When Samuel absorbed the scene outside he was immediately struck with horror. The room itself was rather plain, with a door on the far side, flanked by rows of mortuary chambers identical to the one he had been confined in. These chambers lined two opposing walls, eight on each side. Opposite the door stood tables covered in various items, and lockers mounted on the wall.
What truly horrified Samuel was the mutilated, seemingly fresh human corpses scattered around the room. Among them was the body of a young child, appearing to be no older than twelve, which tugged at Samuel's emotions. If he could, he would have gasped and cried out.
"This is madness. What on earth happened here?" he thought, as he moved closer to the child and a woman who appeared to be embracing her. He hoped to find some sign of life.
First, he noticed that the child had no visible wounds but showed no signs of life either—no breathing, pale skin, and her eyes were wide open. The woman, however, bore several deadly wounds and appeared to have died trying to protect her child.
"She shielded her daughter until her last breath, but the child died anyway. But how?" Samuel wondered, puzzled by the situation.
He felt a strong urge to investigate further, suspecting that the circumstances of their deaths might hold some significance. However, the thought of sifting through the pile of recently deceased bodies made him feel sick, even in his disembodied state.
Turning his attention to the body of the terrifying imp, he found it lying a bit further ahead of the girl and her mother, sprawled on its back with its head facing the corpses. Samuel theorized that it had already killed the humans in the room before it died.
In front of the imp lay the kneeling corpse of a burly man, his arms dismembered, yet still gripping the throat of the dead imp.
"He must have tried to save these people but was too late. It looks like he choked the imp to death. But who killed him?" Samuel mused, noticing a dagger deeply embedded in the man's back.
"He was backstabbed, so the murderer might still be around. Maybe another imp?"
Suddenly, Samuel felt a surge of fear and uncertainty about leaving the relative safety of the mortuary chamber. He remembered the intense weakness and lightheadedness he had felt while in his body, unable to imagine running or fighting in his current frail state.
As he pondered his next move, disturbing cracking noises like bones breaking reached his ears from behind. Shifting his attention to the group of human corpses, he heard a soft gasp and saw the young girl, whom he had presumed dead, waking up.
She was still in her mother's arms, her expression a mix of sheer terror and sorrow, far from the peaceful and content look that a child cradled by her mother would usually be wearing.
"Mommy? Is that you?" the girl spoke, her voice trembling while she looked around.
"Mommy, I'm scared. It's dark..." she added "You are hurting me, please Mommy, stop." she continued while struggling to leave her mother's embrace.
Samuel realized that the girl, much like himself inside the chamber, probably couldn't see anything.
Initially, he couldn't understand how the mother could be hurting the girl when she was dead. Then it dawned on him.
"The mother must have died hugging her daughter tightly, and her body probably became stiff in that position, making her grip tighter."
"Mommy, why are you not answering? Please wake up!"
The girl's voice grew more frantic, and she began to wail and scream, as she noticed that her mother had died.
Samuel wanted to comfort her, as she was obviously in need of comfort but also because he feared that she might attract whoever had killed the burly man.
So, Samuel tried to get closer to the girl, hoping to calm her down somehow.
"Can you hear me?" He tried to say out loud. Nothing.
"Well, that was obvious..."
The girl continued crying, desperately trying to wake her mother while Samuel struggled to come up with another idea.
"I could try going back into my body and ask her to let me out!"
This seemed to be the obvious choice, but Samuel had some reservations.
Would the girl even listen to him?
Would she be afraid?
Would she even be able to hear him over her screams in the first place?
And wouldn't he expose himself to danger once he was out?
And lastly, what was wrong with the girl? He had checked on her, and she seemed dead, no, he was pretty sure she was dead.
Her eyes were open, she wasn't breathing and her skin was pale as a sheet of paper.
However, looking at her now, he noticed that her skin displayed a healthy rosy color and that she was gasping for air in between her weeping.
In the end, his overwhelming feeling of responsibility triumphed over his doubts and fears, especially considering that he rose from the dead, who says this girl couldn't as well?
So, he clenched his teeth and decided to do the right thing, feeling himself pulled back into his body. The now familiar cold surrounded him as he oriented himself and prepared what to say, no, yell, so she could hear him.
So, as loud as he can, without sounding threatening, Samuel yelled
"HEY KID, YOU SHOULD REALLY QUIET DOWN A BIT"
And sure enough, silence followed.
"she probably got spooked right?" Samuel thought.
"LISTEN, I AM STUCK INSIDE THIS REFRIGERATOR. I HID HERE FROM THE MONSTERS, BUT NOW I CAN'T GET OUT. IF YOU GET ME OUT OF HERE, I WILL PROTECT YOU AND HELP GET YOU OUT OF HERE TO SOMEWHERE SAFE. I PROMISE!"
