Horror Game Developer: My games aren't that scary!

Chapter 822: The House [5]

The eyes remained fixed on me.

The boy lay on his side, his face partly hidden by the end of the blanket. In the faint light coming through the curtains, I could almost make out my own outline reflected in his eyes.

He was awake.

My hand remained against the wall as the bedroom door opened a little farther, the creaking sound louder than ever as my heart pounded against my chest.

“Roy?”

The old woman’s voice echoed softly across the room.

“What are you doing awake?”

I pressed myself closer to the wardrobe, keeping my eyes on the child as I reached towards my nodes.

There was still a response.

‘Good.’

At least I could get out if—

“Are you having trouble sleeping again?”

The old woman entered.

I could see part of her cardigan through the narrow space beside the wardrobe. She approached the bed without turning on the light, her slippers making a faint sound against the carpet.

Roy didn’t answer.

The mattress sank as she sat beside him.

“Come here.”

She reached over and brushed his hair away from his forehead. Her fingers moved slowly, smoothing it to one side before resting against his cheek.

But he kept looking at me.

“Your face is cold. You should keep yourself covered.”

She pulled the blanket higher.

For a moment, I couldn’t see his eyes anymore.

Then his head moved slightly, and they appeared above the end of the blanket again.

“…..”

I kept my breathing shallow.

The old woman continued stroking his hair, occasionally adjusting the strands falling down his face.

“I know you’re worried about your parents.”

My attention moved to her.

“But they’re doing well.”

She spoke gently, leaning closer to him.

“They’ll come back to us. We just need to be patient.”

Roy’s fingers tightened slightly around the blanket.

“We can’t let anyone take them away. You understand that, don’t you?”

He didn’t answer.

The old woman waited for a moment before continuing.

“I’ve been told… We need to keep them here. The less people find out, the better. But a… rat has recently made his way to us. For that reason, we may need to move now. I want you to start packing your stuff soon.”

‘Told…?’

By who?

My fingers pressed harder against the wall.

She was speaking so naturally. Almost as if the entire ordeal beforehand with me was of little importance. Still, it was obvious that she had realised that they needed to move.

“That’s why…”

Her hand stopped against his hair.

“If you see any flies, you should tell me.”

“…..”

Roy’s gaze remained on me.

I didn’t move.

“They get into places they shouldn’t. Even when you’re careful.”

The old woman leaned closer, her voice growing softer.

“You’ll tell me, right…?”

For several seconds, nothing happened.

I could hear her breathing.

Then the faint rustle of the blanket as Roy slowly nodded.

My attention remained on his hands, my back pressing tighter against the wall, ready to react at an given moment.

To be honest, this wasn’t a good idea.

I knew and understood this well. And like usual, I was nerfed as well.

But I had to do this in order to fight the thing that was nerfing me. At the same time, it was pretty thrilling.

The fact that I could die because of my own stupidity.

There were certainly many other ways for me to tackle this situation, but sadly, my mind was just not working at the moment. And I knew that I couldn’t wait for it to recover.

Thus, I could only go in as a stupid man.

‘Stupid, is what I am.’

“Very good.”

She smiled and brushed his cheek once more.

“I knew you would.”

Her hand lingered on his cheek before she pulled it away and stood. The mattress rose slowly beneath the blanket.

“I’ll let you rest for a little bit as I pack up the stuff. We’ll be leaving soon, alright?”

Roy gave another small nod.

“That’s a good boy.”

The old woman turned towards the door.

I pulled my head farther behind the wardrobe, watching the strip of carpet near its base as her shadow passed across it.

Her footsteps stopped.

“Goodnight.”

There was no reply.

A moment later, the door slowly closed.

Creeaaaak.

I didn’t move.

The muffled sound of her footsteps travelled down the corridor, growing softer until I couldn’t hear them anymore.

Even then, I remained where I was. For all I knew, she could be standing just outside, waiting to hear something.

That seemed like something she would do.

I took a slow breath and lowered my gaze.

The shadow beneath my feet wiggled.

A familiar pain formed behind my eyes as the shadow stretched across the carpet, moving along the edge of the wardrobe before slipping beneath the door.

