The thought suddenly flashed through my mind, a reminder. Yes, once she broke free from the portrait, she'd be within reach of me, and it would be too late to run. While only her head was still alive, I could escape immediately. But my mind was blank, so frightened I'd forgotten the door was open, ready for escape at any moment. I was just frantic, my legs numb, and the more I frantically struggled, the more I couldn't move, as if I were possessed with my eyes open. 

The woman struggled violently, freeing her neck slightly, but most of it remained stuck to the canvas, still rigid and restricting her head's range of motion. Her eyes widened, a green rage blazing in them. She stared at me furiously, like a predator stalking a meal. I couldn't hold on any longer. My body slid down the table leg and collapsed to the floor. 

She looked at me with even more disdain, as if she wanted to spit at me. She parted her crimson lips and screamed, a cry more terrifying than the howl of a wolf on a moonlit night. Another gust of chilly wind blew in, damp and cold, carrying with it the stench of decay. In the dim green light, I glimpsed clusters of pale white objects drifting in. My heart leaped. I couldn't see what they were, but I could sense them hovering in the air, approaching. Several of them hovered only at the edge of my vision, deliberately obscuring their appearance and keeping my heart in the air. 

In the cemetery, I realized a white mass had stopped right before me! I recoiled, my head nearly exploding. It was like a thick cloud of fog, no more than a foot high, hanging before me. It lacked features, limbs, a torso, a head, or neck, yet I could still sense it observing me. Having such a thing hover before me made me feel sick to my very core. 

The white object cracked, and the inside remained white. A triumphant laugh emanated from the hole. I recognized it; it was the laughter of the woman in the portrait! So, she was trapped by the cabinet itself, unable to escape, so she found a substitute who could reach me to deal with me. 

A cold sweat began to form on my forehead. I couldn't stay here any longer. If I tried to move, who knew what she would do next? My arms and legs were numb, as if paralyzed. 

Suddenly, a pair of arms wrapped around my waist from behind. I screamed in fear. If I hadn't been in good health, my heart would have burst. The arm was pale white, identical to the thing hovering in front of me. It must have been formed by those masses, to keep me fixed to the desk. I felt the arms cold and clammy, tightly wrapped around my waist, and it was uncomfortable. 

At some point, the gaping hole in the thing before me turned a terrifying crimson red. It was expanding and contracting violently, as if swallowing something. The hole was closing in on me, and I could smell a cold, rancid odor emanating from it, making me feel sick. It was widening until it was wide enough to fit my head. It was clearly trying to devour me! 

I struggled to free myself from its grip, but I couldn't move a muscle. Its grip was so tight that I couldn't even turn my neck. The gaping hole was right before my eyes, and the stench inside was enough to make me want to vomit. I screamed at the top of my lungs, but no sound came out. It seemed I was no longer able to scream. 

Just as I was about to be devoured, a loud crash echoed from very close by, like thunder. The thing before me vanished with a plop, its arms loosening their grip on me. The room darkened, and nothing could be seen. The luminous quartz clock on the wall read six o'clock. 

I collapsed to the ground, utterly exhausted. But the thought of being in the same dark room with that terrifying creature, ready to reach out and grab me at any moment, made me jump with fear. My legs still felt weak, but I rushed out recklessly. I remembered the door was to my right. It was already dark outside, but still a little brighter than inside. I practically tumbled and scrambled to get out. My body slammed against the sofa, the desk, the door cabinet, but I continued to rush to the door recklessly. 

As I reached the door, I tripped over the wooden peg holding the door. I fell flat on my face. My palms scraped against the ground, burning. I was still very close to the door, but the thought of the woman in the darkness behind me made me jump to my feet and run forward at full speed. Ahead, on what served as the factory wall, stood a row of single-story residential buildings. Each room had a rear window on the back wall. Now, all of them were lit. Nothing could be more comforting to me than seeing these ordinary lights. I took off running, desperately trying to reach a window, and plopped down on the ground. I'd only run less than a hundred meters when I was already panting heavily, my vision still blurry. I was terrified. I glanced hard in the direction of the office. Fortunately, nothing was chasing me. I was out of danger.