After saying this, he remained silent, hoping she would trust him and be brave enough to open the chamber. Seconds passed, turning into minutes. Finally, he couldn't wait any longer and tried again.
"LISTEN, I HEARD WHAT HAPPENED OUTSIDE. I AM SORRY FOR WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU. I'M SURE THIS IS HARD FOR YOU, YOU MUST BE TERRIFIED. BUT YOU CAN TRUST ME, I CAN HELP!"
He knew he might not sound very trustworthy, but he had nothing else to offer. After waiting a while, he decided to check the situation outside again.
Leaving his body, Samuel exited the chamber and returned to the room. To his surprise, the girl was standing right outside his mortuary chamber, her face almost covered his entire field of vision when he left it. He didn't expect that and freaked out a bit.
After calming down, he noticed a few things. She still had tears on her face and looked scared, tired, and nervous. Her hands were fidgeting, and her entire body was trembling. Her eyes were wide open, likely from intense trauma.
She looked like she was contemplating whether she should open the chamber or hide.
Seeing the young girl in such a state, tugged at Samuels's heartstrings.
"No child should go through something like this. This is horribly, just so horrible"
Suddenly, lights shone through the window panel in the closed door. Someone must have turned on the lights in the room or corridor outside.
"Should I check whether someone is coming? Im basically a ghost, so I should be safe, right?"
Without further ado, he "zoomed" to the far end of the room and went through the door. Outside, he found himself in a corridor and after looking around, he realized that the building he was in was probably a hospital.
"as expected," Samuel thought "So I am in a hospital so it should only be a day or two, a couple at most since I have died... where exactly am I though? It shouldn't have been too far from home, considering that the ambulance usually brings you to the closest available hospital... Anyway, I'll figure that out later."
He shifted his attention to the other end of the corridor and noticed something. A small silhouette with a blade in its hand was slowly walking in his direction. It was still far away, but it looked just like the dead imp.
"Is that the backstabber?" He started to worry. The imp must have heard the terrified girl's cries and decided to check the area. The corridor was long, and the imp was searching the rooms along the way, so Samuel estimated they still had time to prepare. The burly man managed to kill one of them with his bare hands, so Samuel was confident he could kill one with the dagger wedged inside the burly man's back through a surprise attack.
So, he went right back inside and noticed that the brave girl had put her ear onto the mortuary chamber his body was in. He remembered his younger self and knew that he was definitely not nearly as brave as this girl when he was a young boy.
He was famously afraid of the dark, and his brother never stopped teasing him about it, that's where he got his nickname, and it was also the reason why he figured he would have to come up with one for his brother as well... what was it again? He just could not remember it.
Pushing away the random thought, Sam let himself be pulled back into his body. After orienting himself, he decided on what to say.
"Can you hear me?" He spoke quieter this time, as she was right outside the chamber and not crying or yelling anymore.
This time, he received an answer.
"Yes.." The girl replied, her voice barely audible.
"Good. I am Samuel, what is your Name?" He wanted to build some trust, so the girl would open the chamber faster and not be afraid of him.
"Sophie." Her tone was still barely audible, but Samuel could tell she was terrified.
"Nice to meet you, Sophie. Listen, it is pretty dark and cold here, can you let me out Please?
This time, she didn't answer right away. Samuel was sure that she was deciding on what to say or do.
She didn't reply for a while, but Samuel could hear her breathe deeply. Finally, she said, "Are you one of the bad guys?"
Samuel shook his head even though she couldn't see him.
"No, Sophie, I'm not one of the bad guys. I promise I will protect you and get us both out of here safely."
"All the grownups won't wake up, I'm scared." she said, louder this time, her tone distraught. She might start crying at any moment. He had to stop that from happening.
"They must have been hurt badly. I know it is hard Sophie, but you need to be brave now.
I will protect you, I promise.
The girl didn't hesitate this time. "I'm scared. Mommy and Daddy aren't waking up, and my brother is gone... Will you help me find him?" she asked, maybe finding strength and courage in the drive to find her brother.
"Okay, thank you, Mr... " the girl spoke, contemplating what to call Samuel.
"you can call me Sam." He said, trying to build trust.
Not long after, he heard noises, realizing she was trying to open the mortuary chamber. Just before he could finally stretch his legs, the girl said, "I will help you, Sam. I will open this and—"
The cold air rushed out as the door swung wide, and Samuel found himself staring into the dark, but he knew that Sophie was standing just behind the door.
Suddenly he was awkwardly aware that he was still naked, of course, she could not see him, as there was no light in the room, but he still felt uncomfortable.
"Curse this fucked up situation. How can things like this happen in the first place?" Samuel cursed in his mind.
Luckily, the door was behind his head, and it was dark, so the girl wouldn't have been able to see anything, even if it wasn't dark, she would only have seen the top of his head.
He put the blanket over his body swiftly none the less. He just felt better this way.
