The Threshold

The front door stood open, yawning like a dark mouth waiting to swallow them whole. The air around the house felt heavier now, thick with something unseen, something watching. The single message on Ethan's phone screen still burned in his mind—COME BACK INSIDE.

Noah took a step back. "Dude, I'm telling you, this is how people die in horror movies."

Ethan didn't answer. He couldn't. His legs were already moving, drawn forward by something deeper than fear. He should have been afraid—his instincts screamed at him to run—but his body no longer felt entirely his own. A whisper curled in his thoughts, faint yet insistent.

Go inside.

Noah grabbed his arm. "Ethan. Don't."

But Ethan barely heard him. His feet crossed the threshold.

The moment he stepped inside, the air changed. The house felt different—like it wasn't the same place they had left just minutes ago. Shadows stretched unnaturally along the walls. The hum of electricity in the air made his skin prickle. The door slammed shut behind him with a force that rattled the windows.

Noah banged against it from the other side. "Ethan! Ethan, open the damn door!"

Ethan tried to move, to speak—but his body was locked in place. A pressure settled on his chest, heavy as if unseen hands were pressing down. The room around him darkened, and the whisper in his mind grew louder.

You came back.

A shudder rolled through his spine. He turned slowly, drawn to the source of the voice. The living room no longer looked like a place he recognized. The furniture had shifted, the walls seemed farther apart, the air thick with the scent of something old—damp earth and decay. And in the center of it all, a figure stood waiting.

It wasn't fully formed. It flickered, its shape shifting between shadow and something more solid, something disturbingly human. Its eyes—if they were eyes—were hollow voids, endless and empty.

You are ready.

Ethan wanted to scream that he wasn't. That he didn't understand what was happening. That this wasn't real.

But deep down, a part of him already knew.

This was real.

And it had been waiting for him.

A sudden force gripped his skull, and pain shot through his head like fire. He collapsed to his knees as a pressure unlike anything he had ever felt crushed against his mind. Images flooded his vision—too fast, too strange. Symbols etched in blood. Voices chanting in forgotten tongues. A sea of faces twisted in agony and ecstasy alike. The taste of copper filled his mouth, though he hadn't bitten his tongue. His fingers dug into the hardwood floor as his entire body convulsed under the weight of something invading him.

Noah was still shouting outside, but his voice was distant now, drowned beneath the storm inside Ethan's skull.

Then, as quickly as it came, the pain vanished.

Ethan gasped, his body trembling. He felt... different. Lighter, yet heavier. Like something had been carved out of him and replaced with something new. The room was still warped, but now, he could see it differently. He could feel it differently. The shadows weren't just shadows. They pulsed. They breathed. They watched him, waiting for his next move.

He stood slowly. His hands no longer shook. His heart no longer raced. The fear had dulled into something quieter, something colder.

The figure in the room tilted its head, as if studying him.

Good.

Then, it was gone.

The room snapped back into place. The oppressive weight lifted. The door unlocked with a soft click.

Ethan turned and opened it.

Noah stumbled forward. "Jesus, what the hell just happened?!"

Ethan didn't answer immediately. He was still adjusting—still feeling the changes in himself. The world outside the house seemed... different. Sharper. He could hear the distant hum of a streetlight, the rustling of leaves in the backyard, the faintest scurry of something tiny beneath the porch steps.

His breath came slower, steadier. He looked at Noah—really looked—and for the first time, he noticed something strange. The faintest flicker of heat around him, like an aura, something he had never seen before.

I can see it.

The realization sent a chill through him, but unlike before, he didn't feel panic. He felt... curious.

Noah grabbed his shoulder. "Ethan. Talk to me, man. What happened in there?"

Ethan met his friend's eyes and forced a smile. "Nothing. Just... a weird feeling. I'm fine."

It wasn't entirely a lie. He did feel fine. Better than fine, even.

Something had changed.

And deep inside, he wasn't sure if that should scare him… or excite him.