“…..”
Blankly staring at the old lady on the screen, Idris found himself licking his own lips as he tried his best to remain calm. However, that quickly proved to be a difficult task as he took several deep breaths.
Staring at the smiling old lady on the screen, her hollow eyes focused on him, Idris’s lips parted as he asked,
“Hello? Can you hear me?”
In that brief moment, it almost felt as though the old lady had heard his words and was quietly talking with him.
Goosebumps.
Idris felt goosebumps in that moment.
“H-ha.”
However, he was quick to recover as he adjusted himself back properly in the seat and looked at the camera that was pointed at him.
“I’m sorry about that. You guys saw that too, right? Haha, it almost felt as though the old lady was talking to me. I was a little taken aback by that. What a stupid coincidence.”
Idris shook his head, turning his attention back towards the screen. As he did, his brows furrowed unconsciously.
’Thinking about it, even if it was some freak coincidence, I shouldn’t have been this startled. I’ve encountered far scarier things in the past. I’m not usually this jumpy. Am I getting rusty?’
Idris scratched the back of his head.
However, he eventually shook his head and proceeded with the game. Looking at the old lady who didn’t seem like she could talk again, Idris took a silent breath before moving out of the room and onto the next one.
Creaak—
As he entered the next room, he immediately noticed a big difference in the new room. The moment he stepped in, he heard a faint creaking sound coming from the distance, and the lighting appeared to be even dimmer than it was before.
It was so dim that Idris had no choice but to squint his eyes in order to get a better look at the surroundings, and the moment he did, he immediately noticed that he was standing in what appeared to be a bathroom.
Creak. Creak…
The creaking sound continued, forcing Idris to lift the cursor upward. There, a broken cupboard hung by the side of the wall, the door swaying slowly from side to side.
“Hooo.”
Idris let out a small breath.
By now, Idris was extremely focused. So much so that he even forgot about the video and calmly assessed the situation around.
His entire body was tense, and his eyes were alert.
At this very moment, he had completely forgotten that this was a game.
Creak.
As the creaking persisted, Idris tapped the [W] key as carefully and delicately as possible, inching the character forward. The room ahead was in worse condition than the previous ones. Shattered tiles lined the floor, crunching softly with each step. The shower curtains hung in tatters, discolored and swaying slightly despite the still air.
And then there was the bathtub.
A massive porcelain husk, splintered with deep cracks. Dark stains clung to the edges, and from within the basin, a slow drip echoed.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Idris leaned in, squinting.
The creaking stopped, and for whatever reason, sitting in his own seat, Idris hesitated.
’Move forward, or not? Look into the bathtub, or…?’
“Wait, what am I even doing?”
Snapping out of it, Idris’s expression changed as he looked at the screen in front of him. Why was he even hesitating so much? This was just a game. It wasn’t real.
Shifting his attention towards the beer on the table, he grabbed it.
“Did I drink too much?”
Thinking about it, that was probably the case. Why else would he be acting like this?
“Tsk.”
Clicking his tongue, Idris tossed the can into the trash and moved the character forward, inching it closer to the bathtub to see what was inside.
“Ha, so it’s nothing.”
A smirk played on his lips the moment he saw that there was nothing. In the end, he really was too drunk.
For a moment, he thought that something would show up in the bathtub.
“Well, there doesn’t seem to be anything, I guess. I’m supposed to look for the arrow, right?”
Idris moved away from the bathtub and started looking elsewhere. Because of how hard the surroundings were, it became quite difficult for him to find the small arrow.
“For fuck sake. Who was the genius who decided to make it so dark?”
Growing irritated, Idris moved towards the sink and started to move the cursor around, clicking randomly as he tried to find whatever clue was hidden before him. However, regardless of how hard he tried, he found that he couldn’t find a single thing at all.
“Shit. Fuck.”
Growing even more frustrated, Idris scratched the side of his neck before bringing the mouse up, meeting the broken mirror that sat right above the sink.