"Sophie, can you do me a favor and walk to the other side? I need to get out of here..."
Sophie hesitated for a moment before she walked towards the other row of mortuary chambers and closed her eyes.
Samuel slowly climbed out of the Mortuary chamber.
Finally realizing just how rigid his body had become. Oddly enough, though he did feel nauseous and weak, it wasn't as bad as he had imagined.
Anyway, as soon as he got out, he walked towards the side with the tables and Lockers, opening one of them to find some medical scrubs.
He was not disappointed as he found dark blue ones in the first locker he opened, so he put them on as fast as he could, removed the nametag from his toe, and said "Done."
While doing that, he realized that the room was way darker than what he remembered seeing when he was in his "Ghost-State" He was glad about that, as like this, the girl and himself, had been spared the gruesome sight of this bloodbath.
Sure, some things were visible in the dim light that was shining through the glass panel of the door, but that was barely enough to expose the true extent of the horrors in this room.
Anyway, once he put on the clothes and notified Sophie, she turned around. She was still hesitant and visibly more nervous than when he had been inside the chamber.
"Don't worry, I will not hurt you." He said, "I promised, I would help you find your brother and protect you, didn't I? Im a man of my word." He said, trying to appear as friendly as he could.
Even in the dim light, he could see that Sophie was visibly relieved.
"Thank you" she said quietly, but she remained standing in front of the Mortuary chambers, clearly keeping her distance.
"Don't worry about it. Grownups should protect children!" After saying this, he turned towards the burly man's body.
From what Sophie said earlier, he figured that he must have been her father.
"Was he your father?" Samuel asked as he was walking towards his back.
"He is. Will he wake up?" she asked, her voice trembling, he could tell that she was holding back tears
"They woke up before, why don't they now?" she added.
"They are not sleeping now, Sophie. I know it's hard, but they would want you to be safe now, of that much I am certain." He said.
Afterward, he added, "I will lay down your father so he can rest properly, so don't be surprised."
She simply nodded, tears gathering in her eyes.
Samuel swiftly pulled out the knife, and let the man lay on his side, he then closed the man's eyes.
"Alright Sophie, you have to listen to me now.
One of these Monsters is just outside, he is looking for us and is checking all the rooms.
Your father was strong, he took out one of them.
I am sure that with a bit of luck, I can defeat this one too.
However, you have to hide okay? The best place to hide would be the chamber I came out of. I'll take care of that imp and then we will leave this place and find your brother together. I am also looking for someone, we will find them together alright?"
Sophie was taken aback. She probably did not expect this turn of events. Taking a few steps back she said "No.. Do I have to? I don't want to go in there, it is scary. What if you don't come back? I will be stuck there!"
Samuel understood her reservations and thought she was pretty smart to consider such things at this age.
"You are right, but it's the only way. If the Imp attacks you, I can't guarantee that I will be able to defend you. So please, one more time, be brave Sophie. For your brother, and for your parents too."
Sophie looked terrified, but it didn't take long before her expression changed to one that had resolved herself to do whatever was necessary.
"Alright. But can you just close the door without locking it? Then I can still push it open if I have to."
Samuel thought about it and thought that it wasn't a terrible Idea.
"Alright then, we will do it this way. But do not come out until I tell you to!"
After the two decided on what to do, Sophie didn't hesitate any longer, despite her fear and doubts, the brave girl swiftly entered the mortuary chamber and looked worriedly at Samuel as he closed the door. Her life was in his hands now.
After closing the door, Samuel walked to the opposing row of mortuary chambers and sat on the ground in front of the wall between the door and the mortuary chambers.
When the doors opened, he would be covered by the door.
However, the reason why he sat down was different. He took a deep breath and...
"Great, now I can see my lifeless body again." Samuel was staring back at himself after he left his body. He was planning on doing some scouting, so he could find out what the Imp was doing.
Without further ado, he flew through the wall.
Once he arrived inside the corridor, the lights had turned out. he looked around but could not find the imp anywhere, so he focused on any potential noises.
After some time he could hear some clattering in one of the other rooms.
He flew along the corridor towards the noise's source, hoping to discover the Imp, and sure enough, he was greeted by the sight of the Imp searching a room seemingly frustrated due to a lack of results.
The Imp was taller than the dead one inside the mortuary but not by much.
His Fangs looked sharp and seemed rather savage, constantly hissing and grunting.
Not long after Samuel entered the room, the Imp decided it had seen enough and returned to the corridor.
"It seems rather stupid. I think I can do this!"
Once the Imp entered the corridor, the Lights turned back on.
"So these lights are automatic... that could come in handy. It is much better than the thought of these monsters being able to know how to turn on the lights themselves."
After this, Samuel tailed the Imp while it searched six other rooms. Inside these rooms, he saw some useful things he intended to take away later.
