I Reincarnated to Another World as a Woman-Chapter 251: Run

"Which means, he really is dead."

Alicia’s voice came out steady, even though it was barely above a whisper.

Theo stayed silent.

He was not very good at consoling others. Especially women.

He glanced awkwardly at Arthur, silently asking for help.

Arthur looked just as lost.

Theo glared at him.

Useless.

He rolled his eyes.

Arthur shrugged slightly.

What do you expect me to do?

Theo drew a quiet breath.

"Chi... Alicia. You don’t mind if I call you Alicia?"

He did not wait for her answer.

"I am truly sorry about what happened to you. No one deserves it. Yet somehow, it always seems to happen to the kindest people. You certainly did not deserve it."

He exhaled slowly.

Then he reached forward and gently lifted Alicia’s chin, guiding her to look at him.

"But it did happen, Alicia."

His voice remained soft.

Gentle. But firm.

"What are you going to do about it?"

The gentleness did not soften the challenge beneath it.

Alicia blinked.

She looks into Theo’s misty grey eyes.

They somehow remind her of Alex’s.

That same look.

Supportive.

But challenging.

Alex used to look at her like that whenever she lingered too long in her sadness. He would give her space, but not indefinitely. He would never let her drown in it.

She can almost hear his voice.

"You’ve had a week, Little Ali. Wasn’t that enough? How long do you intend to stay down?"

Her throat tightens.

She swallows.

"But I don’t know what to do," she whispers, the words fragile and desperate.

Her gaze remains fixed on Theo’s eyes.

Then something shifts.

A heaviness settles over her.

Her eyelids grow unbearably heavy.

The exhaustion she has been fighting all morning finally wins.

Without warning, her body gives in.

She closes her eyes and falls forward.

Into Theo’s chest.

Theo blinks, startled, tightening his hold to keep her from slipping.

"Alicia?"

Arthur steps closer and checks her quickly.

"She’s asleep," he says after a moment.

Theo lets out a light scoff. "Now what?" he asks, still holding Alicia carefully in his arms.

Arthur glances around the chaotic apartment.

"Maybe I can clear the bed a little. Just enough space to lay her down properly. She needs sleep, Thea."

Theo nods slowly.

"I guess that’s for the best."

------------------------------

"So you guys just left?" Claudia asks.

Theo and Arthur look at each other.

"What else could we do?" Theo asks, genuinely confused.

Claudia stares at him.

"Oh my God. You could have at least waited until she woke up. What if she wakes up and finds herself alone and spirals again?"

Theo opens his mouth.

"I..."

He has no answer.

"It’s okay, Thea," Claudia says, waving a hand dismissively. "You’ve been corrupted by your brothers. So we cannot blame you for thinking like them."

"Hey!" Julian protests, but that is all he manages.

Arthur folds his arms. "Hey, we cannot just stay in someone else’s place waiting for them to wake up, can we?"

"It’s not polite, Claudia."

"That’s what men think," Claudia counters immediately. "Maeve, help me here."

Maeve looks between them, choosing her words carefully.

"Both of you have a point. Chief... I mean Alicia is lost, so to speak. It would be better if she has someone with her all the time so she does not do anything impulsive."

"Exactly!" Claudia beams, as if she has just won a championship debate.

"It’s creepy, Sis," Liam says, siding with Arthur.

"We are nothing but strangers to her. If she is asleep, her home is open for us to explore. We cannot just stay."

"Okay, Brother. I understand," Claudia replies, calmer now. "But I am speaking from a woman’s perspective. It is the same if you stay overnight at a woman’s place. You do not disappear at dawn and leave her waking up confused and wondering what she did wrong that made you leave her alone."

Liam frowns deeply.

"Staying overnight? Leaving before breakfast? Someone did that to you? Who was it? I will break his balls!"

"Whoa. Easy," Claudia says, holding up a hand.

"I do not need to experience it myself to understand courtesy."

"Guys, guys. Relax," Theo cuts in before the argument escalates any further.

"We left a written note. Saying we were sorry we had to leave, but she is welcome to contact us anytime she needs."

"Oh my God!" Maeve and Claudia say in unison.

"Not the note!"

"That’s worse than just leaving without one!"

The men, including Theo, stare at them, completely flabbergasted.

Liam shakes his head slowly. "Dad was right. We can never win."

------------------------------

Alicia is having another nightmare.

At first, she sees a pair of dark brown eyes.

Wide.

Filled with terror.

They glare at her.

Accusing.

