Horror Game Developer: My games aren't that scary! Chapter 739: VILE - 303 [2]

Step—!

I didn’t move as the sound reached me from somewhere down the corridor. It seemed far away, though in a place like this, I wasn’t sure distance meant anything anymore.

Step!

Another footstep followed at the same steady pace.

’It isn’t in a hurry.’

I checked my watch.

[00:00]

’...I have six hours.’

My eyes moved to the door, which was still wide open, its handle dented from where it had smacked against the wall. Beyond it, the corridor stretched out in both directions beneath the quiet hum of the lights.

’Right, I have to survive for that long.’

That was how long the teachers roamed before the doors unlocked. I just had to wait until then, and I could walk out of here as if nothing had happened.

But six hours was a long time.

I stood up and made my way over to the door as quietly as I could. The first thing I needed to do was obvious, and after grabbing the handle, I carefully pulled on it. As of right now, I didn’t think leaving the room was a smart idea. Especially since I was unfamiliar with the layout. I wanted to remain here and assess my situation whilst planning a way to avoid whatever was waiting for me outside.

Having the door closed would at least make it harder for it to hear me.

Thus, as carefully and gently as possible, I tried to close the door.

But—

Creaaaaak!

A soft creaking sound followed its movement, and I immediately stopped pulling.

"——!"

’Wait, wait... I swear it never was like this before. How is this...?’

Was it my luck again!?

"..."

I kept my hand on the handle, waiting for the sound to fade. It seemed to carry further than it should have, lingering somewhere beyond the doorway even after the door had stopped moving.

Then there was only the hum of the lights.

The steps...

’I can’t hear them anymore.’

I listened for a little longer, keeping my eyes on the empty strip of corridor.

Just the silenc—

Step!

My grip tightened.

Step!

Closer.

Step!

Faster!

I immediately let go of the handle, moving behind the door as the footsteps reached the corridor outside.

My shoulder brushed against the wall, and I barely managed to pull my foot out of the way before the sound stopped.

"..."

I stood still.

The door was between me and the entrance, but there wasn’t much space behind it. I had to turn slightly to keep my chest from touching the wood, my eyes fixed on the narrow gap beside its edge.

Nothing moved through it.

For a few seconds, I could only hear the lights as they hummed softly in the air.

Then a hand reached around the door.

My lips pressed tightly together.

The fingers were long and slender, curling around the edge just above where I had been holding it. One settled against the wood, followed by another, their joints bending until the fingertips rested on my side of the door.

They extended almost as far as the handle.

"..."

For a moment, the hand remained there.

Then the door slowly moved towards me.

I shifted back as far as I could.

The gap narrowed, and with it, my view of the room. My back was already against the wall, but the door continued to move, its edge drawing closer to my chest.

’...A little more, and I’ll have to move.’

My left eyelid twitched as I reached for my nodes.

Nothing.

I kept my weight on the foot nearest the doorway, watching the fingers as the wood drew closer. They hadn’t tightened their grip. From what little I could see, it barely seemed to be using any strength at all.

The edge brushed against my shirt.

I tensed, preparing to push back—

It stopped.

"..."

I remained where I was.

The fingers were still resting against the wood. One of them shifted slightly, its tip dragging down until it touched the handle.

Right where my hand had been.

I watched it without moving.

Step.

Something dark moved beyond the gap.

My eyes shifted towards it, catching a glimpse of a long, dark neck. The light reached one side of it, showing thin folds in the skin as it extended upwards, out of the little space I could see through.

I followed it with my eyes.

Still no head.

Then the neck slowly tilted towards the door.

The folds gathered on one side, deepening as it bent, and I eased my head back before I could see anything else.

Getting a better look wasn’t worth showing it where I was.

Step.

The sound came from further inside the room.

My eyes returned to the hand.

Its fingers were still curled around the door.

"..."

Only after another moment did they loosen their grip, slowly slipping away from the edge. The last fingertip dragged against the wood as it disappeared.

I waited until it was gone before letting a little air out.

Step.

Another footstep followed from inside the room.

Step.

A little further away this time.

Sweat trickled down the side of my face, but I kept my hands where they were. There wasn’t enough room to wipe it away without brushing against the door.

Step.

The sound stopped somewhere near the desk.

"..."

I stared at the narrow gap.

A few seconds passed, and then a few more. I couldn’t hear it touching anything. There was no sound besides the hum of the lights, and without the footsteps, I had no way of knowing what it was doing.

’Is it looking around?’

It should’ve been.

But it had been standing there for a while now.

My eyes moved towards the gap again. I could get a better view if I leaned forward a little, though that would also put part of my face past the edge of the door.

I stayed where I was.

Step!

The sound finally returned.

Step. Step.

The footsteps moved further into the room, towards where the game pods were.

I waited for another before slowly letting some air out.

’Okay...’

It was moving away.

As long as I stayed here and didn’t make any noise, there was a chance it would leave. The sound of the door had brought it over, but it hadn’t seen me.

At least, I didn’t think it had.

Step.

I started to take another breath.

The footsteps stopped.

"..."

I kept my lips slightly parted, drawing in only a little air.

It could’ve been a coincidence.

From where I was standing, I could see a small strip of the corridor through the doorway. The lights were still on, and there didn’t seem to be anything outside. From time to time, they would flicker, briefly dimming the little space I could see.

