Behind Closed-eyes

CHAPTER 2

Her phone, operating at its peak, suddenly powered off without warning, plunging her into a state of dread. Unable to remain idle, she pressed forward, drawn to a faint light ahead. With each step, a chill crept down her spine, evoking memories of her unsettling dream from the previous night, causing Maya to shiver uncontrollably.

The resemblance between her dream and the present situation sent a wave of apprehension through her. Stiffening, she cautiously turned her head to identify the source of the eerie sensation, only to be met with the sight of two crimsons eyes fixated on her. Shocked and startled, she let out a scream 'ahhhhh' before falling to darkness as her eyes rolled back in her head.

"But don't you think it's strange finding her lying in the hallway? Also, what was with the power outage last night?" Maya heard this as she was trying to wake up from that nightmare once more. Opening her eyes, she saw the vice chairman and her assistant, Miss MA. "You're awake", Emily, the assistant noticed her small movement and tried helping her sit up.

"What happened?" she asked. "Miss Emily, Mr. Sam wanted to come up to invite you for dinner when he saw you in the hallway and you fell, so he brought you to the resting room in your office."

"Sorry for the inconvenience, Sam," she said absentmindedly while thinking of the awkward situation last night - the scream.

"Why were you lying in the hallway, Maya?" Sam asked.

Rubbing her temples while trying not to recall last night, "I was feeling a little dizzy and ended up collapsing."

"Can you excuse us, Emily? I would like to talk to your boss alone," Sam said.

"But, Mr. Sam, there's still a meeting waiting for you...?"

"Tell my assistant to handle it while I speak with your boss," he replied. Emily left the room.

"So, Maya Scott, why the hell did you faint in the hallway?" Sam asked.

"To be honest, Sam, I heard a scream so I wanted to check what happened when the power went out," she narrated the whole incident, leaving out the nightmare part.

"Try to be careful," he said. "We have a situation, and I don't know how we are going to handle it if you end up sick. Freshen up and come for the meeting in 20 minutes ASAP," he said as he walked out the door.

Feeling tired, she took her phone from the nightstand to check if there was something wrong with it, only to see a few missed calls and a text from an unknown number. "Strange," she thought.

She freshened up, wore another black cap and a mask, and made her way to the meeting while on the phone with her teacher, Mr. Rogers, explaining why she wouldn't be at school for the next week. Ending the call, she turned to face Felix Scott, her so-called half-brother. "why are you here and What do you want?"

"I... I wanted to know if you're free this weekend, so maybe we could..."

"Hold it there, Felix. We aren't close friends or buddies, so there's no reason to hang out. My parents are already dead, so there's no need to play the role of half-brother with me. I have work to do and a life to live," she said, leaving him there as she walked into the meeting hall.

Felix, with a dark expression, started to feel resentment towards Maya, but his expression cleared. He mumbled, "Maybe she's having a bad morning." Sam, who was walking towards the hall, heard him and narrowed his eyes.