Chapter 6:What Lies Beneath
The silence after the door creaked open was heavier than any scream.
Lerato took a slow step into the darkness beyond the forbidden door. The others stood frozen behind her, their breaths shallow, their minds screaming at them to turn back but their legs wouldn't listen. The thick smell of damp earth and something decayed hit them immediately.
Thabo whispered, Lerato… maybe we shouldn't
She turned, her eyes wide and unreadable. We've come this far. Don't back out now.
Simo grabbed a stick from the floor and followed, mumbling a silent prayer. The corridor beyond the door was narrow and lined with faded, torn wallpaper that looked older than time. Strange symbols had been scratched into the walls deep, jagged markings like someone had clawed at them in desperation.
The further they went, the colder it got.
There's… something written here, Lerato said, brushing away cobwebs from a section of the wall. The words were in a language none of them knew, but underneath, scrawled in shaky English, someone had written:
DON'T LISTEN TO THE WHISPERS.
From the far end of the room, something moved. It was tall. Shadow-like. Its face kept shifting sometimes it had no face at all.
One of you. Only one. The rest may leave…
No! Lerato shouted. We're not leaving anyone behind!
It laughed a low, broken sound like glass shattering.
Then stay forever.
The mirrors began to crackle. One by one, they shattered releasing misty shapes that circled the teens. Whispering. Crying. Laughing.
They started to feel dizzy.
Thabo dropped to his knees. It's… inside my head…
Simo tried to pull him up, but his own legs wobbled. It's feeding off us.
Lerato clenched her fists. ENOUGH!
Suddenly, the necklace she always wore a small, simple pendant from her grandmother began to glow. A warm, golden light poured out, pushing the shadows back.
The creature hissed and shrieked. It hated the light.
Lerato held the pendant high. You want one of us? Take me!
Lerato, NO! the boys shouted.
But instead of taking her, the creature paused. Then it laughed again. The brave one… of course.
And then just like that it vanished.
The chamber went still. The whispers faded.
And the mirrors? They began to show their real reflections again.
The door they had fallen through reappeared behind them.
It was over.
For now.
Simo stepped back. Nope. Nope. We're leaving.
But then they heard it.
A soft voice. A whisper almost like the wind. Yet it was inside the hallway with them.
Lerato…
She froze.
Thabo…
He turned sharply. Did you hear that?
The hallway trembled slightly beneath their feet, and suddenly the door behind them slammed shut. They all screamed and ran back, pounding on it, but it wouldn't budge.
We're trapped,Simo whispered.
Then the ground beneath them cracked and they fell.
They landed in water.
The three of them thrashed wildly, coughing, gasping. It was dark too dark but there was a faint red glow beneath the surface.
What is this place? Thabo gasped, swimming toward a ledge.
They pulled themselves out and looked around. They were in a massive underground chamber. The walls were lined with mirrors cracked and dirty and yet none of them showed reflections. Instead, in each mirror, was a different scene… of people crying, running, screaming. Some were clawing to get out. Others banged on invisible glass.
They're… trapped, Lerato said.
A whisper slithered through the chamber.
One of you must stay…
All three of them turned.
Back in the forest, as they emerged from the house shaking, muddy, scared but alive Simo finally broke the silence.
What the hell was that?
Lerato held her pendant tight. Something evil. Something that wanted us broken. But it didn't win.
Thabo looked back at the house. "But it's still in there.
She nodded. Then we'll be ready next time.
As they walked away, none of them noticed the red glow that briefly flickered in one of the house's windows.
It was watching.
It was waiting.
And it wasn't done.