Breaking the 4th

An unnatural stillness overtook the air in the broken church, an invisible heaviness consuming the space. The renewed silence only added to the weight, threatening to smother anyone in the area. The stream was now flowing with the speed and consistency of sap around Shatter’s legs as time continued to slow.

“Heavy…” Hyun choked, making Shatter turn back to him. He was grimacing, gritting his teeth as if to be resisting a large burden.
Indeed, the air felt heavy, making it hard for Shatter to breathe. The high ceiling seemed to suddenly be sitting on her shoulders and it felt as if she was bearing the weight of the world on her head. But that was the least of her concerns. Her mind was preoccupied, automatically focusing on the one thing that had struck cold fear directly into her chest.
Where is it? her mind thought with great alarm. Where did it come from?
Her eyes searched deep in every dark shadow and corner, trying to find the source of her growing terror. She couldn’t help it, before she realized her body was already reacting.
There was something about the sound that sent tremors through Shatter’s spine, dread to grow in her chest like poison.

What was that sound… She thought hard. I know that sound, but from where?

“Shatter,”
Hyun’s voice pulled her out of her thoughts yet again. He was reaching his hand out towards her, reaching as far as he could without falling into the stream himself.
“Get out of the water,” Hyun muttered quietly, hardly moving.
Shatter gulped the knot in her throat down and she nodded. He didn’t have to say it, and she didn’t need to be told. They couldn’t stay there.
“Yea, okay. Sounds like a great idea.” she chattered.

Careful not to make sudden movements, Shatter started to lift herself back onto her feet.

------click… click-click…click-click-click

Instantly, she froze. There is was again… that sound of clicking, this time coming at a random rhythm. And what was worse, it was much closer.
There was a new sound; loud, strong and steady. It was deafening and loud as it pounded against her ears. It took her another few moments to realize it was her own heart. An unsteady hand found its way to her chest, her trembling fingers curling around the fabric of her shirt at her sternum. Her heart was pounding hard enough to be felt against her numb knuckles. Her skin crawled in anxiety, her vulnerability on full display.
Danger.

Without thinking, Shatter’s line of sight drifted slightly to the left, just beyond Hyun’s right shoulder.

There, coming to focus was a dark, hooded figure materializing out of the shadows. She couldn’t make out much else of the figure except that it had a silhouette of a thin person under the pitch-black cloak. The hem of the hood blocked the view to where the face should be. Soundless, motionless and subtle… and absolutely terrifying.
“…Say, Hyun?” Shatter started, her voice coming out strained. “You didn’t happen to bring a friend along with you, did you?”

“Huh? A friend?” the Korean man echoed. He then seemed to realize she was looking past him and bristled noticeably. Slowly, he shifted, and started to turn his head.

“No wait, don’t move!”

Shatter had cried out, instinctively stepping forward towards the man.

---CLICK.

The hooded head of the shadowy figure turned to an angle towards her with a definitive sound that snapped through the tension, and Shatter felt invisible eyes pierce right through her like ice, stunning her still. This was the first time she saw the figure move and suddenly she sensed that whatever was under that cloak was not human. A human didn’t move like that--- stiff and mechanical and yet precise without a waste in motion. And what was this menacing air that it was emitting?

“Hey, what is it?” Hyun asked, his voice barely a whisper.

A knot seemed to have settled in Shatter’s throat, disabling her ability to speak. Even if she could, she doubted she would’ve been coherent. Her brain was frozen with fear, only one fragmented thought on repeat.

Danger. Bad. Evil. Oh shit.

She dared not blink, keeping her eyes on the mysterious entity. Somehow Shatter got a feeling that it was intelligent enough to realize it was being stared at. She watched as it slowly tilted its head sideways in a curious manner, as if to observe her.

Click. Click. Click. Click. CLICK.

It abruptly stopped moving, its head locking in a position almost parallel to the ground in an unnatural angle. Then… stillness.

