A scream tore through the house.
"HE'S FLOATING!"
Lily came running down the stairs, her small feet pounding hard against the wood. Her face was pale, eyes wide with terror, tears streaking down her cheeks.
"DAVID IS FLOATING!" she screamed again.
Everyone froze for half a second.
Then chaos exploded.
Margaret rushed forward. "What did you say?!"
Everyone ran upstairs at once, fear pushing them faster than thought. Audrey stumbled as she followed, still crying Mark's name under her breath.
They burst into the children's room.
David was there.
Standing on the floor.
Laughing.
Holding his toy car.
"Look!" he said happily. "It flies!"
The room fell silent.
No one spoke.
No one moved.
David dropped the toy. It hit the floor with a dull sound.
Margaret rushed forward and grabbed him, pulling him close. "Don't do that! Don't ever do that!"
David frowned. "But I didn't float."
Lily shook violently. "You did! You were up in the air! I saw you!"
Emma felt cold spread through her chest.
She believed Lily.
They all went back downstairs slowly, dread clinging to every step.
The house felt different now.
Colder.
Heavier.
As if it had crossed a line.
Lucas pulled out his phone, shaking slightly. "This is enough. I'm calling the police."
The phone slid out of his hand.
Not slipped.
It was pulled.
It hit the floor hard and skidded across the room.
Everyone stared at it.
Lucas whispered, "I didn't drop it."
Audrey broke down completely.
She collapsed onto the couch, sobbing uncontrollably. "Mark is gone. Clinton is gone. I can't— I can't take this. Someone tell me what to do!"
Emma stepped forward.
Her voice was steady, but her eyes were filled with pain. "I know how to stop it."
Everyone turned to her.
Elizabeth's breath hitched. "What do you mean?"
Emma swallowed. "The pact."
Silence.
"For this to end," Emma continued, "someone has to volunteer."
The word fell like a stone.
Volunteer.
Audrey looked up sharply. "Volunteer for what?"
Emma didn't look away. "To be the Christmas surprise."
A cold wave passed through the room.
"You're saying—" Lucas started.
"Yes," Emma said quietly. "Someone must willingly give their life. That's how the debt is paid. That's how it ends."
Audrey recoiled, shaking her head violently. "No. No, no, no."
Emma's eyes moved around the room.
Margaret clutched her children.
Uncle Paul stepped back.
Mrs. Greene cried silently.
Elizabeth looked away.
Emma's gaze landed on Lucas.
He stiffened. "Why are you looking at me?"
"I'm not choosing," Emma said. "I'm waiting."
Lucas laughed nervously. "You can't be serious."
The house creaked loudly.
A picture frame slid off the wall and shattered on the floor.
Everyone screamed.
The temperature dropped sharply. Breath became visible in the air.
Audrey screamed again. "STOP IT! PLEASE!"
The chandelier above them swayed slightly.
Emma's heart pounded.
"I didn't make the pact," Emma said. "But it knows someone must finish it."
She looked at each face again.
No one spoke.
No one volunteered.
Another sound echoed.
Footsteps.
Heavy.
Slow.
Coming from the hallway.
Emma whispered, "It's getting impatient."
The house responded.
A chair slid backward on its own.
The walls groaned.
Lily began to cry again.
Emma clenched her fists.
"If no one chooses," she said, "it will choose for us."
The footsteps stopped.
Right behind them.
And the house waited for an answer.