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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡheVsGKRnz5
“Yo, this was not here before,” Jamie said, pointing at the door.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx3mGX1b24o
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ86RCZe9CwA
“Ugh,” Mira winced. “That’s foul.”
Inside: stairs.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKmp2yDTcUx
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFRjWVbug0c
“Okay, this is officially awesome,” Jamie said. “This is the kind of stuff our fans eat up.”
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX0Tg6ND7tf
“I don’t like this,” I whispered, mostly to myself.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoICgPhwu4g
“You never like anything,” Jamie teased. “That’s your thing.”
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNXUXKWotRe
He aimed his flashlight down the stairs. The shadows below didn’t budge.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWvlwcn1Rby
“I’ll go first,” he grinned.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1bTJjCDLEB
And without waiting, he started down.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEUgWVDnxGQ
Mira looked at the rest of us. “Well?”
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx0OC66IYVp
“Let’s go,” Dani said, following him like it was nothing.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMATHuOl5mA
Leo pulled out his camera. “Hell yeah.”
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB1ohPNj4qe
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTNIuwgCw61
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl1HZbMxmSD
“Where the hell are we?” Leo muttered, still recording.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQsCCJPeGdY
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRnEsOVXYmL
Jamie grinned. “Creepy name. What do we think—Spanish? Latin?”
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiADLy1WlXw
I grabbed his arm. “Don’t say it.”
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr9EJCdNJZP
“Why not?” he laughed. “It’s just the name of the house.”
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyU0IdvqZSr
“Exactly,” I said. “That’s what’s wrong.”
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1EAaOjWDNM
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ42s11vRvlM
“What the hell?” Mira whispered.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQf1h2LdPuj
“Where’s the door?” Leo said.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCgLbQgZEQQ
Jamie walked to the wall and ran his hands over it. “It was right here. We came through here.”
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiJGsmBAmhD
Mira hit her flashlight against her hand. “Okay… this is new.”
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKuknHqNAic
“It’s gotta be a prank room,” Dani said. “Hidden walls or some kind of optical illusion.”
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgH78YT9Srz
Jamie turned around and smirked. “This is gonna be amazing in the video.”
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA4YlFAtNvV
And then—
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEDX5S5heHL
drip.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVCkeHOmqBK
Something fell from the ceiling.
Thick. Dark. Sticky.
It landed near my shoe.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ51pHdGLHUj
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjq7Oax3tx1
> “One must stay.”
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs5cOMha27a
We turned. All of us. Jamie was gone.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj1jHz7LEo1
---
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6goQ5himEN
He had been right beside me. I blinked. Dani screamed.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG1fCAQupZU
“Jamie?” Mira called out. “Jamie, quit it!”
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHOq2cnrtz3
Leo spun in a circle. “He was just here! He didn’t move!”
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbdHvioWSJx
“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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk5WQjRa2zh
I wanted to believe that. But the air had shifted. The walls were listening.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM4ETTzfHCw
“Check the footage,” I said.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvfozSjE7Q0
Leo rewound the camera. We watched it.
Jamie reads the carving. Smiles.
And then—
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzLr4N9XD2C
a flicker. A single frame glitch. Then he’s gone.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRN2hlzGpV3
Mira frowned. “Did he… edit this?”
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVystgvK78A
“Maybe he set something up?” Leo said.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGQfHRBzp89
“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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIZO2DWSLcO
Nothing. Only the thick drip from above. Only the stone, breathing around us.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLohozhMtqI
---
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1oK4xtQc7p
Still, they didn’t panic.
Not yet.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcyWZvryDVE
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdPfXsuEFKw
It wasn’t done yet.
ns216.73.216.25da2
