seeing the hand on the ceiling and realizing the danger, Haidar quickly aimed and fired. "Bang!" A bullet hit the clawed hand, tearing it in the middle of the arm, severing it. Henry, now aware of the threat above, tried to avoid the falling part of the severed hand.

Henry and Haidar ran with caution, the red handprints continued to appear more frequently, and sharp-clawed hands emerged like waves, chasing them. Two hands appeared at Henry's feet, grabbing him and causing him to fall forward, unable to move due to the grip. "Bang! Bang!" Haidar fired at the hands, severing them and freeing Henry, who got up again.

"Quick, they won't stop yet," Haidar warned, staying alert.

"I know that too," Henry replied, trying to get up.

"Splatt!-Chlurrrk!" Before Haidar and Henry could run, two more hands attacked from above, dropping from the ceiling. Haidar immediately pushed Henry and leaped back to avoid the attack. "Thud!" The hands slammed into the floor, failing to hit their targets. Haidar quickly put his revolver back in its holster and drew an axe instead. "Chop!" He swung the axe, severing one hand from the arm that was still attached to the ceiling. But as Haidar tried to attack the other hand, it reacted, grabbing the handle of the axe and stopping his strike.

"Tch, damn," Haidar muttered.

The hand gripped Haidar firmly, preventing him from using the axe. "Splatt!-Splatt!-Splatt!" Several red stains appeared around Haidar. Realizing the impending danger, Haidar quickly drew his revolver, pressed the barrel against the hand holding the axe handle, and fired. "Bang!" Haidar shot the hand and yanked the axe free, causing the hand to tear and sever. He quickly moved away from his position, avoiding the other grasping hands before they could strike.

Henry quickly stood up to avoid a potential attack and continued running toward the beginning, followed by Haidar. The wave of emerging hands still chased them. After running for a while, something different appeared in the corridor ahead. A window, open and letting light pour in through the gap. Haidar quickly holstered his revolver and pulled out his compass. He looked at the compass, focusing on the blue needle, which made his expression light up with joy.

"The exit is through that window," Haidar said.

"Really, if that's the case— Hah!" Henry said, only to be startled.

"Splatt!-Chlurrrk!" Several grabbing hands appeared in front of them, ready to seize and claw, trying to block their path toward the window exit. The wave of hands behind them, though slower, was steadily closing the gap.

"Damn, we're trapped," Henry muttered angrily.

"Get ready, Mr. Henry," Haidar said, putting his compass back in his pocket and pulling out a long object, resembling a pen, from one of his holster pockets.

"A portable syringe? What are you trying to do?" Henry asked.

"We're going through those hands," Haidar said seriously, injecting the portable syringe into his neck.

Whatever Haidar injected into his neck, he pulled out the syringe and tossed it away. Haidar took a ready stance, gripping his axe tightly with both hands, taking a deep breath, and showing a serious expression.

"Make sure you follow me, Mr. Henry. Don't fall behind or stray too far," Haidar warned.

"Yeah, focus on what you're doing. I won't stop running even if I'm hurt," Henry replied.

"CHARGE!" Haidar shouted.

Haidar and Henry charged forward. Several grabbing hands emerged to block their path. "Slash!" Haidar swiftly cut through the hands, not pausing, allowing them to keep running forward. No matter where the hands appeared, Haidar responded with fatal strikes, cutting them down like weeds in a field. A hand emerged from the side, and Haidar grabbed its wrist. He clamped down on the hand and immediately cut it off like a butcher slicing meat in a shop. Red liquid splattered on the floor and walls, making the ground slippery for Henry and forcing him to pull back slightly from Haidar. Suddenly, a hand emerged, attacking and successfully slashing Henry's face.

"Aack!!" Henry screamed in pain.

"Mr. Henry!!" Haidar said while cutting the hand that attacked Henry.

"It's no problem," Henry said while holding his injured face.

The two of them continued to break through the gripping hands. "Slash!" Haidar's final slash indicated they had managed to overcome most of the obstacles on their way to the window, without hesitation or looking around, they focused on running toward the exit.

"Mr. Henry, whatever you see, don't hesitate to jump out the window," Haidar warned Henry.

"Yes, I will follow your advice," Henry replied.

They were almost at the window, their spirits rising, and they increased their running speed, making them a little too careless. "Splatt!-Chlurrrk!" A hand appeared from the side and grabbed Haidar's arm, stopping him from moving. Henry, shocked, stopped running and looked at Haidar to see what had happened to him.

"DO NOT STOP!" Haidar yelled.

Hearing that, Henry turned around and immediately started running again toward the window. When Henry reached the edge of the window before jumping, he remembered Haidar's words to not care about what he saw. So, Henry closed his eyes, gathered his courage, and prepared to jump. "Splatt!-Chlurrrk!" As Henry focused on jumping, he became distracted, and a hand grabbed his head from behind. Henry was startled, feeling like his life would end because the hand had caught him.

"Slash!" Haidar cut the gripping hand, then quickly realized what had happened to Henry. Without hesitation, Haidar took out his revolver, aimed at the hand gripping Henry, and fired. "Bang! Bang!" Two bullets shot out, aiming at the gripping hand. One bullet pierced the upper arm, severing it from the part attached to the wall behind Henry. The second bullet pierced the lower arm near the wrist joint, leaving the part still gripping Henry's head.

"JUMP!" Haidar yelled.

"Haaah!" Henry screamed as he shoved away the remaining hand gripping his head and prepared to leap.

Henry jumped out through the window while continuing to scream, and eventually, his entire body disappeared from the corridor. Haidar also ran toward the window, grabbed the window frame, and jumped out, following Henry.

Immediately, the corridor became empty and silent. Far from the window, the end of the corridor remained out of sight, but gradually, the distant area seemed to grow darker. One by one, the red lights that illuminated the corridor turned off, until the area became completely dark, leaving only one light that shone from the window where Haidar and Henry had exited. Faintly, a human silhouette could be seen hiding in the darkness near the window.

To be continued.