The next morning brought a veil of thick fog that clung to the windows of the Mirwood Resthouse like a second skin. Aryan woke up with a heavy head and eyes that stung from sleep. The silence around him wasn’t peaceful—it was suffocating. No chirping birds. No rustling leaves. Just... nothing.
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYVQvvl4QTo
He checked his phone. No signal again.
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTjtIuJbkik
Devlin hadn’t been around since the previous night. Aryan hadn’t seen him after that bizarre encounter in the hallway, where the shadows moved before his own feet. He tried brushing it off as sleep-deprivation, but the image haunted him still.
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoJ1cpkoeVC
As he stepped out of his room, the hallway looked dimmer than usual. It was past 8 AM but the lightbulbs overhead flickered uneasily, casting jagged streaks on the floorboards. Aryan’s gaze drifted to the far end of the hall—the locked corridor he was warned to never enter.
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIfAYVWYIx6
Except now, it wasn’t locked.
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWe85yx8tpg
The padlock hung broken, the latch undone.
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWETDRvy6MF
Every fiber of his logical mind screamed for him to walk away. But his curiosity—no, his need for answers—dragged his feet forward.
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnjcVhpt6Ve
The hallway behind the forbidden door was narrower, colder, and lined with faded paintings of unfamiliar faces—some with scratched-out eyes. Aryan’s breath came out in puffs, though he couldn’t explain why the air had turned icy.
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq0GIcin56l
Room 13 was there.
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLWUqFToCOd
Not just a whisper in Devlin’s warnings.
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtYE0H2RK4K
Not just a ghost tale in the town.
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvfPL8KMZdG
It stood before him—an old wooden door, darker than the rest, with rusted hinges and the faint, unexplainable scent of formaldehyde.
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9gU6sFZfMk
He hesitated, his hand hovering over the knob.
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAV6gX8Ultp
The moment he touched it, a sharp static pulse ran through his body, like someone had shoved a wire into his spine. He gasped but pushed the door open anyway.
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPgD8NuvncH
Inside, the room was almost empty—except for a broken chair, a journal on the floor, and the unmistakable sensation of being watched.
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0a6aTKjv20
He picked up the journal. The cover was cracked leather. On the inside, scrawled in frantic, uneven handwriting was the name:
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD3xCtGQBAI
"Adira Singh."
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEjTSYDrh1u
His sister’s name.
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKt07fb7pbo
Aryan’s knees buckled. This wasn’t a coincidence. She had been here. And someone—or something—knew he would find this.
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQQDm62iJB9
The entries inside were horrifying. Scribbled phrases like "Voices in the drain," "Mirror shows another woman," and "Don't sleep. They crawl in when you do.” Each page grew more unreadable, as though her mind had been unravelling faster than the ink could dry.
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4z6ydI5qAO
The last entry was just one line:
“Room 13B knows I’m here.”
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4QZpgIbuvD
He felt a cold breath on his neck.
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUgc206s2Tv
Aryan spun around—but the room was empty.
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCbwdSpjHa2
Except it wasn’t.
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl5CKIlu4eN
The mirror on the far wall now had a handprint on the inside.
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdhefnqQucZ
He stumbled out, heart hammering like it wanted to leave his chest. Back in the corridor, the door slammed shut behind him with an unnatural finality.
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrbg34nEP0J
And when he turned to look again... Room 13 had disappeared. Only a blank wall remained.
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfm3yonuCoO
Aryan ran back to his room, chest heaving.
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡffRKKK0vSu
This wasn’t just about uncovering his sister’s fate anymore.
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz1w0qYiJyS
He was being pulled into something ancient.
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP5frXXSkse
Something that wanted to stay buried.
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvj23LXiFcT
And he had just opened its door.
Chapter 5 coming soon 🔜
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwLvpfxWiR5
and then Add to home screen.