I wasn’t afraid of the dark. I was afraid of being alone in the dark.
That’s why when Jamie shouted from the second floor — something about a new door, something “weird” — I followed everyone up, even though my legs didn’t want to move. Even though the air felt heavier up there. Like the walls were holding their breath.
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeefM7a9mmR
“Yo, this was not here before,” Jamie said, pointing at the door.
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpe5IJLklag
It was narrow and crooked. Black like burnt wood. No dust, like the rest of the hallway. Like it had just… appeared. I stayed close behind Dani, gripping her hoodie like a kid. I didn’t care how it looked.
Jamie turned the handle and pulled the door open. The smell hit us instantly — thick, like damp earth and something long dead.
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6N6rwkx6uD
“Ugh,” Mira winced. “That’s foul.”
Inside: stairs.
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEKTWJlnk6J
Cracked stone steps leading into what looked like another basement — even though the house already had one. The light barely touched the bottom.
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTmZ6L08jbV
“Okay, this is officially awesome,” Jamie said. “This is the kind of stuff our fans eat up.”
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ70QReYNZ6a
“I don’t like this,” I whispered, mostly to myself.
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6n5qC8o6Hm
“You never like anything,” Jamie teased. “That’s your thing.”
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHYdQ9P57w9
He aimed his flashlight down the stairs. The shadows below didn’t budge.
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtaQ2OW0lDj
“I’ll go first,” he grinned.
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMABSII37t2
And without waiting, he started down.
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4YMVd3jmbp
Mira looked at the rest of us. “Well?”
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuVYcmhwMSJ
“Let’s go,” Dani said, following him like it was nothing.
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0C0J6VSyKD
Leo pulled out his camera. “Hell yeah.”
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKmFIioSeSn
I hesitated for half a second. Then I looked at the hallway behind me.
Empty.
Still.
Waiting.
And I knew I couldn’t stay up there alone. Even if the dark below scared me more— I’d rather face whatever was down there than be left behind.
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5FiRHIF2Al
The fourth step down was when I noticed it. The air changed. Wet. Cold. Breathing. We reached the bottom, flashlights sweeping over walls that shouldn’t exist. Stone. Cracked. Crumbling. Narrow corridor.
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTQn8C7pv4J
“Where the hell are we?” Leo muttered, still recording.
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlumnnV5w9J
The hallway ended in a small chamber. Circular. Dead silent.
Nothing inside except one thing carved into the far wall, like someone had scratched it in blood or bone:
> DE LA CASA
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwdFBWaYOig
Jamie grinned. “Creepy name. What do we think—Spanish? Latin?”
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY59xnB7fvu
I grabbed his arm. “Don’t say it.”
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYrPxmSvXSX
“Why not?” he laughed. “It’s just the name of the house.”
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhy06RvrNTE
“Exactly,” I said. “That’s what’s wrong.”
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLGkR9QRJ9t
They rolled their eyes, half amused. Then the lights flickered. And the hallway we’d come through… was gone. Just solid stone behind us now.
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrcxrxWHAM4
“What the hell?” Mira whispered.
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4VIWOMdiQd
“Where’s the door?” Leo said.
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxSzri3eleE
Jamie walked to the wall and ran his hands over it. “It was right here. We came through here.”
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡota9CNM4Oq
Mira hit her flashlight against her hand. “Okay… this is new.”
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaKEDsmwjJs
“It’s gotta be a prank room,” Dani said. “Hidden walls or some kind of optical illusion.”
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfUqX0l8wml
Jamie turned around and smirked. “This is gonna be amazing in the video.”
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJXWlnVswUN
And then—
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE1XqAsxL2f
drip.
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAi7Vvxs6rs
Something fell from the ceiling.
Thick. Dark. Sticky.
It landed near my shoe.
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnnuo4DZ5Uu
I pointed the light up. Black liquid.
Dripping slowly from the stone.
Thick like oil. Or blood.
Then we heard it. A voice.
Not loud. Not human.
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdT8ioCcAUp
> “One must stay.”
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDwuMvVkcXj
We turned. All of us. Jamie was gone.
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgVoa9uqpOD
---
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8RaOKgacDs
He had been right beside me. I blinked. Dani screamed.
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz77dBsI4Di
“Jamie?” Mira called out. “Jamie, quit it!”
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVwbZpxQe2M
Leo spun in a circle. “He was just here! He didn’t move!”
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrQHmxOUXMb
“He’s pranking us,” Dani said, trying to calm herself. “He’s hiding. He’s filming us freak out. This is so Jamie.”
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5R0ReiXtSV
I wanted to believe that. But the air had shifted. The walls were listening.
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqWPZH8yVu4
“Check the footage,” I said.
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmXoT8Ngtw1
Leo rewound the camera. We watched it.
Jamie reads the carving. Smiles.
And then—
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpeO3Uny15W
a flicker. A single frame glitch. Then he’s gone.
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl0mvrtHDBq
Mira frowned. “Did he… edit this?”
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9kzDpRw5pg
“Maybe he set something up?” Leo said.
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW5PeajodvB
“He probably snuck behind one of the walls,” Dani added. “We just didn’t notice. It’s a gag. Just wait—he’s gonna pop out screaming in 3… 2…”
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvfibnKpntB
Nothing. Only the thick drip from above. Only the stone, breathing around us.
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqLRMqGTTC2
---
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpPQ7rbkCsT
Still, they didn’t panic.
Not yet.
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfJ504Z3ckt
They laughed nervously. Joked about Jamie’s “Oscar-worthy prank.” But I didn’t. Because I knew what I felt. And I knew that whatever took Jamie…
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaJ35EJCTJU
It wasn’t done yet.
ns216.73.216.25da2
