The air seemed to thicken as the door slammed shut with a finality that made Zixuan's heart race. Her eyes darted around the small, dimly lit space of the abandoned bus station.
There were no lights except the faint glow coming through the misted windows, and the cold seemed to settle into her bones.
"What the hell?" Harith muttered under his breath, taking a cautious step toward the door with Mateo and Cecilion.
Mateo reached for the handle, but it didn't budge. "It won't open."
Zixuan's mind raced, her stomach twisting into a knot. This isn't right. She glanced at her friends, their faces just as confused and uneasy as hers. Even Paige, usually so calm and collected, was trembling, her arms crossed tightly over her chest.
"We're stuck," Cecilion said, trying to keep his voice steady. "The door won't open. I don't know what's going on. This door is old, enough to be opened by three men."
The group stood in uncomfortable silence for a moment, the sound of the storm outside growing louder. Zixuan strained her ears, listening for anything—any sign of something out of the ordinary—but all she could hear was the constant rush of wind and rain.
Then, a soft sound—almost like a whisper—came from the far corner of the station.
Zixuan turned sharply, her heart pounding in her chest. "Did you hear that?"
Everyone stopped moving, and for a moment, all they could hear was the eerie hum of the wind outside. But then, the whisper came again, faint but unmistakable. It was as if the station itself was alive, murmuring something just beyond comprehension.
"I don't like this," Mateo said, his voice tinged with fear. "We need to get out of here."
Something about this place felt... wrong and and all of them could feel it. Every instinct in her body screamed that they should leave, but the door was locked, and the thought of going back into that storm made her hesitate—but which of the two option would leave them alive?
The strange whisper echoed again, almost like it was beckoning them deeper into the station.
"L-Let's stay together," Zixuan said, trying to sound confident. "Let's just figure this out. Maybe there's another exit or something."
The group reluctantly nodded, their eyes shifting nervously around the room. Zixuan felt her heart pounding in her chest as she stepped forward, leading the way down the dark hallway that led deeper into the station, not until Cecilion stepped forward.
It was a protective act and Zixuan couldn't help, but thank him by tapping his arm. Cecilion, this time, be smiled. "It'll be okay," he whispered and Zixuan nodded.
The walls were cold and damp, and the low hum of the wind outside only seemed to make the space feel even more claustrophobic. As they moved deeper into the station, the air grew heavier, and the strange whispers intensified, as though the walls themselves were alive with sound.
"D-Did you see that?" Paige whispered, her eyes wide.
Zixuan looked in the direction Paige was pointing and froze. At the far end of the hallway, something moved. It was too quick to make out, but it was there. A shadow, shifting unnaturally, slipping between the walls as if it didn't belong in this world.
"S-Stay close," Zixuan ordered, her voice trembling. "Stay together."
They kept walking, but every step seemed to echo louder than the last, like the very building was watching them. The whispering grew more distinct now, a voice almost, though the words were still too jumbled to understand. The air felt thicker here, and Zixuan couldn't shake the feeling that something was closing in on them.
Then, without warning, a loud bang echoed from behind them, followed by the sound of something heavy dragging across the floor. Zixuan whirled around, her heart leaping into her throat. Her eyes scanned the dark hallway, but there was nothing there.
"I-I don't know if I can do this," Harith said, his voice barely audible. He looked panicked, and Zixuan could see the fear in his eyes as he and Daniela clutch at each other's arms.
"W-We have to find a way out," Zixuan replied, gripping her phone tightly in her hand. She turned to the others, trying to maintain control, but deep down, she knew that they had stumbled into something far darker than they could have imagined.
A sudden screech cut through the silence, and they all jumped, turning toward the source of the noise. Zixuan's heart nearly stopped when she saw what was making the sound.
At the far end of the station, a figure slowly emerged from the shadows. It was tall and thin, its face obscured by a hood, and its movements were jerky and unnatural. The figure crept forward, dragging a heavy object behind it.
"W-What the hell is that?!" Zixuan took a step back, clutching at Cecilion's arm who had immediately stepped in front of his friends.
But before anyone could answer, the figure stopped and looked directly at them, its eyes glowing faintly in the dark.
In that moment, Zixuan realized that the whispers she had been hearing weren't coming from the walls—they were coming from whatever that thing was. And it wasn't alone.
"Run!" Cecilion shouted, instinctively grabbing Zixuan's arm and pulling her toward the door.
The others followed, but the figure didn't move, it just stood there, watching them, as though waiting for them to make the next move.
The group ran, their footsteps pounding in the hollow station, but the door remained firmly shut. Panic surged through Zixuan's veins, her breath coming in quick gasps. They were trapped.
The figure began to move again, slowly at first, then picking up speed as it stalked toward them, dragging its heavy burden.
There was no escape.
But then, just as the figure reached out for them, the ground beneath them began to tremble. The lights flickered, and with a loud crash, the station's door exploded open, sending them tumbling into a room.
Cecilion was quick to immediately shut the door close before the creature could catch up and the moment the creature's claws raked across the door, Zixuan's heart skipped a beat.
