THE BORDER AND HUMAN

Henry exited the window, and time seemed to slow down, making Henry feel like he was floating in the air. With curiosity about what awaited him, Henry slowly opened his eyes.

"Waaah!" Henry shouted in shock at what he saw.

It turned out Henry had exited a large building that resembled his mansion. However, the building looked several times larger than the mansion, with windows and doors placed randomly. Additionally, the building wasn't standing on the ground but was floating in a space, surrounded on all sides by a view resembling an indigo-colored sky with unusually patterned clouds. Henry thought he would fall downward, into a bottomless void, passing through one of those uniquely patterned clouds.

Suddenly, a force pulled Henry toward the building's wall. "Thud!" Henry landed a bit roughly but not too hard. He quickly got up, surprised to find himself standing on the side of the wall as if it were solid ground or a floor, only tilted. Haidar also emerged from the window, "Thud!" Unlike Henry, Haidar landed safely on both feet.

A grasping hand followed them out of the window. The hand immediately targeted Haidar as the closest threat. However, before the hand could get closer to Haidar, "Bang!" A bullet was fired, cutting off the arm and causing it to fall onto the building's wall. The remaining part of the hand quickly retreated back into the window.

"Stubborn creature, hey Mr. Henry, are you okay?" asked Haidar as he walked closer to Henry.

"For now, I think I'm still in one piece," Henry replied, sighing.

Haidar noticed the scratches on Henry's face. He then placed his axe and revolver into the slots on his holster, took out a small bottle filled with clear liquid from a pouch in the holster, and handed it to Henry.

"Use this on your wound and try drinking a bit of it too," Haidar said as he handed over the bottle.

"Oh, you brought a lacerating fluid, but can it really be drunk?" Henry asked in surprise.

"No, this is a Trident product. It has other uses if consumed," Haidar explained.

Without further ado, Henry washed the wound on his face. He winced slightly in pain, but the wound slowly began to close. Following Haidar's advice, Henry also took a small sip of the liquid. At first, nothing happened, and the liquid tasted refreshing, like water. But suddenly, Henry felt his body grow heavy and hot, and his stomach churned as if it were being stirred.

"Hoek!" Henry vomited a clump of red liquid.

The red liquid Henry vomited moved in wavy motions, as if alive, and emitted a cold, smoky vapor. Henry's body also released a cold vapor that moved unnaturally, unlike normal steam or smoke that drifts with the wind. The clump of red liquid soon stopped moving and gradually faded away, as if dissolving.

"Haah… as I feared, your body has been poisoned by the miasma from the border for quite some time," Haidar said, sighing.

"What is this?" Henry asked in panic.

"Ecto material. It's a sign that your body has been contaminated by something from the border," Haidar explained.

"You mean like being possessed?" Henry asked.

"Possession is one possibility, but in your case, since you're not actively being controlled, it seems more like environmental contamination from the border," Haidar elaborated.

"We haven't been here that long. How are you still fine?" Henry asked.

"That's not entirely true. I'm also contaminated, but you've been exposed longer since you've been living in the mansion. There must be spots where the miasma leaked from the border and spread inside the mansion."

"But the ecto material is out now, right? Does that mean I'm safe?" Henry asked.

"Hmmm… Not exactly," Haidar replied.

"What do you mean?" Henry asked seriously.

"The fact that your sanity is still intact means you're safe for now. As I said, ecto material is just a sign that there's something or some material from the border in your body. Normally, with minor contamination, after drinking the liquid, your body would only feel slightly uncomfortable and release a small amount of vapor. But seeing how you vomited blood like that, it means your contamination is severe enough to affect your body from just a small sip," Haidar explained.

"So, what's going to happen to me?" Henry asked, a little scared.

Before answering Henry's question, Haidar took out his compass and opened it. He observed the blue needle and gestured for Henry to follow him as they walked.

"Lately, have you often felt angry for no reason, uncomfortable with light, and uneasy as if you're being watched, especially when sleeping?" Haidar asked.

"Yes, more or less since I moved into the mansion," Henry replied.

"That means you're already experiencing the effects. And from the start, I've wanted to ask you something," Haidar said.

"What is it?" Henry asked.

"Before I came, there were five strange murders in the mansion. So why did you choose to stay? Normally, people would leave immediately to find safety," Haidar questioned.

"There's a personal and urgent reason for that. Actually, I did consider renting another place temporarily until the issue was resolved. I even asked my daughter to stay at her dorm or maybe at my parents' house if she wanted to come home for the holidays," Henry explained.

"Then why didn't you go ahead and rent another place?" Haidar asked.

"Like you said, for some reason, whenever the sun rises, its light feels very disturbing. My body always feels heavy and weak, to the point where I chose to work from home. And it keeps echoing in my mind that I must stay in the mansion, that this is where I belong," Henry explained.

Haidar continued walking toward several windows and doors, with Henry following behind. However, they hadn't yet reached the location indicated by the blue needle on the compass.

