Rocky's feet felt rooted to the ground. His entire body was drenched in sweat, and his breaths came in rapid gasps. Standing near the old basement door, he felt as if the darkness was trying to swallow him whole. Waves of fear surged through his heart, echoing as screams inside his mind.
Rocky tried to compose himself.
"This is all just my imagination… yes, just a silly illusion," he whispered to himself.
But as he turned to leave, the door leading from the stairs to the basement slammed shut with a deafening thud.
Rocky's panic intensified.
"Jack! Jack, is that you? Stop messing around!" he called out in a trembling voice.
The silence that followed was so deep that it felt like even the basement walls refused to hear his cries. Rocky summoned his courage and moved toward the door, but before he could reach it, a cold, sinister voice echoed from behind him.
"Rocky... Rocky..."
A shiver ran down Rocky's spine. He turned around hesitantly, his heart pounding. In the darkness, a shadow slowly emerged, advancing toward him. It was Jack—but his eyes were no longer the same. They burned red, as if ablaze with fire.
"Jack, is that you? Please, stop scaring me!" Rocky stammered.
But Jack's voice was no longer his own. It carried a haunting depth, reverberating off the basement walls.
"Rocky... have you ever thought about what happens to the souls of those innocent people you mock? What pain they endure?"
Rocky's hairs stood on end.
"Jack, why are you saying such things? It was just a joke... you know that, right?" he stammered, his voice quivering.
Jack's laughter shattered any hope Rocky had left.
"A joke... just like how you mocked my silence. Just like you mocked every innocent person who tried to be like you," Jack said.
His voice grew even darker. This wasn't Jack anymore—it was someone, something, else.
"When pain consumes a person, Rocky, they transform into something else. The Jack you knew is gone. Now, there is only Zain."
As the name echoed through the room, the basement's darkness seemed to thicken. A chilling wind rose from the walls, and an oppressive silence filled the space. Rocky turned and dashed toward the door, desperate to escape, but it wouldn't budge.
"Jack... or Zain, whatever your name is... please, let me go!" Rocky screamed.
Zain stepped closer, his smile growing more sinister, his fiery eyes piercing through the darkness.
"You can't escape, Rocky. No one escapes from here. Everyone who has faced me has never lived to tell the tale. Did you ever wonder where Aryan disappeared to?"
Hearing Aryan's name made Rocky's legs tremble. He pushed against the door with all his might, but it remained sealed shut.
"What did you do to Aryan?" he asked, his voice shaking.
Zain's smile widened.
"Aryan is no longer in this world, Rocky. And now, it's your turn. It's time for you to pay for everything you've done."
Rocky's screams echoed through the basement, but the darkness devoured them. His eyes reflected sheer terror and regret, but it was too late. Zain raised his hand, and shadows engulfed the room.
---
Zain's Ruthlessness and Rocky's Final Screams
Rocky's fear had completely consumed him. He collapsed to the floor, trembling. Tears streamed from his eyes as his lips quivered, pleading for mercy.
"Please... let me go, Zain... or Jack... whoever you are... I made a mistake! I promise I'll never mock anyone again. Just let me go…"
But there was no mercy in Zain's fiery eyes. He grabbed Rocky by the leg and, without an ounce of sympathy, began dragging him across the floor toward the shadowy, unknown room.
"Mercy? Forgiveness?" Zain chuckled coldly, his voice resonating with cruel amusement.
"Rocky, I don't understand those words. And even if I did, they wouldn't mean anything for you. You've silenced others with your cruelty; now it's your turn to scream."
Rocky tried to grab Zain's legs, but Zain shoved him away effortlessly.
"Jack, are you listening?" Zain spoke to the darkness within himself.
"Look, one of your tormentors is about to cross to the other side. This is just the beginning."
His laughter reverberated throughout the basement, a predator's triumphant sound over its prey.
Zain dragged Rocky into the room and flung him inside. The basement door slammed shut behind them with a heavy clang. From within, Rocky's terrified screams pierced the air, shaking the very walls of the basement.
"No... please... let me go! I'm sorry! I'll change, I swear!"
But Zain ignored his pleas. The sounds coming from the room were so horrific that anyone who heard them would have been paralyzed with fear.
The screams continued for several minutes before everything fell deathly silent. A chilling stillness engulfed the basement, as if it had swallowed all traces of life.
The door creaked open slowly. Zain stepped out, his face glowing with a strange, ominous confidence. His steps were measured, deliberate, exuding a terrifying calm. He flicked his wrist as if brushing off a speck of dust and left the basement without a backward glance.
Every shadow seemed to grow darker as Zain made his way back to his dormitory.
Becky's Restless Mind
Meanwhile, in another room, Becky was tossing and turning in bed, her heart heavy with an unexplainable dread. She couldn't shake the memory of Jack's strange behavior and the eerie transformation in his eyes.