Chapter 5 The shadows of the night

The shadows of the night

The house rested in an almost palpable darkness, as if the weight of the night was trying to crush it. The walls cracked in places, diffuse sounds, amplified by silence, resounded like so many reminders of his advanced age. On the ground floor, a weak lunar light filled through the curtains, projecting moving shadows on the walls of the living room.

In her bedroom, Alice, lying on her bed, stared at the ceiling without being able to close her eye. His mind was constantly returning the events of the day: the clearing, the shadows, the crackles. She couldn't convince herself that there was nothing. As she was about to get up to go to the window, a thud sounded, seeming to come from the outside.

She straightened up, her senses alert. Then, another disturbance was heard, this time like a distant murmur, barely noticeable. Her eyes stared at the window, where an indistinct silhouette seemed to be emerging, but in an instant, she had disappeared. Panicked, it rushed to light the bedside lamp, but the light vacillated once, then died immediately.

-No ... not that ..., she whispered, backing up slowly to the door.

In the neighboring room, Mélanie was shaking in spite of herself. The atmosphere of the room had suddenly changed, the air becoming freezing. She rubbed her arms, trying in vain to warm up. Looking around, she noticed that the mirror above the chest of drawers seemed to be heard, as if someone had blown on it.

She approached slowly, holding a trembling hand towards the glass. Once in range, his breath stopped net. A barely readable inscription appeared on the embedded surface: "go".

Mélanie backwards, stumbling on the edge of the bed. She grabbed her phone on the bedside table, but the signal seemed absent. Only a deaf bundle emanated from the handset. Desperate, she ran out of the room to find the others.

At the same time, Hugo, unable to sleep, descended on the ground floor, groaning gently for himself. -Why did I accepted this damn weekend ..., he mumbled.

Arrived in the living room, he stopped suddenly. The door leading to the basement was ajar. It made him shiver. The last time he had seen this door, she was well closed. He got cautiously approached, a hand stretched to touch the handle.

-Hugo, what are you doing? Suddenly asked Lucas, appearing behind him.

Hugo jumped and turned to him, his pale face. - I ... I just wanted to see why this door is open.

Lucas looked at him, intrigued. - Are you sure it was not you who left it like that?

Hugo shook his head, annoyed. - Do you think I would have done that? Look around you, Lucas. We all know that something strange happens here.

Lucas passed a hand in his hair, visibly uncomfortable. - Okay ... But if this is the case, we have to know what. We can't just stay here waiting for the walls to collapse on us.

The others descended in turn, attracted by their voices. Mathias was holding her device against her chest, while Mélanie grabbed Alice.

- Why is this door open? Alice asked, her voice tinged with concern.

Mathias glanced at the stairs of the basement, where darkness seemed to stretch like a dense mist. - No matter why. It shouldn't be.

Lucas raised his hands, a nervous smile on the lips. - Do you just want to stay there without doing anything? We should go down and see what is. This is just a basement.

Mélanie fixed it, incredulous. - Are you serious? After all we saw today?

- Precisely, replied Lucas. If something happens here, we're not going to flee. We have to understand what it is.

Alice clenched her fists, hesitant. Finally, she nodded. - Alright. But if we go down, we remain grouped.

They were cautiously committed to the stairs, each step amplified by the sinister echo. The air became heavier, each breathing seeming required an additional effort. By reaching the bottom, a light torch lamp revealed stone walls and a floor covered with dust, but also something more disturbing: dark and deep engravings encrusted in the ground.

Mathias lit the symbols with his lamp. - Is it ... a kind of writing? No, these are symbols. But ... what do they mean?

No answer came. But while they were examining the inscriptions, a strange murmur emanating from the walls echoed in the room, soft at the beginning, then more and more insistent.

Mélanie shouted, rushing towards the stairs. - We have to get out of here! NOW !

The others followed her, the swinging hearts. When they finally closed the basement door, the house seemed to be silent again, but the atmosphere was far from reassuring. One thing was certain: this house kept secrets that they were not sure of wanting to discover.

As they all stood in the living room, breathless, the silence that followed their flight seemed to be more scary even than the murmurs of the basement. Mélanie wiped the tears that rolled on her cheeks, her gaze stubbornly staring at the door they had just closed.

- What is that,? she whispered, almost inaudible. What is this house?

Lucas passed a trembling hand in his hair, trying to keep his calm. But his usual smile had disappeared, replaced by a worried expression.

-I ... I don't know, he admitted, for the first time without trying to minimize the situation. This basement ... these symbols ... we should perhaps ... call someone, an owner, or ... I don't know.

Hugo laughed, but it was a dry, almost hysterical laugh. - Call someone? With what? The phone is useless here, and there is no signal. We are cut off from everything.

Alice, who had not yet said a word, closed her eyes to gather her courage. Then, in a sharp voice, she declared: - If we stay here, we will not get out. We have to leave. It doesn't matter if it's in the middle of the night, but staying ... it's running our loss.

Mélanie nodded quickly, her hands always tight against her face. But Lucas shook his head, his voice rising slightly. - Leave ? Go where, Alice? In the middle of the night, in these woods? What if something awaits us there? There is no guarantee that it is safer outside.

Silence fell. Everyone seemed short of ideas, trapped by their own fears and the limits imposed by this house. Mathias, still silent, adjusted his glasses and whispered:-There is something in this basement. And I believe that ... that this thing does not want us to go.

They exchanged a worried look. None of them wanted to admit that Mathias was probably right.

Suddenly, a creak sounds above them, followed by a heavy noise, as if something-or someone-had just crossed the upper floor. Mélanie stifled a cry, and Hugo instinctively grabbed an oil lamp placed on the table.

- What was that? he whistled between his teeth.

Lucas stared at the ceiling, his pale face. This time there was no doubt: they weren't alone in this house.