The blood on Aarav's shoe isn't fresh.
It's darker, dried, cracked along the edge of the concrete step.
Zayan crouches, fingers hovering just above it, his lips pressed into a line.
No one speaks for a long moment.
The mansion looms before them — towering, ancient, wrapped in creeping vines and shadows. The broken nameplate reads only part of its name now:
"W_ _ LLOW'S W_ _ _"
A cracked statue stands near the entrance. Headless. Fingers pointed toward the door.
"I don't like this," Rhea says. Her voice is a whisper. Almost like she's afraid the house might hear.
"We shouldn't be here," Tanya agrees.
But Kabir, strangely quiet, steps toward the door. "What if Aarav's inside? Hurt?"
They follow.
Not because they want to.
Because turning back feels... worse.
---
The wooden double doors creak open with one push.
Inside, the air is cold. Too cold.
It smells like dust, rust, and something else — coppery and sharp.
Like blood long soaked into the floorboards.
Rishi clicks on his flashlight.
The beam cuts through the dark.
Revealing...
Faded wallpaper with water stains shaped like faces
A chandelier with missing crystals, swaying slowly
Portraits on the walls — blurred, eyes scratched out
A dusty grandfather clock, frozen at 3:06
The door slams shut behind them.
Everyone jumps.
Zayan spins around. "It's just the wind," he says.
But no wind blows in a sealed hallway.
---
They move through the corridor in silence.
Each step they take makes the floor groan.
Then, Rhea gasps.
A painting is… different. Not faded.
It shows six silhouettes standing in front of a large house. The same house they're in.
"They're… us," she murmurs.
Tanya scoffs. "Impossible."
"Look at the jacket."
The figure on the left wears Rishi's exact yellow jacket — even the tear at the sleeve.
Zayan's expression changes.
No one notices.
---
They reach a central hall — with a black and white checkerboard floor and a tall, spiral staircase leading up into darkness.
On the wall is a golden plaque:
> "Welcome to Willow's Weep. One of you has sinned.
Confess. Or let the house reveal it for you."
And just below it…
A note.
Handwritten.
Fresh ink.
It reads:
> "TASK ONE: CHOOSE WHO SPEAKS FIRST.
LIE… AND LOSE A FINGER."
– Sincerely, Your Friend Who Never Left
Rhea's lips tremble. "W-what is this?"
"Zayan, is this you?" Tanya snaps.
"No," Zayan says, stepping back. "Why would I…?"
But no one believes him fully.
Not even himself.
---
Kabir laughs — a single, empty sound. "This is a prank. You planned this, right? Right?"
No answer.
Suddenly, the lights above flicker on.
Bright. Blinding.
The chandelier above glows with an eerie golden hue.
And in the middle of the hall…
Aarav's bag.
Open.
Inside, a piece of paper.
Tanya snatches it.
> "Sorry I left. I needed to remember what you all did.
Let's play.
You owe me that much."
– Aarav
Silence stretches so thin it could slice.
Zayan whispers, "This… this isn't right."
Rishi begins to tremble. "What the hell did we do?"
No one answers.
Because they all know the truth.
Something did happen.
Something they buried.
And now, the house has dug it back up.
---
⚠️ TO BE CONTINUED...