Darkness fled as though startled, as Natalie opened her eyes instinctively upon waking from a sleep she hadn't known she'd slipped into. A dozen sensations greeted her return to consciousness, from the chill she felt gnawing at her toes, to the dull ache inside her head that intensified her bewilderment.
The black behind her eyelids was not improved much around her, the main lighting provided by the moon as it trickled through a small window at the other end of the room, its glare illuminating little more than a small section of a bare brick wall and the aging floorboards at its feet.
Her eyes could barely make out the size of the room as she scanned around, raising herself up on her elbows for a better view, each unlit area seeming capable of stretching off into the black that smothered it. A faint flickering ahead, forced her to squint before her eyes would let her make out its shape.
Throwing off the blanket that failed to cover her feet and seemed to make her whole body itch, she stumbled uneasily to swing her legs around for her soles to feel the rough wood beneath them, not taking her eyes off the light for fear it get sucked back into the gloom.
Her fingers dragged over dried, flaky patches as she brought them to the edge of the mattress, gripping it in her palms as she found it to be as thin as it'd felt as she lay there. With a final groan of the bed springs that had accompanied her every movement, she slowly got to her feet.
A wave of dizziness washed over her mind, her hand reaching up to her face as though to try and stop the room spinning. Taking refuge behind her eyelids as she waited for it to pass made her lose sight of the light that was straight ahead of her moments earlier. Moving a few, tentative, steps forward at a time, she caught sight of it once more, putting paid to any thoughts that the room really had spun around.
The murk parted as she made her way over, inching away from her with every step until she reached the light. Its glow was barely brighter only inches away than it was on first sight; the small, thin fluorescent strip only enough to illuminate the objects within arms length of itself.
In spite of the dulled, yellowing plastic surrounding the bulb, it was enough to let Natalie see almost everything below it. Dirtied and chipped, a basin stood before her, sullied with water stains leading paths down from the faucets. Above it, covered by dust and grime, hung a mirror; with what little in the way of a reflection it offered distorted by the many cracks lining across it, each thrown out from where some unknown blow had landed.
Running her fingers over one of the larger pieces, she managed only to turn them black, the image the mirror tried showing now smeared across it. She reached down to one of the faucets, gripping it with both hands as she tried to force some movement back into it. Failing with the first, she found some joy with the other as she exhorted enough pressure to leave the chrome imprinting itself into the flesh of her palm.
As it was, her efforts were for naught, any hope of throwing water on her face and rinsing off the confusion clouding her mind withered away as the pipes proved to be drier than the proverbial desert. Rubbing some feeling back into where the faucet had dug, she barely registered the low creak of the floorboards from the corner of the room, nor the shallow intake of breath that followed.
"I don't think much of your costume."
The sudden appearance of a voice startled Natalie, making her heartbeat do somersaults in almost an instant, as the air around her gave the impression of thickening, slowing her attempts to look around for where the statement came from, and whose owner it was.
"What?" Was all she could manage in reply.
"Who have you come as? Or did someone pilfer your outfit en route?"
Looking down at herself, Natalie saw more flesh than the bare feet she'd thought were on display, as she stood there in only a bra and panties. As quickly as her mind could instruct them, she raised her arms in a vain effort to protect her modesty, only half listening to the other person speak.
"I know times change, but if you ask me, skimpy underwear and a perpetual frown do not make for a great costume."
"Why would I be wearing a costume?"
"Because it's Halloween of course, silly."
"It is?" She asked herself softly, addressing the other questions flooding her mind to the voice in the shadows. "Where am I? Who are you?"
"My name is Amelia, and this was my room."
Natalie could hear a smile seep through into the other person's voice, its softness somehow assuring her she had little to fear.
"Was your room?"
"Yes."
There was no explanation forthcoming, just that simple confirmation, though she could feel herself being watched as she waited for more information. Sure that time was passing during the seemingly brief silence, Natalie couldn't guess whether it was seconds or minutes.
"Where are you?"
"I'm here."
Stepping into the light that was cast through the window as she spoke, Amelia emerged from the shadows, standing where she could best be seen. The moonlight bathed her face, giving her porcelain-hued skin a ghostlike quality, its eeriness offset by the tender smile playing across her lips.
