Due to the blinding light, I shut my eyes and when I opened them, I was in the same hallway but it looked like an aftermath of a tsunami with water everywhere. And I heard someone cry out in pain, instinctively I rushed to them and what I saw was something that can't be explained logically. In the midst of all destruction, stood a massive shadow like figure holding someone by their neck but the cry that came out was not of pain but of rage. And in an instant the shadow merged with that person and suddenly I was thrown out of it, the last thing I saw was the person's eyes glowing red like rubies in the dark and the pain and helplessness in it was simply heartbreaking.
When I looked around, he still lying in the floor and I was back like I never left. And when I looked at him, his face scrunched up like he's in unbearable pain and as I was about to wake him when his eyes fluttered open and those brown eyes were unfocused and teary made my heart beat faster.
"Alice, are you ok"
And that voice made me focus on the surrounding. I nodded and gently lifted him up and let him lean on me. There's still dried blood on him but he looked fine and I was about ask him what happened to him when he pressed his fingers against my lips, I quieted down. Suddenly we heard many footsteps moving hastily outside the door.
We stood still and suddenly the footsteps stopped. We waited for some minutes when Sean opened the door. It was still dark but the heaviness in the air was nowhere now, I don't what came over me but I grabbed his hands and rushed to the room I saw earlier. As we came near the room its door suddenly opened by itself. I was stunned but he wasn't, he suddenly rushed into the room and picked up something.
I went near him and saw a photo of a couple of friends near a place like a shrine. He was engrossed in the picture when he stood up suddenly and almost made me fall. Fortunately, I didn't because he caught me by the last second.
"I'm so sorry Alice. It may seem weird but there's something I need to tell you. I explain it to you later but for now just trust me and follow me"
"I know it's a lot to ask for but--"
"Ok. There's something strange going on here but you seem to know about it, right"
"Yes, but I-"
"Then I'll trust you to keep me safe and in loop"
"Ok, sure I'll will keep you safe"
"That's settled for now. How are we going back, because both my friends must be worried sick about me"
"I think I can take you out. It's just I don't remember clearly but I'll figure it out"
"Sure, lead the way Sean, I'll follow behind you"
We were walking for quite sometime when he suddenly stopped. He hesitated before asking.
"Well, if you don't mind can you give me your hands for holding, because it's easy to get lost in the dark."
Without replying I slowly slid my hands in his and held it tightly. We managed to make it out of the dark in silence. There're a million things that's going through my mind but for now I trusted this person in front of me. And one thing for sure, I'll be always beside him no matter what.
We walked through the hallways when we heard a commotion, we turned around to run when I heard someone calling out my name and without second thoughts I ran towards it. I would definitely recognize my friend's voices and then it began to fade away in distance and I tried to run towards them when Sean caught up to me and then we took a turn and stood in front of a wall with some kind of strange murals.
We turned to leave when all of a sudden, a flash went off. Instinctively, I turned towards the opposite side when I saw something written in an entirely different language. Another flash went off, but this time it was Sean who held an old camera and was almost pale and sweating profusely. Before I could ask him anything, we were interrupted by the commotion on the other side, and when we looked back, the wall was gone replaced with a door. He strove forward and opened the door, and then it all got too loud and without asking he placed his hands on my ears.
Soon I heard Rosie shouting my name and we found our way towards them. As we got closer, they pulled me into a group hug and Rosie almost broke down while Vanessa consoled her. In this chaos I totally forgot hoe I kept holding Sean's hands and Rosie was the first to notice it. When she raised an eyebrow, I realized that I'm holding hands and I introduced them to each other. It was midnight when all the chaos settled down, and we returned to our rooms.
He seemed to be in a hurry, and I let him go. After that, we went to Rosie's room and talked about what happened during the night.
Sean's P.O.V:
I lay in my bed with my diary and the ring. Today was a roller-coaster ride. I found some clues, but they all gave me more questions than answers.
I was so lost in thought when the diary began to shake, almost startling me. When I looked at it, the ring was nowhere to be seen; instead, a chip was lying there in its place. I sat up straight and opened my holographic system and inserted it. Then there were several photos and videos that were never seen before inside it.
Also, I picked up the camera and began to search through the photos; they were filled with nature and wildlife photos, sometimes of a woman. It seemed like a couple's camera. But then it clicked, this was the previously dead couples, they were one of the few people who died first. At that time, it was ruled out as accidental deaths. But now that I think of it, it really was bizarre as they were discovered drowned on the beach when there were several photos of them diving in the sea. As I was lost in thought, my phone lit up.