Heart of Darkness | Tsukiko Takahashi’s Execution
[♪♪♪]
The moon is high
The dream analyst falls through the ceiling, landing with such a force that her body crumples at the impact. Even with aching muscles, however, she manages to compose herself, rising to her feet to find that she’s been thrown into what appears to be a child’s bedroom. The room’s contents are sparse: the standard desk, lamp, chair and bed. Not even a single window, but there is a closet, its existence brought to Tsukiko’s attention by a low growling resonating from underneath the crack in the door. The door rattles violently in its frame for a moment as well, and she turns her head away only to see a soft red glow emanating from underneath of the bed. Not all hope is lost, however, as the exit, the bedroom door, is in plain sight, and she wastes no time in making a break for it.
The end is nigh
As she lunges at the bedroom door, she twists and turns and yanks the knob, but it stays bolted firmly in place, leaving her to turn and look at the closet door. It swings wide open, and her body stiffens, preparing to embrace death, but the sight that she’s greeted with is… absolutely nothing. The closet is empty, void of clothes and, thankfully, any sort of beast or supernatural being. Skeptical, she closes the door, and the growling once again permeates the room. With bated breath, she retreats a few steps back, making her way to the bedside and kneeling to the ground. The red glow recedes, and as she stands, she makes to inspect the desk.
Your horse is here
[♪♪♪]
A chilling music box lullaby begins to play, nearly drowning out the sound of the growling… or soothing its source, if she’s being optimistic. In any other situation, the twinkling tune might be enough to lull her into a deep sleep as well, but she knows what’s inevitably coming, and keeps her guard up. Within seconds, a whisper of a hissing sound follows, and all at once, that light-headed feeling finally sets in, her eyelids drooping slowly as she fights to keep her consciousness- even so, she can barely stand, and elects to sit on the bed, unamused by the possibility of collapsing to the floor. Repeatedly, the lights begin flickering on and off, and she brings her hand to her forehead, barely lucid but positive that falling asleep right now will be the last thing that she ever does.
I bring you fear
The closet door bursts open with a loud crash, giving her the wake up call that she needs to stay conscious. She can’t discern the actual identity of the figure, and might as well have mistaken it for a long coat, had she not seen that the closet was stripped bare just moments ago. Inhaling sharply as it draws closer to her, she rises to meet it, deciding that she’ll face the end with as much dignity as possible. Focusing all of her attention on the shadowy figure keeps her blissfully unaware of the growing intensity of the red light, and she lets out a sharp cry as two blackened hands grab her ankles, knocking her face-first against the floor and pulling her underneath of the bed.
What am I?
Save for the gentle tune of the music box, the room falls silent, her scream cut off entirely as she disappears into the darkness. From underneath the bed, a puddle of blood pools out, leaving no trace of the body. Time continues to pass as the blood spreads across the floor, but there’s no doubt about it that Tsukiko Takahashi is dead.
