Day: 5 (Blood Moon)

Days Left: 5475

Lives Saved: 0

It was quiet. Too quiet.

Corinna had expected a horde of monsters to be on their doorstep yet there were none. Harmony had explained earlier that they were unlikely to encounter any so long as they stayed inside, for this area was not as populated as others.

The monsters would be drawn to others creatures nearby; the Land of the Lost being the most populated as many lived nearby. With the horde of nymphs underwater, the beach would also become a dangerous place.

Regardless, Corinna clung onto her spear as she continued to write more memories in her white notebook.

The red light of the blood moon outside pierced through the curtains, bathing the entire room in scarlet. It reminded Corinna what was out there, that blood moon that hung in the sky watching over her like a giant eye.

Her nails dug into her arms at the thought, imagining the moon splitting open, revealing a thin black iris. She wanted to tear her hair out, to rip apart her notebook and burn it. Corinna's eyes flicked to the chimaera who sat in front of the fireplace, adjusting the pieces of wood. Occasionally, the chimaera's snake-tail would swish from side to side, now visible as Harmony's green cloak hung over a drying rack near the fireplace. With every movement of the tail, Corinna's eyes would snap back to it, at the noise.

The young woman wondered what would happen if she stomped on the snake, or if she cut it off. Perhaps she should just push the chimaera into the fireplace and-

Corinna froze, dropping her pen onto her lap. She gripped at her hair, burrowing her face in her hands. Failing to tame the thoughts that she had let run wild, the young woman slowed her breathing. As far as Corinna could remember, she had never had such violent and malicious thoughts, especially ones towards someone who did not deserve such treatment.

Her eyes glancing back at the window, at the red orb's outline that shone through the curtains, Corinna wondered if the blood moon also affected humans. She did not have a mask that could turn her into a monster, yet the blood moon still seemed to have power over her. The thoughts in her head whispered to her, urging her to take up her spear and run it through the chimaera's heart.

Harmony glanced back at the human, noticing that Corinna was mumbling something repeatedly in an attempt to calm herself down, hands covering her ears, her face blank and vacant like she wasn't entirely there.

Once she felt those venomous thoughts retreat in her mind, Corinna relaxed, uncovering her ears, hearing the trap-door slam shut. Harmony had gone down into the basement. Whilst the chimaera's tail could no longer invite those vicious thoughts to return, her absence only increased Corinna's anxieties. Clinging tightly to her spear, Corinna watched the front-door, alert for if a monster should kick it down.

The trap-door opened,and Harmony returned back from the basement, carrying what appeared to be a record player and a cardboard box. After setting them down near the fireplace, the chimaera wound up the record player, then rifled through the records in the cardboard box. She glanced back at the young woman and motioned for her to come closer.

Resting her spear against the armchair, Corinna crouched down beside Harmony and inspected the record player. Once the chimaera had finally decided on a song, after much contemplation, she placed it on the turntable and pulled the stylus down.

The sound of drums blasted out of the loudspeaker. Corinna was worried that the noise would attract monsters, but Harmony only turned it up even louder. She pressed another button, and two small blue translucent spectres were projected on top of the spinning record. It was a man and woman, holding hands, their blue silhouettes glittering in the light. Once the drums climaxed into a crescendo, it dropped into silence, then blasted out, returning with a swinging melody of a piano. The two projected figures spun around, dancing along to the music.

So enraptured by the machinery behind the record player, Corinna only just noticed that Harmony had moved to an open space and was also dancing along.

Her feet stepped across each other, or kicked backwards and forwards, always returning back to the same position. Despite how tall she was, the chimaera was surprisingly agile with her footwork, she almost looked like she was not even touching the ground. How she was capable of performing such complicated moves without looking at her feet, the young woman could not figure out.

Corinna covered her mouth, her body shaking, trying to suppress her laughter. A monster dancing. A dancing monster. She had prepared herself for the Eternal Abyss, expecting bloodthirsty creatures and murderers but not this.

Harmony beckoned with her talons for Corinna to join, her jaw open, revealing a set of fangs in a manic grin.

"No, no, no-" Corinna cowered away, shaking her head violently, the heat rising in her cheeks. "No, no- I can't dance I-" Despite her protests, she was dragged to the dancefloor by the chimaera.

Her snake-tail wrapped around the young woman's waist, Harmony span Corinna around then caught her by the hand as she stumbled around dizzy. Realising that Corinna's skill level was- well- barely a beginner, the chimaera decided to start with something simple.

Harmony stood still with her feet apart and her hands behind her back. Corinna copied, watching intently whilst her cheeks still burned. She mimicked the chimaera, crossing over her feet slowly, then returning back to the same position. After repeating this move a few times, they picked up the pace until Corinna felt a surge of energy course through her body as it danced without any thought or concentration. She let her body move without her mind's control, mirroring Harmony's actions as she added arm movements to the routine.

By the last chorus, Corinna had memorised the assigned dance steps and was capable of keeping up with the new ones for each verse. Harmony glanced to her side at her dance partner, the young woman, beaming, eyes invigorated.

Hearing the song almost end, Corinna stumbled and grabbed the chimaera's arm for support. She looked up Harmony, grinning, sweating, and out of breath.

The projections of the man and woman on the record player clung close to each other, staring into each other's eyes as the last note of the song sounded. 

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Recommended Song for Chapter:

Song: Swingin' Together (C@ in the H@ remix)

Artist: Elle & The Pocket Belles