The moment Aryan stepped into Room 13 again, a wave of nausea hit him. It wasn’t like before. The air was heavier. Greasy. As if soaked in something ancient. The wallpaper peeled in long strips, curling like burnt skin. The bulb above flickered, then steadied — but not with light. With a dim pulse.
42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWkUajbWYAu
Like a heartbeat.
42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA8hWScUfZD
He walked in, the key still clutched in his hand. The door shut behind him, softly this time, as though it was breathing.
42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfjKzKgloRt
Everything in the room was exactly as he remembered it, yet completely wrong. The mirror had a new crack, one that hadn't been there before. The bed was made — military perfect — but something breathed underneath the sheets. Slow. Rhythmic.
42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzXTuwf8RWC
Aryan didn’t pull the blanket.
42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5DMsFdY7t3
Instead, his eyes locked on the old rotary phone on the desk. It began to ring.
42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe0XGQke5PL
He approached slowly.
42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWAo4Xr9Kr0
Rrrrring.
42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ2AAU22mD7
Rrrrring.
42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrs9pUcjDqO
He picked it up.
42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXcfy7NmLUn
“Did you think it would be that easy?” said a voice — his own.
42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbbgOIHhF3G
He dropped the phone.
42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPTtfihtwBL
The sheets on the bed exploded upward. A figure, wrapped in blood-soaked cloth, sat up. No eyes. No face. Just teeth. Chattering. Fast. Angry.
42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsNflzdYTS2
He ran.
42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOA4GNoaOcG
But Room 13 didn’t let him.
42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6FDPL0qdhZ
42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqIfIj7eKHt
---
42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb3LarS0DuV
The walls elongated. The door stretched away from him. No matter how fast he moved, it drifted farther. As if time here was liquid. The window slammed shut. The light dimmed. And then the voice returned.
42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsczmUDODvb
“You saw. You forgot. Now you must remember.”
42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAq4oSq4NeT
Suddenly, the television in the corner crackled on, though Aryan hadn’t noticed it before. Static. Then a flickering image:
42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrcIq72GoX4
A younger Aryan. A girl. Room 13. Locked from outside.
42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZILyQZGj6C
She was screaming.
42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYTWgge3rbS
Aryan — the boy — was watching from the peephole. Unmoving. Not helping.
42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ08tXkAhbab
Tears welled up in his eyes.
42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡygPeh7XqLP
He had buried this. Suppressed it so deep, even dreams couldn’t reach it.
42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmMgM2kjrwU
Until now.
42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH5jyG4KS62
The bed creature whispered: "We all watched. You watched. Now Room 13 watches you."
42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKz00imKPMe
He turned toward the mirror.
42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvJv8fdYOVz
There were eyes in it.
42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9TkALLit8i
Dozens.
42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJGd5h2x6kh
Watching. Blinking. Some crying. Others burning.
42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJeGlK5W3Pw
One pair — his.
42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfLgbyntku2
He reached toward the mirror, trembling.
42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5oJBEBIc6U
And it shattered.
42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKfrAbYfkal
But the glass didn’t fall. The shards hovered midair, rearranging.
42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVSXH2DAOPP
Into a door.
42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv4nVzeqBTU
A door marked: “Guilt.”
42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ66B0K4ZAOp
And behind it, a girl’s voice said:
42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkkbj3cNrZI
"I’m still waiting, Aryan. You promised you'd come back..."
To Be Continued...
Chapter 6 coming tomorrow....
42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVazan0Cri4
42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw6FHub21ov