I waited.

‘With the Voidwalker acting, I should be able to tell if it’s good to go or not.’

My gaze eventually pulled back to the boy. He was still staring back at me.

He didn’t seem particularly surprised by the shadow. Then again, he didn’t seem particularly surprised by anything.

After a little while, my shadow wiggled once more.

‘Nobody?’

It seemed like the area was clear. The old woman was truly packing her stuff.

With the coast clear, I pressed my hand against the wall.

“…..”

Roy’s eyes followed me.

For a moment, I considered saying something. There were several things that I was curious about but the room was so quiet that it felt as though even a small whisper was enough to alarm the old lady on the other side

I closed my mouth.

There would be time for questions once I understood what was happening.

Hopefully.

Instead, I quietly approached the desk.

Since the boy was only looking at me and not saying anything, I took the liberty to look around to figure out more. At the same time, I had the Void-walker keep a close look on him.

The drawings were still spread across the table, several sheets overlapping near the box of markers. I carefully lifted the corner of the nearest one, trying not to mess with the other papers.

‘Two people…’

All the drawings had the same two people.

The man’s shirt was coloured so heavily that the paper was starting to wear through. Beside him, the woman sat with her hair resting against the collar of her dress.

Their hands were on their knees.

Their backs were straight.

I looked towards another drawing beside it.

There was no difference.

‘They’ll come back to us.’

I slowly lowered the paper, the old woman’s voice coming back to me.

‘Right, of course.’

I’d be an idiot to not understand what was going on.

My lips pressed together.

‘But what do you mean by… told?’

Could she be able to talk directly with VILE – 1048? I wasn’t certain, but once the idea settled in my mind, it refused to leave.

I glanced towards Roy.

He was still watching, the blanket gathered beneath his chin.

I stared at him for a good moment before I put the drawing where I found it and turned towards the door.

My shadow wiggled once more as I had the Voidwalker look further. When the Voidwalker returned, I knew where the old woman was.

‘Okay.’

I looked towards the bedroom door before turning back to the wall.

I pressed my palm against the wall near the window. A sharp tingling spread down my arm as I activated the skill, and I stepped forward before it could grow worse.

The wall passed over my face.

For a brief moment, there was nothing to see.

Then the cold air touched my skin.

I stepped onto the damp ground outside and steadied myself against the fence.

“…..”

I waited until the discomfort behind my eyes settled before moving again.

The house remained dark.

Only a faint, changing light reached one of the windows farther ahead, appearing and disappearing as the muffled sound of footsteps echoed from deep within the house.

The ground sloped down towards the boarded room. I moved slowly, placing my feet on the exposed patches of earth where possible.

This time, I was even more careful than before, making sure to not step on any dry leaf.

I continued until the broken window came into view.

‘I’m back.’

One of the boards hung at an angle. Another lay against the fence, split through the sheer force of the old lady. Even now, I was impressed by her strength.

I stopped to one side of the opening.

There was no light inside, or scraping sound. It was eerily quiet as the cold wind of the night brushed against me.

I didn’t immediately enter the room. Instead, I had the Voidwalker enter first. It didn’t take long for it to come back.

‘There’s still the same two people…? And they’re staying completely still?’

I looked towards the broken boards for another moment before taking out my phone. The screen was still dim from earlier.

I held it against my palm and moved towards the wall beside the window.

‘Just a look.’

That was all I needed for now. I needed to get a better look for myself.

I pressed my hand against the wall and activated [Trait Transfer]. The familiar pain returned as I passed through the wall.

My shoes touched the floor, and I immediately crouched, trying to make my size as small as possible whilst making the least amount of noise.

Then I lifted the phone slightly.

“….!?”

My heart jumped out of my throat the moment I did so.

Two faces stared back at me.

They were sitting close together, their chairs turned towards the window.

Towards the place where I entered.

The man’s eyes were wide open. Beside him, the woman’s hair clung to the corners of her mouth, where her lips stretched into a smile.

His mouth was the same.

Both sat upright, their hands resting flat against their thighs.

Neither was blinking.