"Do you feel more comfortable inside the mansion?" Haidar asked again.

"I wouldn't say it's exactly comfortable. It's more like a sense of obligation that needs to be fulfilled. I mean, Helena and I have trouble sleeping. At night, the atmosphere feels lively but also very cold. Sometimes, even the food tastes bland and unappetizing. But somehow, we feel it's better to stay in the mansion," Henry added.

"A mixed feeling that disturbs the residents, making them uneasy but also pressuring them to stay. Could the mansion be functioning as a farm to feed the intruders from the border?" Haidar muttered to himself.

Haidar and Henry continued their journey. The blue needle on the compass still pointed the way but hadn't yet locked onto a specific target location.

"You could say you're quite lucky to still be alive at this point," Haidar remarked.

"There have been deaths in my mansion, and you're saying I'm lucky?" Henry replied, slightly annoyed.

"That's not what I meant. If the misfortunes happening in your mansion are caused by creatures that can enter and control living humans, then our enemy is a formidable one," Haidar explained.

"There are creatures like that? The ones we're dealing with now are already troublesome enough," Henry said, frustrated.

"Just imagine if what we're facing could enter and control the people closest to us. Creatures like that could cause destruction far beyond just death," Haidar said.

Henry began to understand Haidar's point. Those who are possessed could live among society, and we wouldn't know what they're planning. Worst of all, the possessed might not even realize they're being controlled.

"Helena! What about her? Is there a chance she could be possessed?" Henry asked in panic.

"Possessing a human body isn't that easy, and when we were in the hall, I'm sure no one was possessed," Haidar assured him.

"And how can you be so sure?" Henry asked.

Haidar stopped walking, turned to face Henry, and showed him his compass.

"First, because of this compass. The red needle points to the nearest threat, and at the time in the hall, it wasn't pointing at anyone. Even if there are creatures capable of possessing living humans, their souls would clash, making it impossible for the creature to hide its presence from the red needle," Haidar explained.

"Then what about Cahya? You were caught by her, weren't you?" Henry asked doubtfully.

"As for her, she's already dead. Her corpse is much easier for creatures from the border to use, even the weakest ones," Haidar said as he turned away and continued walking.

Henry followed Haidar as they walked. Not long after, the two of them arrived at an open doorway with no door. All that could be seen was darkness and an endless void, like a corridor that swallowed light, with only pitch black visible.

Haidar checked the blue needle on his compass again. Whether he moved away, to the right, or to the left, the needle locked onto the doorway as its target. Haidar then put the compass back into his pocket. He took out his revolver "cling-clang" the sound of empty shells scattering to the ground. Haidar reloaded his revolver and placed it back into the slot on his holster. He took one last look at the dark doorway, but before jumping further into the abyss, he turned to Henry with a serious expression.

"Mr. Henry, I know you're worried about your wife. And if we're really going to face a creature that can possess and control living humans, I already have a plan to deal with it," Haidar said seriously.

"Alright, I'll follow your lead. Besides, I don't have many options," Henry replied, sighing.

"Once we meet Madam Helena, I'll make sure to check her immediately," Haidar said, holding the bottle of lacerating fluid.

"What will happen to someone who's possessed if they drink that?" Henry asked with a serious expression.

"If the creature possessing them isn't too strong, it'll be expelled right away. But if the creature is powerful, this fluid will provoke it, which might require me to get a little rough," Haidar answered coldly.

Henry fell silent for a moment, his worry for Helena evident. He knew he couldn't do much against these supernatural beings. From the very beginning, he had felt almost hopeless, as this was his first time dealing with something like this. Deep down, he still hoped that all of this was just a dream and that an alarm or Helena would wake him up soon.

Henry's uncertain thoughts came to an end as he gathered his courage once more. This time, he decided to fully trust Haidar. He thought the only way he could be useful to Helena was by not getting in Haidar's way and by trying his best to assist him—or at the very least, not be a burden. Henry nodded to Haidar as a sign of his readiness. Haidar nodded back, and the two of them prepared to jump.

"Mr. Henry, I'll jump first. Don't fall behind, and don't forget your surroundings—this isn't our world," Haidar said as he prepared himself, reminding Henry of the surreal environment around them.

"Yes, alright," Henry replied firmly.

Haidar got ready, gripping his silver axe, and without further hesitation, he leaped into the darkness of the doorway. Henry immediately followed, jumping without hesitation and disappearing into the abyss as well. In an instant, the walls filled with windows and doors fell into an eerie silence, with no active threats or life-threatening conflicts like those in the corridor.

However, as they moved further, the building revealed parts that Haidar and Henry hadn't seen before. The section they had seen earlier, before falling onto the wall, resembled Henry's mansion. But from a distance, on the other side, they could now see the skeletal face of a human. The building Haidar and Henry were in resembled a floating skull drifting through an otherworldly space. And in some parts of the strangely patterned clouds, large eyeballs appeared, with unusual pupils—circular holes surrounded by sharp fangs lining the edges, staring intently as if watching them.

To be continued...