As Alicia and Alex stepped into the horror house, the temperature seemed to drop a few degrees.
The door shut behind them.
Click.
Not loud. Not dramatic.
Just final.
Alex flinched so hard his shoulders jumped.
Alicia caught it instantly.
"…Wow," she said, folding her arms. "We're not even inside five seconds."
"I didn't flinch," Alex replied, already defensive.
"You absolutely flinched."
"It was the echo."
"The echo of what? Silence?"
Alex clicked his tongue but didn't find a retort.
The hallway ahead was too narrow for comfort—walls stained dark, like old water damage… or something that used to be wet and wasn't anymore. The wallpaper peeled in long strips, curling at the edges like molting skin. Faint reddish smears dragged along the lower half of the walls, too deliberately placed to be accidental.
The ceiling lights flickered unevenly, each one humming at a slightly different pitch, creating a low vibrating dissonance that made Alex's teeth itch.
