Her eyes saw light, her ears heard a whisper accompanied by a loving caress. So sweet, so kind, so loving… familiar...

However... she... was... suffocating...

Something was pressing upon her neck, filling up her lungs like water. She should thrash, scream, fight to break out of this embrace.

She should have been terrified, but her body was limp, feeling as if it was all meant to be, as the unsuitable feeling of security washed over her.

A lovely pleasurable feeling as she felt her oxygen being cut off, and lightheadedness set in, wishing it could last forever

Whisper spoke into her ears, in a voice that seemed so familiar but still from a person she had never met spoke.

“Ventis…. child…. you have... a lot to do... world so full….”

She was drowning

Carole jerked her head upwards from her desk, gasping and clutching her chest, sweat dripping from her brow.

Why did she feel on the verge of a panic attack?

Wait... what was her dream about? She could not... remember...

After spending a quarter of an hour to calm down, Carole looked up at the clock in her room. It was 7 pm... Did she fall asleep? She looked down at her desk and saw the computer results she has been grading and revising. Carole released a sigh and rubbed her temple. Her sleep difficulties must catch up to her at this point. With that unexpected nap, she might need a lot of extra help in falling asleep properly tonight.

While Carole resisted the allure of the obvious answer of alcohol, she looked down at her cell phone. A thing she had for 10 years now, slow, devoid of the newest features.

What would she need those for, anyway? She has a phone to make calls. What else should she use it for?

A lot of her contacts had been long since deleted by her. She had cut out most of those wild associates from her life at this point. Or more, they got sick of her. She could not have her old guardians’ number, even if she could find them again. Even when she was regarded eventually as useless, she was still disallowed from contacting them. It was dumb rule for angels, and awful to someone like her who could still remember her moms so clearly.

With the exception of one name and number she could not bring herself to delete was on her phone. The phone was bare.

No calls.

Carole let out a sigh. She needed something to drink. She waited until it was 10 pm before she got out of her bedroom for a little nightly stroll.

She did not have a curfew in place. Most likely all that would be in the halls that night were cleaners and a few nightly staff. She thankfully did not have any big encounters from anyone nor anything minutes into her walk. The only sound she even heard was her footsteps, the taps of her cane, and her breathing.

Unsettling overall atmosphere yet she did feel enjoyment from this silence. Usually, the world is a noise-filled place, never this tranquil and at peace.

However, that calm, interrupted by a thump and crash, swiftly dissipated, much to her annoyance.

Carole froze as the sounds seemed to come from somewhere close to her. It was coming from the door nearby.

While attempting to slow down her breathing, she reached into her pockets and pulled out the blade she carried on her. A minor item for protection, that someone as vulnerable as her needed.

Holding in her breath, she cautiously creaked open the door and her eyes scanned the scene through the crack.

To her relief and surprise, it was Erna standing in what appears to be a library with a shattered vase he was trying to put back together in his pyjamas.

Carole debated whether to interfere or just leave him be, but Erna began walking towards the door she was peeking through, most likely to throw out the shattered vase. Carole decided to get this over with, so took the initiative and flung the door open, startling the teen.

“What in the hell!” He yelps, falling on to his backside

“Good night Erna,” Carole announced flatly

Erna crossed his arms hurriedly across his chest with a look of great annoyance on his face.

“Don’t you dare tell anyone I was here Mrs., I was just trying to get something to read before bed, whoever messed with that vase was not me,” he growled

Carole raised her hand, showing she had no desire to do or say anything.

“Don’t worry, I have no desire for any of that,” she paused for a bit, noticing the boy seemed more distraught than annoyed.

Although it was not the same thing, she could somewhat relate to his annoyance.

“It’s all right,” she looked up at the slightly taller teen, “I care very little about things like this."

Erna looked at her in confusion, not quite getting what she meant before understanding but still trying to put on a pompous show.

“Whatever, I have better things to do anyway,” he said

He picked up his book and threw away the vase pieces into a bin nearby and stomped away back to wherever his room was.

Teens are so volatile.

She shook her head and decided to just sit and read meanwhile. The atmosphere is alright; it was bright lit enough, so overall an excellent place to read the night away.

Thus she browsed through the heavily laden shelves until she came across a novel of her interest, picked mostly from the corny brightly coloured cover of a muscle-bound hero.

She didn’t know how long it was. Maybe it was by the 6th book of the Xander’s Crystal curse sage when she heard... scratching and scraping.

The sound gradually grew louder and louder, whilst her heart pumped more furiously in her chest. She can either go offensive or defensive, but with no knowledge of what was coming, she looked around the library for somewhere, anywhere to hide.

The shelves are too narrow.

Behind the tables, too obvious.

Where can she hide?

The scraping and scratching grew louder and louder, and it was coming near both doors.

Finally, she found somewhere squeezing herself under the couch. Despite the pain from her braced back and legs sending sparks blinding her, causing her to squeak out with pain, she got herself under the draped couches, holding her cane to her side.

She finally gasped out with pain, feeling her eyes welling up with tears at the hasty movement. But before she could focus on the awful feeling, she heard the door open.

There, she saw, entering her field of vision, pale, bare, gnarled feet.

Those feet were not from a human and for contrast, another set of feet entered the scene, this time they were a pair of rather expensive-looking leather shoes with silver buckles followed by another set of red heels covered in sequins.

Carole kept her breath still as her ears picked up the conversation between the two, hopefully, human individuals.

“Why is this thing wandering out like this, anyway?”

“I’m not exactly sure. Maybe this smoke still has some human left in them?”

“Highly doubt it, but honestly they should be too terrified of light to even think of-”

Carole listened carefully. One voice was gruff and harsh, while the other was softer but more annoyed.

Smokes….

Is that what they called that pale creature?

“We still need more regardless, deal with that malfunction another day, so far it's just wandering around”

The leather shoe feet moved away from her field of vision towards a nearby bookshelf. She thus got a better view of the man, a dangerously thin blue-suited human.

“Hey have you tried that goat yet?”

“No, kinda repulsive little thing is he,” the tone mocking, “I’m not too into bestiality”

“Bah, you are missing out, excellent hands and he can keep his mouth shut with that little device”

One voice burst out in cackling laughter.

“Well, if the praise is coming from you, maybe it would be worth a little check”

Carole had a small growing feeling of disgust in her stomach. She was at this point putting some disturbing things together but kept quiet.

She then heard keypad sounds as she observes the man’s movements.

Right up

Left down

Left down

Right up

Left up

With those motions done with, one of the library shelves groaning open reveals a passage causing the red-heeled figure to move further from its spot revealing another thin, sickly-looking human figure in an expensive-looking purple dress decorated by costly fur.

“Enough of that nonsense, we’re supposed to find at least one proper case of ventis sickness among those things by now, and so far nothing."

"About that child..."

"Gone... a true failure and gone. What a waste. They probably could have used him as a base fo-"

Those voices grew more distant as the two and the creature entered the newly opened entrance.

Carole had no idea how long she stayed in her hiding place. It could have been two minutes to 2 hours as all she could do way lay there and slowly digest what she have just heard and seen.