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.
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnYVohKVMCs
“Yo, this was not here before,” Jamie said, pointing at the door.
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj3KYWk4KoI
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.
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwiAD0IMDo3
“Ugh,” Mira winced. “That’s foul.”
Inside: stairs.
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkbtliTRE2L
Cracked stone steps leading into what looked like another basement — even though the house already had one. The light barely touched the bottom.
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN0A3wFklfM
“Okay, this is officially awesome,” Jamie said. “This is the kind of stuff our fans eat up.”
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9KaJWrIh9f
“I don’t like this,” I whispered, mostly to myself.
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcSpw2rl9xB
“You never like anything,” Jamie teased. “That’s your thing.”
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ77phHSORFf
He aimed his flashlight down the stairs. The shadows below didn’t budge.
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7fNbgE9N6H
“I’ll go first,” he grinned.
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXR2DJgK7kL
And without waiting, he started down.
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgTARwUaZgc
Mira looked at the rest of us. “Well?”
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSm8ofLonew
“Let’s go,” Dani said, following him like it was nothing.
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlaYmOFB2z6
Leo pulled out his camera. “Hell yeah.”
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡun0DWduVsQ
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.
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtp6wOYaS9U
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.
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq2zUCTRFAi
“Where the hell are we?” Leo muttered, still recording.
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcyFwDNGQns
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
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9cZBWs21gn
Jamie grinned. “Creepy name. What do we think—Spanish? Latin?”
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCNcDT3o3q4
I grabbed his arm. “Don’t say it.”
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡka5j7BPU5R
“Why not?” he laughed. “It’s just the name of the house.”
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAnNwbs9FYi
“Exactly,” I said. “That’s what’s wrong.”
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrEKwG3aMtU
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.
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGD6U5WD5gX
“What the hell?” Mira whispered.
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ74LULABGhS
“Where’s the door?” Leo said.
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnaiparBuBg
Jamie walked to the wall and ran his hands over it. “It was right here. We came through here.”
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi3Df5PVpaM
Mira hit her flashlight against her hand. “Okay… this is new.”
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlchKZ2AdVc
“It’s gotta be a prank room,” Dani said. “Hidden walls or some kind of optical illusion.”
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ6KjjwgBNP
Jamie turned around and smirked. “This is gonna be amazing in the video.”
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoq0Rwoo1bW
And then—
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA8DYWndzVh
drip.
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNepPpbdxQh
Something fell from the ceiling.
Thick. Dark. Sticky.
It landed near my shoe.
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwVEpD6eVnR
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.
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1tPZy7bK5j
> “One must stay.”
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCRD15ohNvH
We turned. All of us. Jamie was gone.
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBaE9cyMKyr
---
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtacPldcx5Q
He had been right beside me. I blinked. Dani screamed.
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTmdUkMN3ed
“Jamie?” Mira called out. “Jamie, quit it!”
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYgTtMEwIQx
Leo spun in a circle. “He was just here! He didn’t move!”
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEDrqieQy36
“He’s pranking us,” Dani said, trying to calm herself. “He’s hiding. He’s filming us freak out. This is so Jamie.”
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdruc9fLwmG
I wanted to believe that. But the air had shifted. The walls were listening.
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMs7P5RQHsu
“Check the footage,” I said.
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc60tMTWswJ
Leo rewound the camera. We watched it.
Jamie reads the carving. Smiles.
And then—
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡieoDhVFfS2
a flicker. A single frame glitch. Then he’s gone.
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE8I1fope5t
Mira frowned. “Did he… edit this?”
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGahD7DfcwY
“Maybe he set something up?” Leo said.
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZXcWEx2E7V
“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…”
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkUL3UwMqEk
Nothing. Only the thick drip from above. Only the stone, breathing around us.
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSrvsraczhl
---
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO76C0XFh0O
Still, they didn’t panic.
Not yet.
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMHUAbfSL3l
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…
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6e4NJIOQcp
It wasn’t done yet.
ns216.73.216.45da2
