It was just a brief pause, but for everyone else, it felt like centuries had gone by. The tension in the air was so thick you could practically feel it pressing down on your chest, making it hard to breathe.
Then, only a few seconds later, the phone slipped from Natalie's grasp, hitting the floor with a soft thud. Her face had turned ghostly pale, her expression frozen in shock as if she had seen a ghost.
"All of it, you have to eat all of it," Natalie stammered, her voice shaky and uneven as she looked at the others for some kind of support or reassurance.
Lily's eyes widened in pure horror, her whole body going rigid. "W-what? I can't do it. It's disgusting. I can't eat it again," she stuttered, her voice barely above a whisper like she was trying to convince herself more than anyone else.
Ava leaned closer to Lily. "Lily, listen, you have to do it. Please, for all of us."
Lily's face crumpled as tears filled her eyes. She was shaking her head, but then, as if something inside her just gave up, she whispered, "Okay…"
She stared at the pieces in front of her, her stomach already churning with disgust. With trembling hands, she picked up the burned flesh, forcing herself to take bite after bite. Each swallow was worse than the last, her body gagging in protest, but she pushed through.
When she finally finished, her body gave up, and she doubled over, puking violently before collapsing into Ava's arms, sobbing uncontrollably.
"It was so disgusting," Lily cried, her voice muffled against Ava's shoulder.
Ava rubbed her back soothingly, trying to calm her down. "It's okay. It's over now, right? You don't have to do it again."
Lily nodded through her tears, her voice barely audible. "Y-yeah…"
Ava exhaled a deep breath of relief, glancing around the room. "It's done," she said, though the relief didn't last long.
Everyone seemed to relax, but it was clear that fear still hung heavy in the air. Things weren't normal. Nothing about this was normal. They were all scared, uncertain of what was coming next.
Lily wiped her tears with the back of her hand, but she couldn't stop trembling. "What is happening to us?" She asked
Noah, who had been quiet this whole time, finally spoke up, his voice hollow and filled with dread. His hand throbbed in pain from the earlier dare, but that wasn't what was haunting him now.
"We're trapped,"
"And it's not going to let us go… until we do what it wants."
As if on cue, the TV flickered to life. The same eerie static noise filled the room for a moment before a new message appeared on the screen, written in the same bloody script that had haunted them earlier:
YOU DID WELL. BUT THE NIGHTMARE IS FAR FROM OVER.
.....
The room fell into an uneasy silence once again, the tension climbing back up to its suffocating height. They could feel the house closing in on them like it was alive and feeding off their fear.
Noah, his face pale as a sheet, spoke up again, his voice shaky. "N-now whose turn is it?"
Ethan, who had been mentally counting down the participants, responded after a moment. "I think it's Natalie and Chloe who are left..."
Natalie's heart raced in her chest. She swallowed hard, barely able to get the words out. "Fuck…"
Suddenly, as if the house had a mind of its own, a card flew through the air, landing right in front of Natalie with a light thud. She flinched, startled by the sudden movement. Chloe, sitting next to her, leaned in and urged her softly, "Natalie, pick it up."
With trembling hands, Natalie bent down and picked up the card. Her breath hitched in her throat as she read the words written on it, her face draining of all color.
"What does it say?" Ethan asked, his voice filled with tension, his body leaning forward as if bracing for impact.
Natalie's chest rose and fell quickly as panic set in. Her breathing became labored, her words caught in her throat. "I-it's d-dare…" she finally managed to say, her voice barely audible.
Chloe, sensing her panic, placed a hand on her back, trying to calm her. "Babe, just breathe. Calm down," she said softly.
Noah, his voice steadier than the others, pressed on. "What does the dare say?" he asked, his eyes locked on Natalie.
Unable to bring herself to read the rest, Natalie wordlessly handed the card to Chloe, her hand shaking as she did. Chloe took it and quickly scanned the words. Her face remained neutral as she read it aloud.
"Dare: Tell your deepest, darkest secret," Chloe announced, her voice eerily calm despite the tension in the room.
Lily's heart sank at the words. "Deepest, darkest secret…" she repeated, her voice barely more than a whisper.
"It's not that difficult," Ethan said, trying to offer some reassurance, though his voice lacked conviction. They all knew there were some secrets people never wanted to speak aloud.
Natalie shook her head, panic rising inside her. "No, I-I can't. I won't say that. No, I CAN'T!" she screamed, her voice filled with desperation and fear.
Chloe grabbed her shoulders, her grip firm but comforting. "Natalie, listen to me. Whatever it is, you can tell us. We're your friends. We won't judge you. We promise,"
Natalie's body trembled as she struggled to control her breathing. She wiped her tears, but they kept coming, her chest heaving with emotion. After what felt like an eternity, she took a deep, shaky breath and finally spoke.
"I..." her voice cracked as the weight of her secret threatened to suffocate her.
The room fell deathly quiet, every sound magnified, the tension thick enough to cut through. They were all waiting, holding their breath, knowing that whatever came next would change everything.
"When I was in middle school," she began, her voice barely a whisper, "there was a boy who was... well, he was beautiful. He had this fragile look about him like he could break any moment. Prettier than any girl I'd ever seen. His name was Yuki, and he was an orphan."
Ethan, ever blunt, interrupted, his brow furrowed in confusion. "Wait, I thought you were into girls?"