"See, even I made an effort. Do you like it?"
Holding apart the edges of her scarlet cape, Amelia revealed the gingham frock and lace-trimmed petticoat she wore underneath, adding a small curtsey to the quick twirl that showed off her guise.
"You're a doll, or maid of some kind?"
"No, silly, I'm little red riding hood." She said, lifting the cowl over her head to emphasize the point.
Though the hood plunged her face back into shadow, Natalie was certain she could see the other woman's eyes shining for the second before she pushed it back to rest again behind her. The thought, like so many others at the moment, simply sank back into the mists that clouded her mind, leaving her still as distracted and confused as she felt.
"Now your turn, come into the light so I can see you properly."
Slow to react, Natalie felt suddenly shy again as Amelia tottered over to take hold of her hand, the sound of her heels on the floorboards echoing around the room, unstifled by the air like their voices had seemed to be.
"There we go. My, you're quite a peach, aren't you."
The way she was being looked at would've made Natalie feel more than uncomfortable, had her attention not been drawn to the faint sound of shuffling feet. Accompanied by muffled giggling, the noise seemed to come from the other end of the room, though her mind couldn't discern whether it was from inside or out.
"What was that?"
"That? Oh, it's nothing to worry about. It'll go away if you ignore it."
Not something she could do at the best of times, she was still looking in the direction of the noise when her eyes were almost blinded by a light far harsher than the ones in the room.
"Oops, sorry bud."
"Yeah, sorry..."
As quickly as the light had come, it left her back in the dark, the image of someone in a Matrix-style outfit leading around a girl dressed like Cleopatra as she giggled after him sticking in her mind. It was a memory in the back of that mind that recognized the voices, but failed to help put names to them.
"There's a door there? Why didn't I see that earlier?"
"I told you it was nothing." Amelia sighed, coming to stand in front of Natalie. "I didn't want you to see anything like that, I wanted to protect you."
"Protect me? From what?"
Another sigh slipped between her lips as Amelia took the questioner's puzzled head in her hands, stroking her cheeks softly with her thumbs. Natalie looked up into her deep, dark eyes as she spoke, feeling herself almost drifting off with each caress of her skin.
"From the reality of it all. I hoped that, if you'd just followed me, it might not be so difficult for you."
"I still don't get it. What reality?"
"Oh sweetie, I'm sorry. You've passed over to the other side."
"I-I'm dead?"
The face before her bit gently on her bottom lip as she nodded softly. Natalie hadn't the strength to resist, even if she'd wanted to, as she was coaxed into an embrace, accepting its intent to console. There were no tears forthcoming though, as she rested her head against Amelia's breast, eyes wide in a mix of shock and disbelief.
Pulling away from her comforters soothing touch, Natalie struggled to find her voice beyond the lump in her throat, its presence as thick and cloying as the air around her, its size increasing with each breath she took. Feeling her emotions swell up inside her, the need to get her words out rose, before she lost control of herself and gave in to her fear.
"B-But, what was that, with the door?"
"That... was the world you've left behind. Any night other than this and you'd never have had to go through this, unfortunate, happening."
"Those people though, I think I know them. Aren't they friends of mine?"
"It's possible..."
Her hands slid down from Natalie's face, entwining themselves with her fingers as she took hold of her hand, turning her gently to face away from where the door had been.
"But, why?"
"I told you, it's Halloween. The one night where the lines between that world and this get a little... well, blurred."
The thought of having everything she'd known, carrying on as though she hadn't even existed, made Natalie's heart sink, the first tear burning her cheek as it rolled over her skin. She could feel her resolve weaken, as though the pressure of her tears were weighing on her shoulders in their rush to escape from the corners of her eyes.
"Come on, lets get you out of here. The sooner I can get you there, the easier it'll be on you."
The empathy in Amelia's dark eyes came as a small comfort, one that Natalie was grateful for. Accepting the situation as best she could, she let her guide's little tug on her hand pull her gently along. Glancing back for one last look at where she'd seen her last glimpse of her old life, she traipsed towards the shadows.
"Oh my God..."
Stood with her free hand on her stomach, Natalie stared down in shock at her body before looking up at Amelia for an explanation, missing the scowl that quickly disappeared from her face, replaced with a look of confusion that matched the one on her own.