Shatter felt anxiety only build, bracing for an attack. Seconds seemed to become minutes. And yet the hooded entity stayed perfectly still. What is this thing? What did it want? And why was it not moving?
Questions after question flooded Shatter’s panicked mind and she struggled to maintain her normal rationality. But something told her she shouldn’t look away even for a second. If she were to even blink---
Calm down, breathe. She told herself, making sure to cut an end for that last thought. Calm down…breathe.
A shaky exhale left her chest, but it didn’t get rid of the growing dread.

“…Hey, Shatter…”

She felt a gentle nudge of a hand on her shoulder, and it was the slight touch that pulled her attention away. It was the slightest of glances, just a split-second moment where she was caught off guard.
It was just a blink of an eye---

---ick-Click.

A decisive click resonated against the stone walls, and Shatter felt the sound snap against the skin on the back of her neck.

Sounds of a heavy weight crashing against stone exploded into the air, followed by clattering of wood mixed with splashing of water. The cold water splashed against her back and she gasped at the renewed iciness.

Another gasp sounded followed by more splashing, this time from beside her.
“Shit, it’s fucking cold!” Hyun yelped. Shatter stared at the Korean man, bewildered.
“What the hell are you doing in the water?” she asked, stunned.
“What? What the hell are you saying?” he demanded incredulously. “What the fuck did you expect, yanking me into the water like that?”
He suddenly froze, becoming stone faced. He clapped a hand over his mouth, and for a second Shatter thought he was going to vomit.
“Dammit, I shouldn’t swear in front of a girl,” he muttered under his breath.
“Really, is that what the current problem is?” Shatter bleated. “Swear all the fuck you want!”
“Woah… how unladylike…” Hyun muttered in an appalled tone, and the girl nearly punched him.
“Shut up! Can’t you see it’s not time for that?” she snapped.

Her eyes were already searching along the streambank, desperate to locate the threat. Her search didn’t last long, however, as her enemy seemingly had no intention of hiding.
Just at the edge of the stream, there closer than ever was stood the cloaked entity. Taller and larger than Shatter had originally realized, it loomed over her with an aura that weighed down on her. The dark hooded cloak, the perfectly immobile stance all at distance of just an arm’s length… it was undeniable; it was real.

“It was just a split second…” Shatter stammered. “How…”

Shatter mentally estimated that the entity was roughly fifteen meters behind Hyun when she first saw it. That was mere seconds ago. To close that massive gap in just a blink of an eye…

“What the hell is that thing?” Hyun choked, finally able to see it for himself.

Slowly and cautiously, Shatter stood up from the stream, not once letting her eyes wander away from the hood. She felt the invisible eyes observing her again from beneath the hood, its gaze trapping her in her place.
“What the hell do you want?” Shatter demanded, willing her voice to maintain calm.

Of course she wasn’t expecting a response, or for the entity to react. Of course she didn’t expect an answer she would understand.
The hooded entity clicked its awful sounds, tilting its head sideways again as it had before. But then, it righted itself, and sank slowly down toward the ground. It stopped just as its hood was at her eye level.
Then, ever so slightly it lifted its head, the motion surprisingly fluid. And just beyond the hem of the hood, a black-lipped harlequin smile broke a crack through the pale blue of porcelain.
That was all Shatter could see but it was enough of an answer to her redundant question.

The hooded figure paid no mind to Hyun, and continued to gaze at her. Shatter took a slow step to the side, placing a distance between herself and the Korean. Just as she suspected, its face turned with her in focus.
Well, fuck. thought Shatter. I’m screwed.
“Choi Hyun.” she managed to choke out. “Looks like I really, really can’t help you with directions. Go find someone else.”

She continued to side step until she reached the streambank. She climbed out of the water, not once dropping her gaze from the figure. Likewise, it continued to turn its face with every step Shatter took. When she finally stood almost directly behind it she dared a quick glance at Hyun. He stared back and she imagined she looked just as cold, wet and terrified as he did. But he wasn’t running as she had hoped.
So somehow, in her panic-mode, her brain deemed it acceptable to reference a popular show with a fitting quote.

“Run, you clever boy.” she gasped. “And remember.”
And with that, she wheeled around and started to run.