Live or Leave Part 2 - by The Silent Pen 🖊

EPISODE TWO — THE HOUSE HAS SPOKEN The front door slammed shut. Not loudly. Slowly. As if someone on the other side had gently pushed it closed… and was now leaning against it. Nobody spoke. Even the crickets outside had gone silent. The old mansion inhaled. Not figuratively. The walls expanded. The ceiling groaned. The entire house took one long… wet… breath. Then— Knock. Three times. From upstairs. Tomi forced a laugh. “Abeg, who dey play this kind prank?” Nobody answered. Because everyone was staring at Baba. The old caretaker. He hadn’t moved since the door closed. His cloudy eyes were fixed on the staircase. His lips trembled. “No…” he whispered. “She woke up.” The air turned cold. Not ordinary cold. That strange village-night cold that crawls beneath your skin. The kind old people warn you about. The lights died. Darkness swallowed the room. Then… Someone started humming. A woman’s voice. Soft. Like a mother singing a child to sleep. Except… it wasn’t coming from one place. It came from every wall. Every window. Every corner. Right inside their ears. Efe switched on her phone flashlight. The beam shook in her hand. It landed on the staircase. Wet footprints. Bare feet. Tiny. Fresh. Leading down the stairs. But… none of them had gone upstairs. The footprints stopped. Right in front of David. He frowned. “Where did the person go?” Baba slowly lifted one shaking finger. Without looking. “Don’t…” “Look behind you.” David laughed. “You people should sto—” He turned anyway. Nothing. He smiled. “You see? Nothing—” A loud slap echoed through the room. David flew sideways. His cheek instantly swelled. Five long finger marks appeared. But nobody had touched him. Then another sound. Tap… Tap… Tap… Like wet feet walking across wooden floors. Only… the sound wasn’t on the floor anymore. It was on the ceiling. Everyone looked up. The flashlight caught something. Someone. A woman. Crawling upside down across the ceiling. Long black hair dragging behind her. White wrapper soaked with muddy water. Her neck bent backward far beyond what any human neck should. She stopped. Slowly… her head twisted. Not her body. Only her head. Until her face pointed directly at them. Her eyes were missing. Only dark holes. Her smile stretched impossibly wide. Then she whispered— “One of you entered first.” Silence. The house answered for her. Every door in the mansion slammed shut at once. BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! The walls shook. The humming became louder. And every mirror inside the house cracked at the same time. Efe screamed. Inside the nearest mirror… they could all still see themselves. Except… David wasn’t there. He was standing beside them. They could feel him breathing. But in the mirror… his place was empty. Baba fell to his knees. His voice broke. “It has chosen.” David looked around in confusion. “Chosen who?” Nobody answered. Because David had just noticed something. His shadow… was gone. Then a voice came from somewhere deep inside the mansion. Old. Female. Hungry. Speaking perfect Nigerian Pidgin. “If una wan live… bring am come upstairs.” The staircase creaked. One step. Then another.<img alt="" src="/media/inline_insight_image/C6350F41-C74E-472B-91C2-3AC4AE6AFDAF.jpeg"/> As if someone invisible had begun climbing… waiting for them to follow.

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