Now, Rose gave a long sigh, then finally turned toward the bathroom door. She opened it calmly and disappeared inside.
Ray heard the sound of water.
He was completely alone in the room, Ray's mind was completely spiraled. He staggered a few steps, then spun around like a kid, he was muttering to himself and his voice was rising with panic.
"What the fuck! What the fuck! What the fuck! What the fuck! What the fuck!"
He ran a shaky hand over his face and pacing like a caged animal. "Arghhhh… Why is all this bizarre shit happening to me?!"
He threw his hands in the air and exhaled sharply, then bent over, gripping his head. "Why… why did I even get transmigrated here? What the fucking hell is wrong with me?"
His words echoed and he spun again in the room.
"This… this isn't real… It can't be real… none of this… nothing makes sense!" His panicked brain refused to believe it, but even a person with a congenital brain disorder could say it was all real.
He immediately stumbled toward the window and started to stare out at the cobblestone streets below. "People are just walking… carts are moving… it's like… like it's normal here!"
Then, he pounded a fist into his chest and he was shaking. "But it's not normal! I'm… I'm… someone else! Someone who… who killed his own sister!"
He let out a strangled scream and his hands were clutching at his hair. "Why me? Why now? Why this place?!"
Then he collapsed to the floor and leaned against the wall, his knees raised. His breath became sharp and came in ragged bursts and of course it was natural according to the situation.
He couldn't think and process. His every thought bounced off the next in a chaotic blur.
And then, he heard the faint sound of water stopping in the bathroom. He immediately stood up. "I can't tell her I'm transmigrated... She won't even beleive.... Arghhh!! Fuck!"
Just after a second, rose came out of the bathroom with a bucket filled with water, a string mop and a simple cloth.
"Here take this." She said to Ray after throwing a piece of cloth.
Ray grabbed the cloth that Rose had thrown at him, he nearly fumbled it for a moment.
"Tie it on her forehead to stop the blood flow," Rose said briskly, her voice was calm but a little commanding too, "till then I'll clean the walls."
Ray kept staring at her like a dumbass toddler, he was unsure if he heard her correctly.
"Now dooo itttt!" Rose's tone sharpened this time, snapping him out of his stupidity.
Ray's mind suddenly clicked. "Ye… yeah… right," he muttered these words, his voice was barely steady. He stepped closer to the dead body and knelt in front of it. His hands started trembling again.
Meanwhile, Rose moved to the walls, splashing water from the bucket and scrubbing. The scene was straight out from some crime thriller movie.
As soon as Ray's fingers touched the girl's cold skin, his vision blurred. White light filled his mind and swirling his mind with fragments of memory.
He saw Ray's sister again, she was standing before him. Both of them were shouting at eachother, holding guns in hand.
"You ruined everything… because of that shit book. You killed him! I'll burn that freaking book!" she screamed."No… no… listen to me!" Ray tried to respond but his own voice was breaking.
"You psycho!!" she didn't let Ray finish his sentence and fired the gun straight at his chest, right over his heart.
The world tilted like the gun shot ended a carnival. Pain shot through Ray, ofcourse it wasn't physical, but the panic was real.
And then…
Ray's consciousness snapped back. Ray pulled back his hand from that girl's dead body, he was gasping and drenched in cold sweat. His chest heaved as he turned toward Rose, his eyes became wide with panic.
"The book…" Ray whispered in a trembling voice like a kid who just learned how to speak. And after hearing Ray's words, Rose paused mid-scrub and her eyes flickered to him.
Ray's voice grew louder and desperate now like he found a whole new meaning of life. "The book… where is it?!"
Rose looked at Ray, her grey eyes were steady and calm. "At that place…" she said softly, and after a moment, she moved closer. She knelt in front of him and placed her hand gently on his cheek.
"You don't need to think about it… I'm here… we're here… we'll deal with it together," she whispered these words while brushing her fingers lightly across his skin. "Everything will be fine."
Ray's mind was spinning round and round. He had no clue what the fuck was going on, but somehow, he was trying to live that moment.
"We'll get that book… after dealing with this, okay?" Rose said, her voice was firm but comforting.
Ray blinked like a fool and nodded, words were barely leaving his lips. "Ye… yeah… yeah."
Now, some time has passed and they successfully packed the dead body into the black suitcase. We don't know how they managed to pack her but somehow, they did it.
The room became clean, again. The crimson colour finally faded away and the scent of damp wood filled the room.
Rose's dress and sleeves were completely soaked from the effort of cleaning the room but, it was worth of it. Ray slightly moved beside her and his mind was still racing with fragmented memories of the shooting and the book.
"Finally…" Rose breathed out, straightening up. Her voice was reflecting both fatigue and relief, and it should be after working so hard.
"Look outside," Rose said, brushing damp strands of hair away from her forehead. "See if there's anyone."
Ray nodded again to her statement and turned toward the door. He reached the wooden door and twisted the knob gently, opening it just a little enough to slide his head through the gap.
The corridor outside was dim, lit only by the faint orange glow of gas lamps. Ray heard a voice which was nothing but silence.
He looked left first. There was nothing but just a long wooden wall lined with a few room doors and all were closed.
Then he turned his head right.
And it was like he nearly stopped breathing.
A boy had just stepped out of the room next to his. He looked about nineteen or maybe twenty. His hair was parted neatly down the middle and his face was pale and clean, his clothes were perfectly Victorian. White shirt, waistcoat, dark trousers, all were immaculately pressed.
But what caught Ray's attention was what the boy was holding.
He was holding a black book. Its cover was old and worn, and right in the center of it was drawn a red flower. The book was looking too precious.
Ray's eyes widened and his heart skipped a beat. The boy noticed Ray. Both of them looked at eachother.
For a long moment, they both just stared at each other.
Then, without saying a single word, the boy looked away. He adjusted the book in his hand and started walking down the corridor, his steps were echoing softly until he turned at the staircase and disappeared.
Ray stood frozen. He was thinking about the book which was obvious because he just had a vision about a book.
Ray finally pulled his head back inside with a strange and unsettled feeling twisting in his gut.
Rose looked up, her voice was calm but cautious. "What happened? Is anyone out there?"
Ray didn't even answer. His thoughts were roaming somewhere else.
Without a word, he leaned forward again and peeked through the door once more. But the boy was gone. The corridor was empty again.
Ray's throat tightened and several thoughts were spinning in his mind.
"Who was he?"
"And what kind of book was that?"
"Is that…"