They ran nonstop, their feet pounding the wet ground as the shadows surrounded them from all sides. The forest seemed alive—branches shifted, and roots stretched as if trying to grab them.
"Where do we go?!" Amy screamed, panting from the effort.
"We need to find a place to hide!" Ryan said, looking around desperately.
But the forest seemed to block every path in their way. The trails they had been following suddenly vanished, and the trees intertwined as if they were building walls around them.
"It's trapping us!" Mark shouted, trying to clear a path through the branches, but the branches were strong, as though they were made of metal.
In a moment of despair, the three of them stopped to catch their breath. The darkness was thick, and the eerie silence was suffocating.
"It's playing with us," Amy said, trying to calm herself. "It wants to make us afraid... but it's not done yet."
"If it wants us alive, it needs us for some reason," Mark said, looking at the key he was holding. "This key is connected to everything."
Suddenly, they began to hear strange sounds—whispers echoing their names between the trees.
"Ryan... Amy... Mark..."
They turned around in terror, but saw nothing.
"Who's there?!" Ryan shouted, trying to control his fear.
The voice responded, but this time it was different. It was soft yet terrifying at the same time: "You are so close to the truth... but every step brings you closer to the end."
"What do you want from us?!" Amy screamed.
"I want you to choose..." the voice answered.
Suddenly, a strange scene unfolded before them. The ground slowly split open, revealing two opposite paths. The first path was lit with a faint light, its end resembling a large stone gate covered in ancient carvings. The other path was completely dark, nothing visible except for shadows moving slowly.
"The gate!" Mark said, pointing to the first path.
"But it could be a trap!" Amy said, staring at the shadows moving in the other path.
"We have to make a choice," Ryan said. "We can't stay here."
They paused for a moment, hesitating. Then Mark spoke, his voice steady: "If the gate is the key to ending this nightmare, we have to go for it."
"But the shadow might expect that... the dark path could be the way to survival," Amy replied.
"Enough!" Ryan said firmly. "We won't know the truth unless we try. We have the key, and the gate might be the only solution."
In the end, they decided to take the illuminated path toward the gate. The light grew brighter as they got closer, but they felt an odd heaviness pressing on their chests with each step.
When they reached the gate, they stood in awe. It was enormous, surrounded by stone pillars carved with twisted faces, as though they were screaming in agony. In the center of the gate was a small opening, just the right size for the key they had found in the cabin.
"This is it," Mark said, raising the key with trembling hands.
"Wait!" Amy said. "What if this is what the shadow wants? What if we open the gate and release something worse?"
"We won't know until we try," Ryan said, looking at Mark. "Do it."
Hesitantly, Mark inserted the key into the opening and turned it slowly.
The gate trembled with a deep sound, and began to open slowly, revealing an infinite darkness behind it. From within the darkness, strange creatures began to emerge, resembling shadows but more distinct, as though they carried twisted human faces.
"What have we done?!" Amy screamed, stepping back in fear.
But before they could escape, they heard the same voic
e again, laughing deeply and eerily:
"Welcome to the truth."