Chapter 7:The Last Tape
The days that followed their escape from the house were quiet but uneasy.
Lerato hadn't taken off her grandmother's pendant once. Simo kept checking his phone, rewatching the blurry videos he'd secretly taken inside the house, hoping to find answers in the noise and shadows. Thabo, on the other hand, barely spoke. He had become distant, his eyes haunted.
One afternoon, as the three sat under the old tree near school, Thabo finally broke the silence.
There's something I didn't tell you.
Lerato looked up sharply. What?
The night before we went into that room… I had a dream. It showed me something. A girl… crying. She kept saying, Don't listen to the tape. Don't play it.
Lerato and Simo stared at him.
And then yesterday, Thabo continued, pulling a small dusty cassette tape from his backpack, "I found this in my locker."
Simo leaned in. That wasn't there before?
I swear. I didn't put it there.
There were no labels on the tape. Just one word scratched across its surface:
"BEWARE."
Lerato felt a chill. Where would we even play that?
Simo snapped his fingers. My grandfather still has an old tape player in the storeroom. It still works.
They agreed to meet that evening. Something about the tape felt final. Dangerous. But also… necessary.
The storeroom was cold and full of old forgotten things. Simo blew dust off the cassette player and clicked the tape into place.
You ready? he asked.
No, Lerato said. But do it.
He pressed Play.
At first, there was static. Then, a voice distorted, hollow, barely human.
If you're hearing this… you've already been marked.
Simo reached to stop the tape, but Thabo shook his head. Let it play.
It started with whispers. It ends with screams. The house you entered was never just a house. It's a trap. It lures the broken, the brave, the curious. And it feeds. You've woken something that cannot be put back to sleep.
Suddenly, the lights flickered.
The door wasn't supposed to open. You opened it. Now, it wants more. And it's coming.
The tape ended.
For a few seconds, all three of them sat frozen and then BANG.
Something hit the storeroom door. Hard.
They screamed and backed away. The door knob twisted slowly.
There's no one else in the house! Simo gasped.
Lerato grabbed the tape and player. Come on! Upstairs!
They bolted up to the second floor and locked themselves in Simo's room. Whatever was outside banged on the door again this time louder.
I thought we ended this, Thabo whispered.
Lerato looked at the pendant. It wasn't glowing anymore.
The tape said it's coming. Not it's here, she said slowly. This… this is just a warning.
The banging stopped.
Silence.
Then Simo's phone buzzed. A new video file appeared.
He didn't record it.
He opened it.
It was footage of the three of them sleeping.
From inside their rooms.
Each clip ended with a distorted face slowly approaching the camera before the screen cut to black.
No, Simo whispered, his hands shaking. This isn't possible.
Lerato looked at the tape again. It said we're marked. We brought something back with us. Or maybe… it followed us.
Thabo clenched his jaw.Then we end it. For real this time.
Lerato looked him in the eyes.
And how do you destroy something… that doesn't die?
Outside the house, a whisper passed through the wind.
And in the darkness of the forest, something was waiting and Smiling.