x
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.
14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHKqf6EsPiB
Like a heartbeat.
14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEIL8vc750k
He walked in, the key still clutched in his hand. The door shut behind him, softly this time, as though it was breathing.
14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoKXVxXdSQf
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.
14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG4fxH6ns25
Aryan didn’t pull the blanket.
14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT5e8YnX7I6
Instead, his eyes locked on the old rotary phone on the desk. It began to ring.
14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA3XV0qfyf3
He approached slowly.
14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI5vLs7HHUN
Rrrrring.
14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ34R2ZSMVTF
Rrrrring.
14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5vxSR18Inc
He picked it up.
14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwDiif0GKE4
“Did you think it would be that easy?” said a voice — his own.
14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLSxH8y4gGf
He dropped the phone.
14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0NiF547rwI
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.
14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnkPqgbipZE
He ran.
14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy2hh1Ybk9m
But Room 13 didn’t let him.
14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEKluGnaMMv
14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvmkaCcYcqY
---
14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkVodLGar40
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.
14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡecddH6M8JX
“You saw. You forgot. Now you must remember.”
14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0YarjXxSIg
Suddenly, the television in the corner crackled on, though Aryan hadn’t noticed it before. Static. Then a flickering image:
14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9nw2Y0PCOS
A younger Aryan. A girl. Room 13. Locked from outside.
14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC7rPPpZGyd
She was screaming.
14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡevfvPj4IxU
Aryan — the boy — was watching from the peephole. Unmoving. Not helping.
14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡes1siE29Ow
Tears welled up in his eyes.
14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUfmvA8paLI
He had buried this. Suppressed it so deep, even dreams couldn’t reach it.
14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxJgw6dSlVN
Until now.
14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuebtviaCRI
The bed creature whispered: "We all watched. You watched. Now Room 13 watches you."
14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2unDy2tboc
He turned toward the mirror.
14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy91oNNfBwb
There were eyes in it.
14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW9FqzflVMK
Dozens.
14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcSzZzbWWsA
Watching. Blinking. Some crying. Others burning.
14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC9N98K5KS7
One pair — his.
14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ6Is1RQv7v
He reached toward the mirror, trembling.
14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw1EWnrLKmL
And it shattered.
14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFQaRUsC9cr
But the glass didn’t fall. The shards hovered midair, rearranging.
14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNUoId2Cry9
Into a door.
14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7dThCsJxxN
A door marked: “Guilt.”
14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJSYCB2Lf9y
And behind it, a girl’s voice said:
14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrlZBz9HLWL
"I’m still waiting, Aryan. You promised you'd come back..."
To Be Continued...
Chapter 6 coming tomorrow....
14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnGSax2XsV6
14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6PmTIkuhGb