“This is starting to—!”
Halfway through his words, his expression changed, and his heart nearly leaped out of his chest as he caught a glimpse of a tall shadow looming right behind him.
His hand twitched as he hastily jerked the mouse back. But when the screen shifted, he froze.
There was nothing behind him.
“Eh…? I swear I saw something.”
Turning his attention back towards the mirror, the only thing he saw was the broken reflection of the game character.
Idris frowned, but soon turned to look at the camera.
“I don’t think I saw wrong. This could just be some sort of trick by the game. Anyways, what am I supposed to do now? Looking around, I can’t seem to find anything.”
Click. Click. Click.
Clicking everywhere, Idris looked at the camera again.
“See? I don’t get anything regardless of where I click. Am I missing something? Or is the game glitching? Well, considering how this was made by one person, then I—”
Idris’s movements came to an abrupt halt as he stared at the mirror once again. This time, his expression changed.
“What….”
Unconsciously, his breath paused as he stared at the red letters etched into the mirror. They looked freshly written, the blood still sliding down the cracked glass.
[Something is definitely up!]
[I… don’t remember. My brain is foggy.]
[I can hardly think. It hurts so much. It hurts, it hurts, but…]
[Whatever you do. Don’t look.]
[Don’t look!]
Reading the contents of the message, he felt it.
Thump!
The sudden shift in the atmosphere.
“Don’t look? What am I supposed to not look at?”
Idirs grew more concerned as he hastily looked around. However, as he did, he saw nothing. In the end, he turned his attention towards the door.
“I’ve already found the message, so I should get out of here, right?”
Idris didn’t waste a single second. He hurried the character out of the room and made his way back into the main area. However, the moment he did, he stopped as his expression tensed.
“Why is it so dark?”
Looking around, the place was a lot darker than it was before. He could hardly see a thing, and even as he increased the brightness to the max, he struggled to see the path ahead.
That was until…
Swoosh!
A dim light cast behind him as an aged face appeared over the stairs that led to the second floor.
“Oh, dear.”
Her hollow eyes focused on Idris as she raised the lamp.
“It appears that the lights need replacing. I also see that you’re done with the first floor. Why don’t you come up? It should be brighter up here.”
Idris licked his lips at the sound of the old lady’s voice. The longer he stared at her, the more something felt wrong. But as he looked around, it became clear…
He didn’t really have much of a choice.
With a hesitant hand, he moved the character forward. The avatar climbed the stairs, each step releasing a faint groan that echoed through his laptop speakers, dragging a sense of unease behind every creak.
In order to ease the tension, he looked at the camera and began speaking.
“So it looks like the next part of the game is about to start. The first floor was probably just an introduction to get the player familiar with the situation and learn more about the husband. Basically, it was setting the tone and building the atmosphere. If I’m right, this is where the real game begins.”
Taking a few deep breaths to calm himself down, Idris smiled.
“If so, I’m ready.”
“Oh, I’m glad you’re ready.”
“…..!?”
Idris’s expression shifted as his head snapped toward the old lady, the breath leaving his lungs all at once.
“That’s! That’s!”
Maybe he could dismiss it the first time… but a second time?
That couldn’t be a coincidence!
’I… is it possible that she can listen to my words?’
No, but how was that possible?
Idris shuddered at the thought. His eyes locked onto the old lady, her face looming just inches from the screen. His lips trembled faintly.
But then…
“You look really excited, officer. I really do hope you find something.”
With a smile, the old lady stepped to the side, illuminating the next room.
“…Please.”
She nudged toward the door, and as Idris followed her gaze, his expression froze completely.
Then—
His entire body tensed.
Standing just beyond was a tall, lanky black figure, looming in the shadows. It wore a tattered top hat, tilted at an unnatural angle. Its head was swallowed by shadow, hiding whatever lay beneath.
That’s when Idris felt it.
Ba… Thump! Ba… Thump!
His own rapidly beating heart.
