Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Chapter Soundtrack: Jouzai – Elfen Lied OST

Let’s Play

It possessed him, a sudden thought to play a game. So what better game to play than Hide and Seek, Alone? Sanghyuk grabbed a doll off the mantle place in his house. It was a beautiful doll with shiny reddish-brown ringlets, clear glass green eyes, full pink lips, flawless porcelain, and a pretty baby blue dress: a doll that he cannot remember seeing in the house before. He shrugged it off, for its significance is not great if he cannot remember it.

He went to the kitchen with it, pulling open the tub of rice to stuff the doll with. He couldn’t rip the doll open to stuff the rice in as the ritual said he should – the doll was made of porcelain, afterall. Hyuk accessed it, realizing that its glass eyes were removable. He dug his fingers into the right socket, poking the glass eyeball down into doll. The porcelain around the eye cracked with the force of his effort, but Hyuk didn’t care. While puncturing the hole, dear Hyuk managed to cut his thumb. He hissed in shock, cursing as he pulled his finger back and stuffed it in his mouth. After the throbbing stopped he returned to his work.   

Hyuk scooped a handful of rice into his palm and poured it down the eye socket, not realizing that he was getting his blood all over the rice and into the doll.

He plucked several strands of his hair and also deposited them in the hole, just as the ritual told him to. Did the game tell him to sew the rip close with red string? Well, it doesn’t matter, now for it would be impossible for him to sew a porcelain doll together! 

“I’ll name you Ha-Na.” he said, pointing at the now, utterly deformed doll.

He left it on the ground then and searched through the pantry to grab the jar of salt and a cup. With it, he filled the cup with a spoon full of salt and bottled water.

Satisfied with the mixture, he grabbed dear Ha-Na off the ground by her hair, causing the rice in her body to swish with movement. The boy trudged to the upstairs washroom with his water, doll, scissors, and jar of salt in hand. Once the wash basin was filled, he pulled Ha-Na up by the head again, dropping her into the wash basin.

Now, the preparations were done.

Let the game begin.

“Hyuk is ‘it’ first.” He said, pointing to himself, “Hyuk is ‘it’ first. Hyuk is ‘it’ first.”

He left Ha-Na in the bathroom then, going around the house and turning off all the lights and electronics before running to the closet he intends to hide in and placing the cup of salt water in there. He then stopped in the middle of the house, counting loudly.

“1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.”

He ran up the stairs, going to the bathroom, he pointed at Ha-Na. “I’ve found you, Ha-Na. I’ve found you, Ha-Na. I’ve found you, Ha-Na.”

He then grabbed his scissors from his back pocket, and stabbed it into her, cracking her porcelain and ripping her dress.

“You are ‘it’ now, Ha-Na. You are ‘it’ now, Ha-Na. You are ‘it’ now, Ha-Na.”

He quickly ran out of the bathroom and sprinted down the stairs, dashing into his closet and shutting the door. He quickly poured half the salt water into his mouth, wincing at how the salt burned his lips and tongue. He set the scissors on one side and his cup of water on the other side as he sat and waited.

And waited.

And waited. 

And suddenly, dear Hyuk heard a childish laugh and then it was followed by a loud crash.

No.

It couldn’t be.

Ha-Na couldn’t have started moving – she was a doll for God’s sake.

His heart took off in shock and his body froze in fear, but he believed that there was always a logical explanation to this. He knew he had to get up and investigate. He reached for his scissors.

They weren't there.

His heart dropped and he choked on his own breath, accidently swallowing some of his salt water.

What – he was certain that he left the scissors right here beside him.

He felt around, but he couldn’t feel the scissors. Now he knew something was off.  He opened the door to the closet, jogging to the bathroom with the salt in his mouth. He needed to end the game now, before something else goes funny.

But Ha-Na wasn't there.

The stupid doll was.

Not.

There.

He heard the TV turn on from down stairs.  What – how could the TV have –

And then all he heard were a couple words, all coming from different channels from the T.V, all forming:

Where.

Are.

You.

Hyuk’s heart stopped and his breath got caught in the back of his throat. He didn’t care anymore, he ran to his room, slamming the door shut and grabbing his cell phone, punching in HakYeon’s number clumsily and he swallowed the salt water.  

He pressed the phone to his ear, his hand trembling in fear. He strained his hearing, trying to see if Ha-Na was possibly coming: the only thing that he could hear were his harsh and raspy breath and his heart beating in his ears.

“Hello?” Hakyeon grumbled from the other side.

“Hyung,” Hyuk quietly whispered, “Hyung, you have to help me – I – I did something terribly wrong – there is a possessed doll – and I think it might – might – be –“

“Sanghyuk, its 3 am in the morning. You’re dreaming, go back to sleep.” Hakyeon muttered, before cutting the line.

“No – no!” Hyuk cried, pulling his phone from his ear and trying to re-dial – but it was to no avail. His phone wouldn’t turn on: it was completely black.

He heard a scraping as if metal was sliding against wood, and then,  

I'm.

Coming.

For.

You.

Hyuk bit his lip, holding back multiple cuss words – he couldn’t believe this worked, he couldn’t believe that he managed to summon a spirit into the doll. He needed to end the ritual; he needed to end the ritual now.

But he left his cup of salt water back in his hiding place, and he had swallowed the water in his mouth. He needed to go back to his hiding place, without running into Ha-Na. He got up, his cellphone still in his hand as he cautiously stepped to the door and slowly grabbed the handle, opening it slowly and quietly.

The house was dark; he could barely see anything and the moon provided no light. He couldn’t see anything, but he also couldn’t see the doll. So he booked it, pulling the door open and sprinting down the hall, but then the scraping of metal against wood increased, growing louder and louder and faster and faster and it was accompanied by laughter.

He didn’t dare look behind, knowing exactly what he would be met with. But then, something grabbed hold of his ankle: a cold mechanical touch followed by the scape of metal against wood, he foot flew out from underneath him, his body crashing into the ground, and his head slamming into the corner of the table. He fell limply to the ground, on the edge of consciousness as his vision swirled to black.

No – no he told himself, he couldn’t pass out not – not when Ha-Na was so close.

But it was too late, dear Hyuk closed his eyes, just as his phone went off, the caller ID: Cha Hakyeon. 

The TV switched channels again.

I.

Found.

You.