The room that traps

A shiver ran down Peter's spine as the whisper echoed in his ear. He turned sharply, but there was no one behind him. Emily gripped his arm, her breathing shallow.

"We shouldn't be here," she whispered, stepping closer to him.

Peter swallowed hard but forced himself to stay calm. "We're already here. Let's figure out what's going on."

The candle at the end of the hallway flickered wildly, as if disturbed by an unseen force. Then, one of the doors creaked open on its own.

Emily let out a small gasp. "Did you see that?"

Peter nodded. "Yeah… and I think we're supposed to go in."

The room beyond the door was filled with dust and decay. An old bed sat in the corner, its sheets yellowed and torn. A dresser with a cracked mirror stood against the wall. But what caught Peter's attention was the photograph on the nightstand.

He picked it up carefully, wiping off the dust. The image showed a man and a woman, standing in front of the very same inn. But their faces… they were blurred, almost as if something had erased their identities.

Emily took a step back. "This place is wrong, Peter."

Suddenly, a loud thud came from behind them. They spun around, hearts pounding. The door they had entered through had slammed shut.

Then, the whisper returned—this time clearer.

"You shouldn't have come. Now you can't leave."

The temperature in the room dropped instantly. Peter's breath came out in white puffs. The walls seemed to close in, the shadows stretching unnaturally.

Emily grabbed his hand. "We have to get out of here."

Peter rushed to the door and pulled, but it wouldn't budge. The handle felt ice cold, almost burning his skin.

Then, from the corner of the room, the mirror cracked, a jagged web of fractures spreading across the glass.

And in its reflection, they saw it.

A tall, hollow-eyed figure, its face a void of darkness, watching them.

It raised one skeletal hand and pointed directly at Peter.

Then, in a voice that sent terror surging through their veins, it spoke:

"You don't belong here."