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.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtDDFskIJxJ
“Yo, this was not here before,” Jamie said, pointing at the door.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgecYu5b8xQ
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.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ26JDuas7O
“Ugh,” Mira winced. “That’s foul.”
Inside: stairs.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCrHXeb5Jqp
Cracked stone steps leading into what looked like another basement — even though the house already had one. The light barely touched the bottom.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbi3Nhndefx
“Okay, this is officially awesome,” Jamie said. “This is the kind of stuff our fans eat up.”
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg2e5yAqWqV
“I don’t like this,” I whispered, mostly to myself.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw4hxA96PH0
“You never like anything,” Jamie teased. “That’s your thing.”
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ2cMtu5ewy
He aimed his flashlight down the stairs. The shadows below didn’t budge.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ6KCtkB4hA
“I’ll go first,” he grinned.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu7kuNfa7ab
And without waiting, he started down.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwd72dBYAOW
Mira looked at the rest of us. “Well?”
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSByx1fW7xh
“Let’s go,” Dani said, following him like it was nothing.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsFTpjB3wqv
Leo pulled out his camera. “Hell yeah.”
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbSPjJ9Smhx
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.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡazqHEPaYGm
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.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoqmTe5BGUr
“Where the hell are we?” Leo muttered, still recording.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZP7A5w4Ziy
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
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbYBE7QFYAQ
Jamie grinned. “Creepy name. What do we think—Spanish? Latin?”
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtbgMjqPKOc
I grabbed his arm. “Don’t say it.”
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlMDj7p6WgK
“Why not?” he laughed. “It’s just the name of the house.”
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUnvg8qBKal
“Exactly,” I said. “That’s what’s wrong.”
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu3HLU8Ayy8
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.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4qUqb2uzv0
“What the hell?” Mira whispered.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpw1k2E6qKh
“Where’s the door?” Leo said.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXyYcJ52aDB
Jamie walked to the wall and ran his hands over it. “It was right here. We came through here.”
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGLTxAZq5xE
Mira hit her flashlight against her hand. “Okay… this is new.”
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz1vrLInGg8
“It’s gotta be a prank room,” Dani said. “Hidden walls or some kind of optical illusion.”
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1sU43A0gYV
Jamie turned around and smirked. “This is gonna be amazing in the video.”
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7aCrrPF0xk
And then—
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJJiq3OdTth
drip.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu9sp35Xc83
Something fell from the ceiling.
Thick. Dark. Sticky.
It landed near my shoe.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN5CNkDW2gN
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.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSXhaP1BB7B
> “One must stay.”
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSQ9868oBCu
We turned. All of us. Jamie was gone.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkUByJ7EZu0
---
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQV5XLH2Dno
He had been right beside me. I blinked. Dani screamed.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡduvvFddlpv
“Jamie?” Mira called out. “Jamie, quit it!”
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡACvzT8witv
Leo spun in a circle. “He was just here! He didn’t move!”
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvsxAGt2j0c
“He’s pranking us,” Dani said, trying to calm herself. “He’s hiding. He’s filming us freak out. This is so Jamie.”
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjKuC5efX0d
I wanted to believe that. But the air had shifted. The walls were listening.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ78ASAcEm2m
“Check the footage,” I said.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ6TfP95T31
Leo rewound the camera. We watched it.
Jamie reads the carving. Smiles.
And then—
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRiF5AlJ6Pf
a flicker. A single frame glitch. Then he’s gone.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9VYeiAmfAG
Mira frowned. “Did he… edit this?”
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡURyhfYQhj8
“Maybe he set something up?” Leo said.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmeTRGzdS3X
“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…”
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡajCznuMLNr
Nothing. Only the thick drip from above. Only the stone, breathing around us.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyfiklN9GtD
---
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoxynFqG1KL
Still, they didn’t panic.
Not yet.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5ipv4lumAO
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…
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK1vXtdA6aW
It wasn’t done yet.
ns216.73.216.25da2
