Hell's Silencing: Forsaken Innocence

Flora had just finished wrapping her wounds tightly, though not tight enough to make her skin turn purple due to restricted blood flow. There was so much medical gauze she could use it twice before the medipack became useless (and this was all said medipack consisted of). She then got out of her seat on all fours, flinching because of the pain in her hoof. Her luggage was again on her body while the Bloodied Claw Key rested in her mouth. She put some weight on her injured hoof and choked back a scream.

Perhaps it wasn't a good idea to walk right now.

Flora sat back down, noticing there was a runic symbol where she found the medical pack. It was a light sapphire, having five small orbs surrounding one large orb, like the points of a star. Many strange characters Flora assumed were of Japanese origin decorated almost every crevice of this symbol, save for the orbs.

It began glowing, quickly engulfing the whole room in its light.

Flora closed her eyes and covered them with her mane. The light became too much to bear.

It quickly faded.

Flora was torn: should she open her eyes and look, or keep them shut in hopes of returning home?

Nothing happened.

Flora kept her eyes shut still, though she did move her mane out of the way.

Nothing happened still.

Flora slowly pried one set of eyelids slightly ajar. The room stayed the same.

She opened her eyes fully and immediately sighed in relief. But she noticed something was off.

The corpse with the whiskey bottle wasn't there.

Flora got up and hobbled on all threes toward the now-alone table. The bright glow of the lantern was quickly fleeting.

She sat her book-bag down and pulled out the 28-pack of batteries. She flipped the lantern over and unscrewed its grey underside before replacing the batteries. She rescrewed the bottom back on before pushing the button.

The glow re-illuminated the room.

Flora re-loaded everything into her book-bag before hoisting it onto her backside (including the aforementioned Claw Key), albeit painfully. Left rear hoof be damned.

The mare then turned her attention to the booth. Right where the whiskey bottle was a glinting something. It was...

Flora felt her jaw physically drop and her eyes widen. It was a blue straw-person complete with the red thread.

She picked it up and hobbled back to the runic symbol. The small orb to the immediate left of the large orb was lit with a sapphire flame.

The straw-person vanished, as did the whole runic symbol.

"The fuck?" Flora asked aloud before slapping herself as she realized she cursed for the first time in her life.

This was odd.

Very odd indeed.