15. The First to Crack

Ryan had not slept for days.

The heavy feeling of tiredness pushed down on him. Every breath felt hard. His hands shook as he held his blanket. His eyes moved around the room fast. It felt like something was hiding in the dark. The voices would not stop. The whispers. The sounds. The feeling that someone was watching him.

He could not take it anymore.

Ryan sat bent over at the edge of his bed. His skin was pale. His eyes looked deep and dark. Big circles sat under them. His body was giving up. His body was falling apart from the fear that wrapped around him like chains.

He turned to Damian. His voice sounded dry and full of fear. "We need to do something" he said.

Damian did not look up from his phone. He acted like he did not care. "Do what"

Ryan pressed his hands into fists. "You know what. The whispers. The writing on the walls. The shadows. This is not normal" His voice broke. "It is him Damian. It is Ethan"

When he said that name the room felt colder.

Mason moved in his bed. He looked away. He did not want to meet their eyes. Damian made a sound and shook his head. "Do not be stupid Ryan. Ethan is dead"

Ryan's breath caught. "Then who is doing this"

Damian did not speak. He had no answer.

Ryan saw it. The small look of fear in Damian's eyes. The way his jaw moved. He was scared too. But Damian would not say it out loud.

Ryan spoke softer. "He is going to kill us"

Damian got stiff. He held his phone tighter. "Go to sleep Ryan"

Ryan laughed a little. There was no joy in it. "Sleep. You think I can sleep after all of this" He shook his head. His voice shook. "I hear him Damian. At night. Breathing. Whispering. Watching"

Damian let out a deep breath and pulled his blanket over his body. He turned away. "You are just imagining it"

Ryan's mouth opened. His stomach felt sick.

No one would help him.

No one believed him.

That meant he was alone.

That night Ryan lay in his bed. His eyes stayed wide open. He stared at the ceiling.

The room was dark. But not quiet. It was never quiet now.

Every sound. Every little creak on the floor. Every wind outside. It made his heart beat faster. He held his blanket with both hands. His breathing was weak and shaky.

Then he heard it.

Soft. Quiet.

Breathing.

Right beside him.

Ryan's chest tightened. His body went stiff. He could not move.

It was close. Too close.

Cold sweat spread on his skin. Slowly. So slowly. He moved his hand toward the lamp on the small table. His fingers shook. He touched the switch.

He turned on the light.

The room was bright.

Nothing.

His heart hit hard inside his chest. He swallowed and tried to calm down. He told himself it was not real. Maybe he really was going crazy.

But then…

Something pulled at his mind.

Look in the mirror.

Ryan's heart jumped. He did not want to look. He should not look.

But something made him.

His breathing was shallow. He turned his head to the mirror across the room.

He saw himself. Pale. Shaking.

And behind him—

A shape.

Tall. Dark. Still.

Red eyes glowing like fire in the night.

A face he thought he would never see again.

Ethan.

Ryan's throat closed. He tried to scream but no sound came. His whole body froze with fear. He grabbed the mattress. He tried to move. To run. To get away.

Then Ethan smiled.

A slow. Cruel. Evil smile.

Ryan made a broken sound as he finally let out his voice.

A scream filled the room.

The door flew open.

Mason and Damian ran inside. Fear in their eyes. "Ryan"

Ryan was in the corner of the room. His body shook hard. He rocked back and forth. He held his arms. His breath was sharp and broken. His eyes were wide. Full of terror.

Mason ran to him. "Ryan. What happened"

Ryan did not look at him.

He did not blink.

He only said soft words.

"He is here… he is here… he is here…"

Damian stepped back. His stomach twisted into a tight knot.

This was not normal.

This was not just fear.

Ryan was broken.

And deep inside Damian knew he would be next.

Outside. In the cold dark air. Ethan stood under the moonlight.

Ryan's scream still rang in his ears. It was like music made of fear. It made his blood feel hot with power.

The system spoke to him.

[Fear Points Accumulated. +800]

A dark happy smile grew on Ethan's face.

This was only the start.

They thought they had felt pain.

No.

He would show them what real pain felt like.

One by one he would break them.

And then—

Only then—

He would give them the gift of death.