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.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9R4wCXS1tP
“Yo, this was not here before,” Jamie said, pointing at the door.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqYpqr0KreM
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.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcW0OP9Fmly
“Ugh,” Mira winced. “That’s foul.”
Inside: stairs.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYV81euJZd9
Cracked stone steps leading into what looked like another basement — even though the house already had one. The light barely touched the bottom.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡot6cvEKaHY
“Okay, this is officially awesome,” Jamie said. “This is the kind of stuff our fans eat up.”
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkld1rDMly2
“I don’t like this,” I whispered, mostly to myself.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ04VJjq1VO7
“You never like anything,” Jamie teased. “That’s your thing.”
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKq0w2EwbBW
He aimed his flashlight down the stairs. The shadows below didn’t budge.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ48QJ6Ec5Tf
“I’ll go first,” he grinned.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiRgRxJgZBc
And without waiting, he started down.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGKcnJh36Gw
Mira looked at the rest of us. “Well?”
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5bfofmgdDJ
“Let’s go,” Dani said, following him like it was nothing.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMKCwZJQt24
Leo pulled out his camera. “Hell yeah.”
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSM740EaRTs
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.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBMx0d9cxPA
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.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcy2RDlICOT
“Where the hell are we?” Leo muttered, still recording.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVHUBcxTAZv
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
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfrfJWqWuWx
Jamie grinned. “Creepy name. What do we think—Spanish? Latin?”
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡScqmjBqZKf
I grabbed his arm. “Don’t say it.”
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBBrjIqJ4Fu
“Why not?” he laughed. “It’s just the name of the house.”
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMrCpBBP9jN
“Exactly,” I said. “That’s what’s wrong.”
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Bf4ixSf0U
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.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0RGbX5RMwN
“What the hell?” Mira whispered.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQOfg3yGqSL
“Where’s the door?” Leo said.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPNrHbFUbXE
Jamie walked to the wall and ran his hands over it. “It was right here. We came through here.”
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsjwwIgpKLr
Mira hit her flashlight against her hand. “Okay… this is new.”
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMdvtm4A5x3
“It’s gotta be a prank room,” Dani said. “Hidden walls or some kind of optical illusion.”
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNH4X8fIEFi
Jamie turned around and smirked. “This is gonna be amazing in the video.”
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwGftR6PXEo
And then—
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhXopbE3AQ5
drip.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYtFzzjAkFl
Something fell from the ceiling.
Thick. Dark. Sticky.
It landed near my shoe.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ75vM9D8xDM
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.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM6PsFklcai
> “One must stay.”
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ14QXnPIIEW
We turned. All of us. Jamie was gone.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsdp2Kajnxo
---
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaeDuKeIFdt
He had been right beside me. I blinked. Dani screamed.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbsb9u7Ir4y
“Jamie?” Mira called out. “Jamie, quit it!”
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡegcz4yhs7p
Leo spun in a circle. “He was just here! He didn’t move!”
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0k38TruHnA
“He’s pranking us,” Dani said, trying to calm herself. “He’s hiding. He’s filming us freak out. This is so Jamie.”
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiaO2pX9fzW
I wanted to believe that. But the air had shifted. The walls were listening.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU8zPSTphoS
“Check the footage,” I said.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNqIMsP8IfS
Leo rewound the camera. We watched it.
Jamie reads the carving. Smiles.
And then—
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4bTFPP3IDH
a flicker. A single frame glitch. Then he’s gone.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnsP5fmyjnV
Mira frowned. “Did he… edit this?”
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqJH0PdXV2A
“Maybe he set something up?” Leo said.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVQEI9TQ307
“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…”
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Apv8whlig
Nothing. Only the thick drip from above. Only the stone, breathing around us.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB3cCBLtLHC
---
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnuQj7XBvfQ
Still, they didn’t panic.
Not yet.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLGe3TnbTsV
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…
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdBVNe7L5qx
It wasn’t done yet.
ns216.73.216.176da2