Then blood spills across them.

Thick.

Dark.

It drips slowly, covering the whites, drowning the brown.

It is horrifying.

Disgusting.

But Alicia cannot wake up.

She is trapped inside it.

Her heart pounds violently against her ribs. Her body trembles. Her teeth clatter uncontrollably.

She is forced to watch as the eyes slowly lose their shine.

The life fades from them.

The scene repeats.

Again.

And again.

There is no escape.

She cannot scream.

She cannot run.

She cannot even close her eyes.

She is forced to witness it.

Then, suddenly, the image sharpens.

The eyes belong to her brother.

Alex.

How could she not recognize them?

Now she sees more than just his eyes.

His face appears.

Pale.

Stricken with fear.

His jaw hangs open in terror.

Not the familiar mischievous grin.

Not the warm, teasing smile.

Blood covers his face.

His lips move.

"Little Ali..."

She sees him stabbed.

Again.

And again.

And again.

He falls face down.

Each time.

Alicia cannot scream.

Cannot cry.

Cannot run.

She can only watch.

Alicia is struggling to breathe.

Her throat tightens.

It feels like invisible fingers are closing around her neck.

She is choking.

Help!

She screams.

But no sound comes out.

Only ragged, rasping breaths that scrape painfully against her throat.

Help me!

Her chest burns.

Her lungs ache.

She raises her hand into the darkness.

Alex!

I can’t breathe!

Alex!

Don’t leave me!

Her hand remains suspended, reaching into empty space.

Then suddenly, another hand grips hers.

Warm.

Solid.

Comforting.

Alex stands in front of her now, holding her hand.

He is smiling.

The terror around them fades slightly.

Alicia feels air rush back into her lungs.

She inhales sharply.

Once.

Twice.

Alex...

She tries to speak, but only hoarse breaths escape her lips.

Alex’s figure begins to fade.

But he is no longer in pain.

No blood.

No fear.

Only that familiar smile.

The one he always gives her when she doubts herself.

"You’ll be fine, Little Ali."

His voice is gentle.

Certain.

His image grows thinner, translucent.

His hand is still reaching for hers.

But his fingers slowly loosen.

No.

Alex.

Don’t leave me!

His body disappears completely.

Only his dark brown eyes remain, suspended in the void.

They stare at her.

Unblinking.

Alicia feels the scream rising in her chest again.

But before it can escape, the brown slowly drains away.

The color shifts.

Changes.

The eyes turn misty grey.

"Argh!"

Alicia jerks upright, screaming awake.

------------------------------

Alicia’s harsh breathing fills the apartment.

The sound echoes in the silence.

She scans the room wildly, eyes darting from corner to corner, searching for something.

Anything.

She does not even know what she is looking for.

When she realizes the room is exactly as she remembers, the chaos untouched, the bed still a mess, the coffee table still cluttered, her breathing begins to slow.

I’m back.

It was just a dream.

"You’re fine, Alicia," she says out loud.

Her voice trembles slightly.

She is clutching her throat, fingers pressing against her skin.

"I can speak again," she whispers in relief. "Thank God."

Her heart is still racing.

"Was that Alex? Trying to say goodbye? Is that what he was trying to say?"

She keeps talking, afraid that if she stops, the silence will swallow her again.

"Did he... was he... stabbed? What did the report say?"

She jumps off the bed and rushes to her desk, nearly tripping over scattered papers.

She begins searching frantically through the piles.

Reports.

Documents.

Medical files.

After several frantic minutes, she finds the one she is looking for, buried beneath irrelevant paperwork.

Her hands tremble as she flips it open and skims through the autopsy report.

"Yes," she murmurs. "He was stabbed multiple times from the back."

Her breath hitches.

"And he was already on the ground when the first stab happened."

The words blur.

Then something shifts.

A scene forces itself into her mind.

Alex lies face down on the ground.

The environment around him looks like a dungeon. The vegetation is thick and unnatural, nothing like the flora of Altheon.

His eyes are open.

Wide.

Filled with fear and panic.

He is paralyzed.

Unable to move.

Above him looms a massive eight legged spider.

Its two front legs lift slowly.

Then plunge down.

Once.

He screams in agony.

Twice.

Another scream tears from him.

He still cannot move.

But his eyes change.

They are no longer unfocused.

They are sharp.

Aware.

They lock onto something.

Someone.

They find her.

She is hiding behind a bush.

Frozen.

He looks at her.

His expression turns fierce.

Urgent.

His lips form a single word.

RUN!