Taylor's screams echoed endlessly in the dark, swallowed by the oppressive silence of Blackwood House. His back pressed hard against the wall, the cold seeping into his skin as he fumbled with the flashlight in his trembling hands.
"Come on," he whispered, smacking the butt of his flashlight repeatedly, his voice cracking. "Come on, work!"
The flashlight sputtered to life, its dim beam illuminating the warped floorboards and cracked walls of the room. But the mirrors were gone. The chair in the center of the room was gone.
And so was the girl.
Taylor let out a shaky breath, his heart still hammering against his ribs, and tears leaking from the corner of his eyes. He forced himself to his feet, his legs weak and unsteady beneath him.
"Okay," he muttered, his voice shaking as he tried to summon his usual sarcasm. "That was... fun. Totally normal. Nothing to worry about. Some creepy girl that is somehow familiar to me. Totally normal."
The faint sound of footsteps echoed from somewhere behind him, slow and deliberate.
Taylor froze, his breath catching in his throat. "Who's there?"
The footsteps stopped.
"Seriously, Anderson, if this is you, it's not funny anymore!" Taylor shouted, his voice rising.
The only response was a faint whisper.
"Taylor..."
His blood turned to ice. Not again. He wiped furiously at the tears on his face. With his luck, it'll be one of his friends and he'd never live down the embarrassment.
The door behind him creaked open, revealing a long, narrow hallway that hadn't been there before.
"Nope," Taylor said, taking a step back. "Absolutely not. I'm perfectly fine where I am. Thank you very much."
But as he turned to walk away from the open door, the room behind him melted into shadows, leaving only the hallway stretching endlessly ahead.
"Great," he muttered, gripping the flashlight tighter. "Guess I don't have a choice."
He stepped into the hallway cautiously, his sneakers scuffing against the uneven floorboards. The walls were lined with faded wallpaper, its floral pattern warped and distorted.
The farther he walked, the colder the air became, and the more the walls seemed to close in around him.
"Taylor..."
The whisper came again, louder this time, and his flashlight flickered violently.
"Alright," he said, his voice shaking. "I'm officially done with this. Scare me or mess with the flashlight; it's totally unfair to do both."
The whisper didn't stop.
"Taylor... why?"
His breath hitched, and he stumbled, catching himself against the wall. The voice was soft, feminine, and achingly familiar again.
"Who are you?" he shouted, his voice cracking.
The only response was a faint, echoing laugh that sent shivers down his spine.
The hallway opened into a larger room, its walls bare and warped. Shadows danced across the floor, shifting and twisting unnaturally.
Taylor stopped in the center of the room, his flashlight sweeping over the empty space. "What do you want from me?" he demanded, his voice trembling.
The shadows coalesced into a vaguely human shape, standing just at the edge of his light.
"You remember me," the figure said, the voice a soft echo that reverberated through the room.
Taylor shook his head, his heart racing. "No. I don't. I don't know who you are! Not really!"
"You don't care," the voice accused, sharp and cold. "Forgetting me now how you forgot me before."
The shadow shifted, drawing closer. Taylor stumbled back, the flashlight shaking in his hand. "Stay back!"
Fragments of memory began to surface again; flashes of laughter, the sound of tires screeching, the sight of a girl's smile.
The shadow stopped just before him, and for a brief moment, it solidified into a face; the girl with long, dark hair and wide, expressive eyes.
"Sophia," Taylor whispered, the name slipping from his lips unbidden.
The shadow's head tilted. "You do remember."
"No," Taylor said, backing away. "I don't. I don't know what happened."
The figure lunged forward, and Taylor screamed as the room plunged into darkness.
When the light returned, he was somewhere else entirely; a small, claustrophobic room with no doors or windows. The walls were covered in photographs, each one showing a face that seemed to stare directly at him.
Taylor's chest tightened as he recognized some of the faces: classmates, teachers, strangers he had passed on the street. But one face appeared over and over again; Sophia.
Her image was everywhere, her smile frozen in time, her eyes watching him.
"What is this?" he whispered, turning in place.
The photographs began to change, the edges curling and blackening as if being burned by invisible flames. Sophia's face twisted into something unrecognizable; her eyes hollow, her mouth stretched into a silent scream.
"Why did you leave me?" her voice echoed, overlapping with itself in a cacophony of accusation.
"I didn't!" Taylor shouted, clutching his head. "I didn't leave you! I don't even know what happened! I can't even completely remember."
The photographs began to peel away from the walls, fluttering to the floor like dying leaves. The room grew colder, the air thick with the scent of decay.
"You forgot me," the voice said, soft and broken. "You forgot what you did."
Taylor dropped to his knees, his hands shaking. "I didn't mean to," he whispered. "Whatever I did, I didn't mean to."
The photographs disintegrated into ash, and the room dissolved into darkness. Taylor found himself standing on a dirt path, the faint sound of laughter echoing in the distance.
He turned, his flashlight revealing a familiar scene: a narrow road bordered by trees, the sky above dark and starless.
"No," he whispered, his chest tightening. "Not here."
Sophia appeared at the edge of the beam, her figure faint and flickering like a dying flame.
"You left me," she said, her voice filled with quiet sorrow.
Taylor stumbled back, his breath catching in his throat. "I didn't... I don't..."
Her form solidified, and she stepped closer, her wide, accusing eyes locking onto his.
"You dared me," she said softly.
Taylor's legs buckled, and he sank to the ground. The memory surfaced like a knife, sharp and unforgiving; his laughter, her hesitation, the flash of headlights.
"I didn't know," he whispered, tears streaming down his face. "I didn't think… "
"You didn't care," Sophia interrupted, her voice cold and cutting.
Her form began to twist and warp, her features stretching into something monstrous. Her eyes turned black, her mouth opening into an impossibly wide grin.
"You'll stay with me," she hissed, her voice echoing in his mind. "Forever."
She lunged toward him, her hands outstretched, and Taylor screamed as the darkness swallowed him whole.