By the time Danny arrived at 77 Blackwood Lane, the sun was setting, casting the crumbling mansion in a blood-orange glow.
The house was massive but looked as if it had been forgotten by time—ivy strangling its stone pillars, shattered windows like blind, lifeless eyes.
Yet… it smiled.
The façade of the house had a grotesque curve to it—arched windows like slanted, laughing eyes, and the collapsed porch sagging into a crooked grin.
Danny swallowed hard.
"Keep smiling... or they'll make you."
That damn message from Fate Exchange echoed in his mind.
As he pushed open the rusted gate, a sudden gust of wind slammed it shut behind him.
Bang!
He jolted.
The key Ken had given him felt ice-cold in his hand. It slid into the lock like it had been waiting… for him.
Click.
The door creaked open by itself.
Inside, the air was thick.
Not just with dust—but with something alive.
The walls were lined with old, faded wallpaper. Smiling faces were everywhere—painted, carved, etched into mirrors and furniture.
Everywhere he turned… they were grinning.
Some with wide, empty eyes. Some with sharp, broken teeth.
At first, he told himself it was just art. Just old, creepy décor.
Until one of the faces blinked.
Danny stumbled back, his breath ragged.
No… no, that didn't happen. You're imagining things!
He tried to steady his breathing and turned his eyes away, remembering the warning:
Do not look directly at the smiling faces for more than 10 seconds.
But curiosity clawed at him.
Slowly, he turned back—
One of the carved wooden faces in the wall paneling was smiling wider now. The corner of its mouth had visibly stretched… the grin growing longer.
Its eyes rolled, fixing directly on him.
Danny staggered back, bumping into a full-length mirror behind him.
His reflection stared back, except…
He wasn't smiling.
But his reflection was.
A wide, horrifying grin splitting across its face.
He spun around, ready to run—
But the front door had vanished.
Gone.
The walls began to whisper. Low, raspy voices, overlapping each other.
"Smile… smile… why aren't you smiling?"
A sickening creak echoed above him.
Slowly, his eyes traveled up the grand staircase.
At the top stood a figure—a woman in a faded red dress, her head tilted unnaturally, her mouth stretched into an impossible grin from ear to ear.
Her hollow eyes locked onto his.
"Welcome home, Danny…" she hissed.
His phone buzzed violently in his pocket.