Chapter 2: Voices from the Dark

The laughter still echoed in Lucas's head as the silence around them thickened, as if the house had held its breath. No one moved. Only the drip of rainwater through the leaky roof broke the quiet—a dull heartbeat from the ruin's core.

Natalia gasped, yanking her foot up as if she'd stepped into a trap. "I swear, something was there! It touched me!"

Jacob scoffed, though his mockery lacked its usual bite. "Maybe a rat. Or your guilty conscience."

"Piss off, Jacob!" she hissed, rubbing her calf as if to scrub the cold from her skin. Her red lipstick looked darker now, almost blood-like in the sparse light.

Lucas's heart hammered against his ribs, his grip on the camera tightening. He forced himself to breathe steadily. Sven remained frozen on the stairs, as if something had paralyzed him. His fingers clenched around the wooden box in his hand.

"This isn't a game, dammit! We provoked it," Sven rasped, sounding like he was choking on air.

Lucas could feel the mood shifting—fear, tension, anger, a powder keg waiting for the next spark.

Another sound froze them all.

Clack. Clack. Clack.

From above. Footsteps. Slow. Deliberate. As if someone were deliberately waiting for their hearts to pound louder in their ears.

Lucas aimed his flashlight at the ceiling. The floorboards above creaked. Shadows danced between the rotten beams.

Natalia clutched Jacob's arm, her sarcasm gone. "There's someone up there."

Sven stumbled back, nearly tripping on a loose floorboard. "We need to leave."

Lucas's mind raced. They were alone here. No other cars outside, no signs of anyone else. But what if…?

He forced himself to speak. "We check it out."

Jacob barked a dry laugh. "Sure. Run straight into the arms of a serial killer. Great plan, Scooby-Doo."

"Then leave," Lucas snapped, stepping forward. "I want to know what's happening."

Jacob rolled his eyes but followed. Natalia shook her head but stayed close behind him. Sven muttered something unintelligible, pressing the wooden box tighter to his chest.

They reached the upper floor. A long corridor stretched ahead, doors lining both sides—some half-open, others sealed shut. Wallpaper hung in long, shredded strips, as if claws had raked through it. The floor was littered with debris, shards of mirror glass, and remnants of furniture that might once have been elegant.

Lucas raised his camera. The viewfinder flickered. The battery icon plummeted from full to empty.

"What the…?" He lowered the device, turning it off and on again. Nothing.

"Technology never lasts long here," Sven muttered.

Natalia held up her phone. The screen was black. "No signal."

"Perfect," Jacob growled. "Now all we need are burning walls and a damn demon with knife fingers."

Then it came again.

The giggling.

But this time, it wasn't distant. It was right behind them.

Lucas whipped his flashlight around.

The door at the end of the hall slammed shut with a deafening BOOM.

Natalia gasped and staggered back, trembling. She'd seen it. Just for a split second.

A little girl.

Pale face, dark hollow eyes, in a white nightgown that pooled at her feet. She'd stood at the end of the corridor in the flicker of light, motionless, watching them. Then—gone in a blink.

"Did you see that?" Natalia whispered.

Lucas shook his head. "What?"

"There… there was a girl." Her breath hitched. "Right there at the end of the hall."

Jacob eyed her, skepticism cold in his gaze. "No one was there."

Sven swallowed hard. "We should turn back."

Before Lucas could reply, a voice whispered directly beside Natalia's ear. Feather-soft, childlike.

"Play with me."

Natalia screamed.

Lucas's flashlight jerked wildly. "Who said that?!"

No one answered. Jacob clenched his fists. "Fuck, I hate this shit."

"We need to go," Sven repeated, his voice strangled. "Now."

But Natalia didn't move. Her gaze was glassy, lips trembling. "It was real. I… I saw her."

Lucas gripped her shoulder. "We need to stay calm. Breathe."

Suddenly, a knock. Three times. From the room behind them.

Then—silence.

Natalia stared at the door. It stood slightly ajar. Only darkness beyond.

"We're leaving," Jacob said, his tone grimmer than ever.

But Natalia took a step forward.

Clack. Clack. Clack.

Something shifted in the dark. Not a shadow—something else. As if the house itself were breathing.

Lucas pulled Natalia back. "No. We're turning around."

Sven whispered again, his hand in his pocket where the black stone lay. "It's watching us."

Then, without warning, the lights went out.

Darkness swallowed the corridor.

And from the blackness came a voice—sweet, soft, right at their ears.

"You belong to me now."