Esoteric initiation trial

The elevator doors groaned open with a sound reminiscent of splintering wood. Ethan Lewis stood frozen, his heart pounding like a war drum as he gazed into the inky blackness of the hallway ahead. Flickering fluorescent lights cast jagged, restless shadows on the walls, while sparks cascaded from exposed wires, sizzling as they hit the floor. Even with his enhanced vision—sharp enough to penetrate the deepest darkness—the corridor's end remained shrouded in impenetrable mystery.

A bead of sweat trickled down his temple and splashed onto the elevator floor. Drip.

The doors refused to close. Ethan's pupils contracted instinctively—something was obstructing them. Pale, spectral hands pressed against the metal surface, their translucent fingers as white as bleached bone.

"No choice but forward," he muttered under his breath, forcing himself to step out.

Red emergency lights pulsed violently, bathing the scene in an eerie glow. A glacial touch slithered up his neck—cold, skeletal fingers tracing his skin with relentless precision. He turned sharply, only to see black hair spilling over his shoulders, belonging to a looming figure behind him.

"AHHH!" Ethan bolted down the hall, adrenaline propelling him forward. The phantom hand vanished, but when he glanced back, the elevator was gone. In its place stretched cold, unyielding walls that seemed to close in around him.

The Girl in the Shadows

After what felt like an eternity of sprinting through the oppressive darkness, a faint sobbing reached his ears. Around the next corner knelt a girl—no older than fourteen—clutching a red backpack tightly against her chest, her white stockings smudged with dirt. "I… I can't find my mom," she whimpered, her voice trembling.

Ethan hesitated. His instincts screamed anomaly; every fiber of his being told him this was wrong. Yet, there was something disarmingly human about her warmth, her vulnerability. "Let me help you," he said, lying through gritted teeth as he extended his hand.

Her small fingers closed around his. "Thank you, mister! The others wouldn't help…" Her voice trailed off, tinged with gratitude—and something else. Something darker.

"Others?" Ethan asked cautiously, his grip tightening slightly.

She giggled—a sound too high-pitched, too hollow for comfort. "I ate them."

Her head snapped upward, revealing not a face but two lifeless braids dangling where features should have been. Ethan recoiled, primal terror seizing hold of him like icy talons digging into his soul.

And then came the laughter. Three figures emerged from the shadows, one clapping mockingly, their silhouettes distorted by the strobing red light. "Newbie's first anomaly! Priceless!"

The words echoed cruelly, punctuating the nightmare unfolding before him.