Janae's phone shook in her hand, flashlight flickering as the beam cut through the black. The walls of the tunnel seemed to breathe, pulsing faintly with the same strange energy she had felt in the theater.
"Are you sure this is safe?" Sezzle whispered, hugging herself, her wide eyes reflecting the weak light.
Janae swallowed, trying to steady her racing heart. "I don't know… but we have to move. We can't just stay here."
A soft scuffling echoed behind them. Janae froze. Her stomach flipped. Something was following. She could feel it—like a chill crawling across her skin, the shadow of fear wrapping around her like a hand.
Sezzle jumped. "Did you hear that?!"
Janae nodded, pressing her back to the wall. "Yeah… something's here. And it's not just us."
Every instinct screamed at her to run, but the narrow tunnel offered no clear path. Janae's hands tingled, the energy thrumming through her fingers. She could sense the vibrations of the space—the subtle shifts in the air, the rhythm of whatever was hunting them. It was like the tunnel itself was alive.
"Janae… what is this place?" Sezzle's voice cracked.
Janae shook her head. "I don't know… but… I think… I can feel it. I can see it… somehow. The energy, the fear, the… presence."
Suddenly, a low, guttural growl echoed off the walls. The girls froze, hearts pounding. Janae's flashlight caught a glimpse of something moving—shapes twisting just beyond the edge of the beam.
Sezzle grabbed her arm. "We need out. Now."
Janae nodded, but inside, a strange certainty bloomed. She didn't fully understand her power yet—but she knew it was the only thing that could guide them through this nightmare. And whatever was behind them… it was patient. Waiting. Watching.
With a deep breath, Janae stepped forward, forcing her fear into focus. "We stick together. We survive this… and we find out what the hell this place really is."
The tunnel stretched endlessly ahead, shadows reaching like fingers, whispers curling in the darkness. Janae's pulse synced with the rhythm of the energy beneath her feet—and somewhere, deeper in the darkness, the thing following them took notice.
The tunnel twisted and turned like a living labyrinth. Janae and Sezzle moved cautiously, each step echoing against the stone walls. The weak light from their phones barely reached more than a few feet ahead, and every shadow seemed to twitch and slither.
"Do you… think anyone's down here with us?" Sezzle whispered, her voice barely carrying over the distant drip of water.
Janae's stomach flipped. She knew. The sensation crawling through her veins—the vibration she could feel in her chest—wasn't just the tunnel. Something was following them. Something patient. Something waiting for them to slip.
"Yeah…" she admitted, her voice tight. "I think… someone—or something—came down here with us."
Sezzle's grip on her arm tightened. "Great. Perfect. Just two girls and… whatever that is."
Janae's hands tingled again. She focused, trying to push back against the fear radiating through the space. The vibrations grew sharper, almost like whispers brushing against her mind. And then—suddenly—she saw it. Not with her eyes, but in a pulse of perception: a dark shape crouched in the shadows behind them, moving with careful, silent steps.
Sezzle noticed her pause. "Janae? What—what is it?"
Janae swallowed hard. "I… I don't know how to explain it. But I can feel… its energy. Its fear. Its hunger."
The girls pressed forward, hearts hammering, until the tunnel widened into a larger chamber. Faint, bluish light shimmered from cracks in the walls, revealing strange symbols etched deep into the stone—runes glowing with a light that seemed to pulse in rhythm with Janae's heartbeat.
"It's… beautiful," Sezzle whispered, her fear momentarily replaced by awe.
"Yeah…" Janae said, but her eyes were fixed on the shadows. "And dangerous. We need to keep moving. Now."
As they crept through the chamber, Janae tried to test the strange energy coursing through her. She focused on the vibrations of the tunnel, stretching her awareness to sense the presence of the thing behind them. The shadows shifted, and a faint hiss echoed through the chamber, making Sezzle gasp.
"Janae… what did you do?"
"I'm not sure…" Janae admitted, her pulse racing. "But I think… I can… sense things. Feel things. The fear in this place—it's alive. And so is whatever's following us."
The two girls huddled closer together, phone lights casting jittering shadows on the walls. Every creak, every whisper, every sudden movement made their hearts race. And somewhere deeper in the tunnel, the thing following them was aware now—they had drawn its attention.
Janae's fingers tingled as she extended her focus, and for the first time, she felt control. A tiny spark of her power—enough to give her hope. Enough to survive.
But the tunnel wasn't done with them yet.
From somewhere ahead, a low, guttural growl rolled through the chamber. The light flickered. And Janae knew, with a shiver that ran from her scalp to her toes, that the real terror was only just beginning.