The growl from the other side was deafening, and for a split second, it felt like the whole world had paused—just long enough to make them realize how much danger they were in. The thud of the creature's immense weight against the door was felt deep in their chests, vibrating through the floor and up their legs.
Zixuan, still in shock, looked toward Cecilion, whose jaw was clenched tight as he fought to keep the door closed.
With all his might, Cecilion shoved his shoulder against the door, his face a mask of determination. Sweat beaded on his forehead, his knuckles white as they gripped the doorknob.
"Everyone, move!" he barked, his voice sharp with urgency.
Zixuan snapped out of her trance, her eyes flicking around in a desperate attempt to understand where they had ended up. The world around them felt as if it had been flipped upside down.
As if to confirm her suspicions, she blinked and looked again—what had once been an abandoned bus station was now completely gone. The harsh winds and rain had vanished. Instead, they stood at the threshold of a hallway unlike anything Zixuan had ever seen before.
The walls, bathed in a soft, golden glow, stretched out infinitely before them. The floor was smooth, almost polished, and the air was thick with an unfamiliar energy.
"W-What the hell is this place?" Harith muttered, his voice cracking with disbelief as he stepped tentatively forward.
The doors that lined the hallway were unlike any normal doors. Each one was framed with intricately carved wood, and the colors of the doors were vibrant in hues Zixuan couldn't even name.
Reds, blues, and yellows, all blending in strange, impossible patterns. Some of the doors seemed to pulse with life, while others remained eerily still, as if waiting for something.
"Can someone pinch me or something," Paige whispered, her voice soft, almost afraid to break the silence.
She moved closer to Daniela, her hands shaking as she ran her fingers along the vibrant door frames. "But... I don't think this is a dream."
Daniela nodded, her gaze flicking over the strange surroundings. The entire space felt unreal—too clean, too perfect. There was a heaviness in the air that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.
"The creature... where is it?" Mateo asked, his voice tinged with confusion, as he looked at Cecilion.
"Did we... escape?"
Cecilion, who had been standing by the door with his back to them, didn't respond right away. Instead, he was staring at the door they had just come through, his eyes narrowed in concentration.
"We're not safe yet," he said, his voice grim. "Whatever that thing was, it's not just going to disappear."
Zixuan glanced at him, wondering how he could remain so calm amidst all the chaos. His usual composed demeanor was somehow both reassuring and unnerving in this strange, unsettling place.
"Then what now?" she asked, her voice trembling despite herself.
Cecilion turned toward her, his expression unreadable. "We explore," he said simply. "We don't know how we got here, but we can't stay in one place. We need to find a way out."
"In this place?" Zixuan asked an obvious question. "We didn't even know what's there. We might just get ourselves killed."
"Staying here won't keep us alive either," Cecilion sighed.
"He's right, Xuan," Harith whispered, placing a hand on her shoulder. "We better explore and find a way out or die in this spot, which is which?"
Zixuan sighed in defeat. "Fine! But better stay close at each other."
As they moved farther into the hallway, the doors seemed to watch them, the vibrant colors shifting slightly in the light. There was a strange hum in the air now, faint but persistent, like the quiet murmur of voices just out of reach.
Zixuan wasn't sure what it was, but there was something oddly familiar about this place, something that tugged at her memory. She felt as though she had seen this before—maybe in a dream, or maybe in one of those countless games she played. The idea made her skin crawl. Was this some kind of twisted game?
"This place... doesn't feel real," Zixuan muttered, her eyes scanning the doors once more. "Where do we even start?"
"I think we start by choosing a door," Cecilion said, his voice steady. He walked toward the closest door—a deep shade of crimson that seemed to pulse with energy. He hesitated only briefly before reaching for the handle.
"Cecilion, wait!" Zixuan called out, her voice sharper now. "Don't open it! We don't know what's behind any of these doors."
"I'm not opening it," Cecilion replied, turning to face her. "I'm testing it."
Zixuan frowned but said nothing as Cecilion twisted the handle. The door didn't budge.
"See?" he said, stepping back. "It's locked. But it's a start."
They continued down the hallway, trying each door as they went. Some were locked, others opened easily, only to reveal empty, barren rooms. The sense of wrongness grew with each passing minute, the whispers growing louder, but never clear enough to make sense of them.
"I don't get it," Paige said, her voice strained. "This place—it's not like anything I've ever seen before. It's like... it's not even real."
"We already know that," Mateo said, running a hand through his hair. "What I want to know is, why the hell is it trying to trap us? Why did we end up here?"
Before anyone could respond, the wind outside began to howl again, rattling the door they had just come through. The unmistakable sound of something large dragging across the floor echoed from the other side.
"It's back," Zixuan said, her voice shaking.
Cecilion immediately turned toward the group, his eyes hard and focused. "We don't have time to stand here. Find another door, quickly."
They moved faster now, the fear in their movements palpable. The hallway seemed to stretch on endlessly, and Zixuan could feel the pulse of the walls pressing in on them.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, they found another door—this one simple in design, with no fancy carvings or shifting colors. It was a plain wooden door, but it stood out like a beacon in the surreal environment.
Cecilion stepped forward, his hand resting on the handle. This time, when he turned it, the door opened with a soft creak.
But what lay beyond was nothing like they had expected.