Chapter 8: The Darkness Inside

Chapter 8: The Darkness Inside

1

Amy wasn't Amy anymore.

She stood in the motel bathroom, motionless. Water dripped from her soaked clothes, pooling at her feet. The steam curled unnaturally around her, as if the room itself was *breathing*.

Her eyes—no, *his* eyes—locked onto me. Dark. Hollow. Endless.

*"You're mine now."*

The voice wasn't hers. It was deeper, layered, echoing inside my skull.

Mike grabbed my arm, yanking me back. "Jack, we have to—"

Amy lunged.

2

Her fingers wrapped around my throat, ice-cold and *inhumanly* strong.

I gasped, stumbling back, knocking over a chair. My vision blurred, black spots creeping in at the edges.

Mike grabbed her from behind, trying to pry her off. "Amy, stop!"

But it wasn't *Amy*.

She turned her head toward him—too fast, too unnatural—her mouth stretching into a grin.

Mike *froze*.

And then—

She *threw him*.

Mike crashed into the motel table, shattering the lamp. His head hit the ground hard, and he didn't move.

I struggled, my lungs burning.

Amy—or the thing *inside* her—leaned closer, her breath freezing against my skin.

*"It's too late, Jack."*

The lights flickered—

And the world went *black*.

3

I woke up to silence.

The motel room was trashed. The air was thick, heavy, *wrong*.

Amy was gone.

Mike groaned, sitting up slowly. His face was pale, a bruise forming on his temple. "What the hell was that?"

I swallowed hard. "It wasn't Amy."

He shivered. "I *know*."

We sat there in the wreckage, the weight of the night pressing down on us.

Then—

The TV flickered back to life.

Static.

Then—

Amy's voice.

*"Help me."*

4

We drove.

We didn't know *where*, only that we had to *find her*.

The roads were empty, stretching into darkness. The world outside felt… *off*, like the landscape itself was shifting when we weren't looking.

Mike's grip on the wheel was tight. "We should leave. *Really* leave."

I clenched my fists. "Not without Amy."

"She's *gone*, Jack."

I shook my head. "No. She's still in there. I *heard* her."

Mike exhaled through his nose, gripping the wheel so hard his knuckles turned white.

Neither of us spoke.

Then—

The radio crackled.

A whisper.

*"Turn left."*

The wheel jerked on its own.

Mike cursed, struggling to control the car. "What the—"

The headlights flickered.

And in the road ahead—

Amy stood.

Smiling.

5

Mike slammed the brakes.

The tires screeched. The car skidded to a stop inches from her.

She didn't move.

Didn't blink.

Just *watched us*.

Slowly, she tilted her head.

Grinning.

Mike gripped my arm. "Jack… don't."

But I was already stepping out.

The cold hit me instantly, sinking into my bones. My breath curled in the air like smoke.

Amy's smile didn't waver. "You came for me."

I swallowed hard. "Let her go."

She giggled.

Amy *never* giggled.

*"She doesn't want to go."*

A lump formed in my throat. "Amy—"

Her smile *vanished*.

*"Run."*

My stomach dropped.

"What?"

Her eyes darkened. The ground beneath her *twisted*, shadows curling like fingers.

*"RUN!"*

And then—

The road *exploded*.

6

A force hit me like a truck, sending me flying. I hit the pavement hard, my head ringing.

Mike grabbed me, dragging me toward the car. "We have to go!"

The shadows *spread*, swallowing the road, the trees, the sky itself.

Amy—or *it*—stepped forward, her body *glitching*, twitching like a broken puppet.

*"You can't escape."*

The darkness *lunged*.

We barely made it into the car before it slammed into us.

The world *vanished*.

7

I woke up to silence.

Again.

We were back in town.

The motel. The gas station. The cornfield.

No matter how far we ran—

We *always* ended up back here.

Mike was trembling. "We're trapped."

I clenched my fists. "No. There's a way out."

His eyes were hollow. "Danny thought that too."

I swallowed hard, shoving down the fear threatening to choke me.

We *couldn't* give up.

Amy was still in there.

And I was going to save her.

No matter the cost.