Back Into Darkness

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"Run !! Don't look back idiot, just run!"

"Right, hurry !!"

"Henry, Ethan !! It's getting close!"

"Don't look !!"

They were racing to climb the stairs while the sounds of their racing steps echoed in the hall, which had been silent until a minute ago. As soon as they reached the hall, A strange feeling accompanied the appearance of that previously unknown thing, as if it was waiting for them, rushed out of the darkness of the left corridor to pounce on them before they reached the second floor. This time, the features of "that thing" were clear to them.

He was a person, or at least he was more like a person. It was a mixture of something that appeared only as a person, and at the same time, it was impossible to be a person.

None of them want to look at the features of that person. Who seemed to be in the middle of a dark spot always. But they rushed to the room in which Henry was hiding on the second floor. Ethan was the first to arrive as he pushed the door and ran in, yelling at them to hurry.

Janet nearly stumbled and fell into the corridor. Henry had picked her up and dragged her into the room while he was hiding. Ethan closed the door behind them and leaned his back on Henry, pushing him forcefully to prevent their pursuers from entering. They were all scared, to varying degrees, but no sound came from behind the door. They spent a few minutes catching their breath. Janet was shivering while standing in the corner of the room.

As soon as Ethan relaxed, thinking that they were safe, he felt the door being pushed hard behind him, and almost surprisingly, he lost his balance for a moment, but Henry hurried to close the door that was slightly open by the push. While he was doing this, he noticed that the door key was in the lock. - fortunately for them - so he turned it twice and jumped back. Their eyes remained attached to the door, which remained still for a while, followed by the sound of heavy footsteps moving away, and then they all fell to the ground, gasping for air.

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Janet sat on the small bed in the room with her knees to her chest, while Henry stood silently, holding his arms and resting his back against the wall. As for Ethan, he sat on the floor in front of the stove, while looking at the flames with his wandering eyes, and he threw a piece of wood at her from time to time. Almost twenty minutes have passed, and the situation is still calm. They did not hear anyone wandering in the corridor and no one tried to break into the room again.

Whatever the nature of their attacker, he is not a ghost at all. Ghosts are just wandering specters, or they are supposed to be. But this thing possesses the power of a raging bull, and in addition to that, a wooden door could not prevent it, or them.

Henry gently hemmed to break the silence.

You look exhausted to the point of fainting. Janet, You should fall asleep awhile as long as you can.

" But ... "

"Don't worry, the door is locked, and the key is with Ethan. Nobody will be able to enter."

And you too, Henry ... "Ethan , turning to face them," Don't look good, mate. I don't like the idea of ​​being too tired to faint because I'm not going to carry your huge body out when we find a way to escape. "

"My body is not huge ... you are only short in stature ..."

".. and older than you, and now shut up and listen to those who are older than you and go to sleep."

Janet released a short, soft laugh as she saw it, it seemed for a while that their dark reality had brightened a little.

"Good night, I think I will fall asleep a little," she said as she folded under the covers completely and fell into a deep sleep after a few minutes.

After a short period of silence, Henry said in a low voice: "I envy you for your ability to joke around at a time like this .."

Ethan muttered as he took a piece of the cherry pudding out of his pocket and removed its bright wrapping: "I think I'll go crazy if I don't. Hell, it's the last piece of candy in my pocket ... Listen, you have to get some rest, I can see you. And you fall asleep from here. "

" And what about you? "

"Me? You know I'm not usually sleepy. I'll stay awake to alert you if it comes back ... the ... whatever. I'll wake you up to take my place in a few hours."

"Well ... - Henry hesitated a little before making up his mind - ... we agreed, I'm going to sleep on the sofa for a little bit. Don't play loud songs or I will throw you out of the room."

"I know that. Do you think I am a child ?! go!"

Ethan exhaled with frustration as he muttered to himself, "Damn, what am I going to have fun with now?"

Henry waved to him as he lay on the couch next to the bed before giving him his back and setting off to the world of dreams quickly. It seemed he was really struggling to keep himself awake.

Silence fell over the large room. Only the sound of wood and the fire consumed it to provide the place with some warmth. And Ethan decided that the best thing he could do to pass the time was to check the book that Janet was reading. So he got up to carry the book; the little one with the luxurious cover and put it back in front of the heater.

But as soon as he took a few steps, a faint voice mingled with the sound of raging fire .. the sound of the heavy steps slowly approaching the room door. As soon as Ethan heard that sound, he paused, while his eyes gradually widened. But the sound that became directly in front of the door stopped, followed by a moment of silence that did not last for long, followed by three light knocks on the wooden door with a faint sound whispering from the other side: "Ethan?"

Ethan silently stiffened in place for a while as he felt his breath and his heartbeats gradually speeding up, then slowly turned to face the door. Did he really hear his name? The voice did not sound aggressive, but how does he will know that this is not a hoax, or he is not really insane? Thoughts cascaded through his head at lightning speed as his metal-banded hand extended into his inner coat pocket and exited with a folded pocket knife. He quietly straightened it. Ponder the blade a little, "Okay,". He looked at his sleeping friends, it's good, they don't need to see him now.

He headed to the place that he was occupying a little while near the stove. He picked up his mobile phone from the ground. For two minutes, he kept writing something inside it while his ears were listening to the sound of the distant steps, praying to God that nothing happened before finishing what he was doing.

Finally, after reassuring that his two friends were still sleeping peacefully, he proposed to place the book and his mobile phone next to the sleeping Janet.

The voices had stopped for a while, no sound of steps or knocking, and no unknown person calling him by name.

He took the key from his pocket and opened it carefully without making a loud noise. First looked with his head, then advanced when he did not see anything in front of him, he closed it again from the outside, then bowed to push the key in through the narrow opening below the door.

"I'll try to get you back, but if not ..."

He did not complete his words, but stood and walked silently forward. Inspecting the passage that was darker than dark thoughts that filled his mind.