3

"Alice, where on earth are you? You went out 10 minutes ago, we are having a rush, come back."

Alice startled at the sound of her senior from work, and the man looked at her figure sitting on the floor in the dark alley. At least the light stopped flickering now.

"What are you doing on the floor?"

"I- I'm coming." She quickly rose up to her feet and ran towards the door, just before she left, she turned around with a sigh. "Wait here until my shift is over and I'll talk to you about-" The alley was empty now.

No sign of the red serpent.

"Who are you talking to?" Her senior looked at her with suspicious eyes. He was probably thinking she lost her marbles completely.

"Nothing." Alice mumbled and went back inside.

The touch of the weird creature and flashes of the red serpent saving her replayed in her mind again and again the entire night. She almost convinced herself she imagined everything, but the red mark around her wrist still tingled with the remnants of burning.

"I'm really good at cleaning-"

"We don't need part time workers, I'm sorry."

"I can cook-"

"I told you last month, I'm not hiring part timers!"

"Please give me a chance."

"School girl, that's enough, we don't need a new employee, leave already."

Alice went out of the 6th shop she visited today with defeated shoulders.

"You okay?" Lysa asked, eating a lollipop and looking at her with sad eyes.

"I can't find a job."

"You know my parents said you can come live with us-"

"I can't. I can't afford someone to take care of my dad if I leave." Alice sighed. "It's alright. I'm sure I'll find a job."

"Okay then." Lysa pouted.

"Let's go to class." Alice said and they walked together to the high school.

Fail. She was failing school. "You won't graduate at this rate. You need to focus on your classes, you sleep during most of them as your teachers say and you don't do extra credit work or your homeworks."

Well, Alice did not have the time to do homework and she was so utterly exhausted by her part time jobs that she fell asleep during class every time.

"I'll do better, ma'am." She apologized and left the principals room.

She wasn't even going to graduate at this point, what was the meaning of anything?

"Fucking hell. Not this again." Alice mumbled as she woke up in front of the damn gate again.

"Will you come in this time, my lady?" The little girl with the lantern asked. "The serpent is waiting for you."

"What does it want from me?"

"You saved its life. You have the mark of favor now, you are chosen to be the serpents human. Please, come inside with me."

"I am not coming inside! Get me out of here!" She yelled.

And once again she woke up in her bed with the mark on her wrist shining. "Fuck." Alice took her head into her hands and barely managed not to cry.

She was going crazy, that was for sure.

Alice dragged herself out of bed anyway.

The world unfortunately did not stop spinning just because someone was apparently being haunted by giant spirit snakes.

Murfy meowed loudly from beside her pillow.

"Yeah yeah, good morning to you too." Alice groaned, rubbing her face tiredly. The cat jumped onto her lap immediately, demanding attention as if her life was not actively falling apart.

Alice stared blankly at the wall while petting him.

She had exactly fourteen euros left in her account. The electricity bill was due next week. Her father needed medicine. She was failing school. And apparently some ancient snake spirit had decided she belonged to it now.

Wonderful.

She got dressed sluggishly and walked into her father's room. He was awake already, staring out the window silently. His eyes moved toward her as she entered.

"Morning." Alice forced a smile.

Her father's gaze slowly dropped toward the faint red glow beneath the sleeve of her hoodie.

Alice immediately pulled her sleeve down. "It's nothing."

He kept staring at her quietly.

For some reason, guilt twisted painfully inside her chest.

"I'm okay." She lied softly.

His hand twitched slightly against the blanket, like he wanted to reach for her but couldn't. Alice quickly looked away and started preparing his medicine before she could cry again.

School was miserable.

Actually, miserable was too nice of a word.

Alice nearly fell asleep standing during chemistry class. Every noise irritated her, the whispers of students, the scratching of pencils, chairs moving against the floor. The mark around her wrist kept itching beneath her sleeve.

At lunch, she rested her head against the cafeteria table while Lysa rambled about some online drama.

"And then she literally posted a crying selfie after they broke up- Alice?"

"Hm?"

"You look like death."

"Thank you."

"I'm serious." Lysa frowned. "You're pale."

Alice laughed weakly. "Maybe I died three days ago and nobody noticed."

"Not funny."

Alice stopped smiling after that.

Because honestly? It didn't feel funny.

It felt a little too real.

That evening, Alice biked home through the cold streets with aching legs. The sunset had already disappeared, darkness swallowing the city far too early.

As she passed a narrow side street, the mark on her wrist suddenly burned again.

Alice flinched so hard her bicycle wobbled. "Ow- what now?"

The burning grew hotter.

Then she heard crying.

Soft crying.

A child.

Alice slowed down immediately. The sound came from the alley beside her. Dark. Narrow. Almost completely hidden between buildings.

Every instinct screamed at her not to go inside.

Unfortunately, Alice had always been stupidly unable to ignore people in trouble.

"...Hello?" she called cautiously, stepping off her bike.

The crying stopped instantly.

Silence.

Alice swallowed nervously and looked down the alley. "Kid?"

Something moved in the darkness.

A small figure stood there. Tiny. Motionless.

Alice relaxed slightly. "Hey, are you lost?"

The figure slowly lifted its head.

Its face had no eyes.

Alice stopped breathing.

Its skin looked stretched tightly over its skull, and its mouth hung open far too wide for a child. Thick black liquid dripped from the corners of its lips.

The thing smiled at her.

Alice grabbed her bike so fast she almost threw it. "Absolutely fucking not."

The creature suddenly darted toward her unnaturally fast.

Alice screamed and stumbled backwards into the street. A car honked violently nearby as she nearly fell.

The thing stopped at the edge of the alley like it physically could not leave the darkness. Its eyeless face twitched toward her wrist.

Then it let out a distorted shriek and vanished deeper into the shadows.

Alice stood frozen in the middle of the road, breathing so hard her chest hurt.

People nearby stared at her like she was insane.

One man frowned. "Miss? Are you alright?"

Alice looked back toward the alley.

Empty.

Completely empty.