Inside the building, although the sun was still shining outside, the interior felt swallowed by darkness. Not quite dark, though—that wasn't the right word. More like dim, as if the light had been drained out, leaving behind a pale, greyish shadow. It didn't make sense. When we first came in, it hadn't been like this.
I took a step forward, the silence pressing in around me. Dust floated lazily in the air, catching faint slivers of light from the cracked windows. I rubbed my arms, feeling a chill crawl up my spine.
"Irana! Viola! Can you hear me? Where are you guys?!" I called out, my voice echoing down the empty corridor.
Silence.
Not even a whisper of movement. The building seemed to swallow my voice whole.
I swallowed hard and continued up the stairs, each step creaking loudly beneath my weight. The air grew colder the higher I went, the walls narrowing as if pressing in on me.
But then—I heard it. Footsteps. Coming from above me.
I didn't even think. I rushed up the stairs two at a time, my footsteps heavy against the concrete steps. "Irana? Is that you?" I shouted, my voice echoing off the walls.
No response.
When I reached the third floor, I paused. The footsteps had stopped. The hallway stretched out ahead of me, shadowy and uninviting. At the far end, a faint blue light flickered, casting ghostly shadows across the cracked walls.
"What…?" I murmured, squinting at the eerie glow. It pulsed softly, almost like it was breathing.
I stepped closer, my curiosity pushing me forward even as every instinct screamed at me to turn back. My hand reached out, fingertips just grazing the edge of the light when—
CRACK.
The hairs on my neck stood up. I felt it before I saw it—something behind me. Cold. Wrong.
I whirled around, heart hammering in my chest. For a moment, I saw nothing but empty space, stretching out in shadowed silence. But then, it stepped forward.
A skeleton.
A real skeleton, its bones creaking and snapping as it moved. Dim grey light clung to its form, like ghostly tendrils weaving in and out of its ribs and skull. Its jaw opened and shut with a soft clattering, almost like it was trying to speak.
"What the…?" I whispered, stumbling back. My mind scrambled for a rational explanation. "Is this… some kind of new technology? Like holograms or… or animatronics?"
The skeleton lurched forward, its bony fingers outstretched, reaching for me with stiff, jerking movements. I took a step back, instinctively raising my fists. "Hey! Back off!"
It didn't listen. It staggered forward, the dim light around it pulsing faster. I clenched my fist, bracing myself. If it were just some cheap special effect, then one good hit should shatter it.
I lunged forward, fist cracking into its ribcage. For a moment, the light around it flickered—and then its bones splintered. The skeleton collapsed, its parts scattering across the floor with a sharp clatter, leaving only the dim grey light behind. It flickered one last time before fading away into nothingness.
I stood there, panting. My fists were still clenched, adrenaline coursing through my veins. Slowly, I unclenched my hands and looked down. Real bones. Shattered and cracked, strewn across the dusty floor.
"This… was real?" I whispered, my voice barely audible. My heartbeat thundered in my ears. I looked back at the blue light flickering down the hall.
Shit… this apartment complex is haunted.
I glanced around, the walls seeming to close in tighter than before. My thoughts scrambled—Viola and Irana. Where were they? Had they seen these things too? Or worse… had they been caught?
Pushing the rising fear aside, I took a deep breath. "Alright… focus. Find them first. Figure out what the hell is going on later."I turn around, and the blue light I had seen before was already gone. Vanished without a trace, as if it had never existed in the first place. My heart pounded in my chest, the silence of the dimly lit hallway pressing down on me like a weight. This place had changed.
I clenched my fists, steeling my nerves, and walked down the hallway. I stopped in front of one of the apartment doors. It looked old and abandoned, the paint peeling off in jagged strips. With a swift kick, I broke the lock, and the door swung open with a groan.
The room inside was untouched—furniture still in place, cups and plates left as if the people who lived here had just stepped out for a moment. But everything was layered with dust and decay. I strode over to the window, my footsteps echoing off the cracked wooden floorboards. I pulled back the dusty curtain and peered outside.
And there it was.
Nothing. Just an endless stretch of pale, colourless sky. No streets, no buildings, no bustling crowds—just a blank, empty horizon stretching out infinitely. My stomach churned as the reality of it hit me.
"Seems like this is a different dimension…" I muttered under my breath. I pressed my hand against the cold glass, as if touching it would make the bizarre view disappear. It didn't.
It was like something straight out of a horror film—a distorted mirror of the real world. The same layout, the same rooms, but everything was twisted. Could this be the reason why so many people disappeared without a trace? They weren't just gone… they were trapped.
My eyes drifted back to the room I stood in. Dust-covered furniture, a flickering light bulb in the corner, and a thin layer of grime coating every surface.
"Who's there?!" a voice suddenly called out from outside the room. A person?
But I couldn't be too sure. Not here. Not with whatever was lurking around. I took a deep breath, steeling my nerves, and crept towards the doorway. My steps were light, careful, ready to bolt or fight if I had to. I peered around the corner and saw a shadow flicker just beyond the hallway.
I sprang out, fists clenched.
"Whoa! Back off! I can fight!" The voice yelped, startled. It was a girl, standing a few paces away with her fists raised defensively. She looked terrified, like a cornered animal. But as I got a better look at her, something clicked in my mind.
Wait a second… I squinted, trying to place her face.
"Hey… you're the girl who groped my ass!" I blurted out.
Her face went beet red. "W-What?! No! That's not what happened!" she sputtered, her eyes wide with disbelief and embarrassment.
I folded my arms and raised an eyebrow. "Sure, ass-gropper."
Her hands balled into fists, and she stomped a foot. "Don't call me ass-gropper! I have a name! It's Aneira! And I did not grope you—I was just… trying to stabilise myself! It was an accident!"
I couldn't help but laugh. The tension from moments before melted away, replaced with something almost… normal. It was surreal, sharing a petty argument in the middle of this nightmare.
"Okay, okay, Aneira," I said, smirking. "But seriously, what are you doing here? And… do you know where this place even is?"
Aneira's expression shifted from irritation to uncertainty. "I… I don't know. I just took a quick nap, then everything went dark. Next thing I knew, I was here. Wherever 'here' is."
I glanced around the hallway, with its flickering lights and eerie silence. "Great… So you're just as lost as I am."