The metallic scream echoed through the underground halls.
Then silence.
A horrible, unnatural silence.
David dropped to one knee, gripping his head.
"I can hear it…"
Mary knelt beside him.
"David, look at me!"
His breathing was sharp and uneven.
"I hear whispers… under the floor."
Daniel stepped back, terrified.
Mr. Stone grabbed the black file and shut it hard.
"Do NOT touch those symbol pages again."
The hidden boy pulled against his chains.
Eyes wide with fear.
"The chamber is awake."
Daniel turned.
"What is the lower chamber?"
Mr. Stone's lantern shook slightly in his hand.
"The place beneath this basement."
His voice was grim.
"The first sealed room they found."
Mary stood slowly.
"The source?"
Mr. Stone didn't answer.
That was enough.
A heavy BOOM echoed below them.
Stone dust fell from the ceiling.
David suddenly lifted his head.
His eyes looked unfocused.
Like he was listening to something far away.
Then he whispered:
"It's calling me."
Everyone froze.
Mr. Stone moved instantly.
He grabbed David's shoulders.
"Fight it."
David clenched his fists.
"I'm trying!"
Another BOOM.
Louder.
The floor cracked near the far wall.
A black line split through old stone.
From inside—
cold air rushed upward.
Daniel stepped back.
"No…"
The hidden boy whispered shakily:
"That's the lower path."
Mary looked at him.
"You've been there?"
He slowly nodded.
"Once."
His face went pale.
"Never again."
Mr. Stone turned sharply.
"We need to seal this before it fully opens."
David suddenly shoved him away.
Hard.
Mr. Stone hit the wall.
Mary gasped.
"David!"
David held his head.
Voice strained.
"It wants me closer!"
Daniel saw it—
black veins-like shadows creeping faintly up David's wrist where he had touched the symbol page.
Not blood.
Not injury.
Just dark marks spreading like smoke under skin.
Mr. Stone's face changed.
"Observation is accelerating."
Mary stepped in front of David.
"You're not taking him."
Mr. Stone's jaw tightened.
"I'm trying to save him!"
Another crack split the floor.
A hidden stone stairway slowly revealed itself beneath broken rock.
Descending into darkness.
The lower chamber entrance.
Wind rose from below.
Cold.
Wet.
Ancient.
Then—
a whisper.
This time everyone heard it.
Not clear words.
Just many faint voices.
Like the tunnel itself was breathing.
Daniel whispered:
"You hear that too… right?"
Mary nodded.
Terrified.
The hidden boy started pulling at his chains.
Panic rising.
"It's stronger than before!"
Mr. Stone quickly unlocked one cuff.
Then the other.
Daniel stared.
"You trust him?"
Mr. Stone answered instantly:
"He survived it."
The boy stumbled free.
Weak but standing.
David suddenly turned toward the stairway.
His face blank.
Eyes fixed on darkness below.
Then he started walking.
Slowly.
Like sleepwalking.
Mary grabbed him.
"DAVID!"
He pushed forward.
"I have to go."
Daniel held his arm.
"No!"
The whisper deepened.
The dark tunnel below almost seemed alive.
Calling him.
Pulling him.
Mr. Stone shouted:
"If he enters alone, we may lose him!"
Mary's heart pounded.
Then she made the decision.
She grabbed a lantern.
Looked at Daniel.
Looked at the hidden boy.
Looked at Mr. Stone.
Then at David.
And said:
"Then we go down together."
Silence.
Even Mr. Stone looked shocked.
Daniel swallowed hard.
"Into the lower chamber?"
Mary nodded.
Eyes steady.
"If answers are below… we end this tonight."
Behind them—
the black file slid open from the wind.
One loose page flipped free.
Landing at Daniel's feet.
He looked down.
His blood ran cold.
A new record.
One they had missed.
At top:
SUBJECT #13
Status: Unknown
And below—
MARY BROWN
Daniel slowly looked up at her.
She hadn't seen it yet.
And ahead—
David was already stepping down into the darkness.
To be continued