The world paused.
Just for a few seconds…
everything went silent.
Then- it started again.
She blinked, her breath uneven.
Her hands…
they were wet.
Slowly, she looked down.
It felt like someone had been crying into them.
Her chest tightened.
No.
That wasn’t possible.
Her fingers trembled as she lifted them to her face- and that’s when she realized…
Her cheeks were burning.
Red.
Wet.
Tears.
But she didn’t remember crying.
Not a single tear.
Yet somehow…
she had been crying all along.
The next moment- everything tilted.
Her body jerked, like she’d been pulled out of herself.
Reality snapped back.
A man- in a police uniform- was running.
Running like his life depended on it.
He kept looking back, panic written all over him.
Then suddenly- he stumbled.
His body hit the ground hard.
She froze.
And then…
she saw his face.
It was him.
Joe.
Blood stained his skin.
His lips trembled- like he was trying to say something.
Like he was begging.
For forgiveness.
Her heart slammed against her chest.
“No…”
She pushed herself up and ran toward him- fast, desperate-
But before she could reach him-
Joe suddenly got up.
And ran.
Like lightning.
Gone.
An ominous feeling crept into her chest.
The surroundings felt…
wrong.
Everything was moving- yet completely still.
Like the world had turned into a frozen frame.
And somehow…
she couldn’t hear anything.
Not a single sound.
Her breathing was the only thing that felt real.
She wiped her tears quickly, her fingers still trembling- a nd ran in that direction.
Just in time to see him.
Joe.Getting into a taxi
“Wait-!”
But her voice didn’t exist.
Without thinking, she rushed to the road and got into another cab.
“Follow that taxi.”
The car sped off.
She kept her eyes locked ahead, her mind spiraling.
Something wasn’t right.
Nothing was right.
Minutes passed- or maybe seconds.
Time didn’t make sense anymore.
And then- she noticed the route.
Her heart skipped.
No…
It couldn’t be.
He was heading toward that place.
The school.
The same school where Shelly was found.
A chill ran down her spine.
Why?
Why is he going there?
Her thoughts tangled, questions echoing louder than the silence around her. Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
And for the first time- fear didn’t feel distant.
It felt…
personal.
After a while, the taxi screeched to a halt.
Joe stepped out- and ran straight into the school.
The gates were wide open.
Too open.
The school stood there…
empty.
Silent.
Like it had been waiting.
Waiting for this moment.
Her heart dropped.
She quickly got out of the cab, threw some money at the driver, and ran after him.
“Joe!”
But again- her voice felt swallowed.
She crossed the gates.
And instantly- the air changed.
Heavy.
Suffocating.
The corridors stretched endlessly, shadows clinging to the walls.
It felt like the school was…
alive.
Calling them.
The walls seemed to whisper- their names.
But she couldn’t hear it clearly.
Fear had already taken over everything.
Her thoughts.
Her breath.
Her heartbeat.
What if she loses him?
What if she loses…
the only reason she’s still holding on?
“Joe… please…”
Her steps quickened.
Desperate.
Breaking.
Because this time- it didn’t feel like she was chasing him.
It felt like…
something else was pulling them both in.
Joe didn’t hesitate.
He ran straight toward the basement, his footsteps echoing as the darkness swallowed him whole.
The air felt heavier down there…
wrong, like something was waiting.
Elise froze at the top of the stairs.
Her fingers curled tightly around the railing as her breath hitched.
Something about that basement…
it wasn’t just dark.
It felt alive.
Like it was calling her.
“Joe…?” she whispered, but her voice came out weaker than she expected.
No answer.
Only silence.
Thick.
Suffocating.
Her heart pounded against her chest as a chill crept up her spine.
Every instinct told her to run-to turn back, to leave-but her feet wouldn’t move.
Because deep down…
She knew.
The darkness wasn’t empty.
It was waiting.
She saw Joe disappear into the room.
For a second, Elise hesitated…
but then she followed.
Her steps were slow, almost unwilling, as if the floor itself was trying to pull her back.
Still, she reached the door.
Her hand trembled as she pushed it open.
Creak…
The sound echoed louder than it should have.
Her breath caught.
The room was огромous.
Too big to exist inside that basement.
And it was filled-wall to wall-with mirrors.
Tall ones.
Endless ones.
Stretching from the floor to the ceiling.
Each one reflecting another…
and another…
and another…
An infinite maze of glass.
Elise stepped inside, her heartbeat thundering in her ears.
For a moment, she thought she was alone.
But then-
She felt it.
The mirrors weren’t just reflecting her.
They were watching.
following her every move.
Her reflection blinked.
She didn’t.
She moved slowly, her eyes flickering from one mirror to another, her reflection multiplying endlessly around her.
Then-
She saw him.
“Joe…?”
He stood at the far corner of the room.
Bleeding.
But something was wrong.
He wasn’t looking at her.
He was facing the mirror.
Completely still.
Like he didn’t even know she was there.
“Joe!” she called out louder, her voice cracking as she started running toward him.
“Joe, it’s me!”
No response.
Not even a flinch.
Her heart pounded harder with every step.
“I’m here! Turn around-please!”
But he didn’t move.
He just kept staring into the mirror…
As if something inside it had him trapped.
And then-
The mirror moved.
A ripple.
A distortion across the glass.
Elise froze.
Something dark began to form behind Joe’s reflection.
Not behind him-but inside the mirror.
Her breath hitched.
“Joe… run-!”
Too late.
The thing lunged forward-
A shadowy force bursting out of the glass, wrapping around him in an instant.
Joe didn’t even scream.
He didn’t even react.
It was like he couldn’t.
“No-!!”
Elise reached out, but before she could touch him-
The darkness pulled him back.
Straight into the mirror.
His body sank into the glass like it was liquid-
And then-
He was gone.
The mirror stilled.
As if nothing had happened.
Only Elise remained…
And the reflections…
Still watching….
She froze.
Her mind refused to understand what had just happened.
Joe…
was gone.
Just like that.
Her heart pounded wildly-then suddenly, it felt like it stopped.
Like the blood in her veins had frozen.
Her body wouldn’t move.
Her brain screamed at her to run…
but no signal reached her limbs.
She couldn’t breathe.
She couldn’t think.
Slowly, her knees gave out beneath her.
She collapsed onto the cold floor.
The mirrors stood silently around her…
watching.
Always watching.
Her vision blurred as she tried to focus-tried to make sense of anything-
And then she saw it.
Above her.
A clock.
No-
Not just a clock.
A massive one.
Far too big to belong in that room.
It was fixed to the ceiling, looming over her like something unnatural…
something wrong.
The hands weren’t moving.
Time…
had stopped.
A chill crawled through her entire body as her eyes shifted lower.
There was something written beneath it.
The words looked scratched in…
not painted.
Not carved cleanly.
Written like a warning.
Or a promise.
Her lips trembled as she read it-
“The door always remains open for you.”
_____________________________________
“The scariest part wasn’t losing Joe. It was realizing the darkness knew her name.” — Shayarasehar