After he left the sixth room, Samuel mentally prepared himself for what was to come.
"I can do this!" Samuel resolved.
The imp was just a few steps away from the door when Samuel re-entered his body. His first concern was Sophie. He checked to ensure she was still hidden before he stood up, gripping the knife tightly. His heart raced as the door began to move, but the small gap created by its opening let in enough light to improve visibility.
The door opened slowly, effectively concealing Samuel from the imp's line of sight. He could hear its usual grunting and hissing along with its light footsteps. After a few tense moments, the imp came into Samuel's view. He knew it was now or never. With silent determination, Samuel approached the imp, raising the knife and bringing it down swiftly toward its neck. However, due to the imp's erratic movements, the knife plunged into its shoulder instead.
"SKREEEECH!" The imp let out a piercing scream, spinning around instantly. Samuel, still gripping the knife, inadvertently caused deeper wounds as he pulled it out. The creature's face twisted with rage, and it charged at Samuel without hesitation. He tried to kick it away, but the imp, surprisingly strong for its size, deflected his foot with ease, nearly toppling him.
Seeing the imp's smirk, Samuel realized the disparity in their strength. "Shit," he thought, as the imp closed in. No matter how many times he swung the knife, the imp dodged or blocked every attempt with unsettling speed and precision.
Desperation mounted in Samuel. He needed a new plan, but the imp was growing tired of the game. When Samuel attempted another kick to the imp's Head and swung his dagger downwards intending to slice into its neck the imp caught his arm, the imp effortlessly backhanded his kick with its empty hand, making him almost lose his balance, and wrested the dagger from his grip before he got even close to hitting its mark and hurled it aside.
Then, the Imp released a maniacal battle cry and attacked Samuel with its blade.
Samuel's eyes widened in horror as the imp's blade slashed across his chest, sending blood spurting and causing him to collapse in agony.
The imp, reveling in bloodlust, jumped onto the helpless Samuel and began to savagely attack Samuel. It discarded its blade and unsheathed a dagger from its primitive belt, stabbing and slashing with ruthless abandon.
"NO!" Samuel cried out
Samuel's cries of pain echoed through the room, but the imp's maniacal laughter drowned them out.
"I cant die like this!" Samuel thought, he wanted to find a way to survive, but he couldn't even complete his thought processes, as the pain inflicted upon him by the Imp was just too intense.
Each wound left Samuel weaker, the intense pain clouding his thoughts. Blood pooled around him, and the relentless sound of metal piercing flesh filled the air. Eventually, Samuel stopped moving, drifting in and out of consciousness as the imp continued its torment. His face was a mask of blood and tears, his throat slashed in multiple places.
"Help me..." he thought, desperate for salvation. "Someone, please..." But his prayers went unanswered. "I'm sorry..." His mind drifted to Ae-Sin, his uncle, cousins, and grandparents. He had wanted to find them, to hug them once more, but now, even after a second chance at life, he was being brutally murdered. He had overestimated his abilities and underestimated his enemy, failing to keep his promise.
The pain began to dull as he grew weaker, until...
"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Sophie's scream cut through the chaos.
She stood behind the imp, wielding the dead imp's dagger, which was now embedded in the creature's back. The imp grunted in pain before delivering a vicious backhand slap that sent Sophie crashing to the ground, her head bleeding.
"Mommy..." Sophie cried, calling for her mother. Samuel then heard the familiar sound of metal piercing flesh and a screeching scream, but this time it wasn't him. It was Sophie.
He wanted to help her but couldn't. He was dying, unable to move even a finger. He should have taken Sophie and fled instead of confronting the imp. Listening to her screams and the sound of her getting murdered felt just as terrible as what he had had to endure mere moments before.
Sophie's screams continued, and the imp's laughter was as maniacal as ever, savagely slashing and stabbing her. Her cries for help and pleas for the pain to stop filled the room.
Just like that, Samuel drew his last breath.
He was dead by all accounts.
However, moments later, his consciousness returned.
He felt that he was still within his body, though he felt that he had lost something when he died.
Something crucial.
It felt different than when he was alive. He couldn't feel anything at all. He couldn't even see anything.
He was just.. there.
He decided to try leaving his body again, as he was no longer plagued by the terrible pain that clouded his judgment.
It worked, he had left his body again, only this time, he no longer had a place to return to.
At least, that's what he thought. But then he saw the dead imp and had an idea. Without hesitation, he dove into the dead imp's body.
A few seconds later, his vision changed. His plan had worked.
After he found himself within the Imp's Body, he stood up, looking at the other Imp's back.
This time, he wouldn't waste his chance.
He picked up the Imp's short sword and with a swift motion, decapitated it. "DIE, YOU ROTTEN ANIMAL!" he screamed in his mind, as its head fell to the ground. Even in its last moments, it didn't realize how it died.