We rushed into the bathroom so fast the door slammed into the wall and cracked.
Lisa was curled up in the corner, crying and screaming, her back pressed against the tiles. The window was wide open, the curtains swaying slowly even though there was no wind.
When she lifted her head and looked at us, my chest tightened.
Her face was covered in scratches.
Thin red lines across her cheeks and forehead, some still bleeding.
She broke down completely and rushed toward me, throwing her arms around my neck.
Lisa: I'm not leaving you again. I swear.
I held her tightly and placed my hand on her head, trying to calm her shaking body.
Alex: it's okay. You're safe now. Just breathe.
My voice came out steadier than I felt.
Alex: but you have to tell us what happened. We need to know.
The crystal on my chest began to glow dark blue.
Worry.
Lisa nodded weakly through her tears.
Ben spoke quickly.
Ben: I'll get medical supplies from my mom's room.
Michael: I'll come with you.
They ran out of the bathroom.
I gently guided Lisa out into the hallway.
Alex: come on. Let's get you to Ben's room.
She could barely walk. Her legs were trembling so badly I had to support most of her weight. When I looked down, I saw deep scratches along her calf. Not normal cuts. Too clean. Too precise.
When we reached the room, I helped her sit on the bed.
The moment the door closed, I heard something above us.
A slow creak.
As if someone was shifting their weight directly on the ceiling.
Lisa froze.
Her fingers dug into my sleeve.
Lisa: Alex… I'm scared.
Alex: don't worry. Our phones are still charged. The light is enough. We just have to wait until we wake up again.
She looked at me, eyes wide.
Lisa: how can you be so sure? What if we get stuck here?
Her voice trembled harder.
Lisa: don't you understand how dangerous this is? Those things could kill us. We could all die.
Her words hit harder than I expected.
I didn't answer.
I just stared at the floor.
The crystal on my chest darkened.
Black.
Fear.
I ignored it and looked back at her.
Alex: tell me what happened in the bathroom.
She hesitated, then finally spoke.
Lisa: when I went in… I felt something wrong immediately. Like the air was watching me.
She swallowed.
Lisa: I looked into the mirror… and my reflection was smiling.
My stomach dropped.
Lisa: not a normal smile. It stretched too far. All the way to the sides of its face.
Her hands began shaking again.
Lisa: I stepped back… and I heard breathing behind me.
Slow. Wet. Close.
She looked around the room as if expecting it to appear again.
Lisa: I turned around. Nothing was there.
Her voice dropped to a whisper.
Lisa: but when I looked back at the mirror… my reflection was gone.
She hugged herself tighter.
Lisa: then I felt it move.
Her nails dug into her arm as she remembered.
Lisa: it came out of the mirror. Crawling. Twisting like it didn't know how to exist properly.
Her breath hitched.
Lisa: it screamed in my voice. It scratched me. Hit me. I tried to run but it grabbed my leg.
She pointed at the wounds.
Lisa: I fell. When I opened my eyes again… it was gone.
Her voice trembled one last time.
Lisa: but it was still there. I could feel it breathing near my ear.
The room went silent.
Then footsteps approached.
Ben and Michael were coming back.
Ben came back into the room, breathing a little heavier than before.
Ben: sorry I took so long. I grabbed something else that might help us… just in case.
He pulled two things from his pocket. A lighter. And a spray can.
Lisa and I exchanged a confused look.
Before either of us could say anything, Michael spoke.
Michael: if you use the lighter with the spray, it works like a small flamethrower.
Not much, but enough to protect ourselves if something like what happened to Lisa shows up again.
I didn't like the idea.
But I didn't hate it either.
Michael looked at Lisa.
Michael: speaking of that… what exactly happened in there?
Lisa took a slow breath and explained everything again. Her voice shook, but this time she didn't stop.
Lisa: after I heard the breathing, the window suddenly flew open. There was no wind. Nothing that could have pushed it.
She swallowed.
Lisa: I lowered my head and started hearing this deep… wet growling sound. Like something choking.
Her hands clenched the blanket.
Lisa: I didn't want to look. I was too scared. But then I heard Alex call my name. And just like that… everything stopped.
She looked up at me.
Lisa: that's when you came in.
Ben was cleaning her wounds carefully while she spoke. I stood by the door, phone light aimed at the hallway, making sure nothing followed us in.
When Ben finished, he leaned back slightly.
I asked quietly.
Alex: how long have we been here?
Ben stared at his phone.
Ben: five hours.
The words hit us all at once.
Michael: that's impossible. No way.
Alex: there's no way we've been here for five hours.
Ben shook his head slowly.
Ben: I thought the same thing. But I didn't feel time passing at all. It's like it didn't exist.
Michael nodded.
Michael: yeah… this place messes with time. It doesn't work like our world.
Lisa hugged herself tighter.
Lisa: does that mean… we could get stuck here?
No one answered.
The silence felt heavier than anything else so far.
Then the crystal on my chest lit up again.
Purple.
Before I could react, Lisa suddenly grabbed it and threw it against the wall.
The glow cut out instantly.
The crystal hit the floor with a dull sound.
For a moment, it was silent.
Then the crystal began glowing again.
This time it wasn't purple.
It was gold.
Warm. Soft. Almost comforting.
But beneath the gold, shadows swirled. Dark. Unstable.
Suddenly, the marks on our arms ignited.
Red.
Blue.
Purple.
Black.
All at once.
A burning pain exploded through my arm.
I screamed and dropped to my knees.
It felt like my skin was on fire from the inside. Like something was trying to claw its way out.
The others shouted my name, but their voices sounded distant.
My vision blurred.
My chest tightened.
I couldn't breathe.
The pain grew worse until the room tilted and spun.
Then, through the noise and agony, I heard a voice.
Soft. Calm. Gentle.
A voice that didn't belong to this world.
It whispered.
Said It's going to be okay.
The pain faded.
The light vanished.
And everything went dark as I lost consciousness.