Ayaan didn't breathe.
The voice outside had stopped calling, but its silence said more than its words ever could.
He stared at the door, his chest rising and falling like a machine running out of power. Rehan's words echoed in his mind — "Because I saw Sameer die."
But how?
When?
Why didn't Rehan say anything before?
"Tell me," Ayaan whispered, barely able to speak. "Whathappened to him?"
Rehan didn't answer immediately. His eyes stayed fixed on the wall. Not the door. Not Ayaan. The wall. Like something behind it was more dangerous than the thing pretending to be Sameer.
"I thought it was a dream," Rehan finally said. His voice wasn't cold — it was broken. "When we first got lost, we split up. For maybe fifteen minutes. That's when I found… it."
He ran a hand through his hair. Shaking.
"There was a clearing. Quiet. Too quiet. Sameer was standing in the middle. But his back was… wrong. Like his body didn't know how to hold itself anymore. I called his name."
Rehan paused. Swallowed hard.
"He turned around— Ayaan, it wasn't his face."
The silence thickened. The kind of silence where even the air holds its breath.
"I ran," Rehan said. "But not before I saw the real Sameer. Behind that thing. On the ground. Eyes wide open. Not moving."
Ayaan backed up from the door. One step. Two.
The voice outside spoke again. A little louder this time.
"I'm hurt, Ayaan. Please. Don't leave me out here."
He felt like vomiting. The voice was too perfect. Too familiar. It wasn't just repeating Sameer's tone — it knew his pauses, his softness, the way he used to talk when he was scared.
It was almost beautiful.
That's what made it terrifying.
Rehan slowly got to his feet. "It can't come in unless we open the door."
"Are you sure?"
"No," he admitted, "but I'm not opening it to find out."
Suddenly — a sound from the back wall.
Scratching.
Slow and deliberate.
Ayaan's body stiffened. "What the hell is that?"
Rehan turned — face gone pale. "It's trying to find another way in."
And then — without warning — the door clicked.
Unlocked itself.
Neither of them had touched it.
The doorknob turned.
"RUN!" Rehan shouted, grabbing Ayaan's arm. They bolted through the back, shouldering through the rotten planks. Wood snapped, spiders scattered, and cold air rushed in like a scream.
Outside, the world was darker. Wronger. The trees had moved again. The stars had vanished.
A shadow stepped through the door behind them.
Not fast. Not chasing.
It just stood there.
Watching.
Smiling.
But the smile wasn't Sameer's.
It was too wide. Too… patient.
They kept running. No plan. No idea where. Just away.
Somewhere behind them, the voice whispered once more — not loud, not close — but inside them:
"One of you will come back. You always do."