The air was thick with tension as Jason glanced over at Ryan, his face reflecting the same mix of apprehension and dread. "Should we go out and check? It's been too quiet for too long," Jason muttered, his voice barely above a whisper.
Ryan shook his head, his round frame barely concealed by the slim doorway where they crouched. "No, we stay put. Let them scream first. When the chaos hits, we move in the opposite direction. That's how we avoid whatever's lurking out there," Ryan said, his tone brimming with false confidence.
Jason frowned. "Isn't that kind of like abandoning our team?"
Ryan snorted. "Please, we're not abandoning anyone. We're using their sacrifice to buy us some time. Trust me, this is strategy," he replied, eyes gleaming with the excitement of someone who believed he had figured out a foolproof plan.
Jason wasn't convinced. He glanced at Ryan, who, despite his bravado, was hunched behind him, attempting to use Jason's lanky frame as a shield. "So how long do we have to hide here? What if it's just us left?"
Ryan shrugged. "We've already searched the entire second floor, and we've covered most of the third. I'm betting the exit is downstairs, on the first floor. We're close to making it out."
Patting Jason on the back, Ryan added, "Keep it together, man. We're almost there."
Jason sighed, his nerves frayed. He hadn't even wanted to come to Hollow House tonight. He was just supposed to show his senior classmates the route for the haunted tour, not be dragged into their ridiculous ghost-hunting escapade. Now here he was, crouched in a dusty old house, praying they weren't the next victims of whatever was hiding in the dark.
"Seriously? Now's the time for pep talks?" Jason said, shaking his head as he tried to steady his breathing. The shadows outside the door seemed to stretch longer, darker, as if they were alive, waiting for the right moment to pounce.
"Don't be so pessimistic," Ryan replied, counting off on his fingers. "I heard both Jordan and Alice scream earlier. They might've been caught and taken out. Then there was that eighth person who snuck in with us—God knows what happened to them. That means there's only five of us left, including you and me. Odds are the killer is busy chasing someone else. We've got time."
Jason sighed but couldn't argue with Ryan's logic. It was twisted, but it made sense—sort of. He pressed his ear to the door again, trying to gauge if the hallway outside was still safe.
Nothing.
It was too quiet, and Jason's gut was telling him something wasn't right. He rubbed his eyes, blinking rapidly. Then he froze.
There, in the dim light that spilled through the crack under the door, was a small, ragged doll lying on the ground.
"What the...?" Jason muttered, his heart rate spiking. He could've sworn the hallway had been empty just moments ago. He'd been watching it for nearly ten minutes straight, and that doll hadn't been there before.
Am I losing my mind? He shook his head and looked again, the doll now closer to the door than it had been a moment before.
"It's moving...?" Jason's throat went dry. His pulse pounded in his ears. He blinked again, but when his eyes adjusted, the doll was gone. It had vanished entirely from the hallway.
His stomach dropped. "Ryan, I think we're in deep trouble."
Ryan glanced over, his usual smirk faltering. "What did you see?"
Before Jason could respond, there was a sudden loud clatter from the other end of the house. The walls seemed to vibrate with the sound, and both of them stiffened, staring at each other in the dimly lit room.
Meanwhile, downstairs, Chris slipped into the blood-splattered coat of the infamous Doctor Skullcrusher, Hollow House's most feared villain. The weight of the iron hammer in his hand felt oddly comforting, its cold surface a stark contrast to the heat of the house. Chains hung loosely around his neck, clinking with every step he took, adding an ominous soundtrack to his movements.
"These kids really think they can play hide and seek with me?" Chris muttered under his breath. Every slow step he took caused the chains to rattle, a chilling sound that reverberated through the house. Despite the eerie atmosphere, Chris knew the noise was a dead giveaway of his location. They could hear him coming.
In his earpiece, Wendy's voice crackled to life. "I can't see them on the cameras anymore. They must be hiding in one of the rooms. You'll have to check them one by one."
Chris sighed. "Next time, we need more cameras. The blind spots are killing me."
"Let's talk about upgrades when we have the budget," Wendy replied dryly. "Just focus on catching them."
He gripped the hammer tighter as he approached the stairs, his eyes scanning the dark corners of the house. He paused at the base of the staircase, noticing something unusual. There, sprawled at the entrance to one of the rooms on the second floor, was that same tattered doll.
"Huh. Looks like the little one's been busy," Chris muttered. The doll, seemingly innocent at first glance, had a penchant for guiding him to the hidden visitors. If it was here, that meant someone was close.
Playing along, Chris walked past the door, pretending not to notice. As he rounded the corner, he crouched down low, keeping to the shadows, and quietly crept back to the room. The hammer and chains remained silent as he neared the door, the eerie stillness only interrupted by his controlled breathing.
He reached the door and slowly peered through the crack.
Inside, Jason and Ryan huddled together, their eyes wide with fear. They hadn't noticed him yet. Jason was too busy staring out the small window, while Ryan fumbled with his phone, attempting to calculate their next move.
Chris grinned behind his mask. They were easy prey.
Inside the room, Jason's pulse was racing. "I swear I saw something in the hall," he whispered. "But now it's gone."
Ryan, though pale, tried to maintain his composure. "It's just your nerves. The killer's probably still downstairs. We're safe."
But Jason wasn't convinced. He inched closer to the door, peering through the narrow slit again, and that's when he saw it.
A bloodshot eye, staring right back at him.
Jason recoiled, stumbling backward. "Oh my God!" he screamed, his heart slamming in his chest.
"What? What is it?" Ryan shouted, grabbing his arm.
But Jason couldn't respond. The door creaked open slowly, revealing a figure bathed in blood, holding a massive hammer in one hand and chains in the other. It was Chris, fully in character as the Skullcrusher, his cold, emotionless gaze piercing through the small gap in his mask.
Ryan's bravado shattered. He tried to push himself through the wall behind him, his face drained of all color. "No, no, no..." he muttered under his breath.
Chris stepped into the room, his presence overwhelming. He tilted his head, regarding the two cowering boys with a chilling calmness.
"Time's up, boys," Chris said, his voice low and menacing. He reached into his pocket, pressing a hidden button that activated the house's traps.
Behind Ryan, the wall slid open to reveal a woman's face, expressionless, embedded in the very structure of the house. Ryan screamed, his legs giving out as he collapsed to the floor.
Jason, on the other hand, froze in terror. He could barely breathe as Chris loomed over them.
"Relax," Chris said, breaking character for a moment. "Your tour of Hollow House is officially over. I'll take you out." He flashed them a wicked smile before turning abruptly at the sound of glass shattering from upstairs.
Chris's demeanor shifted instantly. "Wendy, we've got trouble on the third floor. I'm heading up."
He left Jason and Ryan trembling in their spots, sprinting toward the source of the noise. Upstairs, he found another guest—one of the university's athletes—engaged in a frantic struggle with what looked like one of the animatronic ghouls.
"Not again," Chris muttered as he removed his mask. He would need to fix this mess quickly before the entire house erupted in chaos.