Chapter Thirty-Eight: The Locked Door

Elena's breath came shallow and fast as she stared at the locked door. The sound of the latch twisting still echoed in her ears.

Leon was already moving.

His hand gripped the doorknob, testing it. Firm. Unyielding. His expression didn't change, but something in his posture shifted—a flicker of tension beneath his usual control.

Elena turned toward the shattered window, glass crunching beneath her feet. An exit.

But Leon's voice was sharp. "No."

She froze. "Why not? It's open—"

"They want you to take it."

Elena's stomach dropped. "What?"

Leon didn't answer. His gaze flickered to the darkness outside, unreadable. A trap.

Something in the air felt wrong.

Then—a noise from behind the door.

A slow, deliberate scrape. Like something being dragged across the wooden floor.

Elena shivered. "Leon—"

He was already stepping back from the door, eyes scanning the room. They needed another way out.

A Hidden Exit

Leon's gaze settled on the bookshelf against the far wall.

"Elena, help me."

She hesitated, confused, but moved beside him as he pressed his hands against the heavy wood.

It shifted.

Elena's breath caught. A hidden door.

Leon glanced at her. "Move fast."

Elena nodded, her heart pounding.

Together, they shoved the bookshelf aside, revealing a narrow passageway shrouded in darkness.

But just as they slipped inside—

The doorknob behind them twisted violently.

Something was trying to get in.

Leon grabbed Elena's wrist and pulled her into the shadows. "Run."

She didn't hesitate.

The air in the passage was thick with dust, the walls pressing in tight. But behind them, the door burst open.

And as Elena ran, she heard it—

The sound of something stepping into the room they had just escaped from.

And it was coming for them.