The way out was right there.

I just had to move around the door.

’...And then what?’

Run?

I didn’t know what else was out there. For all I knew, I’d make it out of this room only to run straight into something else.

Staying here was still the better option.

Provided it hadn’t found me.

I waited for the footsteps to resume, keeping my breathing shallow.

The pause was getting longer.

Step.

My attention immediately shifted back to the room.

The sound had come from a little closer than before.

Step.

I stopped breathing.

There was a pause between the footsteps, long enough that I found myself listening for the next one rather than anything else.

Then—

Step.

My eyes settled on the edge of the door.

It was coming back.

I could tell from where the sound was coming from. It wasn’t moving towards the doorway, either. The footsteps were approaching from the other side of the door, where I couldn’t see anything.

I shifted my weight slightly.

There was still a chance it would walk past.

The next footstep came from directly in front of me.

"..."

I waited.

Only the door stood between us now.

For a few seconds, nothing happened. I kept my eyes on the edge, trying to work out whether it was facing the doorway or the wood in front of me.

Then something brushed against the other side.

Slowly.

The sound moved across the wood, stopping just short of the edge.

My gaze flicked towards the corridor.

I couldn’t afford to wait much longer.

A fingertip appeared around the door.

It was higher than before.

Almost level with my face.

I watched it clear the edge, expecting it to curl around the wood.

Instead, it continued into the gap, slowly drawing the door away from me as the creature shifted to take a look.

’Now!’

There was no time.

Step.

I moved.

Pushing the door away from me, I ducked past its edge and bolted through the entrance, keeping my head turned towards the corridor.

I didn’t look at it.

Even when the hinges creaked behind me, I kept my eyes ahead and ran.

The corridor stretched out in front of me, lined with closed doors on either side. Above, the lights flickered as I turned right, my footsteps ringing loudly against the floor.

’Where...?’

I couldn’t see an end.

Just more doors, with the same narrow windows beside them.

Step.

The sound came from the room I had just left.

My jaw tightened, but I kept moving.

For a brief moment, that was the only footstep I heard.

Then—

Step! Step!

The pace changed.

Step! Step! Step!

"Fuck."

I pushed myself faster.

The pauses between its footsteps were getting shorter, but the sound itself remained the same. Each step landed as evenly as it had when the teacher was walking around the room.

Only now, it was keeping up with me.

The lights flickered above, briefly dimming the corridor before it brightened again. I kept my eyes ahead, trying to find a turn, a staircase, anything that wasn’t another closed door.

There was nothing.

I was passing one of the classrooms when something caught my attention through the window.

Children.

Or, at least, their outlines.

They were sitting in rows, their small figures barely visible beyond the glass. All of them were facing the front of the classroom, sitting so still that it took me a moment to realize what I was looking at.

Not one of them turned towards the noise.

I couldn’t make out their faces.

Neither could I see what they were staring at.

Step! Step! Step!

I was already past the window by the time I pulled my gaze away.

’Don’t stop.’

There was no time to look.

I continued to run, passing one classroom after another without any idea of where I was going. Every time I thought I could see the end of the corridor, the lights flickered, and when they settled again, there were still more doors ahead.

I tried to feel my nodes.

Nothing.

My left eyelid twitched as I tried again, keeping my attention on the corridor.

The result remained the same.

"Shit."

I pulled my attention away from them.

The footsteps behind me were getting faster.

I could still hear them over my own, each one distinct enough that I no longer had to strain to pick it out. I scanned the doors to my left and right, looking through whatever windows I could.

I needed somewhere to go.

Running like this wasn’t going to—

Click.

My head turned.

The handle of a door to my left shifted downwards.

I was past it before it opened, but further ahead, another door moved slightly in its frame.

My expression changed.

’...That one too?’

I pushed myself harder, my feet striking the floor as the second door slowly started to open.

I kept close to the opposite wall as I passed it.

There was a narrow gap between the door and its frame, but I didn’t look through it. My attention was already on the next classroom, and then the one after that.

Closed.

Closed.

Another handle moved.

"Fuck...!"

I ran faster.

Behind me, the teacher’s footsteps continued without a pause.

For a little while, I stopped looking at the windows and focused entirely on putting some distance between us. The sounds were still there, still moving quickly, but after several more doors, they seemed a little further away.

Not much.

Just enough that I started looking again.

My eyes moved from left to right, catching brief glimpses of desks and dark interiors through the windows. I was moving too quickly to get a proper look, and I couldn’t afford to slow down.

Then I saw a room to my right.

The light above its door flickered as I approached, but through the window, I could make out a few desks.

I couldn’t see anyone inside.

My gaze lingered for another moment.

The nearest seats were empty.

’There.’

The corridor dimmed again.

I reached for the handle without stopping.

It turned beneath my hand, and I pushed the door open, slipping inside before the lights could settle.

Clank!

The moment I stepped into the room, I closed the door behind me, my chest rising and falling rapidly.

I kept hold of the handle, listening for the footsteps outside.

It took me a moment to notice the room.

There hadn’t been so much as the scrape of a chair when I came in.

Yet...

I slowly lifted my head.

Eyes...

A multitude of them.

They were all staring at me.

My heart stopped.