Ivy didn't flinch. She stepped beside him and said firmly.
> "We need to get out, now. We have to find the others."
They rushed out of the walk-in freezer, the metal door slamming behind them with a hollow clang.
The hallway outside the kitchen was dim, lit only by antique sconces along the walls. Their footsteps echoed sharply against the checkered floor as they turned toward the east wing — the direction Leo, Asha, and Vera had gone earlier.
They barely made it halfway when it happened.
A heavy grind echoed through the corridor.
The wall beside them shifted — stone scraping over stone — and before either could react, a thick panel slid out from the side, cutting straight between them.
> CLUNK.
Mason spun, banging on the sealed wall.
> "Ivy?!"
Ivy stood on the other side, frozen. Her hands pressed against the smooth surface. There was no seam, no visible mechanism. Just cold, silent stone.
> "Mason," she called, voice level but urgent. "Can you hear me?"
> "Yeah—yeah! What the hell is this?!"
She scanned the hallway behind her. Empty.
> "Stay there. Don't move. I'll find a way around."
Mason backed away from the wall, jaw clenched, pulse still racing from what they'd seen.
Ivy turned and walked into the unknown wing alone.
_ _ _
The hallway creaked as Ivy moved fast through the east wing, eyes scanning every door, every flicker of light. Then she spotted them near the bar — Leo with a half-finished drink, Asha inspecting an old painting, Vera looking bored.
> "We have a problem," Ivy said sharply.
They all turned.
> "Where's Mason?" Vera asked.
> "Trapped. A wall closed between us on the way back from the kitchen."
> "Trapped?" Leo blinked. "What—like, actually locked in?"
Ivy nodded.
> "Listen. That meat we ate — it wasn't lamb. It was human. We found bones in the freezer."
They stared at her.
> "You're joking," Leo said weakly.
Asha didn't speak. She just looked down at the floor, her face unreadable.
> "I wish I was," Ivy muttered. "Follow me."
They moved fast down the corridor until they reached the stone wall that had sealed shut. Ivy didn't waste time — she darted into a side room, searching for anything. Her flashlight beam fell on a desk, scattered with old photos.
Beside them lay a journal, leather-bound, its pages brittle. She flipped through it. Cryptic entries. Lists. Numbers.
Then, she saw a window.
She stepped closer, squinting at the frame.
Carved just beside the glass, faint and frantic, were words dug deep into the wood — not with a knife, but something rough, broken, almost clawed.
> "It's still in the walls. I hear it breathing."
She exhaled, quiet but heavy. Swallowed.
> "I'm going outside," she said, turning back. "I'll try to get to him through the other room."
> "Are you sure that's safe?" Asha asked.
> "Nothing about this place is safe."
Without waiting for an answer, Ivy opened the window, cold air spilling in, and pulled herself through into the night.
_ _ _
The night air bit at Ivy's face as she crawled out the narrow window. Her fingers curled around the stone ledge, her boots scraping against the icy siding of the Hollowpine Hotel. She didn't look down. Just kept moving — slow, steady, teeth clenched.
The windows below glinted in the moonlight like watchful eyes.
Her breath came out in thin clouds as she reached the edge of the building and shuffled sideways, one foot sliding at a time. The building curved just slightly, and then — finally — a familiar window.
Mason.
He was sitting near the wall, head down, breathing shallow. But he looked up the second he heard the tap on the glass.
> "Ivy?"
She gave a tight nod, then carefully wedged her fingers beneath the window frame and pushed it open. It groaned like something alive.
> "Come on. We're getting out of here."
> "Are you insane? You climbed the wall?"
> "I didn't climb. I negotiated. Now move."
Mason didn't argue. He followed her through the window, less graceful, almost slipping on the ledge — but she grabbed his arm and steadied him as they crossed back toward the window she came from. They slipped inside, landing hard on the floor, hearts pounding.
Vera, Leo, and Asha were still waiting in the hallway, flashlights raised.
> "You're okay," Vera muttered, relieved.
> "We need to get out of this place," Mason said. "Now."
> "Agreed," Ivy snapped. "We head downstairs. We get out."
---
They ran — no hesitation, no plans — just adrenaline and survival. Down the twisting staircases, their shadows followed like specters. The lobby loomed quiet, too quiet.
The main doors.
Ivy sprinted toward them, grabbed the handles, and pulled.
Nothing.
She tried again — shoved, twisted, slammed her shoulder into the frame.
> "Locked," she hissed. "Of course they're locked."
> "There has to be another way," Leo muttered, scanning the grand lobby.
Asha stood frozen. Then she whispered, "There's a staircase to the lower level. We passed it earlier."
> "Basement?" Mason asked.
> "Something like that."
They moved again — through the dining hall, past the flickering candles, toward a stairwell hidden behind a velvet curtain. The wood creaked underfoot as they descended.
The underground floor was colder. Damper. The walls were brick now, and the lights flickered with an eerie hum. Machinery buzzed softly behind old metal doors. A control panel glowed weakly nearby. A sour metallic scent hung in the air — like old pipes, or blood left to rot.
Then Asha stopped walking.
> "I have to tell you something."
They turned. Her expression had cracked — no longer friendly, no longer calm. Her hands trembled slightly, though her voice stayed low.
> "I knew Ellis."
Silence.
> "He contacted me months ago. Said he was looking for someone with a background in psychology. Someone who could... analyze a group. Watch them. Understand their minds."
She glanced at Ivy, then Leo. Mason stepped forward, arms folded.
> "So what, you were spying on us?"
> "No—listen to me." Her voice faltered. "He didn't say what this was. He didn't say anything about—this. I thought it was just... some twisted research project. A social experiment. He paid me to be here. I was in debt. I—"
> "So you said yes," Ivy cut in, coldly. "Because a paycheck was worth more than our lives?"
Asha swallowed hard.
> "It wasn't supposed to be like this. This is the first time I've ever done anything like this."
> "Then why are you still calm?" Vera snapped. "You barely reacted when Ivy said we ate human flesh."
Asha's eyes flicked away. "Because I didn't think it was real. I thought it was part of the setup — scare tactics. That's what I was told."
> "And now?" Vera asked.
> "Now I think we're part of something much, much worse."
They stood there for a long moment. The hotel groaned quietly around them, pipes hissing behind the walls. Every second ticked louder.
And somewhere far away… a sound like footsteps echoed through the vents.