Chapter 2 The shadows that follow

Chapter Two: The Shadows That Follow

Jesse's heart thudded in her chest, the sudden darkness suffocating her. The door had slammed with a force that made the old walls of the house tremble. The air inside felt thick, heavy, like something was pressing down on her.

"Sam," Jesse whispered, her voice shaky. "Sam, open the door."

There was no answer.

Her breath caught in her throat as she fumbled around, her hands scraping against the walls. The silence was so oppressive that it seemed to swallow every sound she made. She reached out, trying to find the doorknob, but it was gone-like it had never existed.

"Sam?" she called again, this time louder, but her voice cracked, barely more than a whisper in the vast emptiness. She turned around in the dark, desperate to find her brother.

Then, in the distance, she heard the creak of wood.

Her pulse quickened as she strained to listen. Was that... footsteps?

"Sam?" Jesse's voice trembled with a mix of fear and confusion. There was no response, just the soft, deliberate creak of footsteps, slow and measured, moving closer.

Her breath caught in her throat, and the back of her neck prickled. It wasn't her brother.

The footsteps stopped suddenly, as if whoever was walking had noticed her too. Jesse's heart pounded in her ears as she desperately scanned the darkness. Her fingers brushed against the wall, and she froze. There was something... wrong about the air in the room. It felt thicker, colder.

Then, she saw it.

A faint silhouette, barely visible against the shadowed walls, stood just beyond her reach. Jesse's mind raced, her body frozen in place. She could make out a vague shape-tall, thin, and towering. The outline of a man.

She wanted to scream, but the sound died in her throat.

The figure didn't move.

And then the faintest of whispers, soft as a breath, echoed from the darkness.

"Leave... now."

Jesse's legs gave way beneath her. She stumbled backward, desperate to escape, but there was nowhere to go. The walls felt like they were closing in, the air growing colder by the second.

"Sam," she gasped, her voice now breaking.

Suddenly, the figure moved.

With a swiftness that was impossible for someone so tall, it was suddenly in front of her, its face hidden in the shadows, but she could feel its presence. She could feel its eyes on her, burning through the darkness.

And then, with a loud, almost deafening crack, the door behind her flew open.

Jesse didn't hesitate. She darted toward the exit, not daring to look back, and rushed down the hallway.

"Sam! Sam!" she shouted, her voice a frantic scream. But there was no reply.

The house seemed endless now, the corridors stretching longer than she remembered. It was like the walls were shifting, twisting as if the very house itself was alive-alive and watching.

Finally, she reached the staircase.

The old wood groaned under her feet as she rushed up, each step creaking under the pressure, but she couldn't stop herself. She had to get out. She had to find Sam.

At the top of the stairs, she paused, her breath coming in ragged gasps. The hallway stretched in front of her, every door closed, every window sealed. But there, at the far end of the hallway, a faint light flickered from under a door.

The door was ajar, and something in Jesse's gut told her that Sam was there.

She hesitated for a moment, then pushed forward, her hand trembling as she reached for the doorknob.

The moment her fingers touched it, the door swung open with a sudden force, slamming against the wall behind it.

And there, standing in the center of the room, was Sam.

But he wasn't alone.

In the corner of the room, a figure stood-a woman, her face obscured by long, dark hair. Her hands were pressed against her stomach, as though clutching something to her chest, but Jesse couldn't make out what. The woman's eyes were hidden in the shadows, but there was an undeniable chill about her presence.

"Sam," Jesse breathed, her voice raw with fear. "Sam, we need to go."

Her brother didn't respond. His body was stiff, unmoving, his face pale, and his eyes wide, fixed on something Jesse couldn't see. He stood frozen, as if paralyzed by some unseen force.

Jesse's throat tightened. "Sam! Look at me! Come on, we have to leave!"

But Sam's lips barely moved. "She won't let me go," he whispered, his voice hoarse and weak. "I'm not allowed to leave."

Jesse's heart stopped. "What? Who won't let you go?"

The woman in the corner let out a soft chuckle, and her voice slithered through the room like a serpent.

"He's mine now," she whispered, her voice cold and hollow, the words lingering in the air like an echo.

Jesse's blood ran cold as she realized the room around her had gone impossibly quiet. The walls seemed to close in tighter, the air stifling, as though the house itself was exhaling, preparing to swallow them whole.

She turned to Sam. "Sam, please-don't listen to her! We have to get out of here, now!"

But he didn't move.

The woman stepped forward, her eyes now visible beneath the tangled mass of hair. Her eyes were black-deep, endless pits. Her lips curled into a smile that sent a jolt of fear straight through Jesse's spine.

"You should have stayed away, Jesse," she said, her voice dripping with malice. "But now, you're part of this story too."

Jesse took a step back, fear clawing at her throat. "Who... who are you?"

The woman's smile widened. "I am what you shouldn't have found. I am what your curiosity has brought. And now, we are all trapped. All of us."

Jesse's pulse raced as the air grew colder still, and the shadows in the room seemed to stretch out toward her, pulling her in.

And then, as if from nowhere, a loud, terrifying bang echoed from below.

Something was coming.