The first step onto the mansion grounds felt wrong.
Daniel felt it like a static charge under his skin — the world just... shifted.The air grew thicker, heavier, like he was wading into something not made for breathing.
He glanced at Ethan. His best friend seemed fine, grinning wide, beckoning him forward.
"Come on, slowpoke," Ethan called. "Hillview's waiting!"
Daniel forced his legs to move.
The others followed, slipping through the torn gaps in the fence one by one, their laughter dimming the deeper they went. The mansion loomed higher with every step, its broken windows like a thousand watching eyes.
They reached the front porch — a cracked, rotting thing that groaned under their weight.A heavy oak door, battered but still standing, blocked their way.
"Moment of truth," Zoe said, lifting her phone to record.
Chris mockingly raised his hand like a game-show host. "And behind door number one... death!"
"Shut up," Harper muttered, clutching Jules' arm.
Ethan grabbed the old iron handle. "Ready?"
Daniel hesitated. He thought — for a second — he heard something behind the door.A whisper. His name.
He shook it off.
"Do it," Daniel said, voice firmer than he felt.
Ethan yanked the door open with a loud, drawn-out creak.
A wave of cold air blasted them — the smell of mold, rotting wood, and something sharper, metallic, like blood.
Inside was darkness. Thick and swallowing. Their flashlights cut only narrow paths through it.
Beyond the door was a grand entryway — the kind you'd see in old movies. A massive staircase curled up into shadows. Faded portraits of strangers lined the walls. A dusty chandelier hung precariously from the ceiling, as if ready to fall at the slightest breath.
For a moment, no one moved.
The air seemed to hold its breath.
Then Zoe whooped, breaking the tension. "Hell yeah! We're inside!"
The group poured into the mansion, flashing lights everywhere, laughing nervously.
Daniel stayed back a moment, glancing at the door they'd come through.
Already it was... different. The outside world beyond it looked grainy, distant, like a memory instead of something real.
And the door — slowly, soundlessly — began to swing shut on its own.
Click.
The lock engaged.
Daniel's stomach twisted.
They were inside.And they weren't alone.