Chapter 17: A Scream in the Dark

Darkness pressed against Nathan like a living thing, curling around his limbs, seeping into his skin. His own face stared back at him from the doorway, twisted into something almost human. Almost.

It smiled.

Nathan's breath caught in his throat. The thing mimicking him took a slow step forward, its movements unnatural—like a puppet on invisible strings. The light from his flickering flashlight caught its features, warping them, stretching them into something grotesque.

"You don't belong here," it whispered.

Nathan clenched his fists, grounding himself. "Neither do you."

The smile widened. "Are you sure?"

The thing lunged.

Nathan barely had time to react before the air split apart with a sound that sent ice through his veins—a scream, high-pitched and raw, exploding from the factory walls as if the building itself was howling in pain.

Nathan stumbled back, hands flying to his ears as the sound rattled through his skull. It wasn't just a scream. It was a thousand voices, twisted together in agony, clawing at his mind.

His doppelgänger seized the moment, lunging again. Nathan threw himself to the side, crashing against a rusted filing cabinet. Pain shot up his ribs, but he forced himself up, gripping the edge of the desk for support.

The thing turned its head unnaturally far, locking eyes with him. "You can't run forever."

Nathan's pulse hammered. He didn't need to be told twice. He bolted, pushing past the desk and out of the room, feet pounding against the floor as the scream followed him, warping the air, bending the shadows.

He sprinted down the endless hall, the lights above flickering, distorting his surroundings. The factory was shifting again.

Doors lined the corridor, some hanging open, revealing rooms that twisted and stretched in impossible angles. Shadows flickered within them, watching. Waiting.

Then, the lights went out completely.

Nathan skidded to a halt, panting. The only sound was his own breathing, ragged and uneven. He raised his flashlight, but the darkness swallowed its beam like a void.

Then—

A footstep.

Close.

Too close.

Nathan turned, pulse spiking. The darkness behind him was no longer empty. A shape stood there, shifting, its form stretching taller than it should.

The scream erupted again, impossibly loud, coming from everywhere at once. Nathan stumbled back, his vision blurring. The walls trembled, the ground beneath him cracking.

He fell.

Fell into nothingness.

When he woke, the air was thick, humid, pressing down on him like a suffocating hand. He was no longer in the hallway.

This room was different.

The walls were lined with metal pipes, groaning as something pulsed through them. The scent of rust and damp earth filled his nostrils. The air hummed with an energy that made his skin crawl.

Nathan sat up slowly, his limbs aching. He reached for his flashlight, only to realize it was gone. The only light came from a single, flickering bulb hanging from the ceiling, casting long, shifting shadows.

Then, he saw it.

A figure stood in the farthest corner of the room, facing away from him. Motionless.

Nathan's breath caught. "Hello?"

No response.

He swallowed, forcing himself to stand. His instincts screamed at him to run, but something about the figure held him in place. There was something wrong with it.

It didn't move. Didn't breathe. But the longer he stared, the more he felt it watching him.

His hands trembled as he took a cautious step forward. "Who are you?"

The light flickered.

The figure moved.

Nathan froze. It didn't turn around. It shifted, its limbs jerking in sharp, unnatural motions, as if controlled by something unseen.

Then, the whisper came.

Not from the figure.

From everywhere.

"You shouldn't have come back."

The bulb overhead burst.

Nathan was plunged into total darkness.

Something moved.

Then—

The scream.

It erupted from the figure, filling the room with a deafening, inhuman wail. The walls shuddered, the pipes groaning as if they were alive. Nathan clamped his hands over his ears, stumbling backward, his chest tightening with panic.

The darkness moved, shifting toward him.

Nathan turned and ran.

The air thickened as he sprinted, the scream warping, twisting into something almost like laughter. He crashed into the walls, hands scrambling for a way out, but there was nothing. No doors. No windows.

No escape.

Then—

His hands met something solid. A handle.

Without thinking, he wrenched the door open and hurled himself through. The scream cut off instantly.

Nathan hit the ground hard, gasping for breath. He was back in the main corridor of the factory, the hallway stretching out before him as if nothing had changed. The lights flickered back on, casting a dim, flickering glow.

He pushed himself up, his whole body trembling. His ears were still ringing. His mind reeled.

Then, a voice.

Soft. Familiar.

"Nathan."

He turned.

And his breath left him.

Standing at the end of the corridor was himself.

Not the twisted, smiling version he had seen before. This one was different. Its eyes were hollow, its face pale, its expression unreadable.

It raised a hand, pointing at him.

The walls around them shuddered.

Nathan took a step back. "What do you want?"

The figure tilted its head. Then, in a voice that sent ice through his veins, it whispered:

"You."

The lights went out again.

And the scream returned.