CHAPTER 20: BRAVERY FOR FREEDOM.

Jamey bolted through the blood-streaked corridor, his shoes slapping against the wet tiles. Behind him, Dead Amy hissed and screeched like a banshee crawling out of Hell. Her limbs contorted in unnatural angles as she scurried across the walls and ceiling—an insect with human skin peeling at the seams. Her jaw hung loose. Her fingers twitched like antennae.

He dove behind the reception desk, unaware that illusion cloaked the truth. He thought he was alone—but the guests were there, paralyzed in their seats, watching him. Eyes wide. Mouths stitched by terror. No one dared to move. No one asked what he was running from.

Jamey’s chest heaved, heart jackhammering. The stench of rot clogged his throat—flesh left too long in a swampy grave. He dared a glance over the counter. Nothing. Silence. The kind that clung to the skin.

Then—

SSSSKREEEEEAAK!

A nail-splitting shriek—behind him.

He turned.