Chapter 26

The door shuddered under another moan of the night. This time it wasn't just a sound. The wood truly trembled, as if something on the other side had placed a hand on it. A heavy, damp, inhuman hand.

Jake ran toward it instinctively, pressing his ear against the surface. He recoiled sharply.

— "There's… something standing there," he whispered. "And it's breathing."

— "Don't open it," Nancy called out. "Whatever it is, it wants to provoke us."

But it was too late.

The locked door rattled. The key Olivia had hidden earlier now slid out of her jacket pocket on its own and rolled across the floor, as if drawn by a magnet. It stopped right at the threshold.

— "That's impossible," she whispered.

The door shuddered one last time. And then… silence. A silence so deep it made their ears hurt.

They all stood frozen, staring at the wooden surface that now seemed to be breathing.

And then something began to happen to Mason.

He suddenly doubled over, as if something squeezed him from the inside. A muffled scream escaped his lips, his hands clenched against the floor. He trembled all over, then straightened abruptly, as if pulled by invisible strings.

His eyes were now empty. Completely black.

— "Mason?" Nancy took a step forward, but Will grabbed her arm.

— "That's not him anymore," he said quietly.

Mason looked at them slowly, scanning each face. Then his gaze stopped on Jennifer.

— "You," he said. His voice was layered—deeper, strangled. "You were the first to turn away."

Jennifer stepped back, tears welling in her eyes.

— "What are you talking about?"

— "Each of you took something from me. But you… you gave them the idea to write that article. And you stayed silent."

Jake stepped forward, trying to place himself between Mason and Jennifer.

— "Stop. If you're really Noah… or Mason… or whoever, you can still stop this."

Mason tilted his head.

— "I would rather not stop. I want revenge."

A moan echoed from outside. This time, in response. Then a cracking sound—as if someone were clawing at the walls.

Betty screamed.

The door split. It didn't open. It cracked—like something on the other side had simply pierced through it. Black smoke began to seep through the gaps. Thick, sticky. It smelled of old wood, scorched earth, and… blood.

Nancy backed away, pulling Jennifer with her.

— "Everyone to the kitchen! Run!"

The group bolted. Only Olivia hesitated for a second. She looked one last time at Mason—standing still, with a smile she didn't recognize.

Then she followed the others.

— "He brought us here so that thing could be set free," Will said. "It's no longer just about revenge. This was preparation. A ritual. He must've learned about it somehow. He must've found out his grandfather's secret."

— "But a ritual needs a sacrifice," Betty noted, struggling to catch her breath. "Who's going to be the sacrifice?"

Nancy closed her eyes.

— "The one with the most sins… the one he hates the most."

*

The silence dragged on unbearably until Mason appeared in the kitchen doorway. He didn't enter. He stood there. Watching them through the black smoke like through water.

— "Will…" he said calmly, as if calling a friend's name.

Will instinctively stepped back.

— "What?"

— "You betrayed me," Mason continued. "You slept with her. My fiancée."

Shock rippled through the room. Olivia looked at Will in disbelief.

— "We… we were going to tell you," Will mumbled. "You hated each other. You couldn't stand her. And we… we fell in love a long time ago."

— "Nonsense," Mason stepped closer. "Do you know what she told me on the yacht?" Will paled. "She said she loved me. That I was the only man she wanted to marry. Turns out, all this time you were just her toy. She'd never be in a real relationship with you."

The lights went out.

When they came back on, Will was dead. He lay on the ground, eyes open but empty. Black marks encircled his neck, as if someone had strangled him… from the inside.

Mason stood over him, calm again.

— "The ritual has begun," he said.

Then he turned and walked away, leaving them with a corpse and the chilling awareness that any one of them could be next.

*

The silence after Will's death was thicker than before. It was no longer the silence of tension—it was the silence of mourning, terror, and the brutal realization that this night was no longer about escape. It was a sentence being carried out.

Betty sat against the wall, hugging her knees. Her arms trembled, and her face was buried in her hands. Olivia still stared at Will's lifeless body, unable to look away. Despite their complicated relationship, his death hurt her more than she'd expected. Jake held Jennifer, who cried softly, her eyes fixed on the door where Mason had disappeared.

— "He'll choose us," Nancy said, breaking the silence. "One by one. And he won't stop until the ritual is complete."

— "We need to get out of here," Jake said. "Or stop him."

— "It's not that simple," Olivia snapped. "He's not just a man anymore. I don't know what he's become… but that thing… it was watching us through him. I felt it."

— "Maybe it wasn't him who chose," Jake said. "Maybe IT did—that shadow… that force. Maybe it needs the sacrifices. Mason's just the tool."

Then the lights went out again. This time, they didn't come back. Darkness filled the room. Only the windows glowed—red, unnatural. As if the forest surrounding the hotel were silently burning.

Shadows began to appear on the walls. Not theirs. Others. Moving on their own, too fast, too fluid. And then a voice rang out—from the ceiling, the floor, their minds:

— "One is gone. Another waits."

— "No!" Jennifer screamed. "You won't take anyone else!"

— "You already gave," the voice replied. "Long ago. When you betrayed. When you stayed silent. When you let others die."

From the cupboard in the kitchen corner, a shadow spilled out. It rose into the air, taking the shape of a woman. Betty backed up quickly, bumping into the fridge.

The shadow raised a finger and pointed at Nancy.

— "You are the key, yet you remain silent."

— "Because it's not time yet," she replied with a trembling voice.

The shadow hung in the air for a moment, as if assessing. Then it vanished. Just like that. Snuffed out like a candle flame.

— "What did she mean?" Jake asked.

Nancy didn't answer.

Instead, she walked to Will's body, knelt down, and closed his eyes. Then she stood and looked at the others.

— "This is only the beginning," she said softly. "And I think I know how it ends."