WebNovels

Stepping into the Darkness

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Chapter 1 - Chapter 1: Introduction

Elira Myles

Age: 16

Role: Main Character

Elira isn't the kind of girl who screams at horror movies or runs away from creaky sounds in the hallway. She's the kind of girl who turns the sound up, gets out of bed, and follows the noise just to know. Ever since she was little, she was different. She never liked easy answers. She always asked, "But why?" to the frustration of her teachers and sometimes her parents.

She has shoulder-length dark brown hair that never stays tied up, eyes that flicker with curiosity, and a habit of chewing her pen when she's thinking. Her room is full of unfinished notebooks and random books about time, mysteries, and riddles. She hates math but loves puzzles. She notices small things like the sound of the wind changing, or the way a light flickers just once before going out.

Elira isn't fearless she's brave because she feels fear and still moves forward. That's what makes her different. When the mysterious door appears in her house, she knows something is off. But instead of running, she opens it. Because the unknown calls her louder than anything else.

She loves:

Rainy nights

Hot chocolate with too many marshmallows

Stories that don't have happy endings, but true ones

Her weakness?

She can't let go of a mystery. Even when it's dangerous.

Even when it might change everything.

Mira Myles

Age: 40

Role: Mother

Mira is the rock of the Myles family. A loving mom and a dedicated schoolteacher, she's the one who packs lunches, keeps the calendar organized, and knows when something is wrong even before anyone speaks. She's not loud, not strict but somehow, when she says, "That's enough," everyone listens.

Her classroom is filled with plants and bright posters, but her home feels a little colder since her husband started locking himself in his study. She tries to act like everything is okay for Toby, for Elira, for herself but sometimes her eyes betray her, especially when she looks at Rhys.

Mira has always believed in facts. In what she can touch, see, and explain. Magic? Other worlds? No, thanks. But she loves her family deeply and when the impossible begins to creep into her home, she's forced to decide: protect her children… or accept the truth she never wanted to face.

She loves:

Warm tea before sunrise

Writing lists (even if she loses them later)

Singing while folding laundry

Her weakness?

She sometimes ignores what's right in front of her especially if it scares her.

Dr. Rhys Myles

Age: 42

Role: Father / Scientist

Rhys is a man of silence. A scientist with too many secrets and too many locked drawers. He works at a research lab that nobody in the family knows much about and when asked, he always answers with a distracted "You wouldn't understand."

Once, he was the dad who built Lego towers with Toby and took Elira stargazing. Now, he's the man behind a door, lost in blueprints and books with symbols no one else can read. Elira has started to wonder if the door that appeared in their house... has something to do with him.

He's tall, lean, wears glasses that are always smudged, and often smells like old books and metal. He talks to himself sometimes, muttering things like "not yet" or "it's almost stable." Elira doesn't understand, but she knows he's hiding something, something big.

He loves:

Silence

Science fiction

The sound of clocks ticking

His weakness?

He hides everything he loves to protect it. But some truths can't be buried forever.

Toby Myles

Age: 10

Role: Little Brother

Toby is a whirlwind of chaos in the shape of a child. He's loud, dramatic, always pretending to be a superhero or a pirate or a zombie hunter. His imagination is bigger than the backyard and he's not afraid to share it. He's the only one in the family who still believes in monsters under the bed (and sometimes he feeds them crackers, just in case).

He looks up to Elira like she's already in her own movie. He follows her around, sometimes gets on her nerves, but always defends her when someone makes fun of her "weirdness." He's the kind of brother who'll scream at shadows just to make her laugh. And even though he's young, he knows more than people think.

When strange things start happening in the house, he's the first to say, "Told you something was off!" and follow Elira wherever she goes even through a mysterious door.

He loves:

Peanut butter straight from the jar

Making up scary stories

Drawing monsters that are actually kind

His weakness?

He acts brave, but deep down he's still a kid… and the dark world they enter may be too real for him to handle.