Chapter 12: The Lock and the Key
The room erupted into chaos. The whispers swelled into a deafening roar, as if the very walls were screaming. The candle in Claire's hand extinguished in an instant, plunging them into near darkness. The only source of light was Samuel's trembling flashlight, its beam barely cutting through the unnatural gloom.
Eleanor Blackwood stood frozen by the window, her dark eyes wide—not with menace, but with terror.
Claire barely had time to react before the room itself seemed to shift. The temperature plummeted, and the furniture groaned as if something unseen pressed against it.
Then—
The bed lurched. The vanity trembled. The mirror cracked down the center.
And the door behind them—it wasn't just shut.
It was gone.
Samuel stumbled backward. "No. Nope. I'm done. This place is alive."
Claire gritted her teeth, trying to focus. "Eleanor, what's happening?"
Eleanor's gaze flickered toward the mirror.
Claire followed her line of sight. The crack in the glass had spread, but there was something else. Something behind the fractured surface.
A reflection.
But not their own.
A man stood in the mirror's depths, his face obscured by shadows. His presence was overwhelming, his silhouette towering and still.
Claire's stomach twisted. "Who—"
Before she could finish, the mirror shattered.
A force slammed into her chest, sending her crashing to the floor. Samuel shouted her name, but the sound was drowned in the shrieking of unseen voices.
Claire gasped for breath, rolling onto her side. Through the dust and shards of glass, she saw Eleanor.
The woman had fallen to her knees, her hands gripping the floorboards. She was whispering something—fast ,desperate.
A plea.
Claire crawled toward her. "Eleanor—"
Eleanor's head snapped up, her eyes locking onto Claire's. "He is waking."
Claire's blood turned to ice.
Before she could respond, the room lurched.
The walls stretched, the floor beneath them trembling. A deep, guttural sound filled the air—a resonance that came from nowhere and everywhere.
Samuel grabbed Claire's arm, pulling her to his feet. "I don't know what's happening, but we need to move!"
Claire turned to Eleanor. "Come with us!,we will save you, help you to escape"
Eleanor shook her head. "I can't."
The words were barely a whisper, but they carried a weight that settled deep in Claire's chest.
A sudden force yanked Samuel backward. He hit the wall with a grunt, his flashlight tumbling from his grip. Claire turned just in time to see something moving in the darkness—something reaching.
She lunged for the flashlight, grabbing it just as Eleanor spoke again.
"The lock."
Claire looked up. Eleanor's gaze burned with urgency.
"You must find the lock."
Claire's breath came in quick gasps. "Lock? What lock?"
Eleanor's form was fading, her body flickering like a dying ember. "The manor… it was never meant to be opened. He is waking. If he escapes—"
The words cut off as the walls groaned. The shadows behind Eleanor twisted, stretching toward her like grasping hands.
Samuel grabbed Claire's wrist. "Claire, we have to go—now!"
Claire hesitated—but only for a second.
Eleanor's eyes met hers one final time.
Then—
The room collapsed.
Samuel yanked Claire through the darkness, the air ripping around them like a storm. The last thing Claire saw was Eleanor's form dissolving into the shadows, her final whisper barely reaching her ears.
"Find the key."
Then—
Nothing.
To be continued…
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A/N:Next chapter tommaro. save this book pls.