Leave or Live | Part 3 - by The Silent Pen 🖊

<img alt="" src="/media/inline_insight_image/ChatGPT_Image_Aug_14_2026_08_06_17_AM.png" style="background-color: transparent;"/>EPISODE THREE — THE ONE WHO WENT UPSTAIRS The first step creaked. Then the second. Nobody moved. The invisible thing continued climbing. Creeeeak. Pause. Creeeeak. Pause. Baba grabbed Efe's wrist. “Don't answer it.” Efe swallowed. “Answer what?” Baba looked at her. His face had gone completely pale. “When it calls your name.” Another step. Creeeeak. Then— “David.” Everyone froze. The voice came from upstairs. It sounded exactly like David. David slowly looked toward the staircase. “I didn't say that.” Nobody answered. “David.” This time… the voice sounded like his mother. David's face changed. “That's my mum.” Baba shook his head violently. “No.” The voice came again. “David, my son…” David took one step toward the stairs. Baba grabbed him. “NO!” David pulled away. “You don't understand.” “I understand enough.” Baba's voice cracked. “That thing upstairs has never called anybody by their mother's voice.” Everyone stared at him. Baba looked toward the darkness above. “Because it doesn't know your mother.” A pause. Then he whispered— “It knows you.” The humming started again. But this time… it wasn't coming from the walls. It was coming from David. His lips were moving. Softly. Humming the same woman's song. David suddenly stopped. He touched his mouth. “I wasn't…” His voice trembled. “I wasn't humming.” Nobody moved. Then Efe noticed something. “David…” She pointed at his feet. His shadow had returned. But it wasn't doing what he was doing. David raised his hand. The shadow didn't. David lowered his hand. The shadow slowly raised its own. Efe screamed. “MOVE!” Everyone backed away. David stared at the floor. His shadow slowly turned its head. Even though David didn't. And then— it smiled. A deep voice came from the shadow. “Too late.” The lights came back on. For exactly one second. In that one second… everyone saw the staircase. There were wet footprints everywhere. Hundreds of them. Covering every step. Going up. Going down. Going up again. But the strangest part was this— some of the footprints were tiny. Some belonged to adults. And some… were backwards. The lights died again. Someone grabbed Tomi. He screamed. “LET ME GO!” Nobody was holding him. He was alone. Standing in the middle of the room. Then something whispered directly into his ear. “Count them.” Tomi's eyes widened. “Count what?” “The people.” He slowly turned around. “One…” He pointed at Efe. “Two…” Baba. “Three…” David. “Four…” He stopped. His finger remained raised. His face went blank. Efe whispered— “What?” Tomi looked around the room. “There are…” His voice broke. “There are five of us.” Nobody breathed. David stared at him. “No.” Tomi shook his head. “There are five.” Baba slowly counted. “Efe.” “One.” “Tomi.” “Two.” “David.” “Three.” He looked at himself. “Four.” Then Baba stopped. His eyes moved toward the corner. Nobody was standing there. Yet Baba whispered— “Five.” The humming stopped. A woman's voice spoke from behind them. “Good boy.” Everyone turned. Nothing. Then— a hand appeared around the edge of the staircase. Blackened fingers. Long nails. Something slowly pulled itself into view. But it wasn't crawling down. It was hanging from the ceiling. Upside down. The woman from before. Her wet hair covered her face. She smiled. And this time… her eyes were there. They were completely white. She pointed at David. “You brought him.” David backed away. “I didn't bring anybody.” The woman tilted her head. “You did.” Her smile disappeared. “You opened the door.” David's breathing stopped. Everyone looked at him. Efe whispered— “What door?” David didn't answer. The woman began crawling across the ceiling again. Slowly. Coming closer. Her fingers made wet slapping sounds against the plaster. Then she stopped directly above David. She lowered her face until her nose almost touched his. And whispered— “You were the first one inside.” David shook his head. “No…” “You were.” “No.” “You don't remember?” David suddenly grabbed his head. A scream tore from his throat. Images flashed through his mind. The mansion. The staircase. A woman standing upstairs. A locked wooden door. His own hand turning the handle. And a voice saying— “Come inside.” David collapsed. Efe rushed toward him. But Baba screamed— “DON'T TOUCH HIM!” Too late. Efe grabbed David's arm. His eyes opened. They were completely black. Efe froze. David smiled. But it wasn't David's smile. “Hello, Efe.” She stumbled backward. “How do you know my name?” David's head slowly tilted. The woman's voice came out of his mouth. “I've known all of you.” The front door suddenly opened. Cold wind rushed through the mansion. For the first time… they could see outside. The moonlight illuminated the compound. There was nobody there. No village. No road. No trees. Just darkness. An endless darkness. As if the mansion wasn't sitting anywhere anymore. It was somewhere else. Baba started crying. “We're not in the village.” Tomi stared outside. “Then where are we?” Baba looked toward the staircase. “We're inside her.” Silence. Then the mansion moved. Not shook. Moved. The walls stretched. The floor tilted. The ceiling rose impossibly high. Windows appeared where there had never been windows. Doors appeared inside the walls. Hundreds of them. All opening at once. Behind every door… someone was standing. Watching. Waiting. Then the woman whispered through David's mouth— “Now…” Every figure stepped forward. “…we can begin.” And somewhere upstairs… a baby started crying. Baba looked up. His eyes widened with terror. “No…” Efe whispered, “What is it?” Baba slowly backed away from the staircase. “That baby…” The crying continued. Louder. Closer. Baba's voice became barely audible. “That baby died here…” The crying stopped. A tiny voice came from the top of the stairs. “Daddy?” David suddenly looked up. His black eyes filled with tears. And for the first time… he smiled like himself. “She's here.” Then he began walking upstairs. One step. Two. Three. Efe screamed his name. David stopped. He turned around. For a moment… he looked normal. Terrified. Human. Then he whispered— “Don't let me reach the top.” His body jerked violently. His head snapped backward. And something unseen dragged him up the remaining stairs. His fingernails scraped against the wood. Efe ran after him. Baba grabbed her. “NO!” David disappeared around the corner. Then came three sounds. A door opening. A woman's laugh. And David screaming— “WHY DID YOU BRING ME BACK?” Silence. Absolute silence. Baba released Efe. His hands were shaking. “What does that mean?” Baba looked at the staircase. “I don't know.” Then something tapped his shoulder. Once. He slowly turned. David was standing behind him. Smiling. Everyone stared. Efe covered her mouth. Because David's clothes were covered in blood. But David didn't look at them. He looked at Baba. And whispered— “She says you're next.” The staircase creaked. One step. Then another. And from upstairs… David's voice screamed again. “PLEASE!” Baba's face collapsed. Because the David standing in front of them… wasn't moving his mouth. And yet… he was the one screaming.

Other insights from The Silent Pen 🖊

Referral Earning

Points-to-Coupons