The narrow passageway stretched out before me, a tunnel of darkness swallowed in shadows.
My phone's flashlight beam barely cut through it, illuminating motes of dust swirling like tiny ghosts.
The air was damp and heavy, carrying the faint scent of earth and moss.
I hesitated at the threshold, my hand tightening on the doorframe.
"I shouldn't be here," I whispered under my breath. Every nerve in my body screamed at me to turn back, but my curiosity… my stupid, insatiable curiosity… kept my feet moving.
Step by step, I entered the passage.
The walls were made of old stone, rough and cold to the touch, covered in creeping vines that had forced their way through cracks.
It didn't feel like any part of the school I knew, it felt ancient, forgotten, like it belonged to a different world entirely.
The path sloped downward, and up ahead, a faint flicker of orange light shimmered like a heartbeat.
A fire?
My breath hitched. "Oh no, no, no… why would there be fire down here?"
