The doors didn't look normal.
Lina could tell that instantly.
They lined the hallway on both sides.
Too many.
Too close together.
Each one slightly open.
Just enough to see—
Darkness inside.
"Don't touch anything," Ethan said quietly.
Lina nodded.
But her eyes kept moving.
From one door…
To the next.
Something felt off.
Each doorway seemed to breathe.
Like something inside—
Was waiting.
"Which one?" Lina whispered.
Ethan didn't answer immediately.
His eyes scanned the hallway.
Careful.
Focused.
"It's trying to confuse us," he said.
"There's no way all of these are real."
A soft whisper drifted from one of the doors.
"Lina…"
She flinched.
"That one," she said quickly. "Did you hear that?"
Ethan grabbed her arm.
"Don't."
"But it said my name!"
"Exactly."
Silence.
The air grew colder.
Then—
Another voice.
From a different door.
"Ethan…"
This time—
He froze.
Lina noticed immediately.
"…That's her, isn't it?" she asked softly.
Ethan didn't reply.
He didn't need to.
The voice came again.
Gentler this time.
"Please… help me…"
Lina's chest tightened.
"It sounds real…"
Ethan clenched his jaw.
"…That's the problem."
Both voices echoed now.
From different doors.
"Lina…"
"Ethan…"
Calling.
Begging.
Waiting.
Lina covered her ears.
"It's too much…"
Ethan grabbed her shoulders.
"Focus on me!"
She looked at him.
Breathing hard.
"We pick one door," he said firmly.
"And we don't hesitate."
"…How do we know it's the right one?"
A pause.
Then—
"We don't."
The whispers grew louder.
Closer.
More desperate.
"Lina, please…"
"Ethan, I'm here…"
The doors creaked open wider.
Darkness inside them shifted.
Like something was about to step out.
"Now," Ethan said.
He grabbed her hand.
And pulled her toward a door.
Not the one calling her.
Not the one calling him.
A third one.
Silent.
Still.
They reached it.
For a second—
Everything went quiet.
Too quiet.
Ethan pushed the door open.
Darkness swallowed them whole.
The moment they stepped inside—
Lina felt it.
Wrong.
Very wrong.
The air changed.
Heavy.
Hot.
The smell hit her next.
Burning.
Smoke.
"No…" Lina whispered.
The darkness faded slowly.
Revealing—
Fire.
Everywhere.
Flames crawled up the walls.
The ceiling cracked above them.
Heat wrapped around her like a trap.
"What is this?!" she gasped.
Ethan's face went pale.
"…This isn't yours."
Lina turned to him.
"What?"
His voice dropped.
"…It's mine."
A scream echoed through the fire.
Familiar.
Painful.
"Ethan!!"
Lina's heart stopped.
The voice—
It was his sister.
Through the flames—
A figure appeared.
Burning.
Reaching out.
"Why didn't you save me?!"
Ethan staggered back.
"No… no…"
The fire grew stronger.
Closing in.
Trapping them.
Lina grabbed his arm.
"Ethan! This isn't real!"
But he wasn't listening.
He was staring.
Frozen.
"I tried…" he whispered.
The burning figure stepped closer.
Skin peeling.
Eyes hollow.
"You left me."
The door behind them—
SLAMMED shut.
Gone.
"No exit…" Lina whispered.
Ethan dropped to his knees.
"I didn't mean to…"
The flames surged.
Roaring louder.
Hungrier.
And Lina realized the truth.
This wasn't just a trap.
This was punishment.
And they had chosen—
The wrong door.