Ethan screamed until his voice broke.
The door didn't move.
It held his arm in place—tight, unyielding—like it had grown around him. The wood wasn't wood anymore. It pulsed. Warm. Alive.
Watching.
His fingers twitched, but he couldn't feel them properly.
Like they were already… not his.
"Let go…!" he choked, pulling back with everything he had.
Nothing.
Not even a shift.
Behind him—
Something moved.
Slow.
Wet.
Ethan's breath hitched.
The hallway had gone silent.
Too silent.
Then—
A step.
Soft.
Deliberate.
He turned his head slightly.
And wished he hadn't.
The doors were open now.
All of them.
Wider than before.
And from the darkness inside—
They were coming out.
Not one.
Not two.
Dozens.
Their bodies unfolded unnaturally, stretching, snapping, reforming as they stepped into the hallway. Some crawled. Some dragged themselves. Some walked—but wrong, like they had only learned how from watching people.
Their faces—
Some were familiar.
That was the worst part.
Blurred.
Half-remembered.
Like faces from dreams you forget when you wake up.
"No…" Ethan whispered. "Stay back…"
They didn't rush him.
They didn't need to.
They already had him.
"He's almost empty…" one of them murmured.
"Not yet," another replied. "He's still holding something."
Their heads turned toward him.
All at once.
Ethan's chest tightened.
Lina.
Her name burned faintly in his mind.
Fading.
But still there.
"No…" he said, shaking his head weakly. "You're not taking that too…"
One of the creatures stepped forward.
The same one.
The first one.
The one that smiled too wide.
"You don't understand," it said softly.
It moved closer.
Closer.
Until it stood right in front of him.
"You're not losing memories."
It leaned in.
"You're being corrected."
Ethan's stomach dropped.
"What…?"
The creature lifted its hand.
And reached for his head.
Ethan tried to pull away—
But the door tightened around his arm.
Holding him still.
"No—don't—!"
Too late.
Its fingers touched his forehead.
Cold.
Instantly—
Pain exploded inside his skull.
Images flashed.
Shattered.
Reforming.
He saw himself—
Standing outside the house.
Again.
But different.
This time—
He wasn't alone.
Someone stood beside him.
A woman.
Tall.
Still.
Watching the house.
Ethan's breath caught.
"I… I don't remember this…"
"You're not supposed to," the creature whispered.
The image shifted.
The woman turned slightly.
Her face—
Blurred.
Wrong.
Like the hallway refused to let him see it clearly.
"Who is that…?" Ethan gasped.
The creature smiled.
"You came here for a reason."
Another flash—
The door.
Open.
Dark.
Waiting.
"And you didn't come alone."
Ethan's heart slammed violently.
"No… that's not true…"
The pain intensified.
Something was being forced back into him.
Something he had forgotten—
Or something he was never meant to remember.
"Stop—STOP!"
The creature's grip tightened.
"You wanted to save her."
Lina.
The name flickered.
Weak.
"But you don't even remember why."
Ethan froze.
His thoughts—
Stuttered.
Blank spaces spreading.
No.
No, that wasn't right.
He did remember.
Didn't he?
"Tell me," the creature whispered.
Its voice gentle now.
Dangerously gentle.
"Who is Lina to you?"
Ethan opened his mouth—
And nothing came out.
Silence.
The hallway leaned in.
Listening.
Waiting.
Ethan's eyes widened in horror.
"I… I…"
Nothing.
Not her face.
Not her voice.
Not even how they met.
Gone.
The creature smiled wider.
"There it is."
Behind it—
The others began to move again.
Closer.
Hungrier.
"Now," it said softly.
"Let's finish opening you."
Ethan struggled weakly.
"No… I won't… I won't let you—"
The door tightened around his arm.
And began—
To pull.
Not outward.
Inward.
His arm sank deeper into the wood.
Slowly.
Painfully.
Like he was being absorbed.
Ethan screamed again.
And this time—
Something inside him answered.
Not the hallway.
Not the creatures.
Something deeper.
Something older.
The door pulsed.
Once.
Twice.
Then—
It stopped.
Everything stopped.
The creatures froze.
All of them.
At once.
The first one tilted its head.
Confused.
"…that's not supposed to happen," it whispered.
The wood around Ethan's arm shifted.
Not pulling anymore.
Holding.
Protecting.
Ethan gasped, barely conscious.
"What… what is—"
Then—
A voice.
Not from the hallway.
Not from the creatures.
From the door.
Low.
Ancient.
And terrifyingly familiar.
"He is not empty."
The hallway trembled.
The creatures recoiled slightly.
For the first time—
They looked afraid.
Ethan's heart pounded weakly.
The voice spoke again.
Closer this time.
Almost… gentle.
"He still belongs to her."
Silence.
Heavy.
Deadly.
Then—
Every creature slowly turned toward Ethan.
Their smiles returning.
Wider than ever.
"Then we'll take that too."
The hallway screamed.
And everything rushed